“The assault ships are infested with vermin!” spat the Zaltule Overlord Creedal. “The vermin you have taken for conscripts might be fine fighting uncivilized worlds, but not the nonaligned races. Those will suffer the wrath of the Zaltule and their leaders will know what it means to wear our collars of obedience.”
Supreme Overlord Xatul remained silent as he contemplated Creedal’s words. He wondered if the real reason to keep the exploration ships and the assault ships away was to ensure they didn’t discover any new technology or scientific breakthroughs the nonaligned worlds possessed. Were the Zaltule trying to keep any procured advanced technology for themselves? It was a worrisome thought.
“I have also heard that the Zaltule Queens have been awakened and new nests have been created,” spoke Overlord Syndat. Syndat didn’t speak often during the council meetings, though he controlled three of the Empire’s large trading stations as well as the fleets assigned to them.
“Is that true?” asked Xatul, feeling irritated. The Queens were not to have been awakened without his permission.
“Six of the ten Queens have been awakened,” confirmed the Zaltule Overlord Tintul. “We dared not take the risk of any of them dying in the sleeping chambers. If there are any signs of failure in any of the remaining four, they will also be awakened.”
“Where are the nests located?” demanded Xatul his voice echoing across the chamber. “They were not to be awakened without my knowledge.” Xatul leaned forward, his six legs rattling the floor and his multifaceted eyes focused intently on Tintul.
“It was decided that due to the combat losses suffered from fighting the Strell and now what looks like possibly more projected casualties in subduing these nonaligned worlds, the lost warriors of the Zaltule must be replaced.”
Xatul was silent wondering if this was a direct challenge to his authority. There were only a few Zaltule warriors in the immediate area and he had forces of his own he could call upon. He wondered if he should execute all four of the Zaltule Overlords as an example of what it meant to go against the wishes of the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese.
“I will take you to the new nests,” Tintul spoke quickly, realizing the danger he'd just placed himself and the others in. While some of the overlords at the council table were weak, that did not apply to the Supreme Overlord. In many ways, he was like a Zaltule. “We would be honored to introduce you to our Queens.”
“I may indeed take you up on that,” Xatul replied as he gazed coldly at Tintul. “What are the current attack plans of War Overlord Harmock?”
“We will be attacking the nonaligned worlds with six fleets of five hundred vessels,” answered Darthu. “With those numbers, we will easily outnumber any opposition we may come across and limit our losses in battle. War Overlord Harmock estimates he will have subjugated all of the nonaligned worlds within the year.”
“Then we’ll move out into the rest of the galaxy,” Zaltule Overlord Lackeln spoke. “Our new fleets will be ready and we’ll begin expanding the Empire in earnest.”
“It may be necessary with so many new worlds coming into the Empire to make more use of the vermin conscripts,” added Darthu. “Zaltule warriors will not be used as occupiers for worlds infested with primitive vermin. On worlds where the vermin infestation is too great or hopelessly primitive, the planet’s surfaces will be cleansed.”
“Very well,” Xatul said as he pondered the coming attack upon the nonaligned worlds. He'd always known that at some point in time the free alien species would have to be brought under Kleese control. For now, he would allow Harmock to do as he pleased in the war. “Keep me informed of all developments.”
“As you command, Supreme Overlord,” Darthu responded.
Bixutl had listened to the exchange with interest. There was little doubt in his mind that once the Zaltule Queens were established and new young were being hatched the numbers of the warrior caste would swell rapidly. They would grow fast enough that in a relatively short time they might begin to replace other Kleese throughout the Empire. Someday, the entire Empire might be nothing but Zaltule. Somehow, he had to find a way to slow the Zaltule down. Once again, his thoughts turned to the Humans. He'd sent an exploration ship toward their system and it should be arriving there in the next few weeks. Perhaps then he would know if he had a weapon he could use to control the warrior caste.
