The Slaver Wars: Endgame

by Raymond L. Weil

  “They what!” roared High Councilor Jarles his eyes turning red in anger. “They've lost all of their honor to do such a thing. What will become of the core worlds if they're under Human rule?”

  “They are lost to us,” confirmed High Leader Nartel. “Computer estimates put the total population loss at nearly ninety percent. The worlds are devastated from the fighting over food supplies and many of the orbiting habits have been completely depopulated.”

  “Then we can never return home,” Jarles said, letting out a deep breath. The family members he had left behind were probably dead.

  “No, I’ve already recalled the armed scouts. The Humans and Altons must not become aware of our new colony, at least not until we’re ready.”

  “In honor, we will rebuild our Empire,” High Leader Berken spoke his eyes showing fire.

  “In honor,” the others echoed.

  “Each of you will be assigned tasks to watch over; we must rebuild our strength as rapidly as possible and remain in hiding,” spoke High Leader Nartel. “Someday in the future, we will reemerge and the Hocklyn Empire will live again!”

  -

  Later, High Leader Nartel stood once more on the Command Pedestal in the War Room, gazing at the viewscreens that showed the activity around the dreadnought. At last they were out from beneath the controlling AIs and far enough away from the Humans and the Altons to remain undetected for quite some time. Someday, the Hocklyn Empire would rise again and not even the Humans and the Altons would be allowed to stand in the way.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hedon tossed the flat stone out across the blue water of the lake, watching it skip. Eight times the stone bounced off the water, creating gentle ripples until finally disappearing into the depths.

  Janice held a similar rock and mimicking Hedon’s throw she tossed her’s. It hit the water with a loud plunk and sank immediately.

  “I guess I’ll never get the hang of that,” she groaned, shaking her head. Hedon made it look so easy.

  “My brother Taylor taught me how to skip rocks,” Hedon said with a chuckle. It was good to see Janice having a good time.

  Janice nodded, leaned back, and stretched. She felt her more than ample breasts strain against the light shirt she was wearing. There was a time when this would've embarrassed her. Now she felt pleased and a warm glow inside, seeing Hedon’s attention suddenly focus fully on her. They were on Maken at the lake where Hedon’s brother’s cabin once stood, taking some much needed time off from the war.

  “The lake's nearly full again,” spoke Hedon, shifting his eyes away from Janice’s alluring figure. He wondered if she knew the effect she had on him at times with her antics. “The work robots have finished repairing the dam, and in another few months it should be back to how it was.” In the distance, he could see several colorful birds circling low over the water looking for fish to eat.

  “That’s great, Hedon,” Janice answered with a smile. She knew that getting the lake back to how it had been would please Hedon immensely. “Are there still fish in the lake?”

  “Surprisingly, there are,” he responded, pointing to a few ripples out in the calm water. The wind was barely blowing and only gentle waves were visible on the surface. “When we get back from the galactic center, I plan to do some serious fishing. Taylor and I had some wonderful times fishing these waters.”

  “I wish I could've met Taylor and Lendle,” Janice said in a softer voice. She knew Hedon deeply missed his younger brother.

  “I wish you could've too,” Hedon answered with a sad look in his eyes, thinking about how much time had passed since he last saw his brother and Lendle. “They would've liked you.”

  For the past week, they'd been taking it easy, traveling around the old Federation worlds and seeing the work done by colonists from New Providence. The biggest change was on Tellus where a sizable Human colony had already been established. Here on Maken, only a few thousand colonists had settled down on the old Federation world. They'd landed on Maken earlier that day and pitched two large tents. They would be spending the night and then returning to New Providence to finish preparations for their attack on the AIs at the galactic center.

  They spent some more time walking by the lake holding hands, with Hedon describing in breathless detail some of the things he and his brother had done on their trips to the cabin. For a while, it was easy to forget what lay in their future. At last, they ended back up at the two large tents the marines had set up for them earlier.

