Chapter Four
Nine thousand light years from Earth was the Kleese home world. The Kleese planet orbited a small K Class star, which was slightly cooler than Earth’s. The sun was yellow-orange in color with twelve planets orbiting it, as well as several small fields of asteroids. The fourth planet was nearly devoid of life due to the early, turbulent years of the Kleese civilization and the wars they'd fought for planetary dominance. Hundreds of millions of Kleese had died, many in thermonuclear explosions or worse. Biological warfare, chemical warfare, every horror one could imagine had been unleashed upon the surface of the planet as the different castes fought to eliminate one another. The wars were harsh, with little or no mercy shown to the defeated.
Much of the planet had been laid to waste from the use of those brutal weapons. When the wars finally ended, only one faction of the Kleese race had survived. The others had all been eliminated and their deep underground nests destroyed. The Kleese were egg layers, and females laid multiple eggs in their nests, which were protected by the dominate males. Great pain had been taken by the winning faction to ensure all the nests of their enemies were destroyed to ensure no future competition for the limited living space left.
As the Kleese looked around their ruined world, they realized that it was no longer capable of sustaining a thriving civilization. They had been forced to turn to space as the ravaged surface of their planet was no longer capable of supporting what remained of their civilization. All forms of animal life had been decimated in the century’s long wars. Virtually all the vegetation upon the planet had died out from the multiple nuclear winters that had covered much of the planet in kilometer thick layers of ice. The Kleese fled to space, knowing that to remain upon their home planet would ultimately mean their death. Only one city remained and it was from here the Kleese Council of Overlords ruled over their extensive Empire.
Xatul looked impassively across the massive stone table at Overlord Harmock, the leader of the Zaltule. There had been several changes on the council as had been expected with the return of the Zaltule from their triumphant victory over the Strell. Four Council Overlords had been challenged, and all four had lost in duels meeting their untimely deaths, as was tradition. Council duels were fought to the death to ensure that the defeated Overlord could not later return and attempt a second challenge. Such duels were frowned upon as they could keep the council in a constant state of flux. By fighting to the death, the council was always controlled by the most powerful members of the Kleese race and challenges were few and far between.
Advancement on the council was done through open challenges and if the council agreed the challenge was legitimate, then a battle to the death was arranged. If the challenger won, they would take over the council seat of the slain Overlord. In this case, the Zaltule had chosen four of the weaker Council Overlords, easily beating them in open combat.
Hymtal and three other Council Overlords had been eliminated and replaced by Darthu, Lackeln, Creedal, and Tintul all of the Zaltule. In addition, Overlord Harmock had taken the position of Supreme Military Commander of the Kleese, a position that was deemed equal to Xatul as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese race.
“The war with the Strell is over,” Harmock announced his thick, hairy arms folded across his powerful chest. His multifaceted eyes looked at the other Overlords as if seeking anyone who might dare challenge the changes that had come to the council.
“Then it is time for the Zaltule to return to sleep,” suggested Raluth. “There are no further threats to the Empire; the Zaltule have done their duty.”
“No!” roared Harmock his fierce gaze centering on Raluth in anger. “We were dying in the sleeping chambers; we will not return there. The Empire still has many enemies and as long as there are Zaltule, we will fight for the glory of our Empire.”
“What enemies?” Raluth dared to ask. He wondered if he continued to ask questions whether a member of the Zaltule would challenge him to combat. He was a powerful Overlord, but the Zaltule were trained as warriors from birth.
“The nonaligned races, to begin with,” answered Harmock, leaning forward and placing his two hands upon the table. His six legs stomped the hard stone floor of the council chamber noisily. “These races have been laughing at the Kleese, sitting behind the neutrality agreements they signed with this council.”
“Most of those nonaligned worlds have a very high level of science and technology,” Xatul began as he gazed directly at Harmock. He was not afraid of the Zaltule war leader. “It was decided war against them could result in serious losses to our exploration fleet. They were bypassed and the Empire continued to expand against the inferior races, which populate the majority of the galaxy. The nonaligned worlds serve a purpose in trading with the Empire and not interfering in our affairs. They furnish many high-tech products, which are not available on the more primitive worlds.”
Xatul had arranged for one hundred and ten of their large exploration ships to be in orbit of the home planet when the Zaltule returned as a show of force. All of them were controlled by Xatul or those loyal to him. It was his insurance card so that he would remain as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese. So far, Harmock had not indicated that he was going to challenge that.
Harmock turned toward Darthu, one of the Zaltule who had taken over a seat on the council. He was also very well versed in science. “How big a threat is the technology of these worlds?” He'd been impressed by Xatul’s show of force with the exploration ships. It had shown him that at least for now, Xatul could remain as the Supreme Overlord. It would make the rest of the Kleese race more tolerant of the Zaltule if Xatul remained in power, at least for now.
“Several of them are very highly advanced,” Darthu admitted. “They are unlike much of the primitive vermin that infests other worlds.”
“We shall add their science to ours,” declared Harmock, waving his hands at the council. “We’ll take them one by one until they know the feel of an obedience collar around their necks. They’ll serve and work for the Empire!”
