The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict
(The Slaver Wars Book 6)
By
Raymond L. Weil
Books in the Slaver Wars Series
Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (The Slaver Wars Book 2)
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 3)
The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book 4)
The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book 5)
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (The Slaver Wars Book 6)
Website: http://raymondlweil.com/
Copyright © June 2014 by Raymond L. Weil
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design by Humblenations.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict
Chapter One
Commodore Krilen gazed nervously at the large tactical sensor screen. There were four hundred heavily armed Hocklyn warships represented by friendly green icons waiting for him to give the order to attack. Also showing were four of the large AI ships in the center of the formation that had been silent for the past few days, refusing all attempts at communication. Krilen wondered what would happen when the AIs finally broke their silence. He crossed his powerful arms and gazed over at his First Leader.
“The AIs are still not communicating,” Angoth commented as he approached the command pedestal where Krilen was standing. Angoth was over two meters in height, which was normal for a reptilian Hocklyn. He wore dark gray body armor, which signified that he was of command rank. “It makes me wonder if the reports we received of Fleet Commodore Resmunt being defeated are indeed accurate.” He let his six-digit hand stray down to the hilt of his knife, which was in a protective sheath at his waist. In many ways, he wished the AIs were not here; they were disruptive to the moral of the fleet.
“Over one hundred AI ships reportedly destroyed, and Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s fleet losses were in excess of six hundred warships,” Krilen spoke in a low voice, still finding it hard to comprehend such losses. “If true, it is the greatest defeat in Hocklyn history.”
“These Humans are a threat to the Empire,” admonished Angoth, shaking his head. “What about these mysterious ships that reportedly came to the Humans' aid? How could the AIs lose so many ships?”
“Unknown,” Krilen replied, his large, cold eyes turning even darker. “From what Resmunt reports, the unknown ships jumped into the Human system and attacked the AIs. Resmunt claims the AIs had no defense against the energy weapons these new aliens used. The battle quickly turned to the Humans' favor and Resmunt was forced to withdraw in order to save what remained of his fleet. The AIs fled and did not show up at Resmunt’s designated rendezvous coordinates. He believes they are fleeing back to AI space in the galactic center.”
“What about us?” Angoth inquired in his grating voice. For weeks now, they had sat in this system acquiring no honor. Their fleet had been steadily growing as more ships arrived from the outer reaches of the Empire. It was time to attack! Only by attacking the Humans defending Careth could the warriors of the fleet gain honor.
“High Leader Nartel has sent a message to Fleet Commodore Resmunt to send us two of his fleets to assist in our attack. War Leader Versith and Osbith are being reassigned temporarily to our fleet. They both will have the newly updated ships.”
Angoth nodded his head in appreciation. “I know of War Leader Versith; he is a very talented warrior. The crew of his flagship, the Viden, have achieved much honor under his command.”
“So I understand,” Krilen replied as he turned to gaze toward the large viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. “Once their fleets arrive we will begin our attack upon the Carethian System.”
“What of the AIs?”
“We will communicate our intentions when the time comes,” Krilen answered evenly as he looked up at one of the large viewscreens, which showed one of the massive 1,500-meter AI spheres. He wondered how the AIs felt knowing their ships were not as invulnerable to attack as they once were. For that matter, he wondered if the AIs even had feelings.
-
Rear Admiral Jeremy Strong was aboard the massive space station that served as the Command Center for the defense of the Carethian system. The station was six kilometers across and contained two large repair bays for fleet ships. Twenty dual power beam installations were the station’s primary armament, as well as its Devastator Three missiles tubes. It also had numerous flight bays containing hundreds of fighters and bombers.
He was standing next to Grayseth, looking at the large holographic tactical display that showed the Hocklyn and AI ships four light years distant in system K-774. It had been over three weeks since they'd dispatched a destroyer to New Tellus. The destroyer had been laying a new line of FTL communication buoys and they lost contact with it before it arrived at its destination. They still didn’t know if Admiral Streth and New Tellus had survived or if the Hocklyns and the AIs had destroyed the New Human Federation of Worlds. For all they knew, they might be the only Federation survivors left in the galaxy.
“Their numbers continue to grow,” Grayseth spoke, his large brown eyes looking over at Jeremy. The bear towered over Jeremy and his massive form was heavily muscled.
“Yes,” Jeremy replied in agreement. He looked over at Grayseth and smiled. The two had become very good friends over the past six months. “I wish we knew what happened at New Tellus.” Jeremy knew all the Humans in the fleet were deeply concerned. Most had family back in the Federation, and the not knowing was hard on everyone. Rumors were already flying that the Federation had been destroyed. “I was certain we would have heard something by now.”
“We can only wait,” Grayseth spoke in understanding, knowing his Human friends were deeply concerned about their home worlds.
“You’re right, my friend,” Jeremy said with a sigh. He knew worrying was not going to help.
“I don’t believe the evil ones will wait much longer before they attack,” Grayseth added as he folded his powerful arms across his large chest. “They know that each day they wait, we only grow stronger.”
“Jeremy, we have the computer updates completed,” Lieutenant Katie Johnson reported as she stood up from where she'd been sitting at the main computer console with Karalle, a young female Carethian.
She had been setting up a new targeting program that would allow the power beam installations to fire in unison at a specific target. She'd also set up a similar program for the Devastator Three missiles in the station’s missile tubes. The new program would allow the station to fire upon
an AI ship, creating holes in the vessel’s powerful energy shield. Ariel had helped Katie perfect the new program. It was similar to the one used on the strikecruisers but had been adapted for the computers and targeting systems on the massive space station. They had been working on it for weeks.
“That’s great, Katie,” Jeremy replied, pleased that Katie had finished the modifications. Katie was one of his closest friends and a member of the Special Five. Fleet personnel had picked that nickname for Jeremy and his four friends who were the only survivors of the New Horizon incident from so many years ago.
A warning alarm suddenly sounded, drawing Jeremy’s attention back to the holographic tactical display that depicted the Carethian system. Two glaring red threat icons had appeared a short ten million kilometers from Careth.
“Two Hocklyn support cruisers at ten million kilometers,” Colonel Millburn reported from his seat in front of the large sensor console. The console was manned by both Humans and Carethians.
“Another probe,” growled Grayseth, wishing they could destroy the two cruisers. If they followed the normal pattern, they would not give the defenders time to launch an attack.
All of the Human warships had been pulled back inside Careth’s gravity well to help protect them and it would take too long for them to respond to this incursion. Grayseth continued staring at the ships in anger, wishing he could attack them. His own people had a large number of small warships, but they were being held back in secret within the hidden underground cities on Careth.
“They’re taking detailed scans,” Colonel Millburn continued as he studied the data coming across the sensors. He pressed several buttons on his console, which brought up even more data on his screens. “Definitely scanning us, Sir,” he continued. “They are taking detailed scans of the station and the orbiting defenses.”
“The attack will be coming soon,” Jeremy said, letting out a deep breath as he continued to watch the two red icons floating tauntingly in the tactical display. He knew their days of peace were about to come to an end.
“Jeremy,” Katie spoke, her voice sounding tense. “Ariel is reporting that more AI ships and additional Hocklyn units are jumping into system K-774.”
Jeremy looked back over at the other tactical display and noticed more orange and red threat icons appearing. He had two stealth scouts stationed on the perimeter of the system keeping a wary eye on the enemy warships. There were also a number of FTL detection buoys in the system, which sent reports to Careth anytime a new FTL jump was detected.
“What do we have, Ariel?” asked Jeremy over his mini-com, knowing the AI would already be cataloguing the new arrivals.
“It’s not good, Jeremy,” Ariel spoke in her youthful female voice. “The FTL events have stopped and I've analyzed the new ships that are present. We have six more AI ships that have jumped into the system as well as twelve Hocklyn dreadnoughts, twenty-four warcruisers, and ninety-six support cruisers.”
Jeremy passed on the information to Grayseth as they both gazed with concern at all the new red and orange threat icons. They both knew that shortly the Hocklyns and AIs would be attacking. The ten AI ships would be a major problem with their ability to jump inside the gravity well of a planet.
“They may have been waiting for these ships to launch their attack,” Grayseth uttered, his large eyes narrowing as he studied the tactical display.
“I agree,” responded Jeremy, feeling his pulse beating faster. He just hoped they were ready for what was about to be thrown at them.
“We must prepare for battle,” Grayseth continued in a calm voice. “The evil ones must be destroyed.”
“Katie and I will be going back to the Avenger,” Jeremy decided after a moment. “We will be undocking and taking Fourth Fleet and Ceres Fleet to Condition Three.”
“What about the station?” Grayseth asked. He knew that with its larger crew that it could stay at a higher alert level for a much longer time than the two defending fleets. He was willing to follow Jeremy’s orders since he had more experience in dealing with the Hocklyns.
“Condition Two,” Jeremy suggested, his eyes meeting Grayseth’s.
“It will be done,” answered Grayseth gravely as he reached forward and pressed one of the alert buttons on the master console in front of him. Instantly, red lights began flashing and alarms sounded. The bear knew that shortly many of the Humans that he had come to call friends over the past few months would be giving their lives to save his world. Then, looking over at Jeremy, he spoke again in a solemn voice. “We will hunt together.”
“Yes, my friend,” replied Jeremy gravely, gazing deeply into Grayseth’s eyes. “We will hunt together.”
