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

by Weil, Raymond L.

  “No, we’re not,” admitted General Abercrombie in a grave tone, his dark eyes gazing at Captain Krandle. “We can take out some of them, but not all.”

  In space, Hocklyn missiles began to explode as laser beams from the defensive satellites locked on and took them out. But the lasers had to stay focused for several long seconds on a target to destroy it. The lasers managed to take out one hundred and forty of the Hocklyn missiles in the first wave, but the other sixty took out forty of the defensive satellites.

  Unfortunately, the defending human ships beneath the satellites were too far out of range to intercept the incoming missiles. Their job was to destroy any missiles that might get past the satellites and strike the planet. Seeing the danger, the commander of the defending task force immediately ordered his ships to move closer to the satellites so he could add his defensive fire to theirs. But it was already too late as the next wave of missiles arrived and forty-eight more satellites ceased to be.

  -

  Jeremy was feeling elated as another Hocklyn escort cruiser fell to the Avenger’s weapons. The viewscreens were full of damaged and exploding ships, most of them Hocklyn. The rest of Admiral Tolsen’s fleet was nearly in weapons range. They would quickly annihilate the rest of this Hocklyn fleet and then proceed to engage the Hocklyn fleet attacking the planet. Just as he thought nothing could go wrong, red warning alarms began sounding.

  In shock, Jeremy gazed at the tactical display as more deadly red threat icons suddenly appeared.

  “Forty-eight additional Hocklyn warships have just jumped in,” Lieutenant Walters reported from his sensor console in a grave voice. “I am detecting four more dreadnoughts, twelve war cruisers, and thirty-two escort cruisers.”

  “Get us turned!” Jeremy ordered heatedly as he quickly adjusted to the sudden change in the tactical situation.

  His fleet was the only one that could turn quickly enough to engage this new fleet. Admiral Tolsen would have to deal with the other Hocklyn fleet for now. Looking across the Command Center, he could see a look of fear on a number of faces. He couldn’t blame them since he was feeling the same.

  -

  War Leader Bisth gazed at the sensor screen with deep satisfaction. The human fleets were out of position, and he would be within weapons range within twelve minutes. They couldn’t break off engagement with War Leader Tantil without risking grave damage to their ships, and they had to finish Tantil off before engaging him. As he gazed at the sensor screen, he knew much honor was about to come his way. This would be a great Hocklyn victory!

  Chapter Ten

  Admiral Tolsen stared in dismay at the new group of Hocklyn Warships that had just jumped into the system. He had never expected the Hocklyns to commit so many of their warships to this battle. Even as he watched the tactical display, he saw that Admiral Strong was quickly disengaging and turning his ships to face this new incoming threat.

  “Admiral Strong’s disengaging,” reported Colonel Beck, looking over at Tolsen with deep concern in his eyes. “He won’t last long against that fleet. There are four dreadnoughts and twelve war cruisers bearing down on him.”

  “I know,” replied Tolsen, reaching a quick decision. He took a deep breath. “Communications contact Admiral Adler and tell him to jump here immediately. His target is that new Hocklyn fleet.”

  “Destroyer Olivia is down,” Lieutenant Anders reported as another friendly green icon expanded and then vanished from the sensor screen.

  In space, the small destroyer had blown apart from multiple missile strikes. All that remained was a glowing mass of wreckage.

  “What are we still facing?” demanded Tolsen, starting to feel desperate as he tried to make sense of the tactical situation.

  Colonel Beck glanced at his tactical computer screen before answering. “We still have two Hocklyn dreadnoughts, three war cruisers, and ten escort cruisers engaging us. Our other ships will be within range in another two minutes.”

  “What about our losses?”

  We’ve lost two light cruisers and five destroyers,” Beck answered. “However, both of our Monarchs are reporting heavy damage and are under attack from the remaining three Hocklyn war cruisers. They won’t last much longer, Admiral.”

  Admiral Tolsen felt the WarHawk take another hard jolt, and the lights in the Command Center flickered briefly. On the damage control board, he saw a large number of lights suddenly turn a glaring red. Then the ship seemed to be kicked solidly in the side.

  “A nuke’s made it through our shields!” screamed Beck, grabbing for the edge of the plotting table only to be thrown violently to the floor.

  Several consoles exploded, sending showers of bright sparks across the Command Center. Admiral Tolsen could hear people screaming. The ship shuddered again as more Hocklyn ordnance pounded her hull. The Command Center began to fill with smoke. He knew the WarHawk was taking heavy, if not fatal damage.

  “Shields are down,” Tactical reported frantically as the WarHawk continued to fire every weapon she could bring to bear.

  Tolsen knew that, without shields, his flagship wouldn’t last long. With great sadness, he knew the WarHawk was dying around him.

  The shuddering lessened and seemed to stop. “What’s going on?” he demanded, looking over at Lieutenant Anders. Colonel Beck was getting back up with a wicked looking cut across his cheek bleeding profusely.

  “The Monarch cruiser Caledonia has taken up position in front of us,” Anders responded. “The Hocklyns have shifted their fire to her.”

  “Get our shields back up,” Tolsen ordered with a grim look upon his face. He knew as badly damaged as the Caledonia was she wouldn’t last long under bombardment from a dreadnought.

  “Working on it,” Colonel Beck replied as he talked frantically to Engineering.

  “Get crews working on the damage!” Tolsen ordered the officer at damage control. “Concentrate on the fires and get all the protective bulkheads closed. We’re bleeding too much damn air!”

  “Crews are being dispatched,” the officer reported as he passed on his orders over his mini-com. Then he turned and looked gravely at the admiral. “We have numerous fires that are being reported out of control and many compartments that are in a vacuum, some we can do nothing about. We just don’t have the people.”

  Tolsen nodded his understanding, his face turning grim. He feared that his flagship was mortally wounded. He gazed around the Command Center and noted the worried and frightened looks on the crew.

  “Fight the ship, people,” he ordered, trying to sound as calm as possible. “Admiral Adler and Third Fleet will be here shortly.”

  “Admiral, Engineering is reporting that they have several fires that are out of control in the engineering spaces,” Colonel Beck reported bleakly, and then he passed on more bad news. “The main fusion reactor is down, and we are running on the auxiliaries. They say it will take at least an hour to knock out the fires and to repair the main reactor.”

  “We don’t have an hour, Peter,” Tolsen spoke quietly to his executive officer, his eyes showing his deep concern.

  “I know,” Beck replied with a slight nod of acknowledgement of what was in store for them if Admiral Adler didn’t arrive shortly.

  On the main viewscreen, someone had switched it to show the Caledonia. The valiant Monarch cruiser’s screens were covered with exploding ordnance. Bright flashes of light blasted at the energy screen, trying to knock it down. Occasionally it would weaken in a spot and a railgun round or missile would penetrate, smashing into the hull and causing damage to the valiant cruiser. Its hull was already pockmarked with heavy damage, and fires could be seen burning where escaping air was bleeding from the ship. Its hull was glowing cherry-red in numerous places.

  “What about our bomber strike?” asked Tolsen, looking at the tactical display. “What happened with it?”

  “Not good,” Beck responded as he studied the information on the tactical computer screen. A medic was applying a bandage to his cheek to
help stop the bleeding from his wound. “Most of it was wiped out by Hocklyn defensive fire and the few that got through caused some damage but not enough to make a difference.”

  Admiral Tolsen let out a deep breath. So many good people were dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He clenched his fist in anger as he watched the Caledonia on the viewscreen.

  On the main viewscreen, half a dozen blue Hocklyn energy beams suddenly stuck the Caledonia simultaneously. The ship’s screen wavered and then failed completely. Missiles and railgun rounds ravaged the hull, causing massive explosions. Even as Admiral Tolsen watched, the ship started to break apart, at which point her self-destructs initiated, blasting the heavy Monarch cruiser to oblivion.

  “It will be our turn again now,” Colonel Beck said calmly, knowing the end for the WarHawk was close.

  “Our energy screen?” asked Tolsen his eyes focusing on Peter, knowing that, without it, they were doomed.

  “No, Sir,” Beck responded in a lower voice. “Too many power conduits have been destroyed. We’re trying to reroute power, but it will take time.”