  Glancing up the shoreline, Hedon allowed himself to smile. A small shuttle was parked on a grassy area with two more tents pitched close to the water. Those would be their four marine guards, who never left their sides. At least here they were far enough away to allow Hedon and Janice some privacy.

  They ate a quick meal from the supplies Janice had brought down from the StarStrike, and then sat down in the sand to watch the sun set below the distant horizon. It seemed to swell up as it slowly vanished, sending out soft fading rays of light that cast mysterious shadows upon the lake and surrounding landscape. They could hear the low drone of insects and the occasional cry of a distant bird.

  After the sunset, they stayed on the sandy beach, watching as the stars came out to light up the night sky above them. Hedon leaned back and gazed up at the several thousand stars visible. Everything seemed so peaceful, as if there had never been a war.

  “It’s beautiful out here,” Janice said, sliding her hand over and placing it on top of Hedon’s. “I hope we can return here someday.”

  “We will,” promised Hedon, turning and giving Janice a light kiss on the lips. “Someday I’m going to return and build a new cabin here. I hope you’ll come back with me.”

  “I will,” Janice said happily. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”

  After awhile, Hedon stood and helped Janice to her feet. “We'd better turn in; we have to get up early in the morning and return to New Providence.”

  Janice let out a long sigh. The last few days had been a lot of fun and it was great to see Hedon put his guard down and relax. She knew he was deeply worried about the upcoming battle with the AIs at the galactic center.

  The two made their way to their separate tents and as Janice went into hers, Hedon felt the urge to follow her. Then, fighting down the temptation, he turned and went into his tent. He'd only been inside for a few minutes when he heard a noise outside. Looking up, he saw Janice step inside. She was wearing a long shirt and obviously nothing else.

  “Janice,” Hedon said, shaking his head.

  “No,” Janice replied as she reached up and slowly unbuttoned her shirt, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. “If we’re going off into a battle we may not return from, I want this memory.” She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Hedon’s neck and pressing her warm, firm breasts into his chest. Her lips found his and she kissed him passionately. She felt his arms slide around her and hold her tight. Stepping back slightly, she smiled. “Are you going to get undressed?”

  Knowing he wanted Janice as bad as she wanted him, Hedon hurriedly removed his clothes, and shortly they were intertwined on the large bed that had been placed in the tent. Janice had taken care of setting the tents up and now he knew why she'd put a full sized bed in his. He wondered how she had explained that to the marines.

  -

  Jeremy, Kelsey, Kevin, Angela, and Katie were all down on New Providence at a recently opened ocean side resort. Jeremy was drinking a fruit drink very similar to the ones he'd become addicted to on New Tellus.

  “This is great,” Jeremy said as he took another long drink and smiled at Kelsey, who was wearing a blue, skimpy two-piece swimsuit. His wife looked gorgeous and Jeremy couldn’t help thinking about the room waiting for them.

  “That’s the third one you’ve had this afternoon,” responded Kelsey, shaking her head and laughing. “You’re going to turn into one of those.”

  “Our last full day of fun and water,” Kevin spoke as he stood up and ey
ed the ocean.

  “Kevin’s had a rough time the last few days,” Katie said with a giggle. “There are no hamburgers at any of the resort’s restaurants or cafes.”

  “Poor baby,” teased Angela, laughing. She then spied Brace, her marine captain, coming down the beach carrying two sets of snorkel gear. “See all of you later.”

  Jeremy shook his head. Angela was wearing an extremely skimpy, black, two-piece that only hid the bare essentials. He could well remember the time when she was hesitant about showing anything. Times had certainly changed. He watched as she met Brace, giving him a quick hug, and then the two of them ran off into the water.

  “This will be the last time we’re all together until after the attack on the AIs,” Kelsey said in a quiet and much softer voice. “If we all survive, what are we going to do when we return? I don’t know if I want to stay in the fleet.”

  “We’ll survive,” Jeremy said, reaching out and taking Kelsey’s hand. “You and Katie have Clarissa on the StarStrike and we have Ariel on the Avenger. Those two AIs won’t allow anything bad to happen. Remember, Ariel once said that she'd been instructed by my father to make sure no harm ever came to any of us.”

  “I don’t know,” Kelsey said with a hint of worry in her deep blue eyes. She reached up with her right hand and brushed her blonde hair away from her eyes. “All of us except Kevin have been seriously injured at one time or another,” she reminded Jeremy.

  “Let’s not dwell on the coming battle with the AIs,” Jeremy said, squeezing Kelsey’s hand. “We’ve still got tonight, and we don’t need to return to our ships until late tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I need to go over to the Avenger to install some security updates I have for Ariel,” Katie said as she turned toward the two. “I don’t want to risk the AIs trying to tamper with her program again.”

  Kevin walked back over and taking Katie’s hand pulled her up. “Let’s go for a swim; the water feels great! Who knows when we’ll get to do this again.”

  Jeremy watched as the two ran out into the water and dove head first into the waves. It had been great for all of them to get to share some quality time together; it reminded him of how it used to be. He knew Ariel and Clarissa wanted to do some exploring once the war was over. They'd even gone so far as to work on a ship design for an exploration cruiser. If they decided not to stay in the fleet, the exploration idea could be an excuse to keep them all together, at least for a while.

  Kelsey looked over at Jeremy with a demure look. “Why don’t we go up to the room for awhile?” she suggested with a glint in her eyes. “Let’s make the most of this last day before we have to return to the fleet.”

  Jeremy smiled and put the fruit drink down. Kelsey was a passionate lover and he wasn’t ever going to turn her down. “Let’s go,” he said, standing up. “The others will never even miss us.”

  In the ocean, Kevin and Katie were standing in waist deep water, watching as Jeremy and Kelsey left the beach.

  “There they go again,” Katie giggled. “They’re sure giving their room a workout.”

  “You know, our room is waiting,” suggested Kevin, grinning.

  “Let’s go,” responded Katie, grabbing Kevin’s hand as a large wave nearly bowled her over. “Maybe we can beat them back!”

  The two ran to the shore and headed for the resort. Little did they know this would be the last day the Special Five would spend together for a very long time.

  -

  Admiral Sheen and Richard were at one of the large resorts up on the side of a snow-covered mountain. They'd already spent a full week enjoying the crisp mountain air and ski slopes.

  “This has been great!” Richard said as they entered the resort and took off their heavy skiing gear. “Let’s grab something to eat; I’m starving.”

  Amanda laughed. She enjoyed laughing it was something that didn’t occur much anymore. War had a way of affecting people that way.

  “I wouldn’t mind a good meal,” she replied.

  It was also nice to be able to eat some of the foods she had been raised on in the old Federation. She'd almost forgotten what they tasted like until they arrived at the resort. She had been pleasantly surprised to see the wide selection of old time favorites on the menu.

  They were sitting by a large window with a view of the mountain. It was late afternoon and they could see skiers coming down the runs on the steep slopes. Amanda knew that all across the planet tens of thousands of fleet personnel were on leave, enjoying their last few days before being recalled to rejoin the orbiting fleets.

  “We could’ve gone to Aquaria for a few days,” Richard said, looking curiously at his wife. “Why didn’t you want to go?”

  “Aquaria has a lot of memories,” Amanda answered as she sipped her hot chocolate.

  The hot chocolate had been brought by Richard, who had stocked up on it while on New Tellus. He'd furnished some to the chefs at the resort with instructions to serve it to Amanda. She had such a look of bliss on her face every time she took a sip.

  “When this is over, I want us to settle there on Krall Island,” Amanda spoke in a soft and caring voice. “I want to raise a family without the fear of war hanging over their heads. I want to take our children diving off Heritage reef like I used to with my father.”

  “We’ll do it,” responded Richard, nodding his head. He wanted to have children as well someday. “We’ll build a home on the same beach your parent’s home once stood upon.”

  “I'd like that,” spoke Amanda, taking a last sip of her hot chocolate just as their food arrived. The server removed her empty cup and sat a new one down that was still steaming.

