On the tactical display, only a few red threat icons were still left, and those were rapidly being annihilated.
Layla looked at the display. Yes, it looked as if the battle was over, and they had won. The price of victory had been heavy, and it would be a long while before Golan Four was back to normal. At least for now, the war for the Empire was over. Time to rebuild and prepare for the future.
Epilogue
Morag Admiral Voxx fled the Golan Four System. He had been stunned when so many ships from worlds supposedly under Confederation control had showed up and had attacked the Morag fleets. Even more surprising was their command crews had all been protected by Lormallian nullifiers. The surprise had been total when combined with the Human Resistance ships which had changed the course of the battle. Voxx had taken command—as soon as Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant had been killed, when his flagship had been rammed by a Human dreadnought—and had ordered the Morag fleet to withdraw.
Looking at his ship’s main tactical display, slightly over two thousand green icons represented the surviving Morag warships. Fourteen of those were the big Conqueror class battleships. The attack on the Human homeworld had been a complete disaster, and it would be years before the Morag recovered from its ship losses. Years where the Morag would be facing numerous dangers both from within the Confederation and from the outside.
Deciding that, for now, the surviving fleet was safe in hyperspace, Admiral Voxx would go to his quarters and prepare his report on the failed attack. The Morag High Council would not be pleased to hear that not only had Golan Four survived but so had the Hagen Star Cluster. Even more worrisome was that more worlds, once thought to be under Confederation control, were now joining the Humans. It was now extremely possible that the Confederation and the Morag could lose the war against the Humans. The future had suddenly become very unclear and unsettling.
-
Derrick spoke to the Visth admiral in charge of all the races who had come to the aid of Golan Four. “Why did you come? Doesn’t this put your worlds in grave danger?”
“Perhaps,” replied Admiral Larr. “But, if your Empire were to collapse, our worlds would be doomed anyway. Only by the Humans winning were we assured of a possible future. Visth representative Stralon Karn, has been visiting many of the races in our vicinity of space. It was surprising how many felt as we did, some even had secret warfleets as well. We decided to combine our fleets and to come to your aid. Our only regret is that we did not arrive sooner.”
“Your arrival was perfect,” replied Derrick. “With the Morag engaged against my fleets and the defense grid, they were in a very vulnerable position. It could not have worked out better. I thank you.”
Admiral Larr replied, “Is there anything else we can do to aid you?”
“You have done more than enough. Your help has been greatly appreciated. However, it might be wise for your fleet to return home and to guard your own worlds. Some Morag ships did escape, and they will spread the word back to the Confederation that your worlds were involved. As soon as we can, I promise we will send a large fleet to help defend you. I’ll have a government and a fleet representative come to your worlds shortly to work out the details. In the meantime, the task force we sent earlier will remain with you.”
“Thank you, Fleet Admiral,” replied Admiral Larr. “We have a few repairs to make, and then we will be on our way.”
“If any of your ships need the aid of one of our shipyards, I’ll be glad to arrange it.”
“I do not believe that will be necessary, but once again I thank you.”
-
Derrick studied his Command Center, where numerous technicians busily tried to get all the consoles functioning again. Throughout the entire ship, repair crews were busy. Already the sublight drive had been repaired, and power was back to normal.
“We’ll need considerable time in a repair bay,” reported Colonel Bryant. “We have several large holes in our hull that need repair, and numerous compartments suffered major damage.”
Derrick nodded; he had expected that. Much of the surviving Human fleet would need time in repair bays. Fortunately, when he considered the shipyards available in the core worlds, that would not be a problem. He still didn’t know how much of his fleet had survived. That information should be available shortly.
Leaning back in his command chair, Derrick thought about Audrey and the sacrifice she had made. It was hard to believe he would not ever hear her voice again or her laugh. As in all battles, there was always a price that had to be paid.
“Contact Rear Admiral Collison,” ordered Derrick. “I need to find out the status of his fleet.” He would mourn Audrey later. Right now he needed to get the surviving ships organized and to get a defense set up around Golan Four.
-
Derrick spent nearly an hour talking to Collison. He still had 617 battlecruisers and 133 dreadnoughts, a little over half the fleet he started out with.
“Of course many of them will need some repairs done,” said Collison. “Our supply and repair fleet should be here in a few more days.”
“In the meantime, any of your ships that need it can have access to our repair bays,” promised Derrick. “We can use the repair bays on the shipyards orbiting all the core worlds. That gives us a huge repair capability.”
“I appreciate that,” replied Rear Admiral Collison. “I’ll prepare a list of ships that have suffered major damage and will need some dock time. What do you think will happen next with the Morag?”
Derrick was quiet for a moment and then answered. “They’ve suffered their biggest defeat ever, and it cost them a major portion of their fleet. They’ll have to rebuild, and they may be facing problems back in the Confederation as well. Particularly since the Lormallians furnished the Visth and the other races with nullifiers that work against the Morag mind control.”
