Mark sincerely hoped so. Too many lives had already been lost.
“Some damaged Trellixian vessels have not made the transition into hyperspace,” added Katana.
“What should we do with them?” asked Lieutenant Commander LeLath, looking over at Mark.
Mark took a deep breath. “Destroy them.”
Lieutenant Commander LeLath nodded as she gave the order.
A few minutes later no intact Trellixian vessels orbited Earth.
“Ships launching from the four spaceports,” reported Lisa, watching her console.
Mark was relieved that part of Earth’s space fleet survived. “Put us in orbit and contact General Mitchell. I believe Lieutenant Commander LeLath and I have a long report to make.” Mark was glad to be home. He could hardly wait to introduce his sister to the lieutenant commander. His sister had always wanted a cat. Wait until she saw what he was bringing home!
Epilogue
Trellixian High Commander Kaldre was in the large space station above the Trellixian home world. Looking out one of the observation windows, he watched as assault shuttles from hundreds of Trellixian troop ships were launched and headed toward the planet.
“The food riots have grown until they cover nearly 28 percent of the planet,” said High Commander Thatrex. “The latest reports indicate over two billion deaths.”
“Bound to happen,” replied Kaldre, folding his powerful arms over his chest. “When we pulled so many fleets away from the frontiers to deal with the Humans and the Voltrex, we reduced the number of new worlds we could colonize. Then the food ration was reduced once more. It was more than our people could handle. They felt they were starving. There are reports coming in of food riots on other worlds as well but not as serious as the ones here.” There were no food reserves, and several civilian leaders had already been executed for hoarding.
High Commander Thatrex shook his head. “I never believed I would see this day. We must increase warship production to deal with the new and growing threat from the Humans and the Voltrex. We have a new class of warship that must be built to handle these enemies to the Empire.”
“Jelnoid technology,” said Kaldre, letting out a deep and frustrated breath. “It is as we always feared. Someday we would encounter a race with superior weapons and technology. The Humans have made that happen, and the Voltrex have built a massive fleet. If they convert their entire fleet to this technology, they will become a huge threat to the Empire, one we might not be able to overcome.”
On a nearby viewscreen was a scene from the planet below. Huge fires raged through the city as the military fought to bring them under control. Starving Trellixians attacked the troops, searching for any food they might be carrying. Trellixians were literally tearing each other apart. In several instances the troops were firing into the growing crowds.
Kaldre clicked off the viewscreen and turned to face Thatrex. “We cannot afford to fight a galactic war. It will be the end of us.”
“We have no choice,” replied High Commander Thatrex. “This is the course our people set long ago. We can tolerate no others. We must destroy the Humans and the Voltrex, and seize their worlds. Our people need the room to expand.”
Kaldre remained silent. He greatly feared for the future of the Empire. Between the Humans and the Voltrex, the Trellixian Empire would soon face its greatest enemy.
-
President Hathaway was in her office, gazing out the window at the city below. She had just finished a meeting with Lieutenant Commander LeLath, General Mitchell, Maggie Rayne, Captain Erickson, Captain Dolan, Professor Wilkens, and several others. Katelyn had been surprised at how charming Lieutenant Commander LeLath was. They had spent much of the time discussing the agreement signed between the two races.
“It’s the dawn of a new era,” said Maggie from Katelyn’s side. “With the size of the Voltrex fleet, and adding in our Jelnoid technology, we may finally make the planet safe from the Trellixians.”
Katelyn let out a deep sigh and turned toward Maggie. “That may all be true, but we’re still looking at war. We won’t ever be completely safe until the Trellixian Empire is no more. Once the fleet the Voltrex are building for us arrives, General Mitchell plans on going to the Voltrex Federation to speak to them about the next stage in the war.”
Maggie did not reply for a moment. “I know you’re tired of war and all that we lost. But no one will be safe as long as the Trellixian Empire is out there. Right now, with the Voltrex and our Jelnoid technology, maybe we can do something about that.”
“I know,” Katelyn replied. “I just got the casualty reports from the latest conflict with the Trellixians. Twenty-two cities destroyed, and many others killed who refused to go to the protected zones. We won’t ever know for sure, but it looks as if Earth lost another two million if its people. We will lose more in this war.”
“But someday our children may look skyward and not fear the Trellixians.”
Katelyn nodded. “I hope you’re right.” Folding her arms over her chest she looked out over the peaceful city. Soon it would be night, and some in the city would rest. Tomorrow would be another day, one that now held hope for the future of Earth.
-
Mark laughed at the look on his sister’s face. He had just introduced her to Lieutenant Commander LeLath. One thing he had done first was take the lieutenant commander to see a tame house cat. LeLath had been enthralled with the small pet.
“Hello,” Jennifer said nervously. “Mark said he was bringing you over.”
LeLath laughed. “Don’t worry. I don’t bite. Now I understand you have some larger cats on your world. Something called a lion or a tiger. How soon can I see one of those?”
Jennifer smiled. “I think we can arrange that. Come inside, and let’s talk. I have a thousand questions to ask.”
Mark grinned as LeLath and Jennifer went inside, chatting away. He was glad to be home.
-
Lisa and Brett were at a restaurant, eating. It was nice to get away from the ship for a while.
“So Professor Wilkens wants you to join him in his research,” said Brett as he buttered a roll.
Lisa nodded. “Not just me, all of us.”
Brett took a bite of his roll and then looked at Lisa. “I don’t know. I sort of enjoyed being on an exploration ship. Not much reason for me to stay here at one of the complexes. I can do most of my research on the ship.”
Lisa looked at Brett and made a decision. She reached out her hand, placing it on his. “I can think of one reason for you to stay.”
Brett looked a little surprised and then took Lisa’s hand in his, a smile breaking out across his face. “Maybe I need to reconsider.”
“I think you should,” replied Lisa. Her part in the war was over. She would stay at Complex One and try to rebuild her life. For the first time in several years she felt as if she had a future.
-
Several days later Trellixian Battle Commander Balforr looked at the message he had just received from the High Command. It seemed that Battle Commander Traven had failed to conquer the Human home world. The message indicated Traven had committed suicide shortly after his defeat.
High Commander Kaldre indicated the Empire was constructing a new class of warships to deal with the looming threat of the Humans and the Voltrex. Balforr was being summoned back to the home world to take command of the first fleet of finished vessels. The Humans and the Voltrex might have won these initial rounds in the war, but the war itself had barely begun.
In the end, Battle Commander Balforr was confident the Empire would win. He would be there someday when the Earth burned and the last Human died. It was the way of the Trellixian Empire—how it had been in the past and how it would be in the future. No one could be allowed to stand in its way. The Humans and the Voltrex would soon learn that lesson.
The End
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Earth Fall: Empires at War
The Humans and the Voltrex have joined together in a war against the Trellixian Empire. They are badly outnumbered but possess superior technology. As battles wage across Trellixian, Human, and Voltrex space, the end does not appear to be in sight.
Then, from an unexpected source, a solution is found to win the war. The only problem is, it will result in the death of tens of billions of Trellixians, possibly more. Is the solution worth the loss of so much life?
Find out in the third and final book of the series.
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Turn the page to read the first chapter of Galactic Empire Wars one of my other military science fiction series.
Galactic Empire Wars
Destruction
Chapter One
Mason Randle gazed out of the cockpit window at the approaching mass of gray rock. Vesta was one of the larger planetoids in the ring of asteroids that existed between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid was approximately 326 miles in diameter and contained the headquarters for the Smithfield Mining Corporation. Mason was the current CEO and majority stockholder in the company originally founded by his grandfather.
“We will be landing in ten more minutes, Sir,” the pilot commented as he reached forward and turned on several instruments on the complicated control panel. His copilot mirrored his movements as they prepared to land.
“It will be good to get back home,” Mason responded as he leaned back in his acceleration couch and stretched. He had come up and taken a seat in the cockpit to watch the approach and landing.
They were in an interplanetary cargo ship that normally traveled between Earth and Vesta. The Smithfield Mining Corporation owned twenty-seven of the versatile three hundred-meter ships carrying refined metals to the company’s large space station in orbit around Earth. From there they were sold to various Earth companies for a very lucrative profit.
“I know how you miss Vesta,” Captain Sanders replied with a smile as he made several minor adjustments to the controls. “Smithfield will be a welcome relief after spending the last two weeks at Holbrook Station.”
Mason nodded; he was thirty-four years old and had gone to Earth to sign several important contracts with a number of companies wanting metals from the company. Smithfield was the only corporation currently with the money and the resources to mine the asteroid field and make money doing it. Several others had tried and failed, losing nearly everything in the attempt.
“Airlocks are opening,” Captain Sanders reported as the ship’s LIDAR system scanned the asteroid, giving real time data to the flight computer as the ship dropped steadily down toward the asteroid’s pockmarked surface. It was large enough to generate a slight gravity field of its own, but the powerful engines of the cargo ship had no trouble compensating for it.
Mason looked ahead at the asteroid, feeling glad to be home. He had been raised inside Vesta in the artificial world his grandfather had created and his father and he had added to. He could see the flashing lights on the surface, which designated the location of the main airlock.
The massive airlock doors slid open and the cargo ship flew smoothly inside, finding itself in a long and brightly lit tunnel two hundred meters in diameter. For another twenty-five kilometers the ship flew, passing through several more massive airlocks as it descended deeper and deeper into the asteroid. It finally entered a large chamber nearly two kilometers across and half a kilometer high. There were a number of berthing docks on the floor and the cargo ship dropped down smoothly toward an empty one, settling gently down on its landing struts. Moments later, the engines shut off and the ship became quiet.
“Good flight and landing, Captain,” spoke Mason, feeling anxious to leave the ship. His quarters on the ship had been comfortable, but Vesta was special. He knew that Captain Sanders was one of the best pilots in the company and had gone out of his way to accommodate him on this trip.
“It was a pleasure to have you aboard, Sir,” Sanders replied with a friendly nod.
Mason left the cockpit and made his way to the hatch, finding the docking tube already connected to the ship. Walking through it, he went into a smaller airlock and then exited to find two people waiting for him. One was his close friend, Drake Thomason, and the other was his secretary, Adrienne Lynn.
“Mason, it’s good to have you back,” spoke Drake, reaching out and shaking Mason’s hand. “How was your trip to Earth?” Drake was an expert mining engineer and second in command behind Mason.
“Very good,” Mason responded with a pleased smile. “I signed several lucrative contracts for the delivery of ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum with our two biggest rare metal contractors.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Drake, feeling excited that Mason had managed to sign contracts for the precious metals. “How did you accomplish that?” Drake knew they would make some good money for the delivery of the rare metals. It would also please a number of the prospectors.
“It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find the metals on Earth, and they have finally had to turn to us,” Mason replied with a satisfied smile. “We stand to make a good bundle off the new contracts.”
“Enough to pay for your new exploration cruiser?” teased Adrienne, referring to the unfinished hulk of the five hundred-meter Phoenix that was in the landing bay. Adrienne had blonde hair and deep blue eyes that made most men swoon.
“Perhaps,” Mason responded with a grin. She was always teasing him about all the money he was putting into the new ship. It was a big investment, but he knew in his heart that someday it would pay off.
Adrienne was the most efficient secretary he had ever had; things seemed to run very smoothly with her around. She was twenty-eight years old, extremely attractive, and somehow still managed to stay single. She also kept good track of the work being done on his pet project, the Phoenix.
The Phoenix was supposed to be the first interstellar exploration ship to leave the solar system. The ship would be the largest and most modern spacecraft ever built once it was finished. The only problem was the star drive. The scientists had still not managed to come up with a workable star drive that could break the speed of light barrier. Until that happened, the ship would remain unfinished. Even so, other systems were being installed and tested. Her new sublight drive would be the fastest one ever placed in a spaceship. Mason couldn’t wait to test it out and see if they could break the system speed records. There was no doubt in his mind that they could do so easily.
The three walked down several corridors until they reached a large transit station. Once again, they passed through an airlock to find themselves upon a large platform, similar to a subway station back on Earth. A number of other people were present as they were going to and from work. They made their way to a waiting transit car and sat down. The cars could hold up to twenty people at a time, ran on electricity, and were extremely comfortable.
“How are Larcy and Madison?” asked Mason, looking over at Drake as they waited for the car to begin moving. There were still a few people taking their seats. Larcy was Drake’s wife, and Madison was their twelve-year-old daughter.
“They’re doing great,” Drake responded, pleased that Mason had asked. “Madison is doing excellent in school. They’re supposed to be interviewing someone for a school project and I believe she has chosen you as her victim.”
Mason l
aughed. He loved kids, his sister had two of them, and he never got tired of being around them. “Tell her to come by the office and we can do it; have her check with Adrienne first to make sure I’m there.”
The car began moving, rapidly accelerating to its top speed of sixty kilometers per hour, and entered a narrow tunnel. After traveling twelve kilometers, the car began to slow and finally pulled into another transit station.
“We’re here,” spoke Adrienne, smiling. “Are you going to the office or the Control Center?” She knew that Mason would want to check on everything to see how things had run during his absence.
“The Control Center,” Mason replied after a moment of thought. “I want to check on several of our current mining operations as well as what our stock levels are on the precious metals I just signed contracts for.”
“Your sister wants you to come over for supper tonight,” Adrienne added. She knew being around his sister’s two young children was something Mason really enjoyed.
“Tell her I’ll be there,” Mason responded with a smile. Just thinking about his sister’s cooking make him feel hungry. Susan was a good cook, and her husband Michael was one of the top asteroid prospectors in the company. A home cooked meal sounded great after eating the MREs on the cargo ship.
“Don’t be late,” warned Adrienne, folding her arms across her more than ample chest. “You know how your sister gets if her food gets cold.”
“I won’t,” Mason promised, as he didn’t want to upset Susan. “Is Michael home, or is he out prospecting?”
“I believe he’s out at one of the mining operations,” answered Adrienne, recalling one of the reports she had read earlier in the day that detailed the current status of the prospectors. She tried to stay up to date on everything just in case Mason asked.
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