Chapter Eight
Harmock gazed without mercy at the destruction his fleet was inflicting upon the nonaligned world’s fleet that had dared to oppose the Zaltule. On the main viewscreen a long, needle-shaped spacecraft burned as massive holes were driven through its hull, igniting the atmosphere within. The needle ship was nearly one thousand meters in length and had been equipped with heavy energy beams as its main armament.
“Additional ships are in route from the planet’s surface,” Jalridd the Zaltule at the main sensor console reported as a warning alarm began sounding.
“They launched from the surface of the planet?” asked Harmock, wanting to make sure he had understood correctly. A ship the size of these needle warships should not be able to land or be launched from a planet.
“Yes,” Minor Overlord Gareth spoke as he turned toward Harmock. “Evidently the Ralathe use some form of powerful antigravity repellers to allow their ships to land upon their world. It’s possible the construction facilities for their spacecraft are also located on the surface.”
“Make capturing those facilities a priority,” ordered Harmock, wanting to capture the technology. He could see how useful it would be in landing ground forces. “How many more needle ships did they launch?”
“Forty-three,” answered Jalridd as he studied the information coming in on the ship’s powerful sensors. Even as he spoke, the tactical screen was being updated.
“The ships were launched from three major space complexes on the planet,” Gareth added as he adjusted a viewscreen to show a close up of the Ralathe home world.
The planet Ralathe was a semi-arid world with much of its surface covered in deserts. However, a wide swath around the planet’s equator was covered in verdant vegetation indicating a living and healthy planet. The Ralathians had their cities on the edges of this green band. A large number of rivers snaked across the surface around the cities and into the tropical area where numerous massive blue lakes could be seen.
“Move us toward the planet,” ordered Harmock. “We’ll engage these last warships and then subjugate the planet. By this time tomorrow, the leaders of this world as well as their major scientists will wear the collars of obedience.”
“As you command,” Gareth responded.
-
The forty-three Ralathian warships formed up into a loose cone formation and advanced resolutely toward the inbound Zaltule warfleet. Already the four outer defense squadrons had been crushed by the superior numbers of the Kleese. FTL transmissions were already being sent to other nonaligned worlds warning them of the Kleese transgression. It was rapidly becoming clear that the long-standing neutrality agreements, signed by the Kleese ages ago, were no longer being honored.
The Ralathian ships’ activated their powerful energy shields and targeting sensors reached out, locking onto multiple targets. After a quick discussion between commanders, it was decided to target only ten inbound Kleese warships at a time. After the first ten were destroyed, they would target the next ten and so on. It had taken longer to deploy these ships as special weapons had been brought from the secret armories to be loaded into the ships’ missile tubes. It had been hoped these missiles would never have to be used as their destructive power was truly frightening.
Upon the slim hulls of the Ralathian ships, armored hatches slid open and sublight missiles were readied. The special warheads on these missiles seemed to glow with a mysterious energy. From all forty-three ships, missiles flashed away as the order was given to fire. Each ship fired two missiles at their targets, knowing it was necessary for only one to get through to do its deadly work.
Kl
eese computers managed to locate and destroy twenty-two of the inbound missiles but the rest struck their targets, lighting up the Kleese fleet with an eerie light.
-
Harmock watched in unbridled anger as ten of his battlecruisers burned from a mysterious blue energy eating away at the hulls of the ships, changing the hull material into a strange reddish glowing substance. The missiles had exploded against the energy screens of the Zaltule ships and then streamers of blue energy had darted through, attacking the armored hulls.
“What is it?” he demanded, turning toward Gareth for an explanation.
“We don’t know,” answered Gareth, as he queried other ships and even a few of the Zaltule scientists aboard the Warrior’s Fire. “No one has ever seen anything like this before. The energy seems to be eating away at the very hulls of our ships and changing it into something else.”
“But what’s it changing it into?” demanded Harmock, seeing that one of his warships was now completely covered and its hull was glowing a dull red as if it had a life of its own. The viewscreen suddenly darkened as a tremendous flash lit up space.
“The sensors are showing a massive energy release!” Jalridd warned as the Warrior’s Fire began to vibrate violently. Warning alarms began sounding, indicating some compartments on the massive battlecruiser had been compromised. “From the readings we’re receiving, the ship’s hull was converted to energy and then exploded as it became too unstable. Initial readings indicate a blast in the four hundred to five hundred-megaton range.”
Even as he spoke, several more Zaltule warships detonated. Warning alarms continued to sound in the Command Center as damage reports started to come in.
“Target those ships!” roared Harmock as ten additional ships were struck by the Ralathian’s deadly weapon. “Hit them with everything we have!”
Hundreds of pulse fusion beams flicked out to strike the Ralathian ships’ energy screens. Sublight missile after missile began launching in sprint mode as a panicked Zaltule fleet fought for their very lives. Resistance such as they were now seeing had not been expected. The weapon the Ralathians were using was a nightmare weapon the Kleese energy shields seemed powerless to stop.
-
In the Ralathian fleet, first one and then two defending battlecruisers blew apart as Zaltule energy beams and antimatter missiles tore brutally into the ships. The Kleese were attacking with desperation and a vengeance. Ralathian ships began to die faster and the space around them was aglow with energy weapons fire and detonating antimatter warheads.
The Ralathians were now on their third group of Kleese warships as their deadly missiles delivered their warheads, which exploded on contact with the energy shields and from which tendrils of blue reached down to leach onto the vulnerable hull armor. Where the blue writhing energy touched, the metal seemed to melt away and reform into a dimly glowing red sludge. When enough of the hull had been converted, a chain reaction began blowing the ship to oblivion as hundreds of megatons of uncontrolled energy were released.
-
In order to reduce the damage to the Zaltule battlecruisers Harmock had ordered them to open up the fleet formation, putting more distance between ships. On the main viewscreen, he watched as the space occupied by the Ralathian ships began to look like the fiery heart of a burning star. It was aglow with exploding antimatter missiles and blue pulse fusion beams.
The Warrior’s Fire had moved back toward the rear of the Kleese formation to ensure its survival. Harmock stamped his six legs restlessly as he watched the last few Ralathian ships die under the onslaught of hundreds of pulse fusion beams and antimatter missiles.
“The last Ralathian ship has been destroyed,” reported Minor Overlord Gareth as he checked the tactical screen.
On the main viewscreen, the Ralathian fleet had been turned into glowing plasma and drifting areas of burning gas, which was rapidly beginning to fade. Shortly, there would be no sign that forty-three needle-shaped battlecruisers had met their destruction in that small area of space.
“What were our losses?” demanded Harmock, knowing that once again he had lost more ships than had been projected.
“Forty-eight destroyed and twenty-seven others damaged,” Gareth responded as he studied the information from the battle. “We lost most of our warships in this last attack when the Ralathians used their new weapon.”
“When our warriors descend to the surface, I want a priority made in finding the secret to this weapon we just faced. Our energy screens seemed to be useless against the missiles they launched at us. If the rest of their ships, which we destroyed earlier had been equipped with the same type of missile we might very well have been forced to withdraw.”
“It will be a priority,” confirmed Gareth. “This weapon could be highly useful to our fleet if we ever encounter a powerful enemy, particularly since it seems to be able to penetrate an energy screen.”
Harmock remained silent. Both of the two nonaligned worlds they'd attacked had inflicted far more losses upon the Zaltule fleet than Harmock had believed possible. He wondered what else lay ahead for his fleets as they continued to bring the nonaligned worlds into the Empire. It might be necessary for him to reevaluate his timeline for conquering the nonaligned worlds.
“As much as I hate to say it, the Council of Overlords might have been correct in signing a neutrality agreement with these worlds,” uttered Harmock, looking over at Gareth. “The ships of the Zaltule are designed for war and our caste is trained as warriors. Exploration ships and assault vessels would have suffered far more losses and may not have been able to conquer the two systems.”