Collison nodded. “I’ll have to speak with Fleet Admiral Reynolds, but I suspect we’ll combine my fleet with Rear Admiral Barnes’s fleet, once all our ships have been repaired. We may still go to the Confederation and see if we can sew a little discontent.”
“I wish we had the ships to send with you,” replied Derrick. “But it’ll take some time to replace all our losses.”
“I understand. We’ll probably avoid any major battles, but I would like to destroy as many Morag shipyards as possible to limit their shipbuilding capability.”
Derrick liked the sound of that. “Sounds like you have a battle plan. I only wish I were going with you.”
Rear Admiral Collison laughed. “Like the High Princess would let you lead a battlefleet into the Confederation again after this. She would hang you out to dry.”
Derrick smiled. Collison was right. There was no way Layla would allow him to take such a risk, at least not now. But someday, when the time was right, he planned on returning to the Confederation and finishing this war.
-
Fleet Admiral Marloo was extremely busy. He had tugs all over Golan Four’s orbital space, trying to prevent the massive amount of wreckage in orbit from falling to the planet. Ground-based energy beam turrets were still busy busting up descending wreckage into smaller pieces. The sky was lit up with streaks of fire from the descending debris. Because of that, the energy shields were still up over all the major cities and military bases.
“We’ll have a lot of heavy rain and severe storms along the coasts,” commented Colonel Hillstrum. “Those antimatter strikes that hit the oceans will have our weather screwed up for years to come.”
“A small price to pay for survival,” replied Marloo.
The skies had darkened some from the ground strikes, and special chemicals were already being sprayed in the atmosphere to cause the ash and other debris to fall to the ground. The same for any radiation detected. Chemical agents were used to eliminate that as well.
“What will we do about the destroyed shipyard?”
“Rebuild it and make it bigger and better,” answered Admiral Marloo. “We
still have a war to fight, though I suspect it will now shift to the Confederation, but we’ll need ships regardless. Lots of ships.”
General Gantts walked over. “I have the latest reports on the defense grid. “We lost 12 ODPs, 210 missile platforms, and 1,600 energy beam satellites. In addition two of the space stations report substantial damage. All the ground PDCs and bases survived.”
Fleet Admiral Marloo let out a deep sigh. “We need to get our defense grid back up and fully operational. We’ll contact the other core worlds and see what they can do to help.” Marloo leaned back in his command chair. It would take some time, but eventually everything would be repaired, and Golan Four would be back to normal.
-
On Tantula Five, Krista was in her quarters, having just spoken to her cousin. Golan Four had survived! It had been a huge relief to hear her cousin’s voice.
“When do we go home?” asked Brenda, sitting across from Krista.
“Not for a few more weeks. I guess Golan Four took some hits, and the orbital space is a mess. Layla wants me to take the High Kingdom and visit a few of the main Human worlds out in this sector. It’s time we put the Empire back to how it once was, with every Human world and inhabited moon a part of it.”
“Sounds interesting,” said Brenda, nodding her head. “You could take Mathew along as a military advisor.”
Krista’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought of that. “I’ll speak to Admiral Cleemorl and see if I can get him to agree.” She knew there was a chance he might not, but, with Brenda along as a chaperone, he just might.
“What will Cheryl do?”
“I think she’ll stay here with Dylan. Tantula Five is a very advanced world, and she’s already out looking for an appropriate house. She also mentioned something about bringing her yacht out here and expanding her businesses.”
Brenda laughed. Only Cheryl would be thinking of something like that at this time. “I’m glad we packed the appropriate clothes for you, if you’ll be visiting some planetary governors.”
Krista nodded. “Emira never misses anything.”
Brenda had to agree. She just hoped she got that good at helping the Princesses as Emira was.
-
Layla was back in the Imperial Palace. She was so relieved that it had survived. She had spoken to Derrick earlier, and it would be a few days at least before he could leave the Destiny. Layla felt great sadness at all the lives that had been lost and was already planning on having a planetary memorial service to honor those who had given their lives for the Empire.
Layla stood on one of the higher balconies in one of the sky towers, with Colonel Emerson and two Imperial guards standing protectively behind her. Looking out, she saw the capital city in all its glory. As hard as the Morag had tried, Golan Four still existed. It was still a symbol against tyranny and oppression. Squaring her shoulders, Layla turned to go in. She knew that soon it would be time to plan the next phase of the war. Soon it would be time to take the war to the Confederation, and, though she didn’t want it, soon she knew that Derrick would play an important role in that.
-
On board the Destiny, Derrick was thinking about the sacrifice Audrey had made in saving his flagship. He felt great sadness knowing he would never see her again or hear her friendly voice. Looking at the main viewscreens, which showed Golan Four, he swore he would make the Morag pay. Even though Layla would not approve, he planned to lead the eventual invasion of the Confederation. He would not rest until every Confederation world had either surrendered or had been conquered or willingly joined the Human Empire. If the battles at Tantula Five, Gideon, and Golan Four had seemed intense, they would be nothing in comparison to what he had planned for the Morag. Derrick looked at the main viewscreen and spoke aloud. “Morag, if you think this is over, you’re very wrong, for someday, I’ll come for you, and then you will know what real war is.”
