“Why should they?” commented Captain Johnson. “They’ve destroyed everything in the system.”
The Command Center became quiet once more as everyone focused on their jobs. The small ship steadily drew nearer the Zaltule battlecruisers. On the ship’s two viewscreens, the monstrous three kilometer in width vessels steadily grew larger until they filled the screens.
“Twenty kilometers to nearer vessels,” whispered Ensign Howard.
“All stop,” ordered Captain Johnson, his eyes glued to the viewscreens. “Deploy the first flight of tracking drones.”
Two small hatches slid open on the outer hull of the dark black vessel. Six small drones drifted out and then began moving rapidly toward the Kleese ships. As the drones neared the Kleese vessels, they slowed and then crept forward, landing upon the hulls. The drones were painted the same dark color as the Zaltule battlecruisers, which would make them nearly impossible to see.
Once the first set of drones had been successfully deployed, a second set drifted out of the open hatches on the Ellipse and proceeded to do the same as the first.
“All drones are attached to Zaltule battlecruisers,” reported Ensign Howard with relief in his voice. “There’s no evidence the Kleese ever noticed.”
“Very well,” Captain Johnson said pleased that the plan had worked. “Now, back us out of here and let’s put some distance between us and those Kleese warships.”
-
On board one of the Zaltule battlecruisers, a sensor operator looked closely at his console. It was detecting an unidentified contact within one hundred kilometers of the vessel. The only problem was the contact kept fading in and out. After a few more moments, the contact faded away completely, and the sensor operator decided it had been a sensor ghost or possible malfunction. Shrugging his shoulders, the Zaltule decided the strange contact wasn’t worth reporting.
-
Back in the brown dwarf system, the communications officer turned toward Fleet Admiral Rivers. “The Ellipse reports the tracking drones have been deployed.”
“We did it!” Commander Greerman said with a jubilant look in his eyes.
Admiral Rivers allowed himself to take a long and deep breath. This had been the dangerous part of the mission and even the Kiveans had felt there was a 40 percent chance the Ellipse might be detected when they deployed the drones. It looked now as if they had gotten away clean.
“The two stealth ships should be jumping into Fold Space shortly,” Commander Greerman added.
“Once they return, let’s get out of here,” Admiral Rivers ordered. “With a Kleese fleet that large, I have no desire to hang around to see what they’re going to do next.”
Admiral Rivers thought over what they had just achieved. There had been nothing they could do to save the Alishians. At least their deaths wouldn’t be in vain. If the tracking drones worked as the Kiveans and Deltons said they would, then they would be able to track the Kleese fleet. Already a series of hyperspace communication buoys were being emplaced around the Alliance. With any kind of luck, they would have a two to three day notice of any impending Kleese attack. Tactical wise, they had just achieved a strategic victory. Rivers just wished there had been something the Alliance could have done to save the Alishians. The failure to do so would haunt his dreams for quite some time.
Chapter Eleven
Seventeen days after their attacks on Airad and Haycen, Seventh Fleet once more dropped out of Fold Space within range of their planned targets. They were on the distant outskirts of a red giant star system close to three former nonaligned worlds.
“No contacts,” reported Lieutenant Lash, the sensor operator on board the Constellation. “I’m also not detecting any planets, moons, or asteroids.”
“Secure from Condition One and go to Condition Three,” ordered Admiral Adamson. “We’ll stay here for twelve hours before launching our attacks.” He was relieved that they had made it this far without being detected. They’d been careful to only drop out of Fold Space in systems with low probabilities of the fleet being noticed.
“Three systems at once,” commented Commander Shepherd with a frown. She looked over at the admiral. “Do you think it’s wise to spread our forces so thinly?”
