The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness

by Raymond L. Weil

  “You think they want to close the weakness in space at the vortex location by detonating the capacitor stations?” surmised Madelyn. “All of the reinforcement fleets for Admiral Strong aren’t here yet. Some won’t arrive for at least another six weeks.”

  “I know,” Race answered as he stood up and gazed at one of the primary viewscreens showing the Orion Victory. The battleship was a new build, only recently finishing its space trials after leaving one of the construction bays at New Tellus Station. “We’re going to have some tough decisions to make.” Turning toward Lieutenant Travers, he gave her a message to send to Admiral Korrel. “Tell the admiral I’ll meet him on board Capacitor Station One in two hours. I also want Admiral Jackson, Admiral Bachal, Admiral Zanth, Admiral Calmat, and Admiral Sithe to attend.”

  “What about the Alton research scientists?” asked Madelyn. “I’m sure Admiral Korrel will have a lot of questions.”

  Race nodded. “That’s probably a good idea; go ahead and add Shay Mele and Pelel Maz to the list.”

  “You know Admiral Calmat and Admiral Sithe will not want to hear any talk of sealing the vortex area before the relief fleets are launched.”

  “I know,” answered Race. The Carethian Admiral and the New Providence Admiral were adamant about sending the relief fleets to Admiral Strong. The Bears were still hoping for someway to rescue them. “We’ll see how the meeting goes.” Race let out a deep sigh. Messages from fleet command had been few and far between. Perhaps now he would find out what was going on.

  -

  Two hours later Race and the other admirals were in a large conference room set up in Capacitor Station One. Once Race was satisfied everyone was present, he began the meeting.

  “Admiral Korrel, I’m glad to see your fleet. With the reinforcements we’ve received thus far as well as the battlestations which have been rushed to us I’m confident we can hold the vortex area against any possible Simulin attack.”

  Admiral Korrel looked around the group as if he was hesitant to speak. Korrel had been an admiral for nearly eight years and was a firm believer in doing everything by the book. He was an older man with gray around his temples.

  “Unfortunately, the Federation Council doesn’t agree with your assessment,” he stated very bluntly. “They want the vortex area destabilized immediately to ensure the Simulins don’t come through again.”

  “No,” roared Admiral Calmat, standing up, his fur bristling. The large Bear was a dark brown in color and towered over the conference table. “Careth will not allow the vortex area to be destabilized until the relief fleets have gone through. We must send new warriors through to assist Clan Leader Grayseth in the hunt.”

  “Nor will New Providence,” said Admiral Sithe also rising to his feet. “Fleet Admiral Streth has requested we send aid to Admiral Strong and we fully intend to do that. Our relief fleet will be arriving in another two weeks.”

  “Ours as well,” stated Calmat.

  “I have my orders,” Korrel said evenly. “The council had decreed the vortex area be destabilized. I am also to remind you Fleet Admiral Streth is no longer an active officer in the fleet; he’s retired!”

  “The Federation has no say over what Careth or New Providence does,” added Calmat loudly, his large eyes gazing challengingly at Admiral Korrel. “As for Fleet Admiral Streth, my people will always follow his orders. He is a wise leader of the hunt and should be obeyed without question.”

  Admiral Korrel shifted uneasily in his chair. He hadn’t been around very many Carethians. “I can only pass on my orders,” he said in a less certain voice.

  “Am I being removed from command?” demanded Race. There was no way he was going to allow the capacitor stations to be used to destroy the vortex area before the relief fleets went through. At least not as long as he was in command.

  “No,” replied Korrel grudgingly. “Fleet Admiral Nagumo is quite satisfied with your performance and how you stopped the Simulin attack. For that reason he was able to convince the council to leave you in command of the forces here.”

  “How long is the council giving me to close the weakened area of space in the vortex area?” For once Race was glad of the weeks long communication lag between here and the Federation.