“They should have awakened us sooner,” spoke Gareth his multifaceted eyes focusing on the War Overlord. “They let the nonaligned worlds grow too strong and now the Zaltule will have to pay the price for that tactical error with our blood.”
“It will not happen again,” declared Harmock. “The Zaltule will never return to the sleep chambers, and once the Queens are established in their new nests and the first hatchings begin, we will take over more of the council.”
“The council should be controlled by the Zaltule,” suggested Gareth.
“It will be, in time,” confirmed Harmock. “For now it has a purpose to serve until we can greatly increase our numbers. While that happens, we will continue to subdue the nonaligned worlds and prepare to expand beyond the borders of our Empire.”
“To the edge of the galaxy,” spoke Gareth, rising up to his full height upon his six legs. “The galaxy will be ours!”
“Yes,” agreed Harmock. “Someday the Kleese Empire will reach from one edge of our galaxy to the other. There is no power that will be able to stop us.”
-
Ryan took a deep breath as he stood behind a large tree trunk halfway up Charring Mountain. This was the twentieth time he'd led his platoon up the mountain in the last thirty days. So far, he had made it to the top four times. Each time he did, their next assault on the mountain met even more embedded weapons. On top of that, the mountain was now seeded with a minefield that made just moving about on the steep slopes a challenge. The mines wouldn’t damage a battlesuit, but they would toss you up in the air making you an easy target for a long-range stunner. Ryan also suspected the intensity of the stunners had been increased since marines who had been hit multiple times claimed the pain was more intense each time. He knew from his own experience it seemed to be so.
“When do we get some rec time?” muttered Private Parker from where he was standing behind a jagged boulder. He looked over at Private Adams, who was twenty meters away and lying in a hole left from an exploding mine.
“When we reach the top again,” replied Lauren in exasperation. They all needed some rec time, but Alexander didn’t need to remind them of it constantly.
Before Alexander could make a reply, Major Winfrey’s voice suddenly interrupted the drill. “Drill is over,” Winfrey spoke in a commanding voice. “Lieutenant Nelson, move your platoon to the armory and get a
full load out for your weapons.”
“What’s up?” Ryan asked as he stepped out from behind the tree trunk. He noticed that all the suits in his HUD that had been showing amber or red had suddenly turned back to green.
“We have four unidentified ships that have just dropped out of Fold Space close to Mars. General Mitchell has placed the military at Condition Two with Mars at Condition One.”
“We’re on our way,” Ryan answered as he motioned for his platoon to follow him down.
“Are they Kleese?” Casey asked worriedly as she trotted over close to Ryan. “Do you think they’ll want to use us to try to take those ships?”
“We won’t know until we get to the armory,” Ryan replied as he stepped around a shattered tree stump. “I just wonder why there are only four ships. If this was an attack they would've used a much larger force.”
“A probe perhaps,” suggested Casey. She'd spent a lot of time going over the past battles fought in the solar system. She felt suddenly nervous and her stomach weak knowing they might shortly be going into battle. She didn’t want Ryan to know how queasy she was feeling.
A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the small armory, which held the weapons and munitions for their training dome. Major Winfrey, Major Stevens, Captain Taylor, and Sergeant Morris were there waiting for them. All were in Type Four battlesuits.
“Arm up,” ordered Major Winfrey. “The other three platoons have already and are on their way to their assignments. “RG rifles only with class one explosive shells. You'll also need to take your Energy Lances.”
Ryan nodded; the class one explosive shells had the explosive force of a regular grenade while the class twos were much more powerful. The class twos were too dangerous to use inside Centerpoint.
“What’s our assignment, Sir?” asked Ryan as he picked up several RG mags. He slammed a fresh one into his rifle and placed a spare in the holder in his armor. He took down his Energy Lance and attached it to his suit, seeing a light flash on in his HUD indicating it was connected to the suit’s power supply and ready for use.
Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) Page 12