  On the main viewscreen, a blue energy beam seemed to lash out at the WarHawk, and the screen became covered with static. The ship began shaking violently, and Tolsen could actually hear distant explosions. People were screaming, and frantic cries for help could be heard over his mini-com.

  “The rest of our fleet’s arrived,” Lieutenant Anders called out jubilantly as a massive explosion rocked the WarHawk.

  The entire Command Center seemed to be hurled upward. The last thing Admiral Tolsen saw before he lost consciousness was a massive metal beam falling and crushing Colonel Beck. Then everything went black.

  -

  War Leader Tantil cursed as the rest of the reinforcing human fleet stormed into combat range. He was now outnumbered and in an untenable position. The human flagship was out of action and burning. On the main viewscreen, he could see numerous fires burning inside the ravaged ship where there was still oxygen. Occasionally an explosion would rattle the human ship, throwing more debris into space. He doubted if any humans were still alive on it. There was only one thing left for him to do.

  “First Leader Klessen, prepare to advance and engage the enemy. We are outnumbered, and our ships are heavily damaged. In death, there will be honor.”

  First Leader Klessen heard the words and knew what the War Leader was expecting. They were cut off from War Leader Bisth with a numerically superior enemy bearing down on them; there was only one clear choice.

  Seeking to enhance their honor, twelve Hocklyn ships hurled themselves at the approaching enemy in a mad rush. The human ships opened up a horrendous fire of power beams, lasers, missiles, and railguns. The screens on the charging Hocklyn ships were covered in bright explosions from detonating ordnance. Several screens wavered and went down, allowing the weapons fire to impact the now unprotected hulls. Two more escort cruisers exploded in bright fury just short of the human fleet. Then the Hocklyns were amongst the human ships and still accelerating, but now their weapons fell silent as their ships became the weapons.

  -

  Jeremy watched stunned as ten human warships vanished in massive fireballs as the Hocklyn ships rammed the surprised human fleet.

  “Oh my God!” Jeremy heard Kelsey scream as one of the viewscreens next to Ariel showed the extent of the destruction and fleet losses.

  “Lieutenant DeSota,” Jeremy spoke quickly to Angela. “Contact those surviving ships and Tolsen’s survivors and have them join up with us.”

  “Helm, bring us to a dead stop until the other ships can reach us. Lieutenant Walters, how soon before that new Hocklyn fleet reaches extreme weapons range?”

  “Ten minutes,” Kevin responded with a grim look. “It will take Tolsen’s survivors six to eight minutes to reach us.

  “Very well,” Jeremy replied as he weighed his options. Looking across the Command Center, he knew his people were depending on him to make the right decision.

  “We’re still going to be outnumbered,” Colonel Malen spoke as she looked at the opposing Hocklyn fleet that was steadily approaching. “We can’t stand up to four dreadnoughts and twelve war cruisers. We need Admiral Adler’s fleet!”

  Jeremy leaned back and gazed at the tactical display. He had forty-eight Hocklyn warships bearing down on him. His fleet had to be maneuvering before the Hocklyns reached weapons range or his ships would make easy targets. Even with the survivors from Tolsen’s fleet, he would be badly outnumbered. Looking at the main sensor screen, he wondered where Admiral Adler and Admiral Streth were. They had to be on their way by now.

  -

  Admiral Streth gazed unflinchingly at the WarStorm’s tactical display. He had watched unsurprised as the surviving Hocklyn ships had crashed headlong into the incoming human fleet. A Hocklyn did not retreat from battle, it was better to die in combat than to return home without honor. It was a lesson they would have to remember in future engagements.

  “Ten more ships gone,” Amanda reported as she glanced worriedly at the data coming in. “Even when Tolsen’s survivors get to Admiral Strong, the Hocklyns will still have a numerical advantage and far more firepower. They have too many capital ships, and he won’t stand a chance.”

  “Any word on Admiral Tolsen?” Hedon asked as he weighed his options.

  He had already countermanded Admiral Tolsen’s orders to Admiral Adler. Hedon wanted to destroy this Hocklyn fleet and in order to do that it had to be heavily engaged with Admiral Strong’s forces. If he jumped in too early, there was a chance some of the ships might escape and spread word back to the Hocklyn Empire.

  “The WarHawk is heavily damaged,” Commander Evans responded as she listened to the battle over her mini-com. “We’re lucky her self-destructs didn’t go off. The light cruiser StarFly has come alongside her and is sending rescue teams over to search for survivors. There is no communication with the ship.”

  Admiral Streth nodded. He hoped Admiral Tolsen survived, but he had come to know that, in war, there were no guarantees. He turned to face Amanda and Commander Evans. “Here is what I want to do. We have two Hocklyn forces to contend with, the one Admiral Strong is facing and the one attacking Caden’s World.” Hedon quickly outlined his plan. It was risky, but it should work.

  -

  Captain Krandle watched apprehensively as the approaching Hocklyn warships swept more of her defensive satellites away. Their missile strike had failed dismally as they had launched from extreme range, giving the Hocklyns plenty of time to intercept. Not only that, but the Hocklyns were now launching their own fighters and shooting down every missile launched and destroying more of the precious defense satellites.

  “Our warships will be engaging soon,” General Abercrombie commented as he watched the sensor screen and the Hocklyn fleet coming toward them. He had hoped to be able to damage them with the orbital missile platforms, but that had failed miserably.

  “They won’t be able to stop them,” spoke Lucy worriedly, seeing how badly outnumbered they would be. “They don’t have the firepower.”

  “No, they don’t,” General Abercrombie agreed in a solemn voice. “We never expected the Hocklyns to attack in these numbers. I suspect that Admiral Streth will be appearing shortly. His fleet can handle this, but until then we’re going to be on our own. I hate to say this, but we need to evacuate to the auxiliary Command Center. This operations center will be the prime target.”

  Lucy nodded; she understood what needed to be done. She turned to a corporal standing behind her. “Corporal Higgins, set the self-destructs for thirty minutes.” She then turned to a pale looking Adam Severson. “We’re evacuating; the Hocklyns are going to make orbit.”

  Severson nodded as he began giving instructions to his remaining people, making sure they had either were on the way to the deep underground bunkers or already there. It had taken him and his people years of backbreaking work to make Caden’s World a good place to live for its 20,000 inhabita
nts. Now that was over, the population had been evacuated, and it was a warzone. He wondered dismally if there would be anything left to rebuild after the Hocklyns got through.

  -

  Jeremy watched tensely as the Hocklyn fleet maneuvered in front of his position. The survivors from Admiral Tolsen’s force had finally made rendezvous, and he was hurriedly melding them into his fleet.

  “Total fleet count, including ours, are two battle cruisers, two battle carriers, two strike cruisers, four Monarch cruisers, twelve light cruisers, and eighteen destroyers,” Lieutenant Walters reported. “Sir, a number of Tolsen’s ships are heavily damaged and are barely combat worthy.”

  “Keep the more heavily damaged ships to the back of our formation,” ordered Jeremy, looking over at Colonel Malen. “What about the carrier?”

  “The surviving carrier is the Independence, and most of her flight squadrons have been decimated,” responded Colonel Malen, grimly. “Commander Arie is reporting that she has only one squadron of fighters and half a squadron of bombers left.”

  “Hocklyns are advancing, Sir,” Lieutenant Walters reported suddenly, his eyes focused on his sensor screen.

  “Let’s go get them, Colonel,” Jeremy ordered with resolve in his eyes. “Hold the two battle carriers back; we will need their fighters, and they can help cover the damaged ships.”

  “I wish we would hear something from Admiral Streth,” Angela commented over her secure line to Kelsey. “Where is he?”

  “Patience, Angela,” replied Kelsey, trying her best to keep her voice calm. “Jeremy is here, and he will win this battle, he’s too good not to.”

  Angela was silent as she looked over at Kevin. He was quiet, not trusting his voice to say anything. He only nodded and then turned back to his sensors.

  Ariel had listened to the brief conversation and knew that her friends were scared. She couldn’t blame them; they were in a bad situation. She needed to talk Jeremy into letting her have control of the ship.