  Korrel hesitated for a moment and then spoke. “They weren’t specific,” he admitted. “They told me to inform you to close it as soon as possible without risking danger to the forces under your command.”

  “My worlds are part of the alliance the Federation has formed,” spoke up Admiral Zanth. “I was at the great battle here when Admiral Strong flew the Avenger into the heart of the enemy. He couldn’t know whether he would survive or if his command would perish. What he did that day saved the Federation and my worlds as well as all the other organic races of this galaxy. If the Eternity Device had sent out its deadly hyperwave, some of us in this room would be dead now and the rest would be waiting for our worlds to die. I feel confident my people would want the relief fleets launched even if we take a risk by leaving the vortex area as it is for a few more weeks.”

  “We have brought all the Indomitable Class Battlestations from Astral,” Admiral Bachal added as the white haired Alton leaned back and gazed at the group. “New stations even now are en route to Astral to replace them. We also have two thousand particle beam satellites focused on that area of space, which have been furnished by my people as well as New Providence. It’s doubtful whether the Simulins can launch a successful attack against the forces we now have available.”

  “I am only bringing the orders of the council,” Admiral Korrel replied defensively. “I’m not in command here.”

  All eyes shifted to Admiral Tolsen for his response.

  “If we close the vortex we’re probably sealing the fates of the Lost Fleets,” Race began in a soft voice. “They don’t have the supplies or the equipment to survive long term in a galaxy controlled by the Simulins. Even in the nebula they’re currently hiding in, they’ll eventually be found and forced to fight. Not only that, if we truly want to stop the Simulins from invading our galaxy in the future, Admiral Strong needs the forces to keep them at bay.”

  Pelel cleared his throat and looked expectantly at the admiral as if he wanted to say something.

  “Yes, Pelel?” Race asked curiously.

  “It may make no difference if we close this area of space off to the Simulins,” he said in an even voice. “Our sensor recordings of the vortex they established while their fleet was making transit revealed some startling properties. That vortex was much more powerful than the one the AIs’ Great Project was designed to produce.”

  “Stronger?” asked Admiral Jackson in disbelief. “There were over one thousand capacitor stations around the black hole. It took the AIs centuries to build those power collectors. Are you saying the Simulins have something even bigger?”

  “Not necessarily bigger,” Pelel said, shaking his head. “Just more powerful.”

  “So, what does that mean?” asked Race. He’d thought by destabilizing the vortex area the Simulins would not have the power to open up another spatial vortex. That’s what Pelel had indicated in an earlier meeting.

  “They have the power to open a vortex anywhere in our galaxy,” replied Pelel. “It’s just easier here at the galactic center due to the weakness of space in the vicinity of the original vortex. They can shift its exit point by applying more energy to create a smaller vortex, which will allow them to open it anywhere. Instead of sending an entire fleet through, they might have to send one ship at a time instead. If our sensor readings are correct, they have the energy to do just that.”

  The room was silent as everyone thought about what Pelel had just said.

  “Then there’s no point in destabilizing the vortex area,” Admiral Calmat said. “We’re better off allowing the Simulins to appear here where we can destroy their ships as they emerge.”

  “At some point in time they’ll realize what’s happening,” Shay said, joining in on the conver
sation. “I’m sure their ships were bringing energy collection stations so they could at least create a small spatial vortex to send messages back and forth. That’s why they want to exit here, so they can use the energy from the black hole to power their systems. When the Simulins in the Lost Fleet’s galaxy don’t receive those messages, they’ll suspect something’s wrong.”

  “They’ll come through somewhere else to discover what’s happened,” said Admiral Bachal. He leaned forward with his tall frame nearly over the conference table. “We must keep the vortex area open until we can send the reinforcing fleets through.”

