Kevin looked accusingly at Jeremy. “I can’t believe you told her that.”
“It wasn’t me,” Jeremy pleaded hastily, his eyes widening. “I would never do that to you.”
“It was me,” Ariel confessed not understanding the problem. “From what I have learned many young children sleep with stuffed animals. I am sure you did also, Katie.”
Katie was silent as she recalled some of her favorite stuffed toys, then she turned back to Kevin. “So did this teddy bear have a name?”
Kelsey shook her head as she listened to the two. It was nice for them to be able to get together and act like friends occasionally. The five of them, actually six counting Ariel, had a special friendship and bond that nothing would ever be able to break.
“Admiral Strong, report to the Command Center!” suddenly blared out of the ship’s com system. At the same time, the ship’s Condition One warning lights and klaxons began going off.
“What’s going on?” exclaimed Kevin, standing up and looking down unhappily at the hamburger and fries that were still lying uneaten on his plate.
“I don’t know,” Jeremy responded as he got up and turned to exit the mess hall. “But I don’t think it’s going to be good or Colonel Malen wouldn’t have taken us to Condition One so quickly.”
“It’s the AIs,” Ariel suddenly announced as she accessed what was occurring in the Command Center. “One of our stealth scouts has detected two AI ships in a nearby star system.”
The five paused and looked at each other with growing concern, feeling a sudden cold chill. It had been hoped it would be several months yet before the AIs showed up; evidently, that was not going to be the case. This could endanger the success of Operation First Strike as well as the bears.
A few minutes later, all five hurried into the Command Center and took their places, relieving the junior officers that were in charge.
“What do we have?” Jeremy demanded as he sat down at the center command console and looking over at Colonel Malen.
“One of our stealth scouts detected two AI ships in this system,” the colonel said, indicating a star that began blinking in red on the tactical display. “That’s sixteen light years from our current position.”
“I wonder where they’re going?” Kevin uttered in a quiet voice that Jeremy still managed to hear.
“They’re going to their main base in this sector,” Jeremy commented as he studied the tactical display. “They know that’s where our primary fleets are located and they can do the most damage. Angela, send an urgent message to Admiral Streth that we have made contact with two AI ships and that they may be inbound toward his location.”
“What are we going to do?” Colonel Malen asked, her eyes focusing on Jeremy. “We could also be their target.”
“We know that AI ships can jump into the gravity well of a planet unharmed,” Ariel informed Jeremy, recalling what had happened in the old Human Federation of Worlds. She felt uneasy knowing the AIs had suddenly arrived; it was one of her deepest and darkest fears. She wasn’t sure she could defeat an AI ship, even with the new Devastator Three missiles and power beams. “The gravity well won’t protect us.”
“I have a priority message from the stealth scout,” Angela spoke suddenly as she focused intently on the message. “They managed to get close enough to take a course reading when the AIs jumped. They are ninety percent certain the AI’s target is Admiral Streth.”
Jeremy leaned back and thought deeply. All of the fleets combined only had fourteen of the new modern strike cruisers that had been specifically designed to take on an AI ship. Of the fourteen, Jeremy had four of them. He also had the only one equipped with an AI. Jeremy looked over at Ariel for a long moment before reaching a decision. “Kelsey, plot an emergency jump to Admiral Streth’s location. Colonel Malen, contact the Nemesis; I want both ships out of the planet’s gravity well ASAP. Once we’re out of the gravity well we will be making an emergency jump to First Fleet’s location.”
“What are you doing, Jeremy?” Ariel asked in a worried and concerned voice over their private mini-com. Jeremy noticed that Katie, Angela, Kevin, and Kelsey were all looking at him.
“We’re going to attack those two AI ships,” Jeremy responded in a determined voice. “Ariel, I want you working on special tactics using all of our weapons, including the Devastator Three missiles.”
“Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied in a meek voice. For once, she was not excited about going into combat.
Chapter Eighteen
Admiral Sheen was just preparing to launch her attack on the remaining Hocklyn fleet when she received an emergency hail from Admiral Streth on the StarStrike.
“Bad news, Amanda,” Hedon reported over the mini-com. “We just received word from Admiral Strong that two AI ships are inbound.”
“AIs,” repeated Amanda, feeling a cold chill of fear run down her back. She knew full well what the AIs had done to the fleets of her home worlds. There were not supposed to be any AI ships nearby. “Where the hell did they come from?”
“Unknown,” replied Hedon, trying not to sound concerned. “But one of Admiral Strong’s stealth scouts stumbled across them and managed to take a reading when they made their hyperjumps.”
“How much time do we have?” asked Amanda, knowing that it probably wasn’t much. An FTL message didn’t travel much faster than a ship did in hyperspace. The two AI ships could arrive at any moment.
“Probably less than twenty minutes,” Hedon responded.
“Not enough time for us to escape the gravity well,” commented Amanda, knowing the AI ships would have her and Admiral Adler’s fleets at a disadvantage. She carefully weighed her options and none of them were good. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m ordering Admiral Kimmel to jump the entire supply fleet to Admiral Strong’s coordinates except for his two strike cruisers, which I am temporarily reassigning to First Fleet. I am also sending all of my lighter units along as well. They will be ineffective against an AI ship and there’s no point putting all of them in jeopardy.”
“What about us?” Amanda asked as she looked at the tactical display. They were less than ten minutes out from engagement range of the remaining Hocklyn fleet units. If they turned now, they could reach the edge of the planet’s gravity well in a little less than twenty. She had four strike cruisers, which could be used against the AIs.
“Pull back and set up in a defensive formation,” Hedon ordered. “We know the AIs can jump inside a planet’s gravity well, so be prepared for that. Use of Devastator Three missiles is authorized. Good luck, Amanda.”
“Yes, Admiral,” responded Amanda, letting out a deep breath. She turned around and looked over at Commander Evans. “You heard?”
“Yes,” Evans replied her eyes narrowing. “The AIs are coming; how should we position the fleet?”
Amanda examined the tactical display for a few seconds before responding. “We will hold our position here. We have four strike cruisers and six battle cruisers that are equipped with Devastator Three missiles. Admiral Adler has two additional battle cruisers, which gives us twelve ships to use against the AIs. We will put six groups of two around the periphery of the two fleets and wait. There is nothing else we can do.”
“Do you think we can destroy two AI ships?” Commander Evans asked, her eyes showing worry. “I watched some of the videos from the first war, and they were unstoppable.”
“I know,” admitted Amanda, recalling those terrifying videos that showed the AI ships blasting apart Federation warships with impunity. “But we have better and more powerful weapons this time around.”
Commander Evans nodded. She looked around the Command Center and took note of the sudden quiet. The crew knew that surviving the AIs would be highly questionable. Evans could feel her own heart beating faster, and she took several long, deep breaths. She had a ship to command and a job to do. She would let Admiral Sheen worry about the AIs.
-
Admiral Streth w
atched as the supply fleet and his lighter units jumped out. At least if they made it to Admiral Strong they would still have a fighting chance of survival if the AIs could not be defeated by First Fleet. Hedon let out a heavy sigh. First Strike had been succeeding beyond his wildest expectations and now this. He had not been expecting to face any AI ships for a long while. He realized that they must have been on patrol somewhere in the local area of space. It had always been a possibility as they had no intelligence about just how many AI ships were being used to watch their steadily expanding empire.
On the main viewscreen, Hedon watched as multiple blue-white spatial vortexes opened and then collapsed as a major portion of his fleet fled the expected battle with the AIs. When the last vortex faded away, the StarStrike was setting just outside of the gravity well of the Hocklyn’s fleet base with six battle cruisers, two battle carriers, and four strike cruisers. He had kept back the two battle carriers and had ordered their Anlon bombers set up for a Shrike nuclear assault against the AI ships. If he could put enough nukes, including Devastator Threes, against their shields, surely they would fail.
