“I wonder what that’s about?”
“Only one way to find out,” Karla said, releasing his hand and starting back down the wide stairs that led down to the academy.
-
An hour later, they were inside a conference room with Ambassador Tureen and two other Altons. Karla was surprised to see President Kincaid come in through the door.
“This must be important,” Karla said as everyone sat down.
“It is,” President Kincaid spoke in a grave voice. “I will have Ambassador Tureen explain the purpose of this meeting.”
The tall white haired Alton ambassador stood up and looked over at Admiral Telleck and Fleet Admiral Johnson. “As you know there have been rumors that the AIs are building something next to the large black hole at the center of our galaxy.” His eyes gazed piercingly at the two fleet officers. “What you don’t know is that nearly twenty years ago one of our exploration cruisers made it to the galactic center and took long-range scans of what the AIs are building.”
“What?” Karla interrupted her eyes growing wide as she leaned back in astonishment. “Why were we not told of this before?”
“We are still analyzing the data,” Tureen explained calmly. “That is why I've brought two of our scientists with me today.” Gesturing to the other two seated Altons, Tureen continued. “This is Garan Mikow and Tanith Leeth, who've been working on the project. I will let Garan explain what our exploratory vessel found.”
Garan stood up and looked over at the Humans. “The ship DeepStar spent nearly three days scanning the constructs it found at the black hole. It had to leave when several AI spheres jumped into the area. It was thought they might have detected the ship’s sensor scans and at the time we didn’t want them to know that any Altons still survived.”
“What did you find?” Admiral Telleck asked with growing curiosity. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“This,” spoke Garan as he walked over to a holo projection table and inserted a computer flash drive.
Instantly, a massive structure appeared. In the background, the nothingness of the black hole was evident. Everyone in the room drew in sharp breaths as they realized the immensity of the structure.
“How big is that?” President Kincaid asked his eyes focusing intently on the holo projection. There were several AI spheres close to it and they seemed very small in comparison.
“It’s over one hundred kilometers in diameter,” Garan explained, “And this isn’t the only one. We estimate there are over one thousand of these massive structures in orbit around the black hole.”
“Over a thousand!” Karla exclaimed her eyes widening in shock. “What are they for?”
“We’re not quite sure,” Garan confessed. “However, Tanith is one of our leading theoretical physicists and she has some ideas.” Garan returned to his seat, nodding at Tanith to take over.
Tanith looked at the hologram for a moment and then turned her attention back to the others. “We've studied the data gathered from the sensor readings of the DeepStar for years,” she began. “It's only been recently that we have begun to comprehend what the AIs may be up to.”
“And what is that?” asked Admiral Telleck, worriedly. “Why would they build something so close to that black hole? From what I have read, the black hole at the center of our galaxy is massive.”
“It has the mass of over four million stars similar to the one at the center of this solar system,” Tanith replied. “It is highly compacted with a radius of less than fifty million kilometers.”
“And the AIs have built these structures around it,” repeated President Kincaid, feeling confused.
“We believe they are seeking to harness the power from the black hole itself,” Tanith continued her eyes gazing intently at the group. “They may be attempting to open a stable wormhole between our galaxy and another.”
“They want to spread out and add another galaxy or more to their Empire,” stated Admiral Telleck, not feeling surprised about the AIs using the black hole for something like this. “How are they dealing with the tidal forces from the black hole?”
“The constructs are all orbiting outside of the Schwarzschild radius of twelve million kilometers,” Tanith explained.
“Damn, that must take a lot of power,” Admiral Telleck spoke not even wanting to think about coming that close to a black hole, especially a super massive one like the one at the center of the galaxy.
“They may indeed want to travel to another galaxy, that is one of the possibilities,” Tanith admitted with concern in her voice. “But there is another one that is of even greater worry. Using the power from the black hole, the AIs might be able to broadcast a signal at FTL speeds that could destroy all organic life within our galaxy.”
“How?” President Kincaid burst out as he looked fixedly at Tanith. Surely he had heard wrong. Could the AIs actually be seeking to destroy all organic life?
