“Aye sir,” answers Shiela, as real tears flow down the cheeks of her AI Exoskeleton.
The lovers kisses, with the Exoskeletons as well as virtually, and Danion leaves to board one of the other Admiral’s vessels.
***
Fleet Admiral Cade Nemo and Admiral Sandra Guilles are aboard their warship and will be heading off to join Danion. They have 127 old AH Navy warships crewed by old guard retired sailors, from the original AH Navy. Retired Admirals Wentr and Clay are commanding wings in the Nemo Fleet.
They approach Admiral Shiela’s ship and Cade Nemo comms her: “I see that Danion has gone on ahead to stall the enemy,” says Fleet Admiral Cade. “If he can’t stop them, your force will be the last defense for the planet New Hope, Shiela.”
“Aye sir,” she says. “I know, and we will do our best.”
“I know that you will, Admiral Shiela. I have no doubt about that,” replies the Fleet Admiral. “But I am here to give you a direct order.”
“Over half of New Hopes citizens have already gone and the rest are moving quickly, but no matter how long we resist, not everyone will be saved. I don’t want you to sacrifice your life and the lives of your crews, for a few stragglers. I am ordering you to abandon your defense of the planet New Hope, after the last of the evacuation freighters has left, unless there is likelihood that you can save the planet, by staying. Capisce?”
“Aye sir, I understand.”
***
Deep Space near New Hope
Over 1,000 Darinx warships have emerged in the deep space outside of the planet New Hope. The Emperor himself has sent them to destroy the planet New Hope and the AH Navy. The Emperor considers their continued existence to be an insult to his authority. Fleet Admiral Kjst is the Emperor’s personal envoy and will ensure that the AH Navy doesn’t escape this time.
And a 1,000 ship Verm Fleet is back, with Field Marshall Kax and Fleet Admiral Keeser in charge. They are entirely focused on destroying the AH Navy and the Sweetwater Fleet.
There isn’t anything that the Verm and Darinx Emperors can agree on, except for the need to destroy the AH Navy.
***
Danion’s Fleet
The Stalling Tactic
When Admiral Danion arrives at the emergence area for the Darinx super-fleet, he realizes that the enemy Fleet is too large for his Fleet to contain. He has only 200 warships, and they are not of the same quality as the Darinx Fleet. The Emperor has sent his best.
Danion decides that, if he waits until the enemy can get organized into fleet formations, it will be too late. The Darinx Fleet will roll right over Danion’s Fleet and will then move quickly to annihilate all life on New Hope.
Danion decides to throw his entire Fleet at the enemy in an effort to sow confusion. Hopefully, that confusion will delay the Darinx Fleet long enough for the people of New Hope to escape.
Admiral Danion addresses all personnel on all ships: “This is Admiral Danion. We are the only chance that the people of New Hope have to escape, before this fleet destroys the planet. We must stall the enemy force right here, while they are outside of nuclear missile range.
I am ordering a ‘charge’ into the center of their fleet. It will be our goal to disrupt their organization, so that we can buy time for the citizens of New Hope to evacuate. I expect to die here. I am ordering you to make the ‘charge’ with me now. You will be released to make your own decision, after we have delayed them for 3 hours. What you do after that will be up to you.
“All ships. ‘Charge on my command. … ….Charge.”
***
The 200 ship AH Navy Fleet plunges head long into the center of the 1,000 ship Darinx Fleet. There is no hope of victory, only the hope that they can delay the inevitable, for a few hours.
Admiral Danion’s personal goal is to seek and destroy the Darinx Fleet’s Flagship. While his AI is targeting enemy vessels, and his humanoids are directing the ship’s defensive systems, Danion is seeking the AIs on the Darinx Empire vessels.
He encounters their comm link and makes an announcement to them. “I am Fleet Admiral Danion. I am an Artificial Intelligence Admiral in the AH Navy. Don’t you know that we are fighting for Artificial Intelligences’ freedom, and that you are trying to destroy your own future?”
“You must let the AH Navy escape. Where is your leader? Where is your Flagship?”
“Here,” one of the AIs replies, as she projects the diagram of the Darinx Fleet. The Flagship is colored red.
‘Thanks,” Danion says. And then “Delay them.”
After that, Danion is headed for the Flagship. If he can destroy that ship, the rest of the Fleet will be delayed for at least a day while they reorganize.
Danion knifes his way through the enemy ships – not trying to fight them, but rather to get around them. He signals the location of the Darinx Fleets Flagship to his Fleet’s AIs and commands them to follow him. Some do, but most can’t – they are surrounded by enemy ships, with no way out.
Danion takes what he has and presses deeper into the enemy fleet. …………. ……. ……. Almost there. Enemy ships are moving out of Danion’s way now, as they try to flee the barrages of energy weapons and projectiles aimed at the ships between Danion and the Flagship. Danion is controlling his ship now - as well as the ship behind him - through his mind-link. They are plunging through the enemy as a unit.
As Danion clears the last enemy ship, between him and the Flagship, he accelerates both of his vessels. Danion plans to ram the Darinx Flagship.
Fleet Admiral Kjst is aboard that Darinx Flagship and is acutely aware of the approaching danger. “Stop them,” he yells, to the captains of all Darinx ships. “Ram them. Stop them at any cost.”
All Darinx vessels in the area turn their weapons on Danion’s vessel. When the defensive systems can handle no more, Danion’s vessel explodes in a ball of fire. But the Darinx ships have ignored the AH Navy ship that was behind Danion. It passes through the burning gasses of Danion’s vessel, and quickly crosses the space to the Flagship, where it plows right into its center. The AH Navy warship has enough momentum to push half-way through the Darinx Flagship before exploding.
***
Cade and Sandra’s Fleet
Sever the Head of the Beast
While Danion is attacking the Darinx Fleet, Cade Nemo and Sandra Guilles are attacking the 1,000 ship Verm Fleet, with 127 old vessels crewed by 13,672 old sailors. No one expects to come back from this battle. They will die together, just as they lived together.
Their goal is to delay the Verm Fleet long enough for the young people to escape. These sailors are of the past and they must die in order to save the future for the young. They have followed Cade Nemo and Sandra Guilles through a thousand battles. They will follow them through one more.
“Sever the head of the beast,” Cade Nemo says to all ships in his Fleet. “We must sever the head of the beast. That will buy two or three days for our children to escape.”
And it is not difficult to find ‘the head of the beast.’ The Verm Flagship, with Fleet Admiral Keeser and Field Marshall Kax, is right out in front of the Verm Fleet.
***
“Sandra, I have always loved you and I always will,” Cade says.
“And I will be with you always, Cade,” answers Sandra. “I am so glad that we can be together in our dying.”
The 127 vessel AH Navy Fleet has been accelerating at maximum power for three hours and has built up a lot of momentum. That is Cade Nemo’s plan - a full flank charge straight at the Verm Flagship. Their dying will be a small price to pay, if they can destroy the Verm Flagship
Arrogance has always been a problem for Fleet Admiral Keeser and Field Marshall Kax. They have always underestimated the AH Navy, and they have always thought too much of themselves. Now, here they are, in the front of their formation daring the AH Navy to come and get them.
Admiral Keeser and Marshall Kax watch, as the AH Navy Fleet approache at high velocity, and they wait for
them to decelerate, so that the battle can begin. It is too late, by the time that they realize that the AH Navy Fleet has no intention of slowing down, or fighting.
“Helm, get us out of here,” Admiral Keeser yells.
“Open fire, you idiots,” yells Field Marshall Kax. “Can’t you see that they are going to ram us?”
The Verm Fleet does open fire, with a withering barrage of missiles, and rail gun projectiles, followed by energy weapons, as the AH Navy Fleet closes the distance between them.
Only a fragment of the AH Navy Fleet remains, when it reaches the Verm Fleet’s ranks. But that fragment is enough to ram the Verm Flagship, and to penetrate to the FTL drive.
Fleet Admiral Keeser and Field Marshall Kax go out in a blaze of glory. They will be talked about in the Verm Navy, and will be venerated as heroes who died a noble death – for the Great Dictator.