  “There is one other thing,” Pelel said with an intense look on his face. “If we blow up the capacitor stations in the area of space which has been weakened, it will disrupt that area severely. In order for the Simulins to change the end point of their intergalactic vortex, it will take a tremendous amount of energy. They currently have the energy to change the exit location of the vortex, but once the area of space here has been destabilized they will have to apply even more energy to prevent the vortex from being drawn to this location.”

  “So even though they may still be able to send ships through, it might be in very small numbers,” said Admiral Korrel, seizing upon those words. “If the vortex area here stays open they could send large numbers through.”

  “If we reinforce Admiral Strong, he may be able to disrupt the Simulins to the point where they can send no ships,” Race was quick to point out.

  Korrel frowned. “If you don’t destroy the vortex area the council will remove you from command.”

  “It will take several weeks to get a message all the way back to the Federation,” Race said. “By the time the council responds, the relief fleets will have been sent through. At that point I will follow their orders and destroy the vortex area.”

  “I hope you’re not making a mistake,” Korrel said with a frown. “My orders are to place my fleet under your command until such a time as the council order has been carried out.”

  “Then let’s hope we can complete our mission before the Simulins return,” Race responded. He looked over at Shay. “What’s the progress on Capacitor Station Two?”

  “It will be ready in four weeks,” she replied. “Capacitor Station Three suffered much more damage. We can have it at thirty percent.”

  “Will the three stations have enough power to open an intergalactic vortex long enough to get the relief fleets through?”

  “They will with the alterations we’ve made to their power retention systems,” Shay answered. “By applying Alton power storage technology we’ve greatly enhanced the amount of energy the capacitor stations can hold.”

  “How much more?”

  “Each station will be able to hold six times the energy than what they were originally designed for. “We’ll be able to open an intergalactic vortex eight hundred meters in diameter for thirty-eight minutes before we run out of power.”

  “That will have to do,” Race said.

  He knew by delaying the destruction of the vortex area he was probably ending his career. Once word of what he’d done reached fleet command, there was no doubt in his mind orders would be sent for Admiral Korrel to relieve him. Hopefully by then the relief fleets would be on their way and he would have fulfilled his mission.

  -

  On Maken, former Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth was standing on the shores of the lake watching the sun slowly descend toward the distant horizon. The orange red colors of the fading sun covered the western sky.

  “I love the sunsets here,” Janice said as she reached out and took Hedon’s hand.

  Hedon smiled and looked down at her swollen belly. “Still no pains?”

  “I have a few more weeks yet, according to the doctor,” Janice replied. “I spoke to Amanda earlier, and she plans on coming early next week and staying until I have the baby. The guest room is ready.”

  “Is she bringing her son?”

  “Of course,” Janice answered with a grin. “That way you can get used to having a little one around the house.” Janice could tell something was bothering Hedon. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s the damn council,” he answered tightly. “The senators from Bliss and Serenity managed to get a motion passed to destroy the vortex area around the black hole by detonating the capacitor stations.”

  “Oh, no!” Janice said, her eyes growing wide with concern. “What will Race do?”

  “I don’t think he’ll do it,” Hedon replied. “He might just have enough time to get the relief mission launched before they remove him from command.”

  “Lose his command!” exclaimed Janice, growing angry. “They can’t do that!”

  “They can and probably will,” Hedon answered. “I’ll do what I can to try to prevent it, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

  “Are the relief fleets on their way to the galactic center?”

  “Yes,” Hedon replied with a deep and satisfied sigh. “More ships than I could hope for. If they can make it through, then Jeremy will have what he needs to take the war to the Simulins. If he’s successful, he might just save our galaxy.”

  “You said you knew Jeremy’s father?”

  “Yes,” Hedon replied. “Admiral Jason Strong. I can still recall the day he stepped into my office after making the trip to Ceres in one of the old Avenger’s shuttles. The damn things were over one hundred years old and he still took the risk to see what was there.”

  “That was a long time ago,” commented Janice.

  “Yes, it was,” agreed Hedon. “I think Jeremy’s dad would be very proud of what his son has accomplished.”

