Ensign Striker at the helm carefully maneuvered the Avenger away from the station. A few minutes later, the flagship took her place in the waiting fleet formation. Shuttles were rising from the planet, bringing crewmembers that had been planet-side on leave.
Ariel stood just behind Jeremy with her arms folded across her breasts. The gorgeous AI was keeping a close watch on all of the ship’s sensors as well as the incoming data from the two stealth scouts that were observing the enemy warships. She would know as soon as they jumped. There was also deep worry inside her. For over a month, she had not heard from Clarissa, and she greatly feared that something was very wrong back in the Federation.
-
The 1,200-meter Hocklyn dreadnought Viden exited the swirling white spatial vortex two million kilometers from their intended target. Other spatial vortexes expelled even more Hocklyn warships as War Leader Versith and War Leader Osbith’s fleets left hyperspace. A total of one hundred and thirty-two ships were now in the Carethian System.
“Report!” snapped War Leader Versith as he saw the ship’s screens and sensors coming online.
“All ships report successful jumps,” First Leader Trion reported as he listened to the communications from the different ships. Even as he watched the screens, two more large icons appeared. They were the two AI ships that would play a support role in this action.
“Put Careth and the planet’s defenses up on the tactical display,” Versith rasped as he turned his cold eyes toward the hologram. He was glad the Viden had one of the updated tactical displays. It made commanding a fleet operation much simpler and concise.
Instantly, the planet appeared in the display as well as numerous red threat icons. He had known what to expect from the scans of the two escort cruisers earlier. While this system was not as heavily held as the one where they'd faced defeat fourteen days ago, it would be no pushover and they didn’t have two hundred AI ships to whittle down the planet’s defenses.
“All ships, standard screening formation and advance at forty percent sublight. We will close to just outside the gravity well and then launch our fighter attack.”
Second Leader Jaseth had returned to his post at the weapons console. He glared at the tall Protector standing close to him, knowing that if he stepped out of line he would be escorted back to his quarters. That would not happen this time, given the chance, he would kill as many Humans as possible. For now, he would obey War Leader Versith’s orders.
“Honor will come slowly in this battle,” Trion commented as he watched the tactical display. “If the Human warships do not come out to engage us, this will only be a battle between fighters.”
“This battle is to probe their defenses,” responded Versith, looking sharply over at his First Leader. “There will be honor enough for all of us when we finally conquer this system.”
While honor was important, preserving the Empire had to take precedence. Versith was also concerned about how long it would be before the Humans sent a relief fleet to this system. If that fleet had any of the new alien warships, Versith knew they would have no recourse but to withdraw or face annihilation.
Trion was silent as he thought about their orders. He knew the AIs had informed the High Council that the surface of Careth was to be cleansed of life. When the Hocklyn fleet finally left this system, they would have committed genocide. This was something that didn’t set well with Trion, though he would follow his orders. He was a Hocklyn warrior of the Empire, and his duty was to obey.
-
“Commander Marks,” Jeremy spoke over the ship-to-ship communications. Susan was aboard her battlecarrier the Retribution. “You will be coordinating our fighter strike. Grayseth wants you to incorporate some of their fighters and bombers in your flight operations.” Susan had been working with the bear pilots for months and had recently informed Jeremy that they were ready for combat.
“Should we plan on a bomber strike?” Commander Marks inquired.
“Hold off on the bombers until we see what their intentions are,” Jeremy responded as he watched the Hocklyn ships, which were rapidly nearing Careth’s gravity well. If they entered the gravity well then Jeremy would know that they were committing their ships to this action.
“How many fighters can we expect them to launch, Ariel?”
Ariel was standing next to Jeremy, her dark eyes seemingly focused on a distant point. “If they are carrying full loads of fighters, we can expect eight hundred and sixty-four.”
Jeremy nodded as he thought about how he wanted to handle this. He had six battlecarriers available, each with one hundred sixty Talon fighters and sixty Anlon bombers. In addition, he had another three hundred twenty fighters and one hundred sixty bombers on the space station, as well as all the bear fighters and bombers.