“It would be similar to the explosion of a neutron star when it releases a gamma ray burst,” Tanith explained. “It would destroy higher organic life forms but leave most plant life intact.”
“What are you saying?” Karla asked her eyes growing wide in concern. “How much time do we have?”
“We estimate it will take the AIs at least two more years to finish their project,” Tanith replied as she gazed at the others. “We believe after their recent defeats they'll be rushing their project to completion. Once complete, all higher organic life within our galaxy will be dead within six months.”
“How can we stop it?” President Kincaid asked. He couldn’t fathom a weapon that could destroy all higher organic life in the galaxy. It was a concept that was almost too big to accept.
Tanith took a sharp breath before responding. “We have to destroy it,” she said in a steady voice. “We must go to the galactic core within the next two years and destroy those constructs before the AIs can activate them.”
Everyone in the room just looked at one another. How could they defeat the Hocklyns in the next two years and then launch an attack upon the AIs at the galactic core? President Kincaid looked at the others and then reminded himself to breathe. He wondered if he had just heard a death sentence being issued for the entire galaxy.
-
Kelsey and Jeremy had just arrived at the resort on New Tellus. They were both grateful that the resort and the nearby town had not been hit when the Hocklyns nuked the surface of the planet. The resort was just as they remembered it.
Kelsey pushed her blonde hair back from the front of her deep blue eyes and looked over at Jeremy. He was drinking one of those fruit drinks he so liked and his eyes and face had a blissful look. “I still can’t believe how you like those drinks!” she said, shaking her head playfully and smiling at Jeremy.
“They’re really good!” Jeremy said as he took another long drink.
“At least they’re healthy,” replied Kelsey, laughing. “Much better than Kevin and his hamburgers.”
Jeremy looked over at Kelsey, admiring how good she looked in the skimpy blue two piece swimming suit she wore. He sat the drink down on one of the small tables next to him and spoke suggestively, “You know, we could go to our room,” he hinted with a leering grin. “After all, we are on our honeymoon.”
“I thought you would never ask,” Kelsey said with a playful laugh. She stood up and took Jeremy’s hand. “I hope those fruit drinks have given you a lot of energy; you’re going to need it!”
The two left the beach and headed toward their room at the resort. They had a full week of leave to enjoy this special time of their life and both intended to live it to the fullest. Today, they were just two honeymooners madly in love. Next week, they would once more be loyal officers in the Federation fleet.
Chapter Fifteen
Jeremy was standing in the bustling Command Center of his new battleship. He looked around the large room seeing numerous familiar faces, as well as a few new ones. Kelsey, Kevin, Angela, and Katie were all at t
heir posts and even Ariel was standing nearby. Inside the safe in the small office off the Command Center, Clarissa’s new green crystal was safely secured. Katie intended to continue her work bringing the second AI back to normal once they reached Careth. She'd brought all the equipment she might need to work on that endeavor.
“I like this new ship,” Ariel spoke with her hands on her hips, her dark black eyes focusing on Jeremy.
“It’s bigger and more powerful,” Jeremy said with a smile. “You should like that.”
“Everything is ready,” recently promoted Commander Kyla Malen reported. She was standing just in front of the command console between the four large tactical holograms. There were two on each side of her, displaying different information.
“Fleet has formed up and is ready for departure,” Kevin reported from his large sensor console.
“Fleet Admiral Johnson wishes us a safe trip and also requests that you don’t damage your new battleship too much,” Angela added.
“Battleship Careth is taking up its position on our port side,” Malen added.
A few months back, a group of Carethians had arrived to begin learning the systems in the battleship. All of the Carethians had space experience of some type, including flying their small warships. There were also a few Human crewmembers on board to assist.
“Take us out of the gravity well,” ordered Jeremy, as he sat down behind the command console. It was time to go back to Careth. He was looking forward to seeing Grayseth and the other Carethians he'd made friends with.