  “Are you sending a personal message to Jeremy?”

  Hedon was silent for a long moment. He let out a deep sigh and nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “It’s necessary for him to know what’s at stake. He has to take the war to the Simulins.”

  Janice placed her hand on her belly. She could feel their daughter kicking. “I think your daughter will make a fine admiral someday.”

  Hedon looked at Janice in surprise.

  “I strongly suspect both our daughter and Amanda’s son will follow in their parents’ footsteps,” she said.

  “Perhaps,” Hedon said, turning to look at the sun, which was beginning to slide beneath the distant horizon.

  He could remember standing here many times with his brother watching the sunset and talking about the big fish that had gotten away. Those days had been so much simpler.

  “Let’s go inside and eat,” Janice suggested. “We need to talk about what we’re going to do while Amanda’s here. She might have some useful ideas about this Simulin threat.”

  Hedon nodded. It would be good to talk to Amanda and reminisce about old times.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Above Gaia two thousand small particle beam satellites and forty Type Two battlestations were in stationary orbit above the planet, ready to open fire on the enemy at a moment’s notice. The Type Two battlestations were one hundred and fifty meters in diameter and had upgraded energy shields, two particle beam cannons, four power beam cannons, twelve missile tubes containing Devastator Three missiles, and defensive laser turrets. Their fusion reactors had been upgraded from a Class One to a Class Three, giving the stations much more power than previous models. Slightly above them were the massed fleets that had come through the runaway spatial vortex nearly seven years previously. Four hundred and seventy fifteen hundred-meter AI spheres surrounded the planet in a massive defensive globe. At any one time, two hundred of the AI ships were at Condition One, ready to respond to a Simulin attack. The AIs, not being organic, required no rest and were determined to defend the organics who in the past had been their enemies.

  Fourth Fleet was in a higher orbit in a loose defensive formation. Its ninety-two warships led by its flagship, the Avenger, were prepared for an impending Simulin attack. Further along in the same orbit, Grayseth’s Carethian fleet was in a defensive formation around the mobile shipyard, the Clan
Protector. Grayseth commanded thirty-three warships led by his flagship, the Warrior’s Pride. Alton Admiral Cleeteus, aboard his flagship the Cydonia Two, had a powerful fleet of Alton warships. His seventy-eight Alton battleships and fifty-nine battlecruisers were the heart of Admiral Strong’s planned defense against the Simulins. With the superior technology and heavy weapons of the Alton ships, they would take the lead in any attack against an incursion.

  Last of all was the Clan Protector itself. The mobile shipyard had been greatly expanded and was presently over six thousand meters in length and two thousand in width. Massive weapons emplacements covered its hull and the entire structure could be protected by an energy screen powered by four Fusion Five reactors.

  For weeks the fleets had waited, knowing it was only a matter of time before the Simulins found their hidden sanctuary.

  -

  Kevin was leaning back in his chair in front of his sensor console watching the screen with a bored look upon his face. They’d waited weeks for the expected appearance of the Simulins and nothing had happened. There had even been some discussion the Simulins might not have been able to trace the exploration dreadnought to Gaia using their tracking device. Perhaps the last few jumps had put the Distant Horizon out of range of Simulin detection and the planet would remain safe and undetected inside the nebula.

  “Stay awake,” cautioned Ariel, who suddenly popped into existence next to Kevin with a grin on her youthful face. “You’re supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the crew. After all, you’re one of the Special Five.”

  “I absolutely hate that name,” responded Kevin, frowning and letting out a deep sigh. “We’re not any more special than anyone else in the fleet.”

  “That’s debatable,” responded Ariel, placing her hands on her shapely hips and staring at Kevin. “Are you going to be in Angela’s wedding?”

  Kevin nodded his head. “I’ll be there,” answered Kevin. “Not sure what she has planned for me, but I’m sure she’ll have me doing something.”