“Do you still believe it was a feint by the Humans to draw our fleet back from Alliance Space?”
“Yes,” answered Harmock, folding his powerful black arms across his chest. “The Humans are no fools and worthy adversaries in combat. It was a sound strategic move on their part. We’re fortunate we had our older Zaltule battlecruisers to call upon to deal with the threat.”
“What of former Supreme Overlord Xatul? Has there been any word on where he has fled?”
Harmock’s multifaceted eyes narrowed. He was deeply concerned Xatul could still pose a problem. Many of the other clans of the Kleese Empire still supported the former Supreme Overlord. “Kaluse reports there is still no sign of our former leader. He believes Xatul has fled the empire to some other section of the galaxy.”
“He may be a threat someday,” pointed out Gareth in a harsh and somewhat grating voice. “He could form another empire of his own in a different part of the galaxy and return to oppose us. He has members of three clans with him.”
“Clans which will soon be extinct in our own empire if they continue to show inclinations of supporting our former Supreme Overlord,” Harmock replied in an uncompromising voice. “There will be no thoughts of insurrection allowed by any of the clans. Also, Xatul has no Queens with him that we’re aware of. After we have defeated the Alliance and the Humans, we’ll return to our home system and reform the Council of Overlords with our clan in control. All other clans will be expected to fall in line or suffer the consequences. We have many more warriors that will soon be joining us from the new hatchings of our Queens.”
Gareth turned his attention back to the viewscreens as more of the three kilometer Zaltule battlecruisers continued to drop out of Fold Space. “What will be our first target?”
“A nearby Alliance world,” Harmock replied. He touched an icon on a screen on the command console in front of him. On one of the large viewscreens a blue-white world appeared. “That is the nonaligned world of Callenda. It is one of the weaker Alliance worlds and our first target.”
“And after we conquer Callenda, then where shall we go?” Gareth knew that Harmock had spoken of attacking the Humans next.
“To the Humans’ home system,” confirmed Harmock. “They will be expecting us to attack the rest of the Alliance worlds one by one. Instead, we will take our entire fleet and destroy the Humans once and for all. After their system has been destroyed, we’ll then turn on the Alliance and bring their worlds back under Kleese control. Their desire to fight will have been substantially reduced when they learn their Human allies have been annihilated.”
“What about the leaders of all of those Alliance worlds? They may be a problem after being under the influence of the Humans and unwilling to submit to Kleese rule.”
Harmock was silent for several moments before replying. “We will emplace the collars of obedience around all of their rebellious necks. They’ll be taken out before their populations and executed. Seeing the heads blown off of their leaders should quell any future thoughts of rebellion. They will fall in line and become part of our empire.”
“How soon before we launch our attack?” asked Gareth.
“We will leave tomorrow,” Harmock responded. “We’ll form the fleet into one single formation and proceed to Callenda. When the other Alliance worlds hear of the size of our fleet and what happened at Callenda, they may decide to recant their membership in the Alliance even before we attack the Humans.”
Gareth nodded. “The Zaltule are the supreme race in the galaxy. It is only right that all others serve.”
“Only those who can provide a service to the empire,” Harmock responded. “In time, we will annihilate all the vermin that infest so many of the worlds in our empire. Those worlds will be given to new Zaltule Queens to grow our clan. Someday this entire galaxy will be ours.”
-
The light cruiser Sparrow floated in space listening for FTL signals from the Kleese trading station a mere four point seven light years distant from the brown dwarf system they were hiding in.
“It’s too quiet,” Lieutenant Allen Stein said from his sensor console.
“How many signal pings have we recorded in the last twenty-four hours?” asked Captain Hailey Rogers, looking over at Communications.
“Twelve,” Ensign Gene Taylor answered. “The last was only twenty minutes ago. From its strength and intensity, the Zaltule are still sitting around the trading station.”
Captain Rogers nodded and let out a deep yawn. So far, other than one assault ship that had appeared in the system, this mission had been very quiet and uneventful. “I’m going to my quarters. Call me if anything changes.”
-
Hailey had been asleep for several hours when suddenly the Condition One alarms began sounding. Rolling out of bed, she hit the communication’s button on the comm device on her nightstand. “Report!”
“Zaltule fleet is moving,” reported Ensign Luke Marist. “The last two pings we received indicate the fleet has gone into Fold Space.”
“Summon the rest of the command crew,” Hailey ordered. “I’ll be there shortly.
It didn’t take Hailey long to reach the ship’s small Command Center. Stepping inside, she made her way to her command chair and looked over at Communications. “Status!”
“We’ve received one additional ping,” Ensign Taylor replied. “The fleet is moving in our general direction and toward Alliance space.”
“How close are they?”
“Less than a light year,” Lieutenant Stein answered as he checked his sensor data. “They’re probably still accelerating.”
“How close do we need to be to be able to scan that fleet with our new sensors?” The Sparrow had been equipped with the new sensors, which could detect ships in Fold Space.
“One tenth of a light year,” Stein replied, and then his eyes narrowed. “Are you thinking about moving us closer to the Zaltule fleet? Those are Zaltule battlecruisers and they’ll probably detect us once we enter Fold Space.”
“They may detect us but they won’t know who we are,” Hailey replied evenly. “We can only hope they think we’re just a harmless cargo ship.” She took a deep breath and looked at the expectant faces of her command crew. “Ensign Marist, activate our Fold Space Drive and plot an intercept course for the Zaltule fleet. Let’s just see where they’re going.” Hailey knew the enemy’s eventual destination would be vital to Alliance Fleet Admiral Rivers. She was determined to get him that information.
-
Adjusting course away from the brown dwarf system, the light cruiser Sparrow suddenly accelerated and moments later activated her Fold Space Drive. Space in front of the small three-hundred-meter long ship suddenly became warped, making the distance between two points much shorter. The ship continued to accelerate until it reached its top cruising speed of one hundred twenty light years per day.
For six hours, the ship flew toward the estimated position of the Zaltule fleet. Two more FTL pings from the hidden tracking devices aided in allowing the Sparrow to continue to track the fleet and its approximate course.
-
“Contact,” called out Lieutenant Allen Stein as Zaltule battlecruisers finally started registering on the special Fold Space detection sensors.
“Adjust our course to parallel the Zaltule fleet,” ordered Captain Rogers. Hailey leaned forward as the sensors began putting red threat icons up on the tactical display. After a few minutes, the screen looked like one solid mass of red.
“How many ships is that?” she asked, knowing she was looking at thousands of warships.
“This can’t be right,” muttered Lieutenant Stein, shaking his head in disbelief. “The sensors must be malfunctioning.”
“Why’s that?” asked Hailey as her eyes shifted toward Stein.
“The sensors are showing ten thousand two hundred and sixty Zaltule battlecruisers,” answered Stein in a stunned voice.
“What?” Hailey said, her eyes widening and her face tu
rning pale. “That can’t be right. The Zaltule only have six thousand of their big battlecruisers. Is there any chance our sensors are picking up assault and exploration ships?”
“No, Captain,” replied Lieutenant Stein, shaking his head. “All vessels the sensors are picking up are first line Zaltule battlecruisers. I’ll run a system diagnostic, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong.”
“We’re screwed,” said Lieutenant Callie Smith from Tactical as she gazed at the red threat icons that filled the tactical screen. “The Alliance and the Solar System can’t handle a fleet of that size. It will roll over all of our defenses as if they aren’t even there.”
Hailey continued to gaze at the massive red blob on the tactical screen. She could feel her heart pounding and a cold chill run down her back. If this fleet reached Alliance space, she knew there was nothing Alliance Fleet Admiral Rivers could do to stop it. She leaned back in her command chair, deep in thought. Where the hell had the Zaltule come up with four thousand more battlecruisers? All of the intelligence gleaned over the last year had indicated the Zaltule had a maximum fleet of slightly over six thousand vessels. Someone had really screwed up.