Adamson switched his gaze from the tactical screen to his second in command. Sandra was a good officer and not afraid to voice her concerns. “It’s a risk,” he admitted. “By now the Kleese know there’s a Human fleet prowling around in their space and they’re bound to be looking for us. That’s one of the reasons we came another fourteen hundred light-years deeper into their empire. They may not suspect we would go this far into their space. Also, once we launch these attacks, it’s bound to cause the Kleese to wonder if our ultimate target might not be their core worlds.”
Sandra nodded her understanding. “I wish we knew what was going on back home. I hate being out of communications range like this.”
Adamson fully agreed. The Constellation had the power to send a message back to the Alliance, but it would take several days from this range for the message to get there and then two or more days for a reply. It would be too dangerous to remain in one location for that length of time if they wanted to continue to avoid detection. There was also the grim possibility that the transmission could be detected or intercepted.
“Get some rest, Sandra,” Adamson suggested. “Twelve hours from now things are going to start to get intense.” That was when he would be sending the fleet to their designated targets.
Commander Shepherd nodded and contacted the ship’s third officer. Captain Swenson could handle the Command Center while she was away. The admiral could also step out if he so desired.
-
Captain Ryan Nelson was once more in the Command Center of the assault cruiser Deliverance. He was talking to Captain Durham about their planned target and what they might encounter on the planet. “This is an older nonaligned world,” Ryan was saying. “From what we know of it, the people of this system were depending solely on the neutrality agreement they had signed with the Kleese to protect them. When the Zaltule came, there wasn’t even any attempt at resistance. The leaders capitulated as soon as the first Zaltule ship dropped out of Fold Space.”
“This is a unique system,” said Captain Durham. “There are two planets in the Goldilocks Zone and both are inhabited.”
“We’re not even sure where the Kleese are on either planet,” Ryan said with a deep sigh. He had spent hours studying the information they had on the system. The databases from the two captured trading stations were quite useful in that regard.
Captain Durham adjusted the screen they were using to view one of the planets. It quickly swelled to a close up view of a large city. “This is the capital of the two planets. It also has the largest spaceport in the system. If I had to make a guess, the Kleese will be somewhere on it.”
“That seems to be their normal operating procedure,” Ryan said, agreeing with Durham. The spaceport was quite large and had numerous large buildings on it and around its periphery. There were landing berths for dozens of spacecraft.
They spent another few minutes discussing the upcoming mission and then Ryan excused himself. He wanted to get something to eat before turning in to get some rest.
-
“Come on, Lauren,” Alexander pleaded as he twirled his fork in his mashed potatoes. “I didn’t mean to put Private Richards in the infirmary.”
Lauren stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Hand-to-hand combat using a Type Four suit against a Type Three isn’t fair.”
“He needed the practice in the Type Three,” Alexander said defensively, wondering how he was going to extricate himself from this mess. Too often recently he was ending up on Lauren’s bad side. This was another one of those unfortunate situations.
“Alexander’s right,” Juan said as he munched on a ham sandwich. “We all need to be proficient in both types of battlesuits. Camden made a mistake and got his arm broken. It wasn’t intentional.”
<
br /> “Sit down, Lauren,” Casey said, feeling bemused by the situation. It was becoming more evident every day that Lauren was becoming more infatuated with the young private. “We all need to eat and then turn in for some rest before our mission. Camden will be out of the med bay in another few hours as good as new.” Casey knew a shot of the medical nanites would have the private’s broken arm completely healed in no time.
Lauren sighed and sat back down. She reached for her fork and speared a piece of cut up chicken breast on her plate. Looking over at Alexander, who was sitting across from her, she said, “Just be careful; I don’t want anyone else hurt unnecessarily.”
Alexander nodded and began eating again. He had gotten off easy this time, but he knew Lauren would get him back sometime in the future. The problem was he hadn’t intentionally tried to hurt Camden. It had been an accident and he had rushed the private immediately to the med bay for treatment.
-
Ryan came into the mess hall and, going to get a tray and a plate, proceeded to fill it. He picked roast beef and mashed potatoes but only about half of what he normally ate. Going over to the table where his friends were he sat down next to Casey. “Anything new going on?”
Casey smiled and nodded. “Just the usual. What did you find out about our mission?”
“We’re not quite certain where the Kleese are on the planet we’re going to hit. I spoke earlier to Colonel Winfrey and later to Captain Durham, and they both agree our best bet is the main spaceport.”
“What are the people like on this planet?” asked Alexander curiously.
Ryan leaned back and looked over at Alexander. “Did you ever watch any werewolf movies when you were younger?”
Alexander’s eyes widened. “You have got to be kidding!”
With a laugh, Ryan shook his head. “No, I’m not. The people of this planet are very similar to large wolves that walk upright. Their heads are wolf-like, and they have bright yellow eyes. They have hands, but also very sharp claws that retract.”
“How can a race like that not be warlike?” asked Lieutenant Guthrie. Autumn was sitting at the end of the table eating a large leafy salad.
“They were in their early days,” responded Ryan, recalling what he had read from the database. “They were so violent they nearly destroyed their world. Since that time they’ve put their violent tendencies behind them and have taken great pains to become a peaceful and productive society.”
“Until the Kleese and the Zaltule showed up,” muttered Jasmine.
Ryan looked back over at Alexander. “I understand Private Richards had a training accident?”
Alexander turned a little pale and fidgeted in his chair, not daring to look at Lauren. “A broken arm; he should be fine by the time we deploy.”
“Accidents happen,” Ryan said. “Let’s just make sure we do everything we can to hold them to a minimum. We never know when we may need everyone to fight.” He wondered if Alexander had been involved. He would ask Lieutenant Guthrie later when they were alone.
“Yes, sir,” Alexander answered as he took a bite of his mashed potatoes. For some reason, the potatoes didn’t taste as good as they had earlier.
“How much resistance are we expecting on the planet?” asked Mary.
“Unknown,” Ryan answered as he cut up his roast beef. “We’ll take sufficient Marines to ensure we can complete our mission. Also, the Defender will be going along as our heavy backup. The Constellation and the Callisto will be leading our other ships against the other two targets. We’ll be dividing the fleet up into three task groups.”
Casey put her hand on top of Ryan’s; at least at this table, she wasn’t concerned about the others seeing this showing of affection. “I don’t like splitting the fleet up like that; what if one group runs across heavy resistance?”
Ryan understood Casey’s concern. “That’s why we have Admiral Adamson and Colonel Winfrey. It’s their job to keep us safe and ensure we have the resources to complete our mission.”
Casey nodded and removed her hand from Ryan’s.
The group continued to talk about the upcoming mission as well as what they would do with their leave time when they returned to Freedom Station. Juan wanted to go astro gliding again at Luna City, and Alexander wanted to spend time in Vesta doing some fishing in the rivers and small lakes. Lauren liked that idea as her parents lived in New Eden.
-
Later, Ryan walked Casey back to the quarters she shared with Lauren. “I’ll be glad when this mission’s over,” he said. “I miss spending time with you.”
Casey smiled and looking up and down the short corridor was pleased to see that no one was in sight. She stopped and kissed Ryan quickly on the lips. “I miss our time together also. When this mission is over, I want us to spend some time with your parents, and I want to see Wade and Beth’s little boy.”
“Getting ideas?”
Casey’s face blushed and she giggled. “Not yet, but someday, who knows?”
Ryan walked her the rest of the way to her quarters and after saying goodbye, turned to go to his. He allowed himself to smile. In the years he had known Casey, she had come a long ways. Perhaps someday, when this war with the Kleese was over, they could settle down in Vesta. He knew it would make his parents very happy. However, that was quite a ways in the future. For now they still had a war to fight.
-
Admiral Adamson looked at the large tactical screen in the Command Center. He had divided his fleet into three task groups. He felt uneasy about doing this, but if they wanted their mission to succeed, it was necessary. They needed to hit the Kleese hard, and by attacking these three systems, they would announce their presence in no uncertain way to the Kleese. It was bound to force them to respond. If things went as planned, then Military Overlord Harmock would be forced to pull his ships away from Alliance space to search for the marauding Human fleet.
“All task groups are ready for departure,” Commander Shepherd reported. She was in contact with all the ships in the fleet over her command comm channel.
Adamson nodded. “All task groups are to enter Fold Space as planned.”
Due to the distances between the three systems they were going to attack, the three task groups would be departing the red giant system at slightly different times. This was to ensure they dropped out of Fold Space within a few minutes of each other at their targets. That would prevent word of their attack from reaching the other targets in time for them to summon help. Nearly all civilized worlds, even those the Kleese had conquered, had FTL communication. Fortunately, it wasn’t instantaneous. By the time any of the three systems could spread the warning, the attacks would be underway or nearly over.
-
On board the one-thousand-meter long troop ship Defender, Commander Greer was waiting for the timer to reach zero. Along with the Defender, he had the battlecruisers Falcon and Firebolt, five light cruisers, and two Marine assault cruisers. Once they reached their target system, the two battlecruisers and the light cruisers would be responsible for taking out any Kleese assault ships that might be in the system. The Defender would hang back with the two Marine assault cruisers, providing them protection.
“Two minutes to Fold Space entry,” reported Lieutenant Alexis Dragger from the Helm. “Fold Space Drive is online.”
“How long will it take us to reach Lymeth Three?” asked Colonel Winfrey, who was standing next to the sensor console.
“It’s six light-years distant,” Dragger replied. “At the speed we’ll be traveling, it’ll take seventy-eight minutes to reach the system.”
Dylan nodded. That was about what he had expected. He was a little nervous about splitting the fleet in case they ran across a Zaltule battlecruiser or even a Kleese exploration vessel. However, this three-pronged attack was necessary if they wanted to draw the Zaltule away from the Alliance.
“One minute to Fold Space activation,” reported Lieutenant Dragger as she prepared to activate the ship’s drive system
.
“The entire fleet will go to Condition One ten minutes prior to our drop out from Fold Space,” Commander Greer informed Dylan.
“How close to Lymeth Three will we be?”
“Two million kilometers,” Greer answered. “That will put us close enough to quickly engage any Kleese assault ships there and still far enough away that we can withdraw if we find stiffer opposition than expected.”
Dylan sat down and prepared to wait. This mission was vital to the Alliance and it just had to succeed.
“Fold Space Drive activation,” reported Lieutenant Dragger as she pressed several controls on her console.
The drive activated and instantly in front of the Defender space became warped, making the distance between two points considerably less. The more power applied from the ship’s drive, the greater the warping effect was. The ship quickly accelerated to a speed far in excess of the speed of light.
-
The Defender and the other nine ships of her task force made the transition to Fold Space and vanished from the red giant system. The Callisto, under the command of Commander Bree Symington, had left twenty minutes earlier, and now all that was left was the taskforce under the command of Admiral Adamson aboard the Constellation. Ten minutes after the Defender left, Admiral Adamson’s task force made the transition into Fold Space, leaving the red giant system behind. In the system, there was no trace of the Human fleet ever having been there.
-
Ryan was in the Command Center of the Deliverance waiting for the ship to drop out of Fold Space. His Marines were already on the drop ships awaiting the orders to deploy.
“Drop out in five minutes,” reported the officer at the helm controls.
“Are your Marines ready?” asked Captain Durham.
Ryan nodded his confirmation. “They’re on board the drop ships. I’ll be joining them as soon as we go into orbit.” Ryan had decided that from now on his Marines would board the drop ships just prior to the Deliverance coming out of Fold Space. That way if something catastrophic happened to the Marine assault cruiser, his Marines would have a chance to survive. Of course if something that dire happened to the ship, then they would be in a very serious situation.
Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) Page 15