The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four)

by Weil, Raymond L.

  -

  Later, up in orbit, War Leader Bisth entered the War Room of his dreadnought the WarCry. The 1,200-meter ship was ready for war, and he hoped that was what was in their future. He had come to this posting to gather honor and wealth for his family, not to spend his time orbiting this useless planet.

  “Gresth,” spoke Bisth, going over to his First Leader. “We may be seeing combat soon, and I want all ships of the fleet made ready. See that the latest equipment and weapons are installed, particularly the new shield update. We may soon face a very powerful enemy, and I want this fleet to bring honor home in victory.”

  “It will be done, War Leader,” Gresth replied with a slight bow of his head. “I will have the engineers going over every component of the fleet. If it comes to battle, we will be ready. Honor has been long in coming.”

  Bisth nodded and went over to stand on the command pedestal. He looked up at the sensors that showed his fleet in orbit as well as the other three attack fleets. His flagship, the dreadnought WarCry, was a new ship built in the past year. In support, he had one other dreadnought, six war cruisers, and sixteen escort cruisers. Each of the other three fleets was made up similarly. It was a very powerful force that had been gathered a force capable of crushing any enemy.

  -

  Fleet Admiral Johnson was in a destroyer that was taking her to Ceres. The area around Ceres was surrounded with defensive satellites as well as numerous weapon emplacements imbedded on small asteroids. There were only a few safe zones a ship could travel to reach the massive home of the Federation survivors.

  “Ceres is asking for our ship ID code,” reported Commander Grayson, glancing over at Fleet Admiral Johnson. He felt nervous at having the Fleet Admiral aboard the Sydney. He had seen her before from a distance but had never actually spoken to the admiral.

  “That’s routine for Ceres since we have gone to a heightened state of alert,” Admiral Johnson assured him with a slight smile. “At the moment, I imagine we have over one hundred weapons focused on us.”

  Captain Grayson turned pale, realizing how quickly his small destroyer could be destroyed. The Sydney had made numerous runs to Ceres before, but he had never known just how many weapons had been focused on his ship.

  “Don’t worry, Commander,” replied Admiral Johnson, allowing a larger smile to show on her face. “They focus weapons on everyone.”

  “I guess I would be slightly paranoid too if all of my home worlds had been destroyed,” Grayson spoke with a nod of his head.

  “The Federation survivors have lived and worked for one thing only for the past four hundred years, and that’s to defeat the Hocklyns and save the human race. That’s taught in their schools and in their daily life,” explained Admiral Johnson.

  On the main viewscreen, the 950-kilometer asteroid was rapidly growing larger. Ceres was a dwarf planet with a human population of two million. The Federation survivors had carved out massive habitats inside the asteroid where Earth normal environments had been established. Some of these habitats were tens of kilometers in length and held large cities.

  “I have four fighters closing on our position,” the sensor operator reported. “They will be in range in forty seconds.”

  “Our welcoming committee,” explained Admiral Johnson pleased with the rapid response of the fighters. “They will escort us in.”

  Commander Grayson nodded. This would be the first time his ship had been escorted in to Ceres. The Federation survivors were definitely taking this increased alert seriously.

  Karla knew that there were over two thousand fighters based on Ceres as well as twelve hundred bombers. That didn’t include the numerous warships that were being kept inside its massive ship bays. She also knew there were six light cruisers in orbit that could engage any enemy ship that got past the defenses. Karla doubted that anything could get past those massed weapon systems in one piece. Ceres itself was covered with numerous laser and power beam sites as well as hundreds of missile launching platforms.

  “We’re being instructed to land in ship bay seventeen,” the communications officer reported with surprise on her face. Normally when they came to Ceres, they used shuttles to ferry supplies or people down to the asteroid.

  “This is different,” Commander Grayson murmured, looking over at Admiral Johnson. “We’ve never docked inside Ceres before.”

  “Just have your helm officer follow the beacon,” Admiral Johnson suggested. “It will take you straight to a berthing dock. I think you will find this quite interesting.”

