Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3)

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Firing,” replied Lieutenant Edmonson as fourteen sublight missiles darted away from the Armageddon.

  In all, nearly one thousand of the new missiles exited the missile tubes of the Human and Delton warships to strike the Kleese shields. The attack was unexpected as the new technology made the missiles difficult to shoot down. Even so, the Kleese defensive computers located and destroyed three hundred and seven with intense energy weapons fire before the rest impacted Kleese energy shields.

  Fleet Admiral Kelly saw the viewscreens in the Command Center suddenly glow with a severe brightness before the filters automatically kicked in, reducing the light.

  “Impact,” reported Lieutenant Fullerton.

  When the screens cleared, Admiral Kelly was stunned to see the effects of the missile strike on the Kleese ships. Everywhere he looked, he saw debris and burning warships.

  “We hurt them!” yelled Makita, jubilantly. “They never expected that. The new missiles blew right through their shields!”

  “Kleese ships are returning fire,” reported Fullerton as his sensors lit up with inbound weapons fire. “Missiles, pulse fusion beams, and energy weapons!”

  -

  “Close the range!” ordered Harmock stunned at the damage the Humans and Deltons had inflicted on his fleet. For several moments, the entire Kleese fleet had been lit up by the fury of the exploding warheads. “Their sublight missiles can’t lock on if we get within minimal combat range.”

  “Ours won’t, either,” stated Gareth as he looked at the carnage the Humans and Deltons had wreaked on the Kleese fleet. “Those warheads were in the forty-megaton range.” Looking at the viewscreens, he could see several Kleese battlecruisers with large sections blasted out of their hulls and others, which had been reduced to nothing more than scattering debris and glowing gases. They could not afford to fight a missile duel with the Humans.

  “We have an advantage in energy weapons and pulse fusion beams,” Harmock informed his second in command. “This battle will now become ship-to-ship and we’ll crush the Human and Delton fleets.” This would be a new kind of combat. Instead of firing their weapons from hundreds of kilometers away, they would close to within twenty or thirty kilometers.

  The Warrior’s Fire trembled as a Human pulse fusion beams struck the ship’s energy screen. It was shortly followed by warning alarms as a particle beam flashed through the screen, blasting into a section of the flagship’s hull.

  Around the Warrior’s fire, other ships were heavily damaged or had been destroyed by multiple missile hits, but the Kleese still had enough warships to handle the combined Human and Delton fleets and they fully intended to do just that.

  The Kleese fleet accelerated ahead, including the damaged ones, to quickly close the range with the Human and Delton fleets. A few more of the deadly missiles impacted, blowing another dozen Kleese battlecruisers into oblivion, and then the Zaltule battlecruisers were in and amongst the defending warships, making missiles useless.

  Pulse fusion beams, particle beams, and energy weapons became the predominate weapons as space became lit up with their deadly fire. Energy screens glowed brightly from impacts causing cascades of uncontrolled energy to flash across space.

  -

  “Damn, I wasn’t expecting that,” groaned Fleet Admiral Kelly as the Armageddon shook violently from the impact of several Kleese pulse fusion beams. “Order all ships to gradually pull back toward Centerpoint. We may need the station’s heavy weapons to win this. How many Zaltule ships did we get with the missiles?”

  “Eighty-seven in the first wave and another eighteen with the second,” Commander Makita reported as he studied the data on a computer screen. “Another forty-two ships are heavily damaged.”

  “Concentrate on the damaged ships and let’s finish them off,” Kelly ordered.

  “Battlecruiser Trident is down,” spoke Lieutenant Fullerton as she saw the friendly green icon disappear from her sensors. “Light Cruisers Sundance, Victor, Pallas, Gemanoid, Starla, and Kestrel are down.”

  “We’re losing assault ships too rapidly to keep track of,” added Commander Makita, turning pale as the losses quickly grew. “Only a few ships are still firing missiles, we’re having too much trouble locking on at this close range.”

  Fleet Admiral Kelly looked at the viewscreens and could see dying Human and Delton ships, but the Kleese were suffering losses as well. “Order the assault ships covering Centerpoint to move to the Moon and cover Luna City,” Kelly ordered as his fleet slowly pulled back. There were thirty additional assault ships based at Luna City as part of its defense force, and along with the ion cannons that should give the habitats adequate protection unless the Kleese mounted a major attack.

