-
Grayseth was on board his flagship, the Carethian battleship Warrior’s Pride. The ship was sixteen hundred meters in length and heavily armed. They had just dropped out of hyperspace in the target system.
“Detecting fifteen Simulin battlecruisers and twenty support cruisers on the long-range sensors,” reported the sensor operator.
Grayseth nodded as his eyes turned toward one of the large viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center. Grayseth easily towered over his Human counterparts and his dark brown fur spoke out loudly that he was not Human. Jeremy and the other Humans had nicknamed the Carethians, calling them Bears.
“AI warspheres have exited hyperspace,” reported Ganlon, his second in command. “All ships report ready for combat.”
Grayseth grinned in satisfaction, his incisors showing prominently as he prepared to give the order to initiate a short hyperspace jump to just outside the gravity well of the target planet. The Simulins had established a small orbiting base around the fifth planet in the system. Grayseth intended to destroy the small shipyard, depriving the Simulins of a means to repair and supply their ships in this region of space. It was all part of Fleet Admiral Strong’s plan to force the Simulins to pull back from the area of space surrounding the nebula Gaia resided in.
“Course plotted,” reported the navigation officer.
“It is time to go on the hunt,” intoned Ganlon. “It feels good to be seeking prey once more.”
“Indeed,” answered Grayseth. “We hunt for the glory of our clans and the safety of our people as well as our allies. May our claws strike with honor. All ships will jump in two minutes.” Grayseth looked around the Command Center, sensing the anticipation from the crew to commence the hunt.
-
In orbit around the planet, High Commander Arnthos gazed in consternation at the red threat icons, which had just appeared on his ship’s tactical display.
“It’s a fleet from the Fitula Nebula,” confirmed the sensor operator.
“They have come to destroy this base,” High Commander Arnthos said as he gazed at the small shipyard on one of the ship’s viewscreens.
He was well aware of what had happened at Malkor and the other Simulin systems. For the first time in his memory, the Simulins had encountered an adversary possessing superior technology and weapons. The ancient ship of the builders of the Great Spheres had destroyed six Simulin worlds including Malkor. It also seemed to be under the control of the organics from the nebula.
With the loss of the Great Sphere and Malkor, military operations in the galaxy had come to a halt. Fleets had been called back to protect the remaining Simulin worlds as the Grand Council worked at developing a new plan to conquer this galaxy and eliminate its organics.
High Commander Arnthos stood up and glared at the tactical display. Arnthos skin was opalescent and blood vessels as well as some of his internal organs were visible. “Prepare for imminent combat. The ancient ship is not with this fleet; perhaps we can destroy it.”
“It’s a powerful fleet. Those spheres are controlled by AIs and capable of destroying our vessels,” said the Second Commander. “They have the firepower to annihilate us. The battle computer projects a 70 percent probability of our defeat.”
“We are Simulin,” retorted High Commander Arnthos dismissively. “There can be none but Simulin.” Unlike a few other Simulin High Commanders, he would rather die than retreat. It was the Simulin way to destroy any and all organics who might be a threat.
“None but Simulin,” responded the Second Commander bowing his head slightly.
-
Far out in the system, Grayseth’s fleet made the jump into hyperspace. In front of each vessel, a swirling blue-white vortex formed and one by one, the warships accelerated and entered their respective vortexes. The journey through hyperspace was a short one and soon new vortexes formed just outside the gravity well of the fifth planet. While Grayseth’s ships were perfectly capable of exiting hyperspace inside a planet’s gravity well, there was no point in stressing the hyperdrives needlessly.
-
“All ships have exited hyperspace and are moving into attack formation,” reported Ganlon. “The Simulin fleet has formed up and is advancing toward us. All ships are at Condition One, energy shields are online, and weapons are ready to fire.”
Grayseth nodded. He was extremely proud that Fleet Admiral and fellow clan member Jeremy Strong had given his people the enormous responsibility of destroying the two Simulin bases near the nebula. By destroying the bases, it would bring much honor to the Carethian clans on Gaia, and it was good to be on the hunt once more.
Looking at one of the viewscreens, he saw one of the Simulin seventeen-hundred-meter-battlecruisers. The vessel was bulbous in form with six large metallic looking pylons on the bow, which stretched at least two hundred meters out from the main hull of the ship. Each ended in a sharp point and contained a dangerous energy weapon. The weapons could be fired independently and in most cases would cause serious damage or destroy the ships they were focused on.
“All ships, this is Grayseth,” he spoke over the ship-to-ship comm. “Advance and engage the Simulins. It is time to begin the hunt!”
On the tactical display, the fleet began moving forward. The forty AI warspheres formed up into four lines ten ships across with the ten Alton battleships, two Federation battleships, and six Gaia class cruisers forming up above and below the AI ships. Grayseth’s battlecruisers and cruisers were directly behind the warspheres where they could still fire, move forward, and assume the position of any ship that was destroyed or had to withdraw due to excessive battle damage. Grayseth’s own battleship was crowding the rear of the AI ships as he wanted to be heavily involved in the battle.
“Nearing engagement range,” Ganlon reported as he watched the main tactical display. “Simulins have formed up into a wedge-shaped formation and are slowly advancing. Their escort cruisers have taken up support positions around the battlecruisers.”
“A change from past tactics where they would have pushed forward and tried to destroy us,” commented Grayseth.
“They have learned that our ships are not so easy to destroy.”
“Engagement range,” called out the tactical officer. “Permission to fire?”
Grayseth took a deep breath. He could feel his pulse pounding and the rush of blood through his veins. It was time to complete the hunt. “Fire!”
From the forty AI warspheres dark blue particle beams flashed forth to impact the Simulin warships. Screens flared brightly as the deadly energy pounded the protective shields. The Alton battleships joined in firing their even more powerful particle beam cannons. Space became lit up with energy discharges and explosions as the battle began.
-
Particle beam fire from the warspheres slammed into the main part of a Simulin battlecruiser, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris into space. One of its energy cannon spires was sheared off and then, in a blinding explosion, the ship blew apart. A glowing field of gas and wreckage was all that remained.
Particle beams and power beams from the Carethian battlecruisers struck a Simulin escort cruiser, blowing a gaping hole in its energy shield and blasting out a large section of the ship’s hull causing debris to begin drifting away from the vessel. A twenty-megaton Devastator Two missile burrowed deep inside, coming to rest near the engineering compartment. In a furious explosion of light, the warhead detonated, turning the escort cruiser into a mass of twisted wreckage.
A fifty-megaton Devastator Three missile slammed into the stern of a Simulin battlecruiser that had just lost its energy shield. A fiery nova suddenly appeared where the deadly warship had been. Across the entire Simulin fleet formation, massive explosions tore at the defensive screens and energy beams sought targets.
-
High Commander Arnthos felt growing anger as his fleet was being systematically annihilated by the AIs and the organics from the Fitula Nebula. His fla
gship shook violently as several particle beams smashed into the energy shield. One beam partially penetrated, blasting out a hole in the outer hull. Arnthos held onto his command chair until the shaking subsided. He had never fought the Fitula organics and their AIs before but now he realized why they were so dangerous. Unlike other organics he had annihilated in the past, this enemy had advanced weaponry that was dangerous to Simulin vessels. They advanced with a confidence he had never seen before, making him realize they had no fear of the power Arnthos represented.
“Concentrate our fire on just a few of the AI ships,” he ordered, his eyes narrowing sharply. It was his duty as a Simulin commander to inflict as much damage on the enemy as possible. Failure to do so would result in his demotion and possible execution. It was better to die in combat than face failure in front of his superiors.
“Concentrating fire on four of the AI spheres,” the Second Commander replied. “Firing energy cannons as well as antimatter missiles.”
-
In space, the firing from the Simulin vessels intensified. White energy beams impacted the screens of four AI warspheres. Antimatter missiles began detonating against the shields, causing them to waver. An energy beam suddenly penetrated, blasting out a huge chasm in the side of one of the warspheres. The ship turned, placing the damaged area away from the Simulins. The Simulins, seeing weakness, focused more firepower on the damaged vessel. Three energy beams penetrated the screen simultaneously, drilling deep inside the warsphere causing catastrophic damage. The energy screen flickered and then failed as too many power conduits were destroyed or damaged. Almost immediately an antimatter missile arrived, blowing the AI ship into a thousand glowing pieces. The Simulin ships then turned their focus to the other three targeted warspheres.
-
“Warsphere WS-97 is down,” reported the sensor operator to Grayseth. “Spheres 33, 47, and 62 are under heavy attack.”
On one of the primary viewscreens, a sudden flash of light suddenly filled it.
“Warsphere WS-47 is down.”
A deep frown crossed Grayseth’s face. Even though these were AI ships, they were still under his command. He knew each warsphere that was lost contained a crew of forty AIs. “Press forward; I want those Simulin vessels destroyed!” he roared, his eyes glowing red as another warsphere exploded on one of the viewscreens. The Simulins were beginning to extract a steep price on the fleet for its appearance so close to their shipyard.
On the viewscreens, massive explosions lit up space. Grayseth’s fleet was now launching primarily fifty-megaton Devastator Three missiles along with the much more powerful one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles. Across the Simulin formation, titanic explosions shook their energy shields as particle beams and power beams attempted to find weaknesses.
“Focus our weapons on that escort cruiser which has strayed from the Simulin formation,” ordered Grayseth, seeing a possible easy kill. In the hunt, it was prudent to take advantage of opportunities whenever they presented themselves.
“Firing,” reported the tactical officer.
-
In space, a particle beam penetrated the weakened energy screen of the designated escort cruiser. It struck the hull, tearing an energy turret into shreds and blasting a deep chasm into the side of the ship. Several power beams penetrated, raking the hull and opening up more compartments to space. Finally a Devastator Three missile arrived, annihilating the escort cruiser in a blazing explosion of light and energy.
-
“Escort cruiser is down,” reported the sensor operator.
Grayseth felt the ship shake slightly from weapons fire impacting the energy screen.
“Screen is holding at 82 percent,” Ganlon reported as he checked his console. “No damage.”
“Find us another target,” Grayseth ordered as he watched the battle on the ship’s viewscreens. This was the hunt and there was still more prey to kill.
-
On board the Gaia class battlecruiser Empress, the Command Center was in shambles. Two Simulin battlecruisers had managed to briefly overload the ship’s energy screen, allowing a pair of energy beams to strike the hull. Damage inside the ship was extensive.
“Status!” yelled Commander Brivington, trying to see through the smoke and sparks. Several consoles were on fire and others were shorting out. Heavy smoke was filling the Command Center, overwhelming the ventilation systems’ attempts to clear it. Brivington’s eyes were burning and the smoke was making it hard to breathe.
“Sublight drive is down and the energy shield is at 22 percent,” reported Lieutenant Simkins. “We took two hits just forward of Engineering. Chief Engineer Mason reports several fires out of control and the airtight doors have engaged, sealing off the engineering compartment.”
“Damn!” muttered Brivington. “Contact the Warrior’s Pride and inform Grayseth of our situation. Get as many damage control teams as possible working at getting to the engineering department. We need that sublight drive back online.”
“Communications are out,” replied Simpkins, shaking his head. The ship suddenly shook violently, throwing Simpkins to the deck.
Commander Brivington saw even more lights on the damage control console turn a glaring red. He knew his ship was dying around him. He felt helpless knowing there was nothing he could do.
“Secondary engineering is gone,” gasped the damage control officer in between fits of coughing from the smoke. “We’ve been hit by another energy beam. There’s no way the damage control teams can reach Main Engineering.”