The large viewscreens on the front wall were showing views of New Tellus, New Tellus Station, and two battleships, the Careth and the new WarStorm. On the tactical displays were four fleets preparing to leave New Tellus. Jeremy’s, Admiral Sheen’s, a large supply fleet, and Rear Admiral Race Tolsen’s. Jeremy had been surprised when he had been told that Tolsen’s fleet had been reassigned to Careth. It made Jeremy feel as if there was something mysterious going on, some secret that he wasn’t being told. There were also twenty additional Alton battlecruisers going with them. Currently, the Alton ships were on convoy duty for the supply fleet. This had also been a surprise since he'd understood that originally the Altons did not want to send too many of their ships away from home and the Federation.
“We’re taking a lot of ships with us,” Kelsey spoke over their private channel. “Is there something going on?”
“I know it’s a lot of ships,” Jeremy replied as he gazed thoughtfully at all the green icons on the tactical displays. “I noticed that over the past several weeks there have been a lot of high level meetings between Fleet Admiral Johnson, President Kincaid, Governor Malleck, and even our alien allies. I have a feeling it's something big.”
“It all started back when Ambassador Tureen and the Alton scientists met with Kincaid, Johnson, and Telleck,” Kevin added. “I wonder what that was all about?”
“Whatever it was, it sure has everyone stirred up,” Kelsey said. She wondered if it had something to do with the AIs, particularly since it obviously involved the Altons. She and Jeremy had spoken about it in their quarters, but neither had any idea as to what was up.
“There’s no use speculating,” spoke Angela, looking over at Kelsey. “We'll know when they tell us.” Over the months since leaving Careth, she had fully recovered from her injuries.
“I suspect Admiral Sheen knows,” Ariel said as she stepped closer to Jeremy. “She's spent a lot of time in Fleet Admiral Johnson’s office recently.”
“You haven’t been spying again, have you?” injected Jeremy, looking sharply at the AI. He knew that at times Ariel’s curiosity got the best of her.
“No,” replied Ariel, sounding offended. “I've just intercepted a few communications requesting that she meet with Fleet Admiral Johnson. You should also know that in three of those meetings, Ambassador Tureen and at least one of the two Alton scientists were involved.”
“It has to concern the AIs,” Katie broke in from her position in front of the large computer systems panel she was sitting in front of. “It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
“Perhaps,” responded Jeremy, trying not to sound concerned. “Let’s focus on our mission for now. We have a new line of Alton communication buoys we’re laying between the Federation and Careth.”
The four fleets continued until they were clear of New Tellus’s gravity well and then began opening up blue white spatial vortexes. In a matter of a few minutes, all ships had jumped into hyperspace and were on their way to Careth. One other thing they knew was that Admiral Streth and Admiral Telleck would not be there when they arrived. They'd launched their mission to attack Kenward Seven.
-
Admiral Sheen gazed at the front viewscreens showing the dark swirling purples of hyperspace. She let out a heavy sigh and turned to the ship’s commander Marcus Diaz. “We’re on our way,” she commented.
“Finally,” Marcus responded with a nod. “The ship is operating well and if not for stopping to lay the FTL communication buoys, we could be in the Carethian system in record time.”
Amanda nodded; the new jump engines on the WarStorm were capable of hyperspace jumps of fifty light years with a cool down time of slightly less than one hour. They could also be retuned much faster than the old ones. They had used a combination of Alton and Human technology to adapt the new engines to Federation ships.
Amanda let out a heavy sigh as she turned and looked around the large Command Center. She and Richard had spent a final weekend at their favorite ski resort on New Tellus. They had both known that it might be many months before Amanda and the WarStorm made it back to Federation space.
“You could come out to Careth and help with their fortifications,” Amanda had suggested on their last night together.
“Perhaps,” replied Richard, pulling Amanda closer to him in the bed. “I still have a lot of work to do here rebuilding New Tellus’s defenses, particularly since two of our asteroid fortresses were destroyed in the attack.”
“What are the plans?” asked Amanda, feeling curious placing her hand on Richard’s chest. She could feