Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5)

by Raymond L. Weil

  “I’ve been talking to Marken and General Bailey about what’s going on in the war. Beth, I’m really starting to get worried. We haven’t heard from Admiral Adamson, and the Zaltule are still at the trading station in Sector Thirteen.”

  Beth reached out and took Wade’s hand. She had known him long enough to realize just how worried he actually was. Ryan was with Admiral Adamson’s fleet, and she knew that was part of the reason for his concern. “If Admiral Adamson’s mission was working, the Zaltule should have left the trading station by now. Why haven’t they? Perhaps it didn’t work and Seventh Fleet is on its way back.”

  “That’s the six million dollar question,” answered Wade, arching his eyebrow and frowning. He watched as several compact electric powered cars drove down their street. It still amazed him how quiet cars were nowadays. “I think the Zaltule are waiting for something.”

  “For what?” asked Beth with concern crossing into her eyes.

  Wade took a deep breath. “More ships. Perhaps they’re bringing in their exploration ships and additional assault ships. Hell, Beth, they probably have tens of thousands of assault ships scattered across their empire.”

  “We don’t have enough ships, do we?” Beth guessed. She knew that space war was all about numbers.

  “No, not by a long shot, not if they bring in the exploration cruisers and assault ships.”

  Beth squeezed Wade’s hand and turned to face him. “There must be a way to even things up.”

  Wade pulled his hand free and standing up, walked to the edge of the porch. Across the street was a small park and a number of children were playing on the swings. He watched them for a moment, listening to their carefree laughter.

  “Beth, I keep feeling I know the answer, but I just can’t figure it out. Some weapon we have that we’re just not using right.”

  Standing up, Beth walked over to stand next to Wade. “I went to see my mother today; her memory is starting to fail. I don’t think she even knows where we are anymore. She keeps talking about taking a trip to the mountains. Maybe that’s what you need to do.”

  “Go to the mountains?” asked Wade, looking confused. He wasn’t sure what Beth was talking about.

  “No,” Beth replied. “Take some time off and relax. Give yourself some space and I’m sure the answer will come to you; it always has. Now, let’s go inside and eat. Erick should be waking up from his nap and I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you.”

  Wade nodded. He knew Beth was right. Maybe he did need to take a few days off; he had been running all over the Solar System for the last several weeks. A few days of downtime might be good for him.

  “I’ll call General Bailey tomorrow and tell him I’m taking the rest of the week off.”

  Beth nodded. She had all the confidence in the world in Wade. He had successfully pulled them out of sticky situations numerous times. She was certain he would do the same again. After all, that was the type of man he was and one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. Inside the house, she thought she could hear Erick stirring in his crib. She loved being a mother and staying at home. She just hoped nothing ever changed that.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Casey rolled over in her bunk and opened her eyes. It had been two weeks since the disastrous attack at Lymeth Three. Looking across the small room, she saw that Lauren was still sound asleep. With a sigh, she sat up and stretched. She missed waking up in the morning with Ryan at her side; it was something she had grown used to and enjoyed. She grinned recalling the passionate lovemaking they had shared on many of those mornings. Swinging her legs out of the bunk, she sat there for a moment thinking about the day’s activities. Her Marines were scheduled for a five-kilometer run, and she wanted to have time to grab a light breakfast before heading over to the training facility. Nearly one entire level of the Deliverance had been designed for Marine training, and it had one workout area that was perfect for a long run.

  “Up already?” asked Lauren with a yawn as she rolled over and then sat up with her hands folded in her lap.

  Casey nodded. “Busy day today.”

  “Oh yeah, the five-kilometer run,” Lauren moaned as she collapsed back on her bunk and closed her eyes.

  With a laugh, Casey grinned. “I’m sure you and Alexander will have no problem with it.”

  “It’s not that, I’m just sure Alexander will find some way to berate Private Richards. Camden can’t seem to do anything to satisfy him.”

  Casey walked over closer to Lauren. “Just what is going on between you and Camden, are you sleeping with him?”

  Lauren opened her eyes, sat back up, and grinned. “Now that’s a thought. Can you imagine how Alexander would react if I did?”

  “I take that as a no?”

  Lauren shook her head. “No, I haven’t slept with Camden. He’s a nice guy and I enjoy talking to him, but he’s just not my type for a sexual relationship. I prefer my men to be a little bit more aggressive.”

  “Like Alexander?”

  Lauren blushed. “Alexander’s too aggressive! He doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.”

  “I’m going to take a quick shower and then head to the mess hall for a quick breakfast. Want to join me?”

  “I’ll pass,” Lauren replied. “I’ll grab something to eat after the run.”

  Casey nodded and went on to take her shower. The relationship between Lauren and Alexander confused her. She knew the two liked each other, but Lauren was doing everything she could to prevent their relationship from going further. Maybe if she asked Ryan, he could help explain to her what was going on between the two. There were still a few things about true Humans that confused her.

  -

  Ryan was in the Command Center of the Deliverance with Captain Durham. “So we’re going to hit another target?”

  “That’s the plan,” Durham replied. “Commander Symington wants to hit the former nonaligned world of Anglesh. It’s far enough from the Alliance that it just might cause the Zaltule to pull their forces back and come looking for us. She’s still hoping to succeed in our mission of giving Fleet Admiral Rivers the time he needs to finish training his crews.”

  Ryan looked at the ship’s main viewscreen. They had dropped out of Fold Space in a white dwarf star system. A white dwarf was the dying remnant of an imploded star. This particular star was a spectral type D with a mass just slightly over that of Earth’s sun. While they weren’t that far away from it, the star was still very dim.

  “No contacts,” reported Ensign Donna Edwards from her sensor console.

  Ryan looked over at the tactical screen, which showed the twenty-one surviving ships of the fleet. It was still a sizable force and with the Callisto and the three battlecruisers, they still had a lot of firepower.

  “What’s so important about Anglesh?”

  Durham turned his attention away from the viewscreen he had been watching. “It has a large Kleese base on it. Not Zaltule, but regular Kleese. “There’s not a trading station in the immediate area and the Kleese have taken over the two large orbiting space stations. They control this entire quadrant from Anglesh.”

  “Won’t there be an exploration ship or two in the system as well as assault ships?” asked Ryan with concern. It sounded to him as if they would have to fight a fleet battle to secure the system before any Marines could be landed on the planet.

  “Probably,” Durham responded. “Commander Symington will take the Callisto and the three battlecruisers in first followed by the eight light cruisers a few minutes later. They’ll try to clear the space around the planet before we come in. There’s a large Kleese compound next to the planet’s main spaceport. That will be the target of your Marines. Commander Symington is hoping by taking out such a high priority target the regular Kleese will demand that the Zaltule respond and pull their forces back to find our fleet.”

  “She’s rolling the dice,” commented Ryan, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s risky.”

  “But
if it works, then Admiral Adamson and the others won’t have died in vain.”

  Ryan nodded. All the surviving Marines wanted some revenge for what had happened to the Defender, Colonel Winfrey, and the others.

  -

  In the Anglesh System, Kanab watched the viewscreens in his Command Center inside the largest space station. Several cargo ships were inbound from the system of Calen, a Kleese controlled world. While the civilization wasn’t highly advanced, they did provide several foodstuffs the Kleese required. It had been unfortunate that over half of the population of Calen had to be eliminated before they agreed to be part of the empire. However, they were a lower order race just above vermin, and only the foodstuffs they provided made them important to the Kleese.

  “The Calen ships will dock at bay two shortly,” reported Antolth, a tall Nabian who was responsible for all of the conscripts currently on the two stations.

  “See to the distribution of the food items,” Kanab ordered coldly.

  He cared little for the Nabians; however, the race was dedicated to the Kleese and went out of their way to follow orders without question. They served quite well in their subservient role and were intelligent enough to operate most of the control consoles while requiring little supervision from their Kleese overseers.

  “A Zaltule battlecruiser is due to arrive tomorrow,” spoke Caleeb, a Kleese of the same clan as Kanab. He shuffled his six feet upon the deck of the Command Center. “I do not care for the Zaltule; I greatly fear they are dragging our empire toward its doom.”

  Kanab stared at Caleeb through his multifaceted eyes. Caleeb had always mistrusted the Zaltule. He thought it was a huge mistake for the former Supreme Overlord to have awakened them.

  “The Zaltule are a part of the Kleese race,” replied Kanab. “We will not treat them any differently.”

  “What about the rest of the clans?” demanded Caleeb. “The Zaltule are already passing edicts they insist we follow in dealing with the subservient races and in expanding our empire. I have heard rumors of the Zaltule executing other Kleese, who have failed to follow their demands.”

  “The Zaltule are the warrior race in battle and in the expansion of our empire. It might be wise to do as they ask.”

  “What if they cannot defeat the Humans and their Alliance, what will that mean for the empire?”

  “Not defeat the Humans?” Kanab responded, his voice rising in anger. “The Zaltule are the warrior clan of the empire; they cannot be defeated in battle. The Zaltule will crush the Humans and their paltry Alliance and then lead our empire to glory as we conquer this galaxy.”

  Caleeb didn’t reply. He had been following the Zaltules’ conflict with the Humans and their Alliance. All a Kleese needed to do was look at what the Humans and their Alliance had done to the home system to realize just how big a threat they actually were. He had seen the glowing crater where the Human ship had devastated the capital city. Kanab was a fool for not recognizing the risk the Zaltule represented.

  Leaving the Command Center, Caleeb intended to make a quick tour of both stations. He had been informed that some of the lesser conscripts were performing at subpar levels. Touching the small black control box he always carried at his side Caleeb had already decided to make a few examples. New conscripts could easily be brought up from the planet below or some of the nearby worlds under Kleese control. He still found it hard to comprehend how so many worlds could be infested with such vermin. Someday, far in the future, most of the vermin infested worlds would be cleared of their infestations and Kleese Queens would be brought in to repopulate the planets with the supreme race. Only a few former nonaligned worlds with relative high technical civilizations would be spared, and those would be dominated by the Kleese.

  -

  Commander Bree Symington waited anxiously for the fleet to drop out of Fold Space. She had staggered the fleet in case she ran into heavier than expected opposition. The Callisto and the three battlecruisers would drop out first and engage any major ships around the two space stations or the planet. Shortly after that, the light cruisers would drop out and destroy any assault ships that might be in orbit. A few minutes after that, the Marine assault cruisers would put in an appearance and begin their assault on the Kleese facility on the planet. Bree was concerned she was in slightly over her head. She had never commanded a fleet before let alone been responsible for coordinating multiple ship actions in a battle.

  “Drop out in five minutes,” reported Lieutenant Karl Adams from the Helm.

  Bree leaned forward in her command chair. The fleet was at Condition One, and she just hoped the Kleese in the Anglesh System didn’t have the capability to track a fleet in Fold Space. Her entire plan was based on the element of surprise.

  The minutes passed slowly and then suddenly, the Callisto dropped back into normal space.

  “Drop out,” reported Lieutenant Adams.

  “Sensors coming online,” added Ensign Brenda Davis

  “Energy shield is powering up and weapons are charging,” reported Lieutenant Bruce Fields.

  Alarms started sounding and red lights began flashing on the sensor console. On the tactical screen, numerous red threat icons began to appear. Two of the icons were very large.

  Bree felt the adrenalin start to surge through her body and her heart began to pound. She took several long and deep breaths as she waited to see what Kleese vessels were waiting for them.

  One of the viewscreens suddenly cleared of static and Commander Symington’s face turned white when she saw the massive form of a Kleese exploration ship.

  “I have two exploration ships on the sensors,” reported Ensign Davis. “I’m also picking up twelve assault ships in orbit around the planet.”

  The exploration ships were the largest ships the Kleese built. They were twelve thousand meters across and over two thousand meters thick, heavily armored and contained additional assault ships. They weren’t as heavily armed as a Zaltule battlecruiser but were still extremely dangerous. It had been a Kleese exploration ship that had destroyed Earth.

  Bree gazed at the massive ship on the viewscreen. “Tactical, hit that exploration ship with our multi-warhead missiles, flush the tubes before it can raise its energy shield!”

  -

  Almost instantly from the Callisto, twenty-four sublight antimatter missiles flashed from the tubes. Two seconds later, all twenty-four missiles slammed into the massive vessel before its commander could bring the vessel’s energy shield online. With six twenty-megaton warheads in each missile, one hundred and forty-four explosions burned through the hull of the ship melting metal, equipment, and crew. With a tremendous flash of light, the exploration ship exploded, sending fragments flying in every direction. The multiple explosions coalesced until they took on the appearance of a small brightly glowing sun.

  -

  Commander Symington leaned back in her command chair stunned at how quickly they had destroyed the larger vessel. She knew they had achieved a brief tactical victory by appearing unexpectedly so close to the Kleese vessels. Energy screens were power hogs, and most ships didn’t have them activated unless combat was expected.

  “First exploration ship is down,” reported Ensign Davis exuberantly. “I’m detecting the shield going up on the second one.”

  Bree hit her ship-to-ship comm. “All battlecruisers are to engage the second exploration ship. Knock its shield down and then use multi-warhead missiles to destroy it.”

  -

  Kanab stared at the station’s tactical screen in shock. One of the two exploration ships assigned to him had just been destroyed. Its shattered ruins were visible on one of the large viewscreens.

  “Humans,” reported Antolth as the Nabian gazed at a ship now showing on one of the other screens. “The ships are Human.”

  Caleeb came hurrying into the Command Center and came to a halt staring at the viewscreen showing the Human warship. On another screen, the shattered remains of the destroyed exploration ship were being displa
yed.

  “What is the status of the other exploration ship?” demanded Caleeb. The Humans had come, and he knew if they didn’t destroy them, they would kill every Kleese in the system. Unlike most other races that went out of their way to avoid harming a Kleese, the Humans had no such compunction.

  “It’s still operational,” Kanab replied. “It has its energy shield up and will shortly be engaging the Human ships.”

  “Order the ship to launch all of its assault ships; we’ll need every vessel if we hope to defeat the Humans.”

  Kanab turned his multifaceted gaze toward Caleeb. He had calmed down now that the other exploration ship had its energy shield up. “We have nothing to fear; the remaining exploration ship will destroy these upstart Humans. We are Kleese, and we are the superior race.”

  Caleeb rose up to his full height and stared at Kanab in anger. “If you believe that then prepare to die,” he said harshly. “I have studied these Humans, and they are fearless in battle. Our Military Overlord has even stated he believes they are comparable to the Zaltule in combat.”

  “You are weak minded,” snarled Kanab, shaking his head in denial. “No race is equal to any clan of the Kleese, let alone the Zaltule. I am sure the exploration ship and our assault ships will soon deal with this minor Human threat.”

  Caleeb didn’t reply. He looked once more at the viewscreen showing the remains of the destroyed exploration ship. Turning around, he left the Command Center to make his way to the station’s flight bay. Kanab’s arrogance was going to cost the Kleese this system and Caleeb had no intention of dying. There was a small cargo ship docked to the bay, and he intended to commandeer it and leave.

  -

  “Battlecruisers have engaged the other exploration ship,” Ensign Davis reported.

  “Put it up on one of the viewscreens,” ordered Commander Symington. “Lieutenant Adams, move us closer and prepare the plasma cannon to fire. Once we’re in range, hit the exploration ship with our primary particle beam cannons followed by the plasma cannon.”

  “Light cruisers are dropping out of Fold Space,” Ensign Davis reported as eight friendly green icons appeared on the tactical screen.