  -

  Fleet Commander Achlyn grimaced as another Delton battlecruiser died under the powerful pulse fusion beams the Kleese were employing. He'd lost eight of his battlecruisers since the battle began, but his ships' powerful bow energy weapons were making the Zaltule pay a heavy price in exchange.

  “The battlecruiser Ascendant is reporting heavy damage,” Baylith reported with concern in his voice. He knew that every ship they lost was irreplaceable.

  “Have them pull back to Centerpoint,” ordered Achlyn as he watched the tactical display intently. “Order the Crescent and Balton to advance and engage the Kleese ship at coordinates C-22 by X-15. We will coordinate our own attack with them to take it out.”

  Achlyn felt his flagship tremble from Kleese energy and pulse fusion beams striking the ship’s energy shield. On one of the viewscreens, he saw a number of heavy energy beams strike a Zaltule battlecruiser, causing its energy screen to erupt in a cascade of light before two of the beams penetrated, blasting deep, glowing holes in the ship’s armor. Almost instantly, a multitude of beams tore through the weakened screen, drilling deep into the Zaltule ship. A massive explosion lit up the screen as the Kleese ship blew apart.

  “For Delton,” muttered Baylith as he watched the scattering and burning debris on the screen.

  -

  Admiral Layton gazed in fury at a viewscreen as one of her light cruisers disintegrated. Her biggest advantage were the new missiles, and the unbelievably close range this battle was being fought had neutralized that weapon. After considering her options, she knew there was only one way to bring the missiles back into play.

  “London, New York, and Freedom,” she said over her com, which connected her to the other three heavy battlecruisers. “Standby to accelerate to full power on X axis seventy degrees for twenty seconds then do a complete turnover and fire a full spread of missiles.” By doing this maneuver, it would take them briefly out of the melee and far enough away to lock onto the Kleese warships.

  Admiral Layton waited a few moments and then spoke into her com. “Implement maneuver!”

  Instantly, all four heavy battlecruisers accelerated away on their subspace drives from the battle. For twenty seconds, they hurtled past the Kleese ships before turning one hundred eighty degrees on their center axis and firing full spreads of their multi warhead missiles. Ten Kleese ships were struck and blew apart as forty-megaton antimatter explosions tore through their hulls. The Kleese, seeing the danger, instantly sent twenty of their warships after the heavy battlecruisers.

  “They’ll be ready for that next time,” Admiral Layton said grimly. “Head back to the fleet and let’s show them our new plasma weapon.”

  -

  The Phoenix was dropping down near the outer atmosphere of Mars, the rest of Second, Third, and Fourth Fleet were close by. They'd managed to get off two full spreads of the new missiles before the Kleese warships closed the range and nearly over ran the defending fleets. Even so, they had managed to take out forty-eight of the attacking ships and damage another twenty.

  “The battlecruiser Starlight is under heavy attack,” reported Ensign Sullivan from his sensor console.

  “Order the light cruisers Queensbury and Drake to assist,” Sanders ordered as the Phoenix shuddered vi
olently and warning alarms began sounding.

  “General Sanchez reports the Kleese ships are nearly within range of his ion cannons,” Lieutenant Brassels reported from Communications.

  The Phoenix shook violently and the lights in the Command Center flickered. Sanders looked questionably at Commander Carey Vickers.

  “We’ve lost Secondary Engineering,” she reported, grimly. “Energy shield is down to sixty percent and we have several fires burning out of control. A damn Zaltule pulse fusion beam penetrated our shield!”

  “We have four Zaltule battlecruisers bearing down on us,” warned Sullivan as he watched the four nearing red threat icons worriedly.

  The ship suddenly shook and seemed to cry out in pain. Sanders could hear screams of fear and yells for help. The lights in the Command Center went out and then the emergency lighting came back on.

  “I can’t contact Main Engineering,” reported Commander Vickers as she wiped blood away from her face. Her forehead had a wicked cut on it. “Energy screen is at five percent. The next hit will take us out.”

  “Contact Admiral Rivers,” uttered Sanders to Lieutenant Brassels with an understanding look upon his face. “Tell him he has command of the fleet.”

  “Message sent,” Brassels reported a moment later in a nearly toneless voice.

  “Sir,” began Vickers but her words were never completed as a pulse fusion beam tore through the Command Center.

  A moment later, the Phoenix exploded as the four attacking Kleese warships riddled her hull with energy beams and pulse fusion beams. A scattering of debris and glowing gases was all that remained of Second Fleet’s flagship.

  “Phoenix is down,” Lieutenant Jarvis reported on the Independence as the flagship’s green icon suddenly expanded and then vanished.

  “You have command, Admiral,” Commander Greerman stated as he looked over at Admiral Rivers.

  “This is Admiral Rivers,” he spoke quickly over the fleet communications channel, not allowing himself any time to grieve over Admiral Sander’s death. “The Phoenix is down and I am taking command. All ships continue to drop down to the edge of Mars' atmosphere. At that point, we will hold our position and the ion cannons will fire. They will continue to fire until the Kleese fleet has either been eliminated or the cannons have been destroyed. We shall see to it they are not.”

  “Fifteen seconds until ion cannon range,” reported Lieutenant Wesley Jarvis.

  “General Sanchez reports cannons are going hot,” reported Ensign May Simone from Communications.

  “Light cruisers Thrasher and Antarctica are down,” reported Lieutenant Jarvis as the Zaltule ships continued to blast away at the fleet.

  “Ion cannons are firing,” reported Commander Greerman as hundreds of white beams of energy leaped up into space from the surface of Mars.

  -

  Zaltule Overlord Tetus gazed in shock as hundreds of deadly beams of energy erupted from the planet’s surface and smashed into his fleet’s shields.

  “Report!” he demanded his triangular shaped head shifting to his second in command.

  “Ion beams,” uttered Minor Overlord Grafton. “The beams are neutralizing our energy shields.”

  Even as they watched, the weapons fire from the Human ships suddenly became far more deadly. Without energy shields to protect them, the Zaltule battlecruisers were suddenly very vulnerable. Human particle beams, pulse fusion beams, and even energy weapons were now ravaging the Kleese fleet.

  “Spatial anomaly detected,” reported the Kleese standing in front of the ship’s sensors. “Numerous ships dropping out of Fold Space.”

  “Who are they?” demanded Tetus, feeling concern. The reserve fleet was not due for two more weeks.

  “Sensors detecting Alliance ships,” reported the sensor operator. “They are heading for the third planet and War Overlord Harmock.”

  “Disengage,” ordered Tetus. He needed to go to the War Overlord’s aid.

  “We have twelve ships with inoperable Fold Space Drives,” reported Grafton.

  Tetus thought for a moment and reached a fateful decision, he could still teach these Humans a valuable lesson. “Contact those ships; I have a special mission for them.”

  The Kleese fleet began to rapidly extricate itself from the Humans, suffering even more losses from the deadly fire of the ion beams and Human ship weapons. As the fleet withdrew, it left twelve badly damaged ships behind, which suddenly began accelerating toward the surface of Mars.

  -

  “Get those ships!” ordered Admiral Rivers worriedly as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. “We can’t let them get too close to the surface.” He had seen the arrival of the Alliance fleet, but it was too far away to be of help.

  Pulse fusion beams and particle beams smashed into the Zaltule battlecruisers, which were without shields. In moments, eight massive explosions and falling debris littered the upper Martian atmosphere. Then two more ships were wiped out by heavy energy weapons fire from the surface. The remaining two Zaltule battlecruisers were glowing cherry red as they began to heat up from their swift passage through the thin Martian atmosphere. One of them was hit by multiple pulse fusion beams and broke apart just above Mars Central. The final one smashed into the huge dome, which covered the largest city on Mars. Instantly, a dozen antimatter warheads, which had been set to explode on contact, detonated. Mars Central was instantly flattened, and the massive blast wave moved out across the surface, damaging even more habitats. A huge cloud of red dust began to rise up into the planet’s atmosphere.

  “Confirmed detonation of antimatter warheads on the planet’s surface,” reported Lieutenant Jarvis his face turning pale.

  “I don’t know if even the deep bunkers could have survived that,” spoke Commander Greerman his eyes wide in shock.

  Admiral Rivers forced himself to turn his attention away from the viewscreens and back to the fleeing Kleese warships. “How many of them did we destroy?”

  “One hundred and forty-seven,” Lieutenant Jarvis answered in a shaken voice. “They’re headed for Earth.”

  Rivers nodded as he turned to Ensign Simone at Communications. “Inform Admiral Johnson he is to remain here at Mars with Third Fleet and help with rescue operations. The rest of us are heading to Earth.”

  -

  “Detecting Alliance ships!” reported Lieutenant Fullerton, excitedly. “Ten million kilometers.”

  ‘How did they get here?” asked Commander Makita, relieved to see them. The Kleese had nearly pushed them back to Centerpoint Station.

  “I have Admiral Adamson on the com,” added Lieutenant Jones.

  “How many ships are you detecting?” demanded Fleet Admiral Kelly, reaching for the com button and gazing in stunned amazement at the horde of friendly green icons, which had just appeared.

  “Two hundred and eighty Alliance ships, plus Seventh Fleet,” answered Fullerton, her hazel eyes showing the excitement she was feeling.

  “That’s over three hundred and fifty ships,” spoke Commander Makita with relief spreading across his face.

  Kelly activated the com link, which put him in instant touch with Admiral Adamson. “How did you get here?” was the first thing he asked.

  “A couple of Waltarn scout ships picked the Kleese up as they passed through a brown dwarf system,” Adamson replied. “The Waltarn deployed several hundred small scout ships as well as some special buoys which can detect ships in Fold Space if they pass close enough. Once we had their course plotted, we knew where they were heading. I brought the Alliance fleet with me. They know they can’t allow the solar system to fall to the Kleese.”

  “Bring your fleet up and hit them from the rear,” Kelly ordered, crisply. “Between us, Centerpoint, and your fleet we should be able to crush the remaining Kleese ships.”

  “We’re on our way,” replied Adamson.

  “Sir, I’m getting some bad news from Admiral Rivers,” reported Lieutenant Jones from Communications. His face was nearly white. “
The Kleese attacking fleet has been driven away from Mars, but they launched a suicide attack toward the end and Mars Central has been destroyed. Admiral Rivers reports ten to twelve antimatter missiles detonated on the surface, wiping out Mars Central and heavily damaging the surrounding habitats. He expects the loss of life to be heavy. He also reports the loss of Admiral Sanders and the Phoenix.”

  “Damn!” uttered Commander Makita, feeling as if he'd been punched in the stomach. “What else can go wrong?”

  “This battle,” answered Kelly, grimly. “We can’t let the Kleese get to Centerpoint.”

  -

  War Overlord Harmock gazed at the tactical screen, which showed the new arrivals. Most of the new ships were battlecruisers and being from the Alliance would be armed with technology dangerous to Zaltule warships. Not only that but the four large human warships were using plasma weapons, which were blasting right through his ships’ shields. They were even more devastating than the Humans’ particle beams.

  “Overlord Tetus is on his way to our position,” reported Minor Overlord Gareth. “He will be here shortly.”

  “This battle is over,” Harmock spoke in a cold and nearly emotionless voice as he watched several more Zaltule ships explode on the viewscreens. “Order all ships with inactive Fold Space Drives to make to the trading station and land their warriors on it. If they can capture the decks containing the Fold Space Drive, they can activate it and fly the station out of the Human’s system. Once out of the system, we can send more warriors aboard and take full control. Without the station, the Humans will not be able to rebuild. The fleet will cover them until they have docked and then we’ll withdraw to repair our battle damage.”

  “Tetus reports he has wiped out the Human colony on the fourth planet.”

  “That will greatly reduce their population,” uttered Harmock pleased that at least one of his objectives had been accomplished. Now if he could just take back control of the trading station he would consider this battle a victory.

  -

  General Mitchell looked grimly at General Pittman. “Governor Scott is believed dead and General Sanchez is reporting the casualties may reach over one million.” He'd spent the last several minutes speaking with General Sanchez about the situation on Mars.