The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness

by Raymond L. Weil

  McGown turned toward the Communications Center. It was time to prepare the Marines who had already deployed for what might be coming their way. The Conqueror Drones were deadly, but with the weapons the Marines were equipped with, he hoped the drones could be taken out swiftly. They were about to find out.

  -

  The Simulin High Commander gazed impassively at the tactical display. The battle had not gone as planned. The organics had laid a trap, luring his fleet into range of a powerful orbital defense grid. Then they had attacked his damaged ships with their small attack vessels.

  “Status!” he demanded in a cold voice.

  “We’re damaging their defensive grid and we’ve annihilated nearly forty percent of their small attack vessels,” his second in command reported. “The battle computer indicates the small vessels will not be a danger again for the immediate future.”

  “Our fleet’s damage?”

  “Twenty-two battlecruisers and eighty-two escort cruisers destroyed.”

  “Enemy losses?”

  “Light,” the second in command reported. “Their particle beams are tearing our ships apart.”

  “What does the battle computer say about our winning a victory?”

  The High Commander didn’t have to follow the recommendations of the computer, but failure to do so could result in him losing his command. The battle computers helped the Simulins to fight in the most efficient manner possible.

  “Probability of victory is at twenty-two percent.”

  “Prepare to withdraw,” the High Commander ordered, stunned by the low percentage. “We’ll regroup outside of the nebula and bring up reinforcements. We now know their defensive setup and the capabilities of their warships. The next time we attack we’ll annihilate them.”

  The High Commander watched as his orders were carried out. It was very rare the Simulins encountered organics who could withstand one of their attacks. They would withdraw, analyze the data collected in this battle, and then return. There was no doubt in the High Commander’s mind that next time the result of the battle would be far different.

  -

  “Simulins are withdrawing,” reported Commander Akira.

  “Let them go,” ordered Rear Admiral Marks, letting out a deep breath. “No point in losing more ships when it’s not necessary. We’ve already lost enough of our Anlon bombers.”

  On the main viewscreen, white vortexes started to form as the Simulins began to jump out. A few ships were obviously too damaged to escape and fiery explosions marked where they self-destructed their vessels.

  “It’s over,” said Akira with relief.

  “For now,” Susan replied as she felt the tension ease out of her. “What about the Conqueror Drone pods?”

  “We got most of them,” Akira replied as he studied some data on a computer screen. “But a few did make it down to the surface. General McGown is preparing to deal with those now.”

  Susan nodded. They’d won the first space battle, but she wondered how many more there would be ahead of them. Looking at the tactical display, she saw that a large number of the particle beam satellites were missing as well as six of the Type Two battlestations. It was a victory, but it had a cost.

  -

  Jeremy breathed a long sigh of relief as the Simulin fleet disengaged and began to jump out. Glancing at the tactical display, he saw there were fewer green icons than what had been in the display originally. Considering the force they’d been up against, they were fortunate losses had been as few as they were.

  “Simulins have jumped away from Gaia,” Ariel reported. “Rear Admiral Marks reports a few Conqueror Drones may have made it to the surface.

  “General McGown can handle them,” Jeremy replied. He looked over at Commander Malen. “Let’s jump the fleet back to Gaia and begin repairs. The Simulins will be back and we have to be ready.”

  “This was only the first engagement,” Commander Malen said with a frown.

  “Yes,” responded Jeremy, knowing there would be more. “Possibly the first of many.” Unfastening his safety harness, Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. “Once they’ve analyzed this battle, they’ll make adjustments and return. Next time I’m afraid we won’t find victory so easy.”

  The battle had been won but the war was far from over. Studying the tactical display, he saw the Distant Horizon still showed as undamaged. It took some of the worry off his mind knowing Kelsey and Katie were safe. Now if only Andram and his fellow scientists would come up with a way to keep the Simulins out of the nebula they might have a chance for survival. If not, then Jeremy was afraid they would all die here, for there was no other place for them to go.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lieutenant Barkley and his squad were standing behind several concrete barriers with a laser turret tower behind them. They’d come down to the surface of Gaia to help train more Marines in what it was like to face a Conqueror Drone. While their experience was limited, it was better than none.

  “Damn robots,” muttered Sergeant Schneider, staring toward the line of trees, which began about one hundred meters away. “Why is it always robots of some kind? First there were the AIs and now these crab things.”

  “Command reports at least two of their pod carriers landed three kilometers due south of us,” Lieutenant Barkley informed everyone.

  Even as he spoke, a pair of Anlon bombers flew overhead. Moments later, there were several towering explosions about three hundred meters back from the tree line. Flame and black smoke began rising up into the air.

  “They’re coming!” Private Jarman said as he clicked the safety off his heavy assault rifle. He placed it through one of the firing slits in the wall and peered through the rifle’s scope to see if he could spot anything.

  Above them, the laser turret rotated until its twin barrels were pointing in the direction the two Anlons had dropped their bombs.

  Lieutenant Barkley watched as the two bombers slowly circled, seeking additional targets. Suddenly a small interceptor rocket appeared and arched upward toward one of the Anlons. Before the bomber pilot could react the missile struck, blowing the bomber apart and raining flaming debris on the ground below.

  “I’ve got two chutes!” yelled Private Julian Spencer, pointing up into the sky.

  Everyone looked up and were relieved to see the two pilots slowly descending toward the ground. They flinched as another towering explosion shook the ground in the vicinity of where the missile had been launched as the remaining Anlon dropped another bomb. Then it turned and headed back toward base, probably to rearm.

  “Crap,” uttered Sergeant Schneider as he saw where the pilots were going to come down. The two were going to land somewhere behind the line of trees, very near where the Conqueror Drones were.

  “Lieutenant, permission to lead a rescue mission?”

  “Permission granted,” replied Barkley, nodding at Schneider. He knew if the Conqueror Drones reached the pilots before the Marines did they would die.

  “Take Privates Spencer, Renaldo, Hays, and Brentwood.”

  The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the parachutes disappeared behind the tree line. Almost instantly, the screaming began.

  “Belay that order,” Barkley said, his face turning a ghastly white. He’d heard those types of screams before back on the planet they’d found the drones on during their early exploration when the Distant Horizon had first made transit into this galaxy. “It’s too late!”

  Sergeant Schneider gripped his rifle tighter as the distant screams faded away. He gazed in the direction of the tree line contemplating going in search of the pilots.

  “They’re gone,” Barkley said, tight lipped and angry. He looked around considering his options. He had two full squads protecting the laser turret. In the distance near other towers, he could see more Anlon bombers diving and dropping munitions. He had a sinking feeling more Conqueror Drones had made it to the surface than command was admitting or were aware of. He wondered just how many
drones one of those pods held.

  Movement in the trees drew his attention as the first Conqueror Drone appeared. The metal crablike creature was about four meters across with numerous legs and four appendages with large and dangerous looking claws. It seemed to pause for a moment and then began charging toward the laser turret and the Marines.

  Barkley heard a loud humming noise and suddenly two ruby red beams struck the drone, blowing it apart. Before he could voice his approval, the entire tree line came alive as dozens of the deadly drones emerged and began charging toward the Marines’ position. He was stunned by how fast they were moving.

  “Fire!” he yelled, seeing it would take the drones only a few seconds to cover the distance between the trees and the concrete barriers.

  From the protection of the concrete walls the Marines began firing, laying down a heavy hail of automatic rifle fire that blasted into the oncoming drones. Above them, the laser turret recycled and let out another blast, incinerating a second drone.

  “More bombers are inbound,” yelled Sergeant Schneider, pointing upward as he saw another flight of four Anlons diving toward their position.

  Lieutenant Barkley nodded as he kept the trigger on his weapon depressed. He was firing round after round into the advancing drones seeing they were having little effect. The bullets weren’t penetrating! With dawning realization he realized the drones they’d fought before were of an older model; these must be newer and better armored.

  “Switch to explosive rounds!” he yelled, seeing his Marines were in danger of being overrun. At the same time, the bombers made their first pass, dropping munitions on the charging drones. The bombs detonated, blasting huge smoking craters in the ground and throwing dirt and debris over the Marines. With satisfaction, Barkley saw nearly half the drones had been taken out. “Continue to fire!”

  Most of the Marines had switched to explosive rounds and now began to take the drones down. First one and then another collapsed as they were blown apart or lost too many appendages to allow them to continue to charge the Marines. The bombers returned but couldn’t drop more bombs as the drones were too close to the Marines’ position.

  Barkley backed up as a drone reached the concrete wall he was standing behind and began to crawl over. He fired an explosive round into the drone’s carapace, blasting a gaping hole into it. The drone collapsed and tumbled off the wall, no longer moving. On his right, he heard a Marine let out a piercing scream. Turning, he saw a drone grab a Marine between two of its pinchers and promptly tear him apart. Several Marines charged the drone, firing explosive rounds into it and blowing it apart.

  The laser cycled again and blew a drone off the wall it had scaled. Barkley could feel the heat from the beams and stepped back even farther. His Marines were being forced back from the concrete firing walls and slowly retreating toward the laser tower. As they fell back, they fired a hail of explosive rounds into the advancing drones. Another Marine screamed as his leg was torn off, but he was spared a gruesome death when Sergeant Schneider ran up and placed his rifle up against the drone’s carapace, pressing down on the trigger until his rounds penetrated and damaged the control circuits inside. The drone flopped down to the ground and stopped moving. Then the fighting died away.

  “That’s the last of them,” Sergeant Schneider called out as he scanned the battlefield around them.

  “Let’s get back to the firing walls and make sure no more come through the tree line,” ordered Barkley as he took a deep breath.

  Between the two squads he’d lost two Marines with another three injured. Medics were already treating the wounded. In the distance, he could hear rifle fire and explosions from others under attack. He could also see large numbers of Anlons in the air dropping munitions. He just hoped none of the Conqueror Drones had made it into the cities.

  -

  General McGown was in the underground Command Center monitoring the battle against the Conqueror Drones. There had been more drones in the drop pods than he’d imagined possible. They must’ve been stacked on top of one another inside.

