“Decadence began setting in,” Governor Malleck spoke in realization. “The lack of physical activity and challenges was draining the vitality away from your species.”
“Correct,” responded Tureen, with a nod of his head. “A small group of my people decided that the AIs were not the solution and because of their programming could someday pose a threat to our people and even the galaxy at large. A scientific expedition was mounted by this group, and several ships were sent out into the galaxy to search for a solution. They eventually found Earth and decided to transplant a viable Human population to what later became the Human Federation of Worlds. Most of that expedition elected to stay behind and colonize a new world close to Earth to watch over your budding Human civilization.”
“This sounds like a history lesson,” Governor Malleck said, wondering where this was leading.
“In a way,” Tureen responded. “You know what happened to my people that remained at the galactic center; the steadily decreasing birthrate eventually caused them to die out and leave the AIs in charge of what was left of our civilization. However, in the system we colonized near Earth, we were rediscovering our vitality. We colonized new worlds, built mining and research bases, and began to explore this region of the galaxy. We also kept track of what was happening with the AIs, though we were powerless to actively intervene.”
“Then the AIs moved out into the galaxy and began setting up their own Empire,” muttered Karla, shaking her head.
“Yes,” replied Tureen, sounding regretful. “We were horrified at what was happening. There were even discussions amongst my people of building new ships and trying to leave the galaxy. We finally discarded that train of thought as being too impractical. We watched over the centuries as the AIs continued to expand their Empire using the Hocklyns and three other warlike races. We were still debating what to do when the Hocklyns and the original Human Federation of Worlds went to war. We'd waited too long; we didn’t have the ships to help save them. Immediately after the fall of the Federation and seeing the survivors find Earth and settle within Ceres, we began building a war fleet in case the AIs every ventured out into this section of the galaxy.”
“So, what now?” Governor Malleck asked. “Your fleet saved us at New Tellus, but we're still facing unbelievable odds. This may still be a war we can’t win.”
“We need a way to secure our worlds from the AIs and their four proxy races,” Tureen told the other two as he stood up and walked over to a holographic projection table. He inserted a computer chip and a large, cylindrical object appeared. It had a flat base that obviously contained some sort of power source.
“What’s that?” asked Karla, guessing it was some type of weapon.
“This is a new development by our scientists and may be a solution to part of our problem,” Tureen began as he gestured at the hologram. “It is an orbital particle beam cannon. It projects a beam of charged particles similar to the ones used on our warships. It’s not as powerful as the ones on our ships, but it is still capable of penetrating a Hocklyn ship’s screens and doing major damage. If enough of these satellites focus their beams on an AI ship, even its shields will eventually fail.”
“Can we build these?” asked Karla, feeling excited. “If we could surround all of our colony worlds with these it would free up fleet units to use in the war.”
“Not yet,” replied Tureen, shaking his head. “You just don’t have the technology base. However, we will be pleased to build them for you.”
“How soon?” Karla asked. “I would like to send some to Admiral Streth to use to help protect Careth. I don’t believe the AIs or the Hocklyns will attack us here without neutralizing Careth first.”
“We've already begun construction,” Tureen replied. “We can have five hundred of these new particle beam satellites ready within four of your weeks. Each one of your Federation worlds and bases can be protected by a screen of these within the year, and then we will begin with your allies.”
“This could change the entire war effort,” Governor Malleck said, his eyes lighting up. “If we know our worlds are secure from Hocklyn or AI attack, we can focus on taking the battle to them.”
Tureen seemed to hesitate and then inserted another computer chip into the holographic imager. A large battle station appeared floating above the table.
“What’s that?” Fleet Admiral Johnson asked as she stood up and walked over next to the image to inspect it closer. It was similar in some ways to the large battle stations that protected Earth.
“It’s an Indomitable Class Battle Station,” answered Tureen, promptly. “It’s the latest development by our scientists. The station is one thousand meters in diameter and armed with numerous heavy particle beam cannons and sublight antimatter missile tubes. It has other defensive weapons as well. Six of these stations in orbit over a planet will make it virtually impervious to an attack from an AI ship.”
“We can’t build them,” spoke Karla, shaking her head knowing it would be the same as the satellites. “Even if we could, how can we get these to Careth? If the AIs attack as you say they will, that will be their main target before coming after us.” She knew that holding Careth was vital to the future of the Federation.
“These are already under construction,” replied Tureen, informatively. “They are being built in our home system and will be deployed there first. They can be built in modular units, transported to Careth, and assembled there. I have spoken to my government and they are willing to furnish twelve of these for the planet’s defense. They have very powerful energy shields, which should be able to resist any weapon the AIs come up with. Most of the science the AIs possess comes from our old civilization, which the AIs inherited, and from the worlds they have conquered. These shields are of a modulated frequency, which changes hundreds of times per second. We can fire weapons through it, but the AIs and the Hocklyns will not be able to penetrate it with their weapons as long as they can’t find the current frequency of the shield.”