  As they neared Ceres, a large hatch slid open and blinking lights surrounding it came on. The helm officer turned control of the ship over to the navigation computer, which was now being controlled by Ceres Docking Control. The ship slowed down, entered the cavernous open hatch, and then proceeded down a long, brightly lit tunnel. Behind them, the hatch door slid shut, sealing them in. After a few minutes, they approached another hatch, which slid open and allowed the ship into the cavernous docking bay.

  Commander Grayson’s eyes grew wide as he looked at what was in the bay. There were two Conqueror class battle cruisers lying side by side in two massive berthing docks looking as if they had just rolled off the construction line. Next to the 1,200-meter battle cruisers, the 400-meter Sydney looked like a minnow.

  “How many ships do they have in these docking bays?” asked Commander Grayson, looking with high interest at the main viewscreen and the large warships.

  “That’s classified,” Admiral Johnson commented. “Even I am unsure of the exact total, and I’m the Fleet Admiral. I do know that they have forty- seven of these large docking bays inside Ceres.”

  The Sydney was maneuvered over to a small docking berth and settled down. Commander Grayson felt uneasy as this was the first time his ship had ever been out of space. Destroyers were built to be able to land on the surface of a planet, but he had never done so.

  “There is a normal atmosphere out there as well as gravity,” the sensor operator reported.

  “Ceres Control says we can disembark at any time,” the communications officer added.

  “If you would like, Commander,” spoke Karla, glancing over at Grayson, “I would be glad to arrange for you and your crew to be taken on a tour of the asteroid. I think you will find it highly enlightening.”

  “I would appreciate that, Admiral,” Grayson replied with an excited nod.

  He had never been inside Ceres before, and he thought it would be a great morale booster if he and his crew could take a tour, particularly of the habitats deep inside. He had been told that they were a remarkable sight and an incredible feat of engineering.

  A few minutes later, Admiral Johnson walked down the long ramp that connected the Sydney to the floor of the bay where a group of Fleet officers were waiting.

  “Fleet Admiral,” Admiral Teleck spoke in greeting. “I am glad that you could come to Ceres for the awakening.” Admiral Teleck was the highest-ranking fleet officer on Ceres and in command of the Ceres Fleet.

  “Has it begun yet?” Karla asked with keen interest.

  She wanted to be present when Admiral Streth woke up from his long sleep. He was a legend among the Federation survivors, and that legend had been passed on to the humans of Earth as they had expanded to the stars. This was a day that had long been looked forward to.

  “Yes, Admiral Streth should be awake in the morning,” Admiral Teleck responded, his voice expressing the excitement he felt at getting to speak and meet the legendary admiral. “Doctor Reynolds is supervising his awakening and several others personally. She doesn’t expect there to be any problems.”

  “How soon before we can expect Admiral Streth to be able to perform his duties? Will there be any after affects from the long cryosleep?”

  “Doctor Reynolds does not expect any,” Admiral Teleck responded. “She thinks it will take one to two weeks before the sleepers are up and around. Within four weeks, they should be physically sound enough to return to active duty with
some constraints.”

  “That’s good to hear,” responded Admiral Johnson, feeling relieved. “Is there somewhere we can talk? I have made a decision about Admiral Streth and what I would like him to do in the war. Since he is so close to the Federation survivors, I feel it’s only right that you know the mission I have chosen for him.”

  “May I call in my staff?” asked Admiral Teleck, feeling curious about this mission.

  He knew that the Federation survivors would be furious if Admiral Johnson had chosen a mission that was too dangerous; the life of Admiral Streth had to be protected. Many felt he was the best hope of defeating the Hocklyns. He had done it before, and many felt he could do it again.

  “Yes, that would be fine,” replied Admiral Johnson with a nod. “Also, would you mind arranging for the crew of the Sydney to be taken on a tour of Ceres? Most of them have never been here before.”

  “No problem,” grinned Admiral Teleck. He always enjoyed being able to show off to the rest of the Federation what they had built inside the massive asteroid. “I will make arrangements for them to have accommodations at one of the resorts in the Aquarius habitat.”