“No sign of the AIs yet,” Clarissa reported as she walked over to Admiral Streth and Colonel Trist. “I estimate we have six to twelve minutes before they make an appearance.”
“I guess we find out just how well the Federation built this battleship,” Colonel Trist commented as he glanced over at one of the tactical displays.
“It’s the only thing we have that is comparable in size to one of the AI ships,” Hedon spoke. He was glad the Federation had built the StarStrike. It had the screens and the punishing power to stand toe to toe with an AI ship, at least for a while.
He had never fought an AI ship before, though he had seen numerous videos of what had happened when the AIs attacked the original Human Federation of Worlds. They had been unstoppable as they annihilated the human fleet to make way for the Hocklyn nuclear bombardment of the Federation worlds. Over fourteen billion people had died after the fleet was destroyed.
Clarissa listened for a moment more and then secretly transmitted a message to a point several light years away. Admiral Stillson needed to be apprised of what was about to occur. The Ceres Fleet might be needed.
-
Admiral Stillson looked stone faced at the message that had just been received from Clarissa aboard the StarStrike.
“Two AI ships,” his second in command Colonel Jarvington muttered, worriedly. “Do we go in?”
“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Stillson answered as he thought about the ships he had at his disposal. “We will take all eight battle cruisers, one of the carriers, and the four strike cruisers. That will give us the heavy hitting power we need as well as the Devastator Three missiles. Clarissa reported that Admiral Streth has tasked both of his remaining carriers for Shrike nuclear strikes. I suggest we do the same for the carrier that will be going with us. Prepare the fleet for a jump as soon as Clarissa reports the arrival of the AIs.”
“Yes, Admiral,” Colonel Jarvington replied. He quickly turned and began implementing the admiral’s orders.
Admiral Stillson sat at his command console thinking about the coming battle. They were about to learn very quickly if they could destroy an AI ship.
-
Fleet Commodore Resmunt looked with confusion at his main sensor screen. The humans had been about to attack, then stopped, and were now scrambling to get into a defensive formation. Something was going on.
“Many of the human ships in the outer system have jumped out,” First Leader Ganth reported. “Only their heavy units remain.”
Fleet Commodore Resmunt studied the sensor screen for a long moment trying to figure out what the humans were up to. They acted as if they were expecting an attack, but from whom? Then, with dawning realization, Resmunt understood what was happening.
“It’s the AIs,” hissed Resmunt, turning his dark eyes to face Ganth. “They are coming.” He realized this might be his best opportunity to strike the humans. If he waited until the AIs arrived and then launched an assault against the human fleet, surely the AIs would recognize his efforts and give him honor. “Honor awaits,” Resmunt spoke in his rasping voice. “We attack when the AIs attack.”
“Honor is before us,” First Leader Ganth agreed. “I will ready the fleet.”
-
Two massive white spatial vortexes suddenly formed on the outskirts of the system, and out stormed two massive spheres. The AIs ships were 1,500 meters in diameter and wrapped in a powerful energy shield. The surface of the spheres were covered with weapon emplacements and other constructions. The powerful AI ships had been built with only one purpose in mind, to destroy any civilization that could ever be a threat to the AIs and their plans for the galaxy. The two AI ships slowly orientated themselves and began scanning the system. Power systems were brought online and the weapon systems powered up.
-
“They’re here,” reported Clarissa, trying to keep her voice calm.
She was frightened as the two AI ships were obviously a very serious threat to the StarStrike. If the StarStrike were destroyed, Clarissa would die with it and her long life would be over. She wondered if she should send a farewell message to Ariel. She did however send a message to Admiral Stillson notifying him of the arrival of the two AI ships.
“All ships stand by,” Admiral Streth ordered over his mini-com, which was set for ship-to-ship communications. “We have to let them jump in, and then we will launch our attack.”