“Send a message to the nearest FTL communication buoy,” she finally ordered. “We need to inform the Alliance and Fleet Admiral Rivers what’s headed their way. Download the data we’ve gathered into an encrypted communications packet and send it.”
“What about us?” asked Lieutenant Stein.
Hailey shifted her gaze to her second in command. “We’ll continue to follow the Zaltule fleet. They can’t attack us while we’re in Fold Space.”
Stein nodded his head and then went back to studying the information on his sensors.
“Let me know as soon as we’ve determined their most likely destination.” Hailey knew wherever this Zaltule fleet was heading, the system had no chance of a successful resistance. The question was, in the face of such an overwhelming force, should the system resist at all?
Hailey looked around at her command crew. All were strangely silent as if they had just witnessed the end of the world. Hailey knew there was nothing she could say to comfort them. The massive red blob on the tactical screen said it all. It was Armageddon headed toward the Alliance and the Solar System, and there was nothing she knew of that could stop it.
-
Alliance Fleet Admiral Rivers gazed at the data flowing across the viewscreen on his command console in silence. This was the encrypted data packet they had just received from the Sparrow.
“Where did they get those ships?” asked Commander Greerman in a very much subdued voice. “All of our intelligence indicated a Zaltule fleet of only six thousand vessels.”
Rivers slowly shook his head, feeling numb at what he was seeing. “Someone made a mistake, a very bad one.”
Commander Greerman gazed at the data for another few seconds and then began inputting information into his console. He finally stopped and shifted his gaze toward the admiral. “It looks as if their most likely destination is Callenda. We won’t know for sure for another four to six hours, assuming the Sparrow can continue to send us updates.”
“Captain Rogers will do her job,” Rivers said with conviction. “She’s a fine officer and knows how important this information is to the Alliance.” He also knew this data packet had been sent fourteen hours ago. By now, the Sparrow knew where the Zaltule fleet was headed and had probably already transmitted the information. It would just take a while for it to get to the fleet. He paused and looked over at Ensign Entz at Communications. “Send the communications packet to President Raytol at Lanolth and inform him we’ll keep him apprised of future developments. Also, send a copy to General Mitchell. They all need to know our battle plans have just taken a serious hit.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” commented Commander Greerman with a deep frown. “How do we stop ten thousand Zaltule battlecruisers?”
Fleet Admiral Rivers rubbed his forehead trying to come up with a viable battle plan. If he allowed the Zaltule to conquer Callenda with no attempt by him to stop it, then the Alliance might fall apart. He had no alternative but to engage the Zaltule fleet and hope for the best.
Turning toward Lieutenant Rodriquez at the Helm, he gave his next order. “Helm, set a course for Callenda. I want the entire fleet in battle formation Alpha.” Formation Alpha was a loose cylinder shaped formation that allowed sufficient distance between ships to ensure there were no collisions upon drop out. Once the fleet emerged from Fold Space, the formation could be rapidly tightened to provide for the maximum amount of defensive firepower.
“We’re going to be badly outnumbered,” warned Commander Greerman. “If we attempt to engage that many Zaltule battlecruisers we could be putting the fleet at risk.”
Fleet Admiral Rivers nodded his agreement. “We probably can’t save Callenda, but just maybe we can give the Zaltule a bloody nose, slow down their advance, and show the Alliance we’re willing to fight for every world no matter what the odds. What size defense fleet does Callenda have?”
Commander Greerman pressed some icons on his computer screen and his eyes narrowed. “Not a lot. They’re one of the smaller Alliance worlds as far as population and industrialization go. They’re quite advanced but normally very secluded. They shun contact with most races and only indulge in a minimal amount of trade. It’s one of the reasons they waited so long to join the Alliance. Their entire defense fleet consists of twenty battlecruisers and sixty support ships.”
“What about ion cannons on the surface?”