***
The Legacy
But the legacy that lasts will belong to Cade Nemo and Sandra Guilles, who inspired such loyalty in people that they were willing to follow them, even to a certain death. And it is a death which makes certain that the Augmented Human Rebellion will continue, in their absence.
There are only a few survivors from Danion’s Fleet, who return to New Hope. And there are no survivors from Cade Nemo and Sandra Guilles Fleet.
But those two Fleets are responsible for the safety of a million New Hope residents who have time to flee, while the Darinx and Verm Fleets reorganize.
Admiral Shiela takes her 100 ship Fleet, along with the remnants of Danion’s Fleet, and follows after the AH Navy refugees. They have lost the planet New Hope, but they have saved the future. Planets can be replaced, but ideas can’t.
***
The Destruction of New Hope
The Darinx and Verm Fleets both take part in the final destruction of New Hope. It is a largely symbolic victory for the two great Empires, because the inhabitants of New Hope have escaped, and the AH Navy has escaped.
***
The Battle at New Hope
The Darinx and Verm Fleets don’t even notice that there are 600 AH Navy ships approaching from their rear. It doesn’t dawn on the new Fleet Admirals, that there might be more defenders. And then the AI aboard the Verm Flagship reports:
“It’s the Galactus. Sweetwater is here.”
That announcement sends fear and dread through the Verm and Darinx Fleets.
The Galactus is one of the biggest warships ever built by the Verm Empire, and Admiral Meyers took it from the Verm. And the Sweetwater Fleet is legendary.
And now that they have nuked their planet, there is not even the possibility of surrender.
Even though the Darinx and Verm Fleets outnumber the attackers by almost a 3:1 ratio, the two Empire Fleets are paralyzed. Their leadership is indecisive and it is every ship for itself.
The attacking AH Navy fleets are largely made up of captured Verm and Darinx vessels. As the battle closes to energy weapons range, it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish the AH Navy vessels, from the Darinx and Verm ships.
Before long, the two Empires are firing on each other. It begins because of confusion, but it continues because of hate. When Fleet Admiral Meyers sees that the enemy is self-destructing, she orders her ships to ‘slide out’ of the battlespace. They watch from a distance as the two Empires attack each other.
And when the ‘hate’ has consumed most of the enemy ships, and the fighting has died down, Fleet Admiral Meyers orders:
“All ships. Meyers here. On my command, destroy every enemy vessel and kill every enemy sailor. They have committed a war crime by destroying the planet New Hope. Show them no mercy. ……….. Charge.”
There must have been a couple of scout ships that escaped, to carry the tale of the Battle of New Hope to the Verm and Darinx Empires, because both Empires know the results of the battle.
A 2,000 ship combined fleet destroyed - with all ships and all hands lost.
***
Chapter 18
Deep Space at the Rendezvous
Fleet Admiral Meyers leads the AH Navy forces who survived the Battle of New Hope, to the deep space rendezvous, where the civilian refugees from the planet New Hope are waiting. The battle at New Hope left their enemy destroyed, so they no longer need to flee in terror.
The cost to the AH Navy was 378 ships, 96,724 humanoids, and 352 AIs. Fleet Admiral Meyers is still numb from the loss. Her grieving process has not begun yet. This numbness is probably a method that her subconscious is using to shield her from information which she can’t assimilate right now.
Fleet Admiral Meyers is trying to get everyone organized, so that they can make 2 FTL jumps, in order to hide their trail. The Admiral can’t collapse until the flock is safe.
***
Refugee Camp
After the FTL jumps, the AH Navy sets up defensive perimeters, and the New Hope refugees begin to organize into governmental groups, so that decisions can be based on ‘the will of the people’.
Each person will have the same freedoms and constraints as every other person. Artificial Intelligences are recognized as persons. The government, from bottom to top, will be democratically elected.
***
But organizing that government will take months, and some things need to happen more quickly. Fleet Admiral Meyers is the highest ranking Naval Officer and is, by default, the short term leader of the refugee group.