“I don’t know what to say,” spoke Karla, feeling speechless. It was becoming more evident every day that the Altons were heavily committed to the war effort. She didn’t even what to hazard a guess as to the astronomical costs of building these large battle stations and the particle beam satellites.
“We are also willing to furnish twenty more battlecruisers to help defend Careth,” added Tureen, smiling. “We have started up the warship construction yards again and these will be the most modern and powerful ships we can build with our technology. They will be larger than our current ships and will have one hundred and twenty Altons assigned to each as a crew. However, we still recognize that Humans are better suited for war than we are. The ships will need Human crews of six hundred each plus a contingent of your marines.”
“You will have them,” Karla promised, her face flushing with excitement at the prospect of having even more powerful Alton ships. “How soon do you need them?”
“As soon as possible,” replied Tureen, thinking about the construction schedule. “It would be good to have the crews involved in the construction process so they'll better understand how the ships function.”
Karla thought for a moment. There was the new class of cadets preparing to graduate from the Fleet Academy on the Moon. Throw in some seasoned officers and she would have the crews the Altons wanted.
“When are you going to speak to President Kincaid about this?” Governor Malleck asked. He knew this was not a decision that could be made by Ceres alone, though he appreciated Ambassador Tureen telling him of his proposals.
“In three more days,” Tureen responded. “I have asked to address the Federation Senate concerning this matter.”
“I don’t think you will have a problem getting this approved,” Karla spoke with an all knowing grin. “Once you mention the particle beam defensive satellites and the battle stations, you'll have the Senate in your pocket.” Karla knew that not even the ever vocal Senator Fulbright would object to this.
-
Jeremy was aboard Ambassador Tureen’s ship standing in the Command Center, looking about in amazement. He'd been at Ceres and was catching a ride back to the Moon where he had a meeting scheduled with the current head of the Fleet Academy about new recruits for his battleship. Jeremy was in awe of everything around him. The entire front wall of the ship seemed to be open to space. They were traveling at sublight speeds, but the engines on the Alton ship were much more powerful than Federation ships and capable of much higher speeds. The view looking out at the stars was spectacular.
Several of the tall, white haired Altons manned various consoles. Most of them sensed motion and the Alton’s hands never actually touched the controls as they made minor adjustments. A holographic image floated to just one side of the main control console depicting a three dimensional image of the solar system. It showed much more detail than anything currently being used on Federation ships.
Even the always present vibrations from the engines were absent on the Alton craft. The chairs the Altons were sitting in seemed to be even more padded and comfortable than those found on a Federation warship. When you sat in one, it seemed to automatically adjust itself to your body. It was obvious the Altons had done everything they could to make their ships as comfortable as possible.
“Do you like my ship, Admiral?” Ambassador Tureen asked with a pleasant smile.
Jeremy had to look up at the tall ambassador. “It’s fantastic,” he said, nodding his head as he continued to gaze around in fascination.
“This ship is a diplomatic vessel with light weapons but a powerful energy shield,” Tureen explained. “As you know, for centuries we've stayed away from any type of armed conflict up to the point of making our stellar neighbors believe that all of our ships were unarmed.”
“You have a lot of large exploration ships,” Jeremy mentioned. He'd seen images of some of the large vessels and reports on the exploring the Altons had done in the local region of space.
“Exploration is how we maintain the vigor in our race. Before the recent war with the Hocklyns and the AIs, we always had exploratory missions out in the galaxy. Even now, we still have numerous scientific posts scattered throughout this section of space.”
“Just how much of the galaxy have you explored?”
“The galaxy is a large place with billions of stars. The nebula, black holes, and unformed stellar matter hold thousands of years of future explorations. Then there are the nearer galaxies. Before this war, there was already some discussion of sending missions to the closest ones.”
Jeremy was silent for a moment. He could tell from the excited tone in Tureen’s voice that just the thought of exploration was intriguing to him. “What are the AIs building in the center of the galaxy?”
Tureen looked at Jeremy with surprise in his eyes. Then they took on a darker and more worried look. “We’re not sure,” he replied at last. “We have managed to get a few exploration ships into AI space. I can tell you there are thousands of AI spheres at the heart of the galaxy. They're building something close to the massive black hole at the galaxy’s center. A few of our scientists have a theory as to what it may be, but it’s too early to speculate until we have more solid information.”
“How do we get that information?” Jeremy asked. He'd only heard rumors about the Hocklyns building something at the galaxy’s center. Whatever it was, Jeremy had a haunting feeling it was extremely dangerous. It also made him deeply concerned to hear Tureen mention thousands of AI spheres.
“We are building two new research vessels,” responded Tureen, letting out a deep and long breath. “We plan on sending those ships to the galactic core to find out.”
“How will you get there through all of those AI ships?”
Tureen gazed at Jeremy for a long moment. “Your fleet will have to take us there. Once we are close enough to what the AIs are constructing we can ascertain its function and determine its potential threat.”
“What if it is a danger?” asked Jeremy, wondering what they could do.
“Then we destroy it,” answered Tureen, grimly. “The AIs can’t be allowed to succeed in whatever they are planning for this galaxy.”
The center of the galaxy, Jeremy thought feeling numb. He wondered what would await them there if and when they finally made that dangerous journey.
Chapter Thirteen
Fleet Commodore Resmunt continued to watch as more fleet units arrived to be updated. The Humans had been relatively quiet in the last few weeks after attacking and destroying War Leader Briton’s fleet. There were currently over two thousand Hocklyn warships in the Kenward Seven star system. The four massive shipyards had over one hundred and sixty construction bays combined. It was taking an average of six days to upgrade a dreadnought or warcruiser with the new weapons. There were also two AI ships in orbit assisting with the upgrades.
“How much longer before we attack?” First Leader Ganth asked, his large dark eyes focusing on the Fleet Commodore.
It made him nervous that the AIs were in the system and had stayed for such a long period. Normally they jumped in, downloaded the updates, and then left. That hadn’t happened this time.
“The Humans seem to be fortifying Careth,” Resmunt responded. An AI ship had jumped to within four light years of the system to see what the Humans and Carethians were up to. It had stayed in interstellar space since it was now assumed the Humans had some way of detecting FTL jumps in the systems near them. “I've been instructed by the High Council to hold our fleets here. We will attack the Humans en mass, annihilating them at Careth and then continuing on to their home worlds. We will eliminate this menace once and for all.”
“Honor will come to us,” First Leader Ganth responded in his harsh, raspy voice. “It will be good to go into combat and defeat the Humans.”
“Much honor will come in these next few battles,” agreed Resmunt, reaching down and tapping the hilt of the knife at his waist.
It had been awhile since he had last tasted the fruits of victory. He knew that another loss at the hands of the Humans could cost him his Fleet Commodore position as well as his family honor. It was something he was determined not to allow to happen.
“Will there be AI ships going with us when we launch our attack?”
“I don’t know,” Resmunt replied as his reptilian eyes strayed to one of the main viewscreens, which was focused on one of the two massive 1,500-meter AI spheres. “The High Council has not informed me if the AIs will be involved.”
“If we have enough upgraded warships, we might not need them,” Ganth stated. “Without the AIs there will be much more honor in our victory.” Ganth had no respect for the AIs and would just prefer that they did not take part in any future battles.
“Perhaps,” responded Resmunt, folding his powerful arms across his chest plate and looking over at his First Leader. Resmunt knew that Ganth aspired to become a War Leader someday, but he still lacked in the strategy department.
Resmunt’s gaze returned to another viewscreen that showed even more ships moving into the repair bays in the nearest shipyard that orbited the planet beneath them. Dreadnoughts and warcruisers were being given first priority. The only thing that concerned Resmunt was that they had withdrawn so many ships from the outlying sectors of the Empire to be updated that there was little left to stop the Humans from marching through Hocklyn territory if they so wished. It mystified Resmunt as to why the Humans were not taking advantage of their current tactical advantage.
-
Aboard the dreadnought Viden, Fleet Commodore Versith gazed thoughtfully at the tactical hologram, which showed the assembling Hocklyn fleet. There were more ships currently in the system than any ship gathering in the Empire’s long history. Over the coming weeks, even more ships were due to arrive.
“Impressive,” War Leader Trion spoke from his position next to Versith. Since Versith had been promoted to Fleet Commodore, Trion had been moved up to War Leader.
“We will have a
decided edge in warships over the Humans,” commented Versith, looking over at his second in command. “But the Humans will have the edge in technology.”
“Even with the new weapons the AIs are giving us?” Trion asked in surprise, his large dark eyes gazing in question at Versith. He'd hoped the new weapons would put them on an even par with the Humans.
“The AIs have given us more powerful weapons,” admitted Versith, letting out a deep breath. “But they keep the most powerful weapons for themselves. The High Council has reported that the AIs are involved in a massive rearming of all their warships in the center of the galaxy.”
“What about this mysterious project they are supposedly working on at the galaxy’s center?” Trion asked.
“I fear that it will not be to our liking when it is completed,” Versith responded.
He gazed at one of the large viewscreens. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they were actually fighting on the wrong side in this war. The AIs had always used the Hocklyns as pawns to expand the Empire. Even though the Hocklyns controlled thousands of slave worlds, the AIs called all the shots.
“We have built their Empire,” Trion countered, his eyes widening. “Surely they will not do anything to jeopardize that.”
“The AIs are not organic,” Versith reminded Trion in his raspy cold voice. “They do not think as we do.”
Over at one of the weapons consoles, Second Leader Jaseth was busy running diagnostics on his targeting systems. He was excited at the new weapons the Viden had been equipped with. It had been rushed into one of the construction bays immediately after jumping into the system and rapidly updated.
“These new weapons will allow us to kill even more of the Human vermin,” he commented to one of the Hocklyns manning a console next to him. “They will die beneath our weapons.”
“The new weapons are truly powerful,” the Fourth Leader beside him responded in agreement. “Even our energy screen is stronger than before. Surely the Humans and their new allies will fall before us.”
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 18