Hedon took a long breath. He knew that no matter what he did he was about to lose some ships. He just hoped he could stop these two AI ships with the forces he had. If not, then once his fleet was destroyed the AIs would move in and destroy Admiral Sheen and Admiral Adler’s fleets. Both were trapped in the gravity well of the planet.
“All ships have Devastator and Devastator Threes loaded in their tubes,” Colonel Trist reported as he gazed at the tactical display, which depicted the two AI ships. The display next to it showed the thirteen green icons of the remaining First Fleet ships. From two of the icons, numerous smaller icons began appearing.
“Commander Layton and Commander Bixby are launching their bombers,” Captain Reynolds reported from sensors.
Hedon nodded. It was essential that he hit the two AI ships as hard as he could as soon as they jumped into attack range. Hedon watched with calm nerves as the Command Center around him buzzed with increased activity.
“Vortexes forming in front of the AIs,” Clarissa informed them as she walked over to stand next to the admiral. She was growing more frightened every minute. For the first time since she had become the AI on the new StarStrike, she wondered if she would survive the next few hours.
“AIs have entered the vortexes,” she reported. She had barely spoken the word when two white spatial vortexes formed less than twenty thousand kilometers from the StarStrike, and the AI ships were here!
“All ships form up on the StarStrike, formation Delta Bravo Two,” Hedon ordered swiftly. “Helm, close with the AIs at max combat speed. Tactical, prepare to fire upon my command.”
The StarStrike and her twelve protectors charged forward. Weapons were readied and targeting systems locked on. The last admiral from the former Federation of worlds was attacking his enemy; the very enemy that had destroyed the worlds he had loved so much.
-
Admiral Sheen’s face turned white when she saw how close the AIs had jumped to Admiral Streth’s fleet. Even as she watched, she saw the admiral adjust his fleet formation and move rapidly to engage.
“Hocklyn fleet is breaking orbit and moving to intercept us,” Commander Evans spoke suddenly as she saw the sudden movement from the remaining Hocklyn ships.
“Of course,” Amanda replied with a sigh. “They see that their masters have arrived. It’s the opportune time for them to attack us. They figure once the AIs have destroyed Admiral Streth’s fleet they will jump in and begin to destroy ours.”
“The Hocklyns will be in weapons range in four minutes,” Lieutenant Stalls reported from his sensor console.
“Let’s go get them,” ordered Amanda, knowing she had no other choice. There was nothing she could do to help First Fleet and Admiral Streth.
She quickly contacted Admiral Adler and told him to prepare his Anlon bombers for a nuclear strike. They needed to finish off this Hocklyn fleet before the AIs could come to its rescue. She looked back wearily one last time at the main tactical display, which showed the StarStrike and the rest of First Fleet charging toward the two deadly AI ships. “Go get them, admiral,” she said softly.
-
“Stand by to fire,” Hedon ordered as they reached optimum weapons range. Before he could say another word, two massive energy beams leaped out from the AI warships, striking the battle cruiser Deliverance and the strike cruiser Hunter. Massive explosions covered the main viewscreen.
“Deliverance is down,” Captain Reynolds reported, his face turning ashen at the sudden destruction of the powerful warship.
“The Hunter is reporting her shields held, but just barely,” Colonel Trist added. “They can’t take another hit like that!”
“All weapons, fire!” ordered Hedon, grimly.
From the remaining twelve warships energy beams, Devastator missiles and Devastator Three missiles launched. Space lit up with energy beams and missile trails.
The two AI ship’s screens suddenly blossomed with a multitude of brilliant flashes as the nuclear ordnance and the energy beams struck. The screens wavered in a couple of areas, but refused to go down.
“AI ship’s shields are holding,” Colonel Trist oathed worriedly, looking over at the admiral. “Even the Devastator Threes are failing to get through.”
“Anlon bombers going in,” Captain Reynolds reported. On his sensor screen, 280 bombers each equipped with four nuclear tipped Shrike missiles hurtled determinedly toward the two AI ships.
The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) Page 31