“Their science and technology will be a boon to our military might,” Darthu confirmed. “Once we have assimilated their science and applied their technology to Kleese warships, our warriors will be unstoppable.”
Bixutl stood silently upon his six legs, listening. He was not in as powerful a position as Xatul. He'd made dealings with Kaluse, who had assured Bixutl he would be allowed to remain an Overlord as long as the Zaltule shipyards received the required materials needed to update and build new warships.
He wondered if he should mention the Humans. Nothing had been heard from them in years. The Humans had freed a large number of Kivean scientists and the Kiveans were one of the most advanced races known. If the Humans had that technology available to them, then the Zaltule might face a formidable enemy someday. The question was how Bixutl could use that knowledge to his advantage. The other Overlords seemed to have forgotten how dangerous the Humans had been, but Bixutl had not. Perhaps he should send one of his exploration ships out to check on the upstart race. It could be done discretely with the Zaltule none the wiser.
“This council is not as it was in the old days,” stated Harmock, rising to his full height. “There are no races in the galaxy of equal stature with the Kleese and no warriors as powerful as the Zaltule. Many of the vermin races are unfit to even serve the Empire and should be exterminated.”
“We have taken many conscripts from those vermin races,” Martule spoke in disagreement. “They have made excellent fighters for our battlesuits and have allowed us to greatly expand the Empire. They also serve as occupation forces sparing us the necessity of using Kleese to hold the numerous worlds we have added to the Empire.”
Harmock shifted his gaze toward Martule. “None of the vermin races will ever serve upon a Zaltule warship! You may continue to use these excrement species to expand the Empire against other vermin. The Zaltule will focus on adversaries more worthy of our warriors.”
“When will yo
u attack the first of the nonaligned worlds?” inquired Xatul, knowing he had no choice but to support Harmock in this. To do otherwise might endanger his position as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese.
“Shortly,” Harmock responded. “The warships of the Zaltule must be repaired from the damage inflicted by the Strell. Our strategists will begin to review which nonaligned worlds to strike first; this should not take long and these worlds will soon become a part of the Kleese Empire as they should have been all along.”
-
Second Lieutenant Ryan Nelson stood at the base of Charring Mountain with his nineteen soldiers in battlesuits. Once they conquered the mountain then they could be called Space Marines. It was a daunting task ahead of them and one Ryan had dwelled on considerably since their previous defeat. He didn’t intend to lose again.
“What’s the plan?” Casey asked as she walked over to stand next to Ryan. She felt secure in her battlesuit and was anxious to get the drill started. She and Ryan had spent considerable time the night before discussing their previous attempt at Charring.
“We’re going to try something different,” answered Ryan, as he turned his battlesuit toward Casey. He'd spent several hours the previous night, after speaking with Casey, thinking about different strategies and what others before him might have tried.
To the casual observer, the ten-foot tall black battlesuits looked ominous and threatening. They were able to keep the soldier inside alive for over twelve hours on its own environmental and power systems. It also was capable of using its suit functions to treat major wounds and inject necessary chemicals into the wearer’s body to allow them to continue to fight even if mortally injured.
“Only five of us will have RG rifles, everyone else will be carrying energy cannons.”
“What?” stammered Casey her eyes growing wide in disbelief. “We’ll never make it even close to the top without more RG rifles and their explosive rounds.”
“Maybe,” Ryan responded as he turned back toward the waiting mountain.
Looking up the heavily forested slope, he couldn’t even tell where they'd gone up the mountain in their first assault. Everything had grown back or been replaced. He wasn’t sure how the Kiveans did it, but the mountain looked as if it had never been touched.
“How do they do that?” asked Casey, guessing what Ryan was thinking.
She had come to know Ryan very well over the years they had been together and trusted his judgment. She knew there were several Kiveans around that kept the different training facilities on Centerpoint functional. She'd been around Kiveans at the Academy as well as immediately after coming out of the cloning facility and had a lot of respect for their science.
“I don’t know, but we have to assume all the popups have been replaced and are probably in new locations.”
Casey nodded; Ryan had always had a knack for solving problems as long as she had known him. As a clone, she had technically only experienced seven actual years of life.
“Let’s go,” Ryan ordered over the general com frequency as he glanced at the waiting battlesuits. “Two scouts ahead and we’ll form six lines of three. Let’s see if we can make it to the top this time.”
“Here we go again,” mumbled Alexander as he checked the energy cannon he was carrying. It had a full charge, but it was much bulkier than an RG rifle. Alexander had a propensity for the smaller weapon, but today that was not to be.
“Let’s not get shot this time,” Lauren suggested as the two took up their positions in front of the rest of the platoon. Lauren didn’t know what they'd done wrong to keep drawing the position of scouts. Scouts tended to get shot first. She wondered if Corporal Hunter was still upset with her and Alexander. She'd hoped that after the scene at the Chinese restaurant the little incident in the mess hall would be forgiven.
Ryan watched Privates Parker and Adams move out. Since the two had served as scouts the first time around, he felt they'd be better prepared to spot popups. He needed any edge he could get, and he hoped the two privates would be able to give him one. He wondered what his parents would think if they could see him standing here at the base of Charring Mountain in a Type Three battlesuit. Ryan knew that his parents had hoped he would apply for the fleet and away from the marines. However, Ryan decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps, and conquering Charring Mountain would put him well on the way to doing just that.
-
In the dome’s Command Center, Major Winfrey smiled to himself as he saw Ryan begin sending his soldiers up Charring. He was curious as to why the second lieutenant had elected to take mostly energy weapons with him this time. The energy weapons would give out long before the lieutenant and his platoon made it to the top.
Dylan leaned back in his chair gazing at the multiple viewscreens on the wall, which afforded him an unobstructed view of all of Charring Mountain. Major Stevens would be joining him shortly, and Dylan was interested in hearing the majors take on the weapon mix that Ryan had chosen.
-
General Mitchell was meeting with newly promoted Fleet Admiral Thomas Kelly in his office to discuss potential action against the Kleese. He shuffled several papers around on his desk before finding the report he was searching for.
“The Kleese-Strell war is probably over,” he announced, looking at the report in his hand and leaning back in his chair behind his desk.
“What will the Kleese do now?” Kelly asked with narrowed eyes. He knew if he were in charge of the Kleese fleet, he would repair the damage suffered in the war with the Strell and then go immediately back on the offensive.
“We’re not sure, but we think they’ll attempt to take out the nonaligned worlds.”
“How many nonaligned worlds are there?” Kelly asked. He knew they were scattered throughout the Kleese Empire.
“Several hundred,” Mitchell answered as he leaned forward and laid the report back down on his desk. “They’ll probably start with the ones closest to their home world and gradually work their way outward toward us.”
“Is there anything we can do to turn some of those nonaligned worlds to our side in this war? I’ve read reports from the Kiveans that some of those systems have some very advanced warships, particularly the one that gave us the ion cannons.”
“Perhaps,” replied Mitchell, recalling the plan that he and Colonel Nelson had come up with. It had been necessary to call in several Kiveans, including Marken, to come up with a workable option. “There are forty-two nonaligned worlds within two thousand light years of the solar system; we hope to get at least ten of them to join a new Alliance we’re trying to form. The Kleese are just too powerful for us to fight alone.”
“The fleet’s ready,” Kelly said. “All six fleets are now fully crewed and ready for combat operations. We have three more battlecruisers coming online this week and they’ll begin their space trials shortly.”
“That’s one of the items I wanted to talk to you about,” Mitchell said as his eyes focused on the Fleet Admiral. “I have other plans for those battlecruisers and the new light cruisers we just completed. I’m turning them over to Colonel Nelson for a special mission. Commander Adamson on the Constellation will be in command of the warships. There will also be a large number of assault ships going as well.”
“So it’s about to begin,” Kelly said, taking in a deep fortifying breath. He suspected that General Mitchell wouldn’t be committing that many ships to this mission unless he thought there was a good chance there would be combat.
“Yes,” answered Mitchell with a heavy sigh.
“How many assault ships are you sending on this mission?
“Two hundred.”
“Two hundred!” exclaimed Kelly his eyes bulging at the number.
“We feel it’s necessary if the mission is to succeed.”
“Are you certain you want Commander Adamson to command and not one of our fleet admirals?”
Mitchell looked at Kelly with a serious look in his eyes. “That’s something else I want
ed to talk to you about. Commander Adamson has performed admirably in all of the off world missions we’ve sent him on. I would like to see him promoted to the rank of admiral.”
Kelly nodded; he'd been considering that promotion himself after reviewing all of the candidates in the fleet. Adamson was highly qualified, particularly after his missions to the trading station and the Kivean home world.
“Very well,” Kelly replied with a smile spreading across his face. “We’ll assign the Constellation permanently to Seventh Fleet as its new flagship.” The original plans had been for all the new warships to be held in reserve to fill in for damaged or destroyed ships in the six regular fleets. Kelly knew they'd have to construct more ships to fill that role now.
“I think it’s a wise move,” Mitchell commented with a satisfied look upon his face. “There’s a very good chance Seventh Fleet will have to fight a major engagement against the Kleese, most likely against the Zaltule themselves.”
“Should we add another battlecruiser or two to his fleet?” asked Kelly, worriedly. All the other fleets had six battlecruisers assigned to them. Admiral Adamson had only four even though he would command far more assault ships.
“No,” replied Mitchell, shaking his head. “We need to keep our six fleets at full strength just in case the Kleese strike here instead of the nonaligned worlds.”
“You think that’s likely?”
“It’s a low probability,” answered Mitchell, recalling what the military strategists and Kiveans believed. “Marken said his people think the probability is under twenty percent, particularly since we haven’t launched any type of attack against the Kleese in recent years to draw their attention to us.”
“Except for starting the Kleese-Strell war,” replied Kelly with a frown. “If they ever find out we were responsible, they’ll descend upon us with a vengeance.”
Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) Page 6