  “That would be great,” responded Admiral Johnson pleased with Teleck’s response. Each one of the habitats inside of Ceres was named after one of the former Federation worlds the Hocklyns had destroyed. “We will be staying here for a number of days. There is a lot of planning that needs to be done.”

  -

  A few hours later, they were deep inside Ceres in a secure conference room. Admiral Teleck had sent for his entire staff as well as the head of the civilian government. Governor Malleck was the current elected government leader of Ceres and a very astute politician.

  Once everyone was seated and introduced, Admiral Johnson began going over her plan for a first strike against the Hocklyns. To say Admiral Teleck and his staff were surprised would be putting it mildly. When Karla was finished, she looked around at the group waiting for their response. She knew if she could not get the backing of the Federation survivors, the plan would have no chance of succeeding.

  “That’s a bold plan,” commented Admiral Teleck, leaning back and drumming his right index finger on the conference table. He took a deep breath as he looked around the room at his staff and Governor Malleck. “It’s one we have never discussed, taking the fight to the Hocklyns at this stage. I have always thought the plan was to lure them into attacking New Tellus and allowing the asteroid fortresses to annihilate their fleet.”

  “We still may,” responded Karla, nodding her head. “It’s just that they’re so far ahead of their timeline, and we still have a lot to do in the Federation before we are ready to engage them here. This will set the Hocklyns back and put them on the defensive if it succeeds, at least for a while. It will give us the time we need to put the Federation on a war footing and finish our defenses. Later, when they mount a major attack, we can use New Tellus to cut them down to size.”

  “You say you will be turning over to Admiral Streth the entire Ready Reserve Fleet?” asked Admiral Kalen, looking curiously at a computer pad in front of him. “Just how many ships are we talking about?” Admiral Kalen was responsible for the upkeep of the fleet units based inside of Ceres.

  “The life of Admiral Streth is very important to us,” Governor Malleck added in a grave tone of voice. He looked directly at the Fleet Admiral and continued. “Admiral Streth may well be the best admiral we have for this type of daring operation, but we must be sure he has the assets to ensure its success. We won’t risk his life needlessly.”

  Admiral Johnson nodded, activating her own computer pad and calling up the numbers of the Ready Reserve. She had updated this prior to leaving New Tellus Station. “It will be a massive fleet,” replied Karla, allowing her eyes to look across the group. “This will be a general attack over a large area of space in an effort to drive the Hocklyns back hundreds of light years. We may even free a number of slave worlds they have conquered.”

  “Hundreds of light years?” Kalen spoke in surprise, his eyes growing very wide at the thought. To the best of his knowledge, no one had ever attacked the Hocklyn Empire like this before.

  “That’s all well and good, but the Hocklyns have a massive fleet as well,” Colonel Grissim pointed out. She was in charge of Ceres’s military intelligence division. “Even at the best estimates, we may still be outnumbered by a hundred or a thousand to one if they ever call in all of their forces, and that does not include the AIs.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment as they thought about the mysterious AIs that controlled the galaxy-spanning Slave Empire. They were still the wild card in all of their planning as no one knew exactly what type of weapons the AIs could bring to bear or the number of ships they had at their disposal.

  “We will deal with the AIs when we encounter them,” Karla replied in a firm voice. “We believe our new power beams and the new Devastator Three missiles may be able to take them out; we won’t know until we have a chance to engage them. Our new strike cruisers have been designed just for that purpose.”

  “As you said, we will deal with the AIs when they make an appearance,” Admiral Kalen said in agreement, focusing his attention on the Fleet Admiral. “Let’s just hope that’s not too soon. Now, how large is the Ready Reserve Fleet you’re turning over to Admiral Streth?”

  Karla pressed an icon on her computer pad and the numbers came up. “There are twenty-four Conqueror class battle cruisers, twenty-four Galaxy class battle carriers, forty-eight Monarch heavy cruisers, one hundred and twenty light cruisers, and one hundred and forty destroyers.”

  “That’s a sizable fleet,” Governor Malleck commented. Then his eyes narrowed. “But most of those ships are close to twenty years old! I don’t know if I feel comfortable putting Admiral Streth in a Conqueror class battle cruiser with paint peeling off its hull.”