“Jeremy, the Hocklyns are launching their fighters,” Kevin reported as new red threat icons began appearing on the tactical and sensor screens.
“What about their fleet?”
“It’s stopped just outside the gravity well,” Ariel informed him, her dark eyes focusing on Jeremy. “Only their fighters are coming in.”
“Admiral, I would suggest sending in some of our light cruisers along with our fighters,” Colonel Malen spoke as she studied the tactical display. “They can use their missiles as well as defensive laser turrets to help take out the enemy fighters; it might help to reduce our own losses and prevent them from reaching our defenses.”
“I agree,” responded Jeremy, noticing that Commander Marks was already launching fighters. “Designate ten light cruisers under the command of a Monarch to go in with our fighters.”
-
In space, the two groups rapidly closed. The Hocklyn pilots were intent on adding to their honor, while the Human and bear pilots' goal was to protect the world behind them. In their wake came the 900-meter Monarch heavy cruiser Reprisal with a screen of ten light cruisers. All missile tubes were loaded with Hunter class interceptors ready to launch. Her laser and railgun turrets would fire once they were within range.
The two groups of fighters rapidly neared each other. “Lock on targets and prepare to fire,” Major Wink Thurman ordered all squadrons. He was the CAG for the Retribution and in charge of the attacking fighters. “We will hit them with our interceptors first and then close to pointblank range. When we hit their formation, I don’t want to see a missile left on any fighter! The Reprisal and her fleet will follow us in; don’t let the Hocklyns hit our warships, make them focus on us.”
“Time to kick some Hocklyn ass,” one of the pilots spoke excitedly over the com.
“It’s about time,” a female voice replied. “It’s been boring flying patrols.”
“Stay tight with your wingman,” Thurman reminded everyone.
He was concerned about the bears since this would be their first actual combat mission. He wondered if it would have been smarter to assign the Human fighters a bear fighter as their wingman until the bears had more actual combat experience.
“I have target lock,” a pilot suddenly announced.
“Fire,” ordered Major Thurman, seeing green target lock lights appear on the small control console in his fighter.
From six hundred Human fighters and two hundred bear fighters, eight hundred Hunter interceptor missiles blasted away and hurtled toward the incoming Hocklyns. The Hocklyns fired at the same time and space was suddenly full of deadly interceptor missiles, each seeking a target.
“Vampire, vampire!” screamed a Human pilot over the squadron coms. “Incoming missiles.”
“Launch countermeasures,” another responded grimly. “Damn, we launched at the same time. There are missiles everywhere!”
“Go evasive!” Major Thurman ordered as he rolled his Anlon fighter and turned at a sharp angle while launching countermeasures at the same time.
Fighters from both sides began slewing about in wild gyrations, trying to throw off the incoming missiles. Some succeeded; others did not. Both formations were suddenly lit up by
bright explosions as numerous missiles found their targets.
-
Jeremy winced inwardly as he saw the fiery explosions on Avenger’s main viewscreens. He knew that each one marked the death of a fighter. From this distance, it was hard to tell if it was Human, bear, or Hocklyn.
“Major Thurman’s fighters have reached the Hocklyn formation,” Ariel informed him as she watched the battle with the ship’s sensors.
“What about the AIs?”
Ariel glanced over at Jeremy. “They are still behind the Hocklyn fleet; I am not detecting any buildup of energy indicating an imminent FTL jump.”
“Keep a watch on them,” ordered Jeremy, crisply. He had his strikecruisers at key positions in groups of two in case they had to respond to an attack by the AIs. For now, Jeremy hoped the AIs stayed put.
“The Reprisal and light cruisers are now in range; they are launching missiles and engaging their defensive laser batteries,” Ariel continued.
Jeremy looked back at the viewscreen. It was now crisscrossed with orange-red beams of light where lasers were firing. Occasionally there would be a fiery explosion at the end of one of the beams.
-
The fighter battle had broken down into a wild, swirling dogfight as each side tried to eliminate the other. All interceptor missiles had been fired. However, half the Hocklyn fighters were equipped with small ship-to-ship missiles, which were armed with powerful explosive warheads designed to cripple a small warship. They had planned originally to use these missiles against the space station orbiting the planet.
The Hocklyn strike leader instantly ordered all fighters equipped with the heavier missiles to attack the light cruisers. He knew the missiles probably couldn’t damage the larger Human warship, but if enough missiles could strike the screens of the smaller ships a few might get through. With the number of fighters the Humans and Carethians had launched, he knew his war wings had no hope of reaching the station in sufficient numbers to launch an effective strike.
-
“They’re trying to target the light cruisers!” Major Thurman warned over his com as he saw numerous Hocklyn fighters suddenly accelerate toward the nearby warships. “All fighters, cut off those Hocklyns before they can launch their missiles!”
Major Thurman hit his turbos and quickly fell in behind a Hocklyn fighter. Pressing the button on his flight control a line of 30mm tracers reached out and struck the Hocklyn fighter in its tail. It instantly exploded in a fiery fireball, and Thurman grimaced as his fighter flew through the shattered debris and he heard small fragments hitting his cockpit windows. On his small sensor screen, he could see dozens of missiles streaking toward the light cruisers. He just hoped the defensive laser turrets could shoot them down.
-
On the Monarch cruiser Reprisal, Commander Karson Adams ordered all defensive lasers to target the inbound missile strike. Already, over one hundred forty inbound missiles had been detected with more being launched every moment. The sensor operator had reported that none of them contained nuclear warheads.
“Lock on those inbound missiles,” he ordered as he watched the tactical display intently. “I want them destroyed!”
“Locking on targets,” the tactical officer replied. “Firing lasers and interceptors.”
Space became lit up with exploding missiles as lasers eliminated many of the inbound targets, but some of the fighters were launching from almost pointblank range. Missiles began impacting the light cruisers’ energy screens as multiple explosions rolled across them.
The light cruiser Wrath suddenly saw her screen weaken in one area from multiple hits and two small missiles darted through, striking the armored hull. Two large explosions shook the ship, blasting out deep holes in the hull and causing damage to several power conduits. For a moment, the screen wavered; that was all the Hocklyn fighters needed. Dozens of the small missiles flashed through the weakened screen, ravaging the hull of the 700-meter light cruiser. Fires broke out and key systems shut down, then a missile hit Engineering and the main fusion reactor went offline. Moments later, the ship’s self-destructs activated and the Wrath vanished as two nuclear explosions annihilated the ship.
-
“All missiles have been launched,” First Leader Trion reported as he listened to reports coming in from the Hocklyn pilots.
“Order them to return,” War Leader Versith ordered as he turned away from the tactical display. “It's obvious that if we want to strike their space station, a larger force will be required. We will withdraw back to Commodore Krilen’s position and discuss the next attack with him. When we return, we will be better prepared.”
“Victory will be ours,” responded Trion, knowing that War Leader Versith was well versed in strategy.
Jaseth was silent, but felt frustrated as he had not been given an opportunity to use his weapons. The Humans were so close, but he was powerless to extract vengeance against them.
-
“The light cruiser Wrath is down,” Kevin reported as he watched the green icon representing the stricken ship vanish from his sensor screen.
“Too many missiles got through,” Ariel reported with sadness in her voice. “I believe their reactor went offline and the ship suffered catastrophic damage causing the self-destructs to engage.”
“What about the other ships?” Jeremy asked with a heavy frown. He hadn’t planned on losing one of the light cruisers.
“Light damage only,” Ariel reported as she looked over the indicated ships with the Avenger’s sensors.