“Only twenty,” Greerman answered as he studied the information on his screen. “There hasn’t been enough time to install more. The original plans called for over one hundred. I’m afraid they won’t be of much help.”
“Fleet’s ready to enter Fold Space,” Lieutenant Rodriquez reported.
Rivers looked around the Command Center. Everyone was busy at their stations in preparation for entering Fold Space. “Do it,” he ordered. “Let’s go find us some Zaltule to kill.”
-
Military Overlord Harmock gazed curiously at the tactical screen showing an unknown contact shadowing the fleet at a discreet distance.
“That ship has been following us for three days,” commented Minor Overlord Gareth. “It has to be a Human vessel.”
The Military Overlord gazed at the screen for several long moments. “The Humans must have been watching us at the trading station, and when we left they followed us. That means the Alliance will know we’re coming.”
“But how?” demanded Gareth as he glared at the small red threat icon on the far edge of the screen. “We had assault ships out continuously on routine patrol as well as several battlecruisers. If the Humans had a ship in the system, we should have detected it.”
“Don’t forget the Humans have the advanced technology of a large number of Alliance worlds to draw upon. They may have found a method to make their ships harder to detect.”
Gareth shuffled his legs and his feet made a clicking noise on the metal of the Command Center’s deck. “Do you believe the Humans will come to the aid of Callenda?”
Harmock turned his multifaceted eyes toward Gareth. “They must, or their Alliance may collapse. That’s why we’re proceeding at a much slower speed than our ships are capable of. I want to draw the Humans out and crush their fleet before we move on to destroy their home star system.”
“What about the small ship that’s tracking us?”
“It’s in Fold Space and immune to attack at the moment,” Harmock said. “It’s obviously one of their light cruiser vessels. When we get to Callenda, we’ll destroy it.”
Looking around the Command Center, Harmock noted with satisfaction the quiet efficiency of the Zaltule standing before the control consoles. There were no conscripts upon the battlecruiser. None of the lesser races were allowed upon any Zaltule vessel. Looking down at his seven-digit right hand, he looked forward to the day they could begin using the black control boxes to
begin eliminating those vermin deemed unnecessary to the empire.
-
Captain Hailey Rogers was once more in the Command Center. She had been taking only short breaks as being near so many Zaltule battlecruisers made her highly nervous. So far, they hadn’t responded to the Sparrow shadowing their fleet though Hailey strongly suspected they had detected them by now.
“Do we have their most likely target?” she asked as she sat down in her command chair.
“Callenda,” Ensign Marist answered promptly. “We have thought that for several days now, and they haven’t deviated from their course. If they stay at their present speed, in five days they will reach the Callenda System.”
Hailey looked with great concern at the tactical display showing the Zaltule fleet. She knew Callenda’s defense fleet would be swept away by the Zaltule as if it were nothing.
“Send the latest update to the Alliance and Fleet Admiral Rivers,” she ordered.
“How long are we going to follow the Zaltule fleet?” asked Lieutenant Stein.
“All the way to Callenda,” Hailey answered softly. “We’ll observe the attack on the planet and then report back to Lanolth.” Hailey leaned back in her command chair, folding her arms across her chest. She knew very shortly, the first battle to determine the fate of the Alliance and the Solar System was going to be fought. Unfortunately, she saw no way they could win.
-
“Alliance Fleet Admiral Rivers watched expectantly as the Independence dropped out of Fold Space and into the Callenda System.
“Report!” he ordered. The fleet had emerged at Condition One ready for combat just in case any Zaltule ships had arrived early ahead of their main fleet.
“Fleet is still emerging from Fold Space,” Commander Greerman answered.
“Energy screen is coming online and weapons are powering up,” reported Lieutenant Sandra Brim from Tactical.
“No Zaltule ships are being detected by the sensors,” added Lieutenant Mandy Hertz.
“We’re being challenged by an Admiral Zahn of the Callenda defense fleet,” reported Ensign Martin Entz.
Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) Page 26