  “I wish I were coming with you, Amanda,” Richard said, letting out a heavy sigh.

  “Your job is here, Richard,” replied Amanda, reaching her hand across the table and taking Richard’s. “You'll be responsible for the defense of New Providence.”

  Richard laughed. “I have all of these battle stations, nearly one hundred New Providence destroyers, twenty light cruisers, and the two hundred Darvonian warships assigned to my command. I wish I had a battleship or two.”

  “If we’re successful at the galactic center, you won’t need them,” Amanda responded. “If all goes well, we’ll be back in four months and the war will be over.”

  “I hope so,” Richard answered. He knew that for the next few months he'd be lonely and nervous as hell, not knowing the fate of his wife once she reached the galactic center with Second Fleet. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be in the center of any battle.

  “Let’s finish our meal and then go sit outside and watch the sunset,” Amanda suggested her blue eyes focusing on her husband. “We have this one last night together; let’s make the most of it.

  Richard nodded. They were both in the fleet and knew their duties. Tonight was about them; tomorrow it would be about the survival of the Federation and the rest of the galaxy.

  -

  Two months until doomsday.

  Fleet Admiral Streth stood in front of the large conference table in the main briefing room of the StarStrike. To his right stood Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson and on his left were the Alton scientists Garan Mikow and Tanith Leeth. Slightly behind them stood the two AIs. Katie had arranged for both Clarissa and Ariel to attend the meeting in their holographic forms. Both wore their normal dark blue fleet uniforms.

  “Final preparations are nearly complete and we’ll set out for the galactic center in another forty-eight hours,” Hedon began, looking over the assembled group of fleet officers. “We’ve received some disturbing news from one of the Alton scout ships monitoring the activity of the AIs.” Hedon turned and gestured for the Alton scientist Garan Mikow to explain.

  “The AIs have begun to run preliminary tests on their constructions around the black hole,” Garan began in a grave voice. The tall white haired Alton gazed seriously at the group.

  There were some uneasy looks on the faces of a number the admirals, and a few looked de
eply concerned. They hadn’t expected the AIs to already be running tests.

  “There's only been one confirmed test and that was on the vortex ring they've built. It was activated for less than a minute, but long enough for them to send one of their fifteen hundred-meter spheres through. The ship did not return as we believe that the vortex, at least for now, is only one way.

  “How much time do we have?” asked Jeremy, fearful they'd waited too long to launch their attack on the galactic center. If the AIs fired off their hyperwave before they got there, then all hope would be lost.

  “We estimate eight to no more than ten weeks,” Tanith Leeth answered. “They will have to run a series of tests to calibrate their systems, and from the magnitude of the constructions they've built, it should take some time for that to be done. Machines of that size are not easy to calibrate.”

  “So that’s our timeline,” Hedon informed the group, drawing in a deep breath. “We have three main objectives. Clarissa, if you will show the first one.”

  Above several holographic tables appeared a large, circular object. Even within the display, it looked massive.

  “The AIs call this the Central Nexus or AI Command,” Clarissa explained in her clear and youthful voice. “It’s five hundred kilometers in diameter and controls all of the activity around the black hole as well as the twelve thousand warships currently guarding their project. From communication intercepts the Alton scouts have made, we know they call what they’ve built around the black hole the Great Project.”

  “Twelve thousand warships,” muttered Rear Admiral Tolsen, shaking his head at the numbers. “How do we defeat that many AI spheres?”

  “That’s a hell of a lot of ships to go up against,” spoke Admiral Nagumo, cocking his eyebrow. “It won’t be easy, and we’ll take some heavy losses no matter what we do.”

  “The AIs have their warships spread out to guard their entire project,” Ariel began, stepping forward and looking at the assembled officers. “In addition to the Central Nexus there are twelve hundred capacitor or energy collecting stations they’re also guarding. In some areas, their fleet is spread pretty thin.” Ariel activated two more holo tables, which showed the energy capacitors. “Each capacitor is one hundred and twenty kilometers in diameter.”