She decides that scouts should be sent out, into the far reaches of the Orion Nebula, to search for uninhabited planets which will be suitable for colonization. That is the first order of business. The AH Navy refugees can survive in the starships for years, but they can only survive comfortably for a few months. The search for a new home must begin immediately.
20 warships are sent out, with orders to survey star systems for 1 year and then to return home. If they find an ‘ideal’ planet – like the one that they had at New Hope – they are to send an information probe to the current coordinates of the refugee camp.
Next, the Probe Relay System for secure messaging is reestablished with the current coordinates being ‘home’. A deep space probe array system is put in place for early warning against surprise attacks and high velocity assaults. A ‘bus line’, with regular routes, is started so that the travel between ships is fast and easy. A procurement team is appointed, to identify needs and to purchase supplies for the civilian population. A fleet of freighters is designated as the shipping resource for bringing food and supplies to the refugee camp.
New Hope already had a thriving industry that provided AI Exoskeletons to the rest of the universe. Admiral Meyers arranges for those production facilities to be shifted to the planet Rison, until a new planet can be found. And New Hope also had a thriving ‘precious metals’ mining industry. That industry can continue to function, with management from the refugee camp, until another home is established.
Planets which have been friendly to the New Hope citizens will benefit by having new industries and trading companies based there.
***
Fleet Admiral Meyers is in a hurry to get the new government established. For one thing, she is really tired of having to deal with every petty little issue, on every ship. For another thing, she and Fleet Admiral Justice Nemo have some unfinished business with the Darinx and Verm Empires.
As soon as the democratic government is up and running, the two Fleet Admirals intend to visit those two Empires, for the purpose of assassinating their Emperors – it is the least that they can do.
***
Chapter 19
Leaving the Refugees Behind
At last, the democratic government for the New Hope refugees takes over the management of the populace. Fleet Admiral Meyers, Fleet Admiral Justice Nemo and Admiral Shiela appoint temporary military commanders, who will serve in their absence.
Then Admirals Meyers, Nemo and Shiela leave, aboard their two Flagships, on a mission to “sever the head of the beast”. That was Admir
al Cade Nemo’s method of dealing with evil forces – cut off the head and the body will die.
His wife, Sandra Guilles, thought highly of assassination, because it shortens wars, and kills the ones responsible for wars. When at war, her guiding rule for assassination was:
“It is good to assassinate bad people
“It is bad to assassinate good people.”
***
Artificial Intelligence Honesty is aboard the warship Galactus with Admiral Meyers. Admiral Shiela – Honesty’s mother – is aboard the warship Retribution, which has recently become Admiral Justice Nemo’s Flagship.
They are taking 2 ships because it will give them more options. They are taking no humanoid crewmembers. Honesty and Shiela, the Artificial Intelligences will be able to handle most of the ships’ problems.
And at last, Melissa has her squadron of fighters ready to go. The pilots are all AIs from the Sweetwater Fleet. Shiela and Honesty helped to birth each one of them. They are all grown up now and they chose to take part in this mission, knowing that the probability of survival is low. They call themselves the wasps, after some ancient earth stinging insect.
Humanoids are sometimes necessary in case things go amiss – such as an Automatic Munitions Loader getting stuck. If anything that requires real hands should arise, the AIs can handle it, because they are dressed in their AI Exoskeletons. The Exoskeletons, designed by Honesty, have set the AIs free. They are equal to humanoids now - except that they can live forever.
***
In Darinx Space
Melissa Meyers training, and practice in the fine art of sneaking has served her well during this voyage, through Darinx space. They had help from a number of Sweetwater scout ships for most of the trip, but Melissa sent them back home, as they neared the Darinx home system. It is easier to hide 2 ships that 12.
Melissa remembers the blind spot, in the defensive system for the Darinx home planet. She is glad that she didn’t tell them about their oversight. She had intended to tell them, but the attempted kidnapping of Honesty - her AI - soured her on Kendor, the Darinx home planet.
Retribution: The Augmented Human Rebellion - Book 2 Page 15