Jeremy watched as the Hocklyn fighters broke contact and fell back toward their waiting fleet. “Order our fighters to pursue to the edge of the gravity well but not to get too close to the Hocklyn warships. I don’t want them to be able to fire their defensive weapons upon our fighters.”
“Yes, Sir,” Colonel Malen replied as she passed on the orders to Commander Marks.
-
The Hocklyn fighters quickly flew back to their waiting ships and after landing, the Hocklyn warships began jumping into hyperspace. White, swirling spatial vortexes indicated the departure of each ship. Once they were gone, the vortexes faded away as if nothing had ever been there. The AIs waited until the last one left, and then they too vanished into hyperspace.
-
“What did we lose?” asked Jeremy, looking over expectantly at Ariel. He had come to depend more and more upon the talented AI for tactical information. She was also his friend.
“Human fighter losses are one hundred and twenty-two; the bears lost sixty-seven. We also lost the light cruiser Wrath with three other light cruisers suffering light damage. Hocklyn losses were four hundred and sixty-eight fighters.
“This was a probe of our defenses,” Colonel Malen commented as she gazed at the tactical display, noting the absence of any red threat icons. She placed her hands behind her back and looked over at Jeremy. “Next time they will return with a much larger force.”
“You’re right,” answered Jeremy, knowing that when they returned the Hocklyns would not just be using their fighters. “We need to be prepared for a major fleet battle in the next few days. Take the fleet back to Condition Three and have the damaged light cruisers put in at the repair bays on the station. I want their battle damage repaired as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Sir,” Malen replied. “It shouldn’t take more than a day to repair them.”
Jeremy nodded. He knew that with the loss of the light cruiser the battle could be called a draw. He felt ill knowing over seven hundred Human and bears had lost their lives in the short battle. He also knew that in the next one many more lives would probably be lost. Jeremy let out a deep sigh; he just hoped that Admiral Streth was still alive and on his way with a relief force. If not, no one in his fleet would survive when the AIs and the Hocklyns finally hit them with their full force.
Looking over at Kelsey, he could see the look of concern in her deep blue eyes. She forced a smile and Jeremy smiled back. Both knew that if Admiral
Streth did not show up shortly, the rest of their lives could probably be numbered in days.
Chapter Two
Fleet Admiral Streth strolled purposely down the hallway until he reached the doors of the Federation Senate Chambers. The two heavily armed marines standing guard at the door said nothing as they saw the anger on his face. They stood aside as he pushed the heavy doors open and entered the chamber.
President Kincaid looked up from his seat and frowned upon seeing who had interrupted the meeting of the Federation Senate. From the look on Admiral Streth’s face, he knew this wouldn’t be good. He let out a heavy sigh, knowing exactly what the admiral was going to say.
“What do you mean there will be no relief fleet for Careth!” Admiral Streth roared in anger as he walked around to stand between the seated president and the twenty-eight members of the Federation Senate. “I promised Rear Admiral Strong that I would return for him and I fully intend to do that!” He glared at the senators, daring them to dispute his words.
“Not without any ships,” Senator Fulbright commented, unperturbed by the admiral’s impertinence at interrupting the Senate meeting. “If I remember correctly, there isn’t much left of the Active Reserve Fleets. You managed to get most of them destroyed.”
“I still command what’s left of First and Second Fleet and we’re ready to return to Careth,” barked Admiral Streth, his eyes staring down the senator from Serenity. “We can be ready to depart within 48 hours.”
“Calm down,” spoke Senator Davis from Bliss, focusing his eyes on the venerated admiral. “We understand your desire to return to Careth, but the fleet is in shambles after the Hocklyn and AI attack on New Tellus. We don’t have the ships to spare at this time to launch a rescue operation.”
“We lost less than twenty percent of our total fleet,” Senator Barnes from Ceres interrupted, glaring across the room at Senators Fulbright and Davis. “We have the ships for a relief force and I strongly protest anyone who says otherwise. Must I remind you that there is a sizable Ceres fleet under command of Admiral Stillson at Careth also?”
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 2