  “I agree,” said Colonel Grissim, shaking her head disapprovingly. “I realize that a ten to twenty year old battle cruiser is a still powerful ship, but I would like Admiral Streth’s flagship to be one of our newer models.”

  “We would be willing to provide a suitable flagship,” Admiral Telleck volunteered. He thought that one of the newer Conqueror class battle cruisers would be more suitable; they had several that had been completed in the massive construction bays of Ceres in just the past year.

  Admiral Johnson allowed a fleeting smile to cross her face. “I never said we weren’t sending any new ships. Admiral Streth’s flagship will be the new Vanquisher class battleship that is currently under construction at New Tellus Station. We will also be sending two new Conqueror class battle cruisers, two new Galaxy class battle carriers, four of the new Monarch heavy cruisers and eight of our new strike cruisers as support ships for the StarStrike.”

  “The StarStrike!” Admiral Teleck spoke in a stunned voice, his eyes widening at hearing the name of the ship.

  “Yes, the StarStrike,” repeated Karla, grinning. Then, with an even larger smile, “What other name could we choose for Admiral Streth’s flagship?”

  -

  Admiral Streth opened his eyes and, for a moment, everything looked white, then his eyes began to focus and he started seeing colors. “Be patient, Admiral,” a woman’s gentle voice spoke close to his head. “Your eyesight should return shortly.”

  Gradually the room came into focus, and Hedon began to make out objects around him. “How long?” he managed to croak out, realizing that his throat felt parched. “Water.”

  “Here, drink this,” the woman doctor next to him said, handing him a glass.

  He reached up and had trouble holding it, so she helped him as he took a couple of swallows. Then, laying his head back down on the pillow, he looked at the doctor inquiringly.

  “I am Doctor Evelyn Reynolds, and I am in charge of the cryosleep units here on Ceres.”

  “Why have I been awakened?” asked Hedon surprised at how weak he felt. Comparing this to the last time he had been awoken he realized t
hat a very long time must have passed.

  Doctor Reynolds looked at Admiral Streth and then replied in a calm and extremely respectful voice. “It’s been nearly two hundred and seventy years since your last awakening, and it is time to fight the Hocklyns.”

  -

  Admiral Streth gazed curiously at this new admiral who wore the rank of Fleet Admiral. Hedon wondered briefly how that was going to work as he also wore the same rank.

  They were seated in a small conference room. Hedon had insisted the meeting be held somewhere else besides his hospital room. He also felt better being dressed in his fleet uniform; it made everything seem more familiar and easier to accept.

  Two orderlies had helped him walk to the meeting room, which was inside the hospital. He still was aggravated at how weak he felt. He didn’t like feeling helpless and having to depend so much on others to do simple tasks. He had even needed help just to put his uniform on! Doctor Reynolds had assured him that he would recover rapidly and had proceeded to describe the physical therapy he would be undergoing for the next few weeks.

  “Hello, Fleet Admiral,” began Karla, feeling awe at whom she was speaking to. “I am Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson, of Earth.”

  “Johnson,” repeated Hedon, feeling curious and looking thoughtful as a memory tugged at the back of his mind. “Any relation to Greg Johnson of the New Beginning’s mission?”

  “Yes, Sir,” replied Karla pleased that the admiral remembered Greg. “He was one of my ancestors.”

  “A good man,” responded Hedon, recalling Greg and the time he had spent with him and his friend, Jason Strong.

  They had traveled to New Tellus together. It was sad to realize they both had died long ago. So many friends and associates had decided not to go into cryosleep but had stayed awake instead to help build Ceres. This included his brother and his brother’s wife Lendle. Hedon let out a long sigh, knowing that an important part of his life had been left forever in the past.

  “Doctor Reynolds says it’s time to fight the Hocklyns,” Hedon finally spoke, his eyes looking over at the Fleet Admiral. “I assume you have a mission for me and that is why I have been awakened? Are any of the others being brought out of cryosleep?”