-
War Leader Versith listened to his new orders from Commodore Krilen. His war fleet had been shuffled around some, with all of the damaged ships continuing on to Kenward Seven. They had been replaced with repaired ships from Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s surviving fleet by orders from High Leader Nartel. War Leader Osbith’s fleet had also been similarly shuffled around. The two War Leaders now commanded full strength war fleets with which to attack the Humans.
“We attack immediately,” Versith said in his rasping voice, looking over at First Leader Trion.
“What about the AIs?” Trion asked, his cold, dark eyes narrowing. “Will they be going in with us?” He still didn’t like the way the AIs had withdrawn from the battle over the Human world, leaving the Hocklyn fleet at the mercy of those strange new ships. Many brave Hocklyn warriors had gone on to find their final honor during the battle.
“They have only now begun communicating again,” Versith responded as his eyes moved to one of the large viewscreens, which showed one of the monstrous AI ships. “Two of their ships will accompany us and serve in a support role. We will jump to just outside the gravity well of the planet and launch our fighters. Our target is the Carethian’s space station. Order half of our fighters armed with regular missiles and the other half with interceptors. From what I have seen of the defenses of this planet, we can expect a powerful force of opposing Human fighters.”
“What about Jaseth?” inquired Trion with a strong frown. “Should he be allowed out of his quarters for this engagement?”
Versith was silent for a long moment. He was still upset about Jaseth’s actions in the last battle. “Yes, release him from his quarters but assign a Protector to keep an eye on him. It won’t hurt for Jaseth to be reminded that another act of insubordination will result in his continued detention.”
-
Jeremy was back aboard the Avenger. The 1,000-meter heavy strikecruiser was the flagship of Fourth Fleet. Entering the Command Center, he saw that the ship was already at Condition Three.
“Ship is ready for departure,” Colonel Malen, the executive officer, reported. “All the crew are on board and at their stations.”
“Send the recall to all crewmembers of the other ships that are on leave down on Careth,” Jeremy ordered as he sat down behind the command console in the center of the large room. He could already sense the heightened anxiety in the Command Center as the crew knew they would shortly be going into combat.
“I’ve already done so,” Ariel spoke as the dark headed AI walked over to stand next to Jeremy. She had a concerned look upon her face. “I have further analyzed the energy signatures from the new Hocklyn ships and confirmed that they are some of the same ships that engaged Admiral Streth at the former Hocklyn fleet base over a month ago.”
Jeremy sucked in a sharp breath. He knew those very ships had gone off in pursuit of Admiral Streth toward New Tellus. Did their showing up now mean that the Hocklyn fleets had indeed been victorious? If so, there would be no relief fleet coming.
“What does it mean, Jeremy?” Kevin asked from his position at the ship’s sensors. He had a troubled look upon his face after hearing Ariel’s announcement about the Hocklyn ships.
Due to their closeness, they had long since dispensed with using military ranks unless they were in fr
ont of strangers. The rest of the crew had accepted that the Special Five were a close knit group. The twenty-nine year old redheaded lieutenant was also Jeremy’s best friend.
“I don’t know; it could mean nothing. We don’t know what happened back in the Federation.”
“Or it could mean that the Hocklyn and the AIs overcame New Tellus’s defenses and conquered the Federation,” Colonel Malen spoke in a restrained voice, her eyes growing wide at the thought. “We did lose contact with the destroyer we sent back.”
The entire crew in the Command Center had grown silent as they waited for Jeremy’s answer. Everyone had been deeply concerned about what was happening back home, particularly with the FTL lines of communication down.
“It does us no good to speculate,” Jeremy finally said, his eyes roaming over the Command Center crew. “I can’t believe that Admiral Streth could have been defeated. I still fully expect him to return shortly with a relief fleet. Our job is to protect Careth and to still be here when he arrives.”
“We will be!” Kelsey spoke loudly from Navigation, looking around at the rest of the crew daring anyone to contradict her.
“Let’s go kill some Hocklyns!” Lieutenant Preston said from Tactical, his eyes flashing.
“Move us away from the station,” ordered Jeremy, firmly. “I want Fourth Fleet ready to respond immediately if an AI jumps inside the gravity well. Angela, contact Admiral Stillson and tell him to stand by for further orders.”
Taking another deep breath, Jeremy looked over at the tactical display, which showed the current deployment of Fourth Fleet. He had forty ships at his disposal, including two battlecruisers and four battlecarriers. Ceres Fleet, under command of Rear Admiral Jase Stillson, had forty-eight ships.
In addition, there were thirty destroyers deployed in the massive satellite defense grid that surrounded the planet. He had fourteen heavy strikecruisers available to combat AI ships, all with full loads of Devastator Three missiles. There were also four type two battle stations in orbit around the space station that could also engage an AI. They had done everything they could to prepare for the expected attack.
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