  “What’s the status around New Eden?” McGown asked as he gazed at the numerous viewscreens.

  On one a ruined laser turret tower lay on the ground with Marines engaged in hand to hand combat against a dozen Conqueror Drones. He grimaced as the last Marine was torn in two, then the screen seemed to shudder and the area around the downed tower erupted in violent explosions.

  “Anlon bomber strike,” Colonel Jarrins reported. “We couldn’t hit them while they were engaged with our Marines. The other towers held and our Marine squads are reporting the destruction of all Conqueror Drones in their respective areas. Around Clements the fighting was much lighter, and most of the drones were eliminated by Anlon strikes.”

  “Any word on casualties?” McGown knew from watching the viewscreens that a number of his Marines had lost their lives in the brief battle.

  “Not yet,” Jarrins replied. “These Conqueror Drones moved much faster than we expected. They managed to overrun a few of our positions before the Anlons could react.”

  General McGown let out a deep sigh. It had been difficult to watch the screens and see his Marines being torn apart by the drones. “We’ll adjust our future strategy to take into account this increased speed of theirs.”

  “The armor on these drones seems different than the one the Distant Horizon has in its lab,” Jarrins continued with a frown on his face. “Our armor piercing rounds had little effect unless fired at nearly pointblank range. Most of our Marines had to resort to explosive rounds to stop the drones.”

  McGown watched the screen as Marines began to move out across the battlefield, making sure the Conqueror Drones were all inactive. Occasionally a Marine would fire several rounds from pointblank range at a drone and then continue on.

  “I want those drop pods located and secured,” he ordered. “I need to know how many of those damn drones one of them contains. I also want to know why we were having such a hard time shooting them down. None of them should have made it to the surface of Gaia.”

  “Yes, General,” Colonel Jarrins replied. “I’ll have teams on the way to the drop pods momentarily.”

  General McGown stared at the viewscreens for another few moments. The city streets were empty with all the civilians safely in the underground shelters. The only movement were Marine squads patrolling the streets.

  “I want the surrounding area between the pods and the two cities searched. I want to make sure we’ve destroyed every one of those damn things.”

  Colonel Jarrins nodded. “I’ll contact the commanders of all three bases and have them send out Marines to start a thorough sweep.”

  McGown turned away, knowing for today the battle had been won. His biggest concern was what would happen next. If today was any indication, the next wave of Conqueror Drones would be much larger, particularly if the defense grid had suffered major damage.

  -

  Fourth Fleet and the Alton fleet jumped back into orbit around Gaia. Several ships were sent immediately to the Clan Protector for damage repair and the four fleet repair ships were ordered out to work on the other damaged ships.

  “What did we lose?” Jeremy asked as he leaned back in his command chair. They’d won this first round but how many others were waiting in their future?

  “It’s not as bad as it could have been,” Commander Malen said as she looked at the latest data on the ships lost as well as the damage the fleet sustained. “We lost the battleship Canus, battlecruiser Cheyenne, strikecruiser Alpine, and two light cruisers. The Altons lost the battlecruisers SwiftStar and StarReach. We also have about a dozen ships which will need major yard time to bring them back up to full combat readiness.”

  “What about our forces here at Gaia?”

  “They were hit pretty hard,” Commander Malen replied. “The AIs lost six of their ships and Rear Admiral Marks lost two Monarch cruisers and three light cruisers. She also lost forty-two percent of her Anlon bombers and t
welve percent of her fighters. From the defense grid we lost six of the Type Two battlestations and twenty-four percent of the particle beam satellites.”

  Jeremy winced at hearing those numbers. “What about Grayseth and the Clan Protector?”

  “For some reason the Simulins avoided that area,” Malen answered.

  “They might have detected the ion cannons the shipyard has,” suggested Ariel from Jeremy’s side. “Or they could have been saving the shipyard for the mopping up process if they won the battle.”

  “What now, Jeremy?” asked Kevin, getting up from his sensor console and coming to stand by his friend. “The Simulins will be back, and they know what our defenses are like now.”

  Jeremy looked over at Angela and saw she had the same questioning look upon her face. He let out a deep sigh. “We repair our damage and get ready for the next attack. We’ll redistribute the remaining particle beam satellites and adjust the orbits of the battlestations to fill in the gaps. I want Fourth Fleet and the Alton fleet to move down into the grid and we’ll add our firepower to it when the Simulins return.”

  “What about the project Andram and the others are working on?” asked Kevin. “I don’t think the Simulins will return until they feel confident they can take us.”

  “Should we consider evacuating?” asked Commander Malen.

  The Command Center became very quiet as the crew waited to hear Jeremy’s answer.

  “No,” Jeremy replied firmly. “It’ll take the Simulins several days at least or maybe longer before they can launch another attack. I’m going over to the Distant Horizon and see how close Andram is to completing his research.” Jeremy paused for a moment and then added, “Angela, Kevin; I want you to come with me.”

  The crew didn’t seem surprised at their admiral taking Kevin and Angela along. After all, they were part of the Special Five.