The End
Coming in 2021, The Forgotten Empire: The Empire and Confederation at War. Book Five of The Forgotten Empire series.
The Seven Races of the Confederation
The Druins are the most populous and the most aggressive of the Confederation races and are a cold-blooded and logical species with limited emotions. Their form is slightly humanoid but squat, with their head sitting almost directly on their torso via a short neck. Their arms are massive and could easily snap a Human in two. They stand eight feet tall.
The Lamothians are large sluglike creatures that consume intelligent life. They are the second-most intelligent race of the seven Confederation races. They spend much of their time contemplating the mysteries of the universe. For the past one thousand years their favorite food source has been Humans, who are considered a delicacy and are in high demand at the food markets on their worlds.
To procure a Human for a feast, the various Lamothians bid on the Human until only one bidder remains. The Lamothians only live upon six worlds of the Confederation. They stand upright on four legs and have six appendages that serve as arms, with three protuberances on their hands that allow them to manipulate equipment. Their skin is pale and glistens with an oily sheen. They have two eyestalks, which protrude from their heads. Their names are unpronounceable, more of a symbol than an actual word. Their lifespans are around eight hundred years.
The Zynth are a reptilian race that resemble an ancient Earth raptor, only slimmer and with actual arms and clawlike hands. The Zynth are the second-most aggressive Confederation race, after the Druins. They have yellow reptilian eyes.
The Lormallians are a warm-blooded species and stand nearly seven feet tall. They are humanoid in form, with a bone crest on the top of their head instead of hair. They have large eyes, and their arms end in hands with six digits. The Lormallians are also a very logical race, and nearly all their decisions are based upon logic, though they do have emotions. The Lormallians are the oldest race in the Confederation and act as custodians for the archives on Bator Prime.
The Morphenes resemble giant amoebas and have no true form. Their form constantly shifts. Morphenes are very coldhearted and logical in their thinking.
The Zang are a birdlike race, with the ability to fly. They have large wings and very sharp beaks. They have a set of arms attached to the main part of their body, with clawlike fingers. Very intelligent and very seldom speak. Have a grating whistle-like voice.
The Morag are massive apelike creatures. A cross between a gorilla and Big Foot is the best description of them. They stand nearly ten feet tall. Very intelligent but seldom speak. Are telepathic with other members of their race. The Morag maintain a massive secret warfleet, which is very seldom used. They live on over 112 planets in ninety-two different star systems. They have also terraformed nearly two hundred moons, which are also heavily inhabited. Some are powerful telepaths and have secretly controlled the Confederation’s Great Council from the very beginning.
The Morag were the ones behind the Confederation attacking the Human Empire, originally because Humans are immune to the telepathic abilities of the Morag. They have manipulated the Confederation since its very founding and have been responsible for many of the harsher actions taken by the Confederation. The Morag’s telepathic abilities allow them to plant suggestions in the minds of others, which also allows them to force others to do their bidding. Their telepathic abilities are a closely guarded secret, even from the other Confederation races.
What no other race knows is that the Morag maintain a large warfleet of nearly 15,000 vessels, which they very seldom use. The other members of the seven races think that the Morag population numbers are far less and that their fleet is only a fraction of its true size.
Other Books by Raymond L. Weil
Available on Amazon
Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (The Slaver Wars Book 2)
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 3)
The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book 4)
The S
laver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book 5)
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (The Slaver Wars Book 6)
The Slaver Wars: Endgame (The Slaver Wars Book 7)
The Slaver Wars: Books 1-3
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Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars
Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening
Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon
Dragon Dreams: Firestorm Mountain
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Star One: Tycho City: Survival
Star One: Neutron Star
Star One: Dark Star
Star One
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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (Book 1)
Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Book 2)
Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (Book 3)
Galactic Empire Wars: The Alliance (Book 4)
Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (Book 5)
Galactic Empire Wars: Final Conflict (Book 6)
Galactic Empire Wars: The Beginning (Books 1-3)
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The Lost Fleet: Galactic Search (Book 1)
The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness (Book 2)
The Lost Fleet: Oblivion’s Light (Book 3)
The Lost Fleet: Genesis (Book 4)
The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators (Book 5)
The Lost Fleet (Books 1-5)
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The Star Cross (Book 1)
The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (Book 2)
The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril (Book 3)
The Star Cross: The Forever War (Book 4)
The Star Cross: The Vorn! (Book 5)
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The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger (Book 1)
The Originator Wars: Search for the Lost (Book 2)
The Originator Wars: Conflict Unending (Book 3)
The Originator Wars: Explorations (Book 4)
The Originator Wars Explorations: The Multiverse (Book 5)
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 34