“Two Alton battleships are moving toward us,” added the sensor operator with hope in his eyes. “I think they’re trying to maneuver between us and the Simulins.”
“They’re going to try to take the fire meant for us,” Lieutenant Simpkins said as he staggered back to his feet. He nearly fell as his ankle was broken. “If they’re successful, we just might survive this.”
“Inbound missile,” screamed the sensor operator as the ship suddenly seemed to be lifted up and then set violently back down.
Commander Brivington heard a loud groaning noise coming from his vessel and the sound of tearing and ripping metal. In the distance, he could hear the screams of frightened crewmembers. The security hatch was leaning at an odd angle where a support beam had smashed into it and he could see into the outside corridor.
“We’re breaking apart!” yelled Lieutenant Simpkins, his eyes showing fear as the sound of tearing metal suddenly reached a crescendo.
The lights abruptly went out as the power failed. The last thing Commander Brivington saw was when the Command Center opened up and he could see stars above him.
-
High Commander Arnthos grinned mirthlessly as he watched one of the organic ships die under the fire of his ship’s weapons. A second antimatter sublight missile finished blowing the shattered ship apart, leaving a glowing debris field to mark its passing.
“We’ve managed to destroy four of their AI ships as well as one of the organic vessels,” reported the Second Commander. “Perhaps we should withdraw. We did receive orders that preserving our fleet was of a high priority. The battle computer is now projecting an 82 percent chance of defeat.”
High Commander Arnthos turned toward the Second Commander. His hand strayed to the energy pistol at his waist. What the Second Commander had said in other times would have been considered treason. However, he was correct about the order though Arnthos had no intention of obeying it. Simulins did not retreat from battle. They destroyed the enemy for there could only be Simulins. All others must be annihilated.
“Continue the attack,” he said coldly. “We will destroy as many of the enemy as possible in order to weaken them so our other fleets can annihilate these organics and their AI allies. We are Simulins and we recognize no others.”
The Second Commander nodded his understanding and acceptance. “There can only be Simulin,” he said emotionlessly. Death in combat was the highest honor for a Simulin and was expected by
the Grand Council.
“Only Simulins,” Arnthos replied as he saw another one of his battlecruisers explode on one of the viewscreens.
-
“The Empress is down,” reported the sensor operator on the Warrior’s Pride. “She was struck by at least two Simulin antimatter missiles.”
Grayseth blinked his large eyes. He hadn’t expected to lose one of the powerful Gaia class battlecruisers. “Status of the enemy?”
“The hunt goes well,” Ganlon responded as he studied the tactical displays. “The Simulins have only four battlecruisers and two escort cruisers remaining.” Even as he spoke one of the battlecruisers vanished in an antimatter fireball on one of the viewscreens.
“AIs are advancing and focusing their firepower on the remaining Simulin vessels,” the sensor operator reported. “The Altons are closing also.”
Grayseth knew the Alton ships were primarily manned by Humans with only a few Altons on board. As he watched, the remaining Simulin vessels came under heavy attack, so heavy they became totally defensive. In bright explosions of antimatter energy, the last Simulin ships died.
“All enemy targets have been eliminated,” Ganlon reported. “Our fleet lost four AI warspheres and the Empress. We have damage to a number of others vessels including one of our own battlecruisers and two cruisers. It has been a successful hunt.”
“Agreed,” replied Grayseth. Losses were expected in battle. “Instruct the AIs to close with the Simulin shipyard and destroy it.”
-
The thirty-six surviving AI warspheres approached the Simulin shipyard. It only took a few moments of intense particle beam fire to bring down its defensive energy shield. Two fifty-megaton Devastator Three missiles then reduced the structure to glowing gas and burning plasma. Everything in the system that was Simulin had been annihilated.
-
“Target destroyed,” confirmed Ganlon. “The hunt is over and we have brought much honor to our clans.”
The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 3