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

by Weil, Raymond L.

  A few minutes later, Jeremy was in the copilot’s seat watching as Kelsey maneuvered the shuttle out of the WarHawk’s flight bay and back toward the Avenger. He had just been handed a boatload of responsibility. He hoped he was ready for it and that he didn’t disappoint his friends, particularly Kelsey.

  Chapter Seven

  Commodore Resmunt frowned at the latest report he had just received. He was uncertain just what the latest message from the High Council meant. It was demanding to know how many worlds these new humans controlled and how soon they could be brought into the empire. Strangely, there was no mention of the AIs. Resmunt wondered if the High Council had neglected to mention to their masters that more humans had been found. If so, what did that mean for him? He let out a long, frustrated breath. It was very difficult dealing with the High Council.

  War Leader Bisth was currently in Resmunt’s office. They had been discussing the humans and what needed to be done when his aide had brought in the message.

  “There can’t be more than one or two human worlds,” spoke Bisth forcefully, his cold, dark eyes focusing on the Fleet Commodore. “From the design of their ships, it is obvious that these are refugees from the Human Federation of Worlds that we destroyed over four centuries ago. Even if a few thousand escaped, they couldn’t have increased in sufficient numbers to be a viable threat to the empire.”

  “They destroyed Sangeth’s fleet easily enough,” Resmunt reminded Bisth coldly, his large dark eyes focusing on the War Leader. “I have done much research into these humans. They were a very formidable enemy when we first encountered them, and our ship losses were staggering in the final few battles. We lost numerous dreadnoughts, more dreadnoughts against the humans than any alien race we’ve ever fought before. Don’t underestimate them, Bisth!”

  “Their weapons and shields are superior,” admitted Bisth, gazing at Resmunt. “We were fortunate that our own ships had recently updated shields. However, we will have superior numbers in all future battles. Even their advanced technology will not be able to stand up to the number of ships we can bring to bear against them.”

  Resmunt walked over to the large window, looked out at the bustling spaceport below, and watched as several large shuttles took off, probably taking supplies to the orbiting warships above.

  “I have studied the last battle in the human’s home system,” he spoke in his deep, rasping voice. “From the sensor scans, it looked as if the humans were trying to protect two very large civilian ships from being destroyed. I would guess those ships were some type of colony ships. In his later reports, War Leader Sigeth claimed that all human ships had been hunted down and destroyed. I am beginning to doubt the veracity of his claims.”

  “You think he fabricated those reports and filled them with falsehoods?” spoke Bisth in disbelief.

  Surely, no Hocklyn would do such a thing! No Hocklyn would lie; it was against their honor system and everything they believed in. If a Hocklyn was caught in a lie, he could lose everything.

  “Yes,” Resmunt replied softly, turning and walking back to gaze at the large map of this section of the galaxy on his wall. “I believe those two colony ships escaped, as well as a number of warships. In order to preserve his honor, War Leader Sigeth fabricated the reports which told of their later destruction.”

  “Then more than several thousand humans could have escaped,” hissed Bisth in anger. He couldn’t imagine the audacity of a War Leader doing such a thing.

  “Even if a hundred thousand of them escaped, that’s still not enough to be a threat,” Resmunt responded as his eyes focused on the star map and a system that was circled in red. “They may control one or two worlds at the most, and perhaps a few mining colonies like the one that Sangeth attacked. They will not have the numbers to seriously oppose us.”

  “What about the fleet that destroyed Sangeth’s forces? It was a powerful one,” Bisth pointed out.

  He wondered if there was any way possible to further strengthen the energy shields of their ships. Losses were expected in combat, but losses due to the weakness of some Hocklyn weapon systems were aggravating, particularly since the AIs banned advanced weapon’s research. Bisth had been surprised when the AIs had given them the new advanced shields and ordered them installed in all Hocklyn warships.

  Bisth was anxious for combat. These humans could be a source of honor for himself and other Hocklyns. If they could destroy the human’s warships, find their new home world, and bring it into the empire, honor would be forthcoming.

  “I have studied this carefully,” Resmunt spoke in a decisive voice. “We must subjugate these humans before our AI masters become involved. They ordered the destruction of the first human worlds and even participated in the battles; two of their warships were sent to destroy the human fleets that defended their systems. It was only after the AI ships left that the humans were able to launch a successful counterattack and escape with those two colony ships.”

  “We must strike quickly, then,” Bisth replied, his dark eyes widening at the thought of how much honor could be awarded for defeating the humans.

  “I agree,” responded Resmunt, nodding his head. “I am giving you four fleets with which to conquer this system. I am also sending several vessels full of our Protectors to land upon their mining world. We must find out where their home world is. If not, we will be forced to survey the entire sector around that mining planet. We may not have time to do that before the AIs intervene.”

  “Four fleets should be sufficient,” responded Bisth pleased at being given the command. “Victory will be ours!” With four fleets, he would have sufficient firepower to easily overwhelm the human’s advanced technology.

  “You have two weeks to prepare, then we launch our strike,” ordered Resmunt, looking at Bisth with unblinking eyes. “Do not fail, for honor is at risk.”

  Bisth nodded and left the Commodore’s office. He had much to do to prepare if they were to depart in two weeks time. Sangeth’s flagship, the Crimson Oblivion, would have to finish being repaired and his fleet brought back up to full strength. He would also have to coordinate with the other three War Leaders on their method of attack.

  Commodore Resmunt returned to the large window to gaze out over the spaceport. He had already put in a request for more ships. He had one fleet stationed at each of his new bases as well as three fleets above in orbit. Ships from the other bases would be used to reinforce Sangeth’s losses. He’d also requested six additional full fleets to be used against the humans once their home world was discovered. He would not make the same mistake that Sigeth had in underestimating these humans.

  -

  Farther in toward the center of the galaxy a special meeting was being held on the Hocklyn home world of Calzen. All ten High Councilors were present, and there was much concern being expressed in the meeting.

  “We must tell the AIs about the humans,” argued Councilor Ruthan, vehemently. “To not do so is to invite disaster!”

  “These humans will be few in numbers and not a serious threat to our empire,” countered Councilor Nartel in a loud and argumentative voice. “They will have one or two worlds at the most to draw resources from. Their fleet, while it does possess powerful weapons, will not be large. It will be good to add their worlds to our empire.”

  Others voiced their feelings as the meeting dragged on. Finally, the High Leader of the Hocklyn High Council called for order. “We are obviously in disagreement as to how these new human worlds should be dealt with. Fleet Commodore Resmunt is even now preparing a powerful fleet strike against this recently discovered mining world. I propose we allow this strike to go forward; it will give us the information we need about the actual number of worlds these humans control as well as the size of their fleet. I fully expect that Fleet Commodore Resmunt can conquer these human worlds with his current forces.”

  “Then we are not going to notify the AIs?” Ruthan asked, his dark eyes showing deep concern. “If they find out, it could be extremely da
ngerous for us.”

  “The humans are not yet a threat,” High Leader Ankler insisted, his large eyes focusing on Ruthan. “We do not as of yet know their actual strength. If they are more powerful than Resmunt believes, then we will notify the AIs, not before.”

  “What about these reinforcements he is asking for?” Ruthan demanded. “There must be a reason why he is asking for six additional fleets!”

  “We will send him two,” the High Leader replied. “Two fleets should be sufficient to replenish his losses in the coming battle. Once the human worlds are conquered, they can be used to garrison the human system and pacify the populace. They should make excellent slaves for our empire. Once that is done, we will notify the AIs. I believe they will be quite pleased with us in bringing these new human worlds into our domain.”

  Ruthan looked at High Leader Ankler with doubt in his large, dark eyes. This was a dangerous path the High Leader was embarking on. The AIs had considered the humans a dangerous threat in the past; there was no reason to think that opinion had changed. Looking around at the other council members, it was obvious they all supported the High Leader’s decision.

  “Very well,” rasped Ruthan, finally. “We will conquer the human worlds first and then notify the AIs. But the sooner this is over with, the better.”

  A short time later, High Leader Ankler was standing on a balcony high up on the massive building that contained the High Council chambers. It was night outside, but darkness on Calzen was hard to find. Looking upward, he could see dozens of artificial habitats and a number of shipyards in orbit. From them, enough reflected sunlight shined down to change darkness into perpetual twilight.

  There were ten star systems in the Hocklyn home systems. Every habitable world was packed with Hocklyns; there was very little green space remaining anywhere upon their worlds. Even the atmosphere on the inhabited planets was recycled through massive air machines that were located in every city. On the other planets and moons in each of the ten systems, massive domes covered even more cities packed with Hocklyns. Hundreds of ships arrived daily, bringing raw and fabricated materials that were used to construct even more habitats. All their food was brought in from the numerous slave worlds. Even the open space between the planets was now being used to place new space habitats.

  Over two trillion Hocklyns were packed inside the ten star systems that the AIs allowed them to inhabit. Already, stringent population controls were being enacted. Ankler knew that the population situation was reaching the boiling point, and another meeting had been set up with the AIs to ask for additional worlds to colonize. Eight nearby star systems had been chosen. If the AIs turned them down again, Ankler was not sure how the civilian population would react.

  Several of the other High Councilors had proposed that the military be used to reduce the civilian population to a more manageable level. This would be a drastic measure and would surely lead to a massive loss of honor for all involved. If the AIs refused them the right to colonize the new systems, they might have no other choice other than to eliminate their lower class citizens. The citizens with the lowest amount of honor would be chosen to die for the good of the empire.

  Ankler became lost in thought; he was concerned about these new humans. What he had managed to conceal thus far was that the Hocklyn responsible for allowing these humans to escape, War Leader Sigeth, was one of his own ancestors. If the truth came out before the human worlds were conquered, he could lose his position as well as his honor. The human worlds must be brought into the empire before the AIs learned of them.

  -

  Jeremy looked carefully at the tactical display above the plotting table. “I want our ships ready for a quick strike,” he informed Colonel Malen. On the tactical display, the seventeen ships of his new task force were displayed, including the Avenger, which sat at the center.

  For days, the ships had been doing simple battle drills as the ship commanders became accustomed to one another.

  “When we come out of hyperspace, I want our ships in combat formation and ready to fire their weapons.”

  “It takes a few seconds for our systems to come up after a jump,” Colonel Malen reminded Jeremy. “To be at 100 percent battle readiness will take six to ten seconds.”

  “Seven point two seconds to be exact,” Ariel chimed in. “However, I may have a way to reduce that time to three point six seconds if that will help. I assume the primary systems needed after the exit from hyperspace would be weapons, targeting sensors, and shields?”

  “Yes,” replied Jeremy, looking over at the main viewscreen where Ariel was watching them. Her dark eyes and black shoulder length hair were the same as Jeremy remembered them. He often wondered why she never changed her appearance.

  “We can set a priority as to which systems are powered up first after a jump. Life support, communications, some sensors, and other systems could be put on hold until the shields, targeting systems, and weapons are fully online.”

  “You say we could do this on all of our ships in three point two seconds?” Jeremy demanded as he thought of the tactical possibilities.

  “It should be simple enough,” Ariel replied with a slight nod of her head. “I would need Lieutenant Johnson to help write a new computer program, but it shouldn’t be that difficult.” What Ariel wasn’t mentioning was that it would be extremely difficult for anyone else but Katie.

  “Do it,” Jeremy ordered. “I want every possible advantage when we engage the Hocklyns.”

  -

  Later, Jeremy, Colonel Malen, Lieutenant Charles Preston the tactical officer, Katie, and Kelsey were all in Jeremy’s office discussing the current situation.

  Jeremy leaned back in the large cushioned chair behind his desk and looked over at the far wall. On it was a painting of the lost ship New Horizon, Earth’s first interstellar ship as she left the spacedock above the Moon. It held many painful memories for Jeremy. It was a stark reminder for Jeremy never to take anything for granted.

  The majority of the crew of the New Horizon had died when Lieutenant Nelson had set off the ship’s self-destruct to keep the Hocklyns from capturing the ship. Jeremy and his four friends had been the only survivors. Rear Admiral Sheen, in command of the WarStorm, had rescued them from certain death. In Jeremy’s mind, it seemed as if it had happened only yesterday.

  “I just received word from Admiral Johnson that we are to proceed to

  Gliese 667C to aid in its defense,” Jeremy informed them, looking across his desk at the others. “Once we arrive, we will begin battle drills involving short micro-jumps to engage the enemy.”

  “Short micro-jumps,” Kelsey uttered with a frown. “Those are very hard and complicated to calculate.” She had a feeling that Jeremy was about to give her a headache.

  “I know; have Ariel help you if necessary,” Jeremy replied, his eyes meeting Kelsey’s. “I also want to tighten up the fleet formation when we exit hyperspace. That means that all ships have to enter the spatial vortex at the exact same speed and angle.”

  “That will be difficult,” responded Colonel Malen, shaking her head doubtfully. “With seventeen ships in our task force, there is bound to be some dispersion when the ships exit hyperspace.”

  “Not if we let Ariel control the jumps,” suggested Lieutenant Johnson as an idea suddenly occurred to her. “If we give Ariel full control of our helm systems just prior to entering the vortexes, she can ensure that all ships are aligned properly and their speeds are dead on. I would have to write a new program for the helm control, but I could to it with Ariel’s help.”

  “Is that possible, Ariel?” asked Jeremy, knowing the AI was watching.

  “Yes, Admiral,” Ariel responded. It was very seldom that Jeremy blocked her from viewing anything within the ship. “With the proper program the ships could be made to exit hyperspace in battle formation. Keep in mind though, that due to the math behind hyperspace travel, a ship can’t exit too close to any object of appreciable mass. There would still be a minimum s
afe distance between ships we would have to maintain.”

  They continued to talk for another half hour, laying out tactics and discussing what needed to be done to make the task force ready for battle with the Hocklyns. When the meeting was over, Kelsey and Katie stayed behind.

  “We’ll be fighting the Hocklyns soon,” Katie commented as she walked over and gazed at the painting of the New Horizon. It was hard to believe that all those events were over two hundred years in the past. She put out her hand and gently touched the painting.

  Kelsey came to stand next to her and put her hand over Katie’s. Her father, mother, and so many others were lost to the far distant past as a result of their cryosleep. Sometimes they all felt extremely lonely.

  “It’s what we wanted,” she reminded Katie.

  “I know,” answered Katie with a weak smile. “I guess I’m just nervous about going into actual combat with the Hocklyns.”

  “We all are,” commented Jeremy, standing up and walking over to the other two. “But I firmly believe that if we work hard enough, we will all come through this okay. That’s why I want to perfect these new tactics.”

  The two women nodded, and they all went back and sat down. For the next hour, they talked about the old days back at the academy and how things had changed over the intervening years. So much had been left behind, but there was also so much more ahead of them.

  -

  Admiral Streth was on the surface of New Tellus eating a relaxing meal. Sitting across the table from him was Rear Admiral Sheen, to his left was Admiral Adler, and to his right was Rear Admiral Bennett.

  They were in a small restaurant with a relaxing atmosphere, and the food was excellent. Admiral Streth took another bite of the medium well steak he was eating and closed his eyes as memories overtook him. It reminded him so much of the meals that Lendle used to cook back on Maken at the small cabin by the lake. Opening his eyes, he wondered if the cabin was still there and if he would ever be able to return to the Federation worlds. They were currently listening to Amanda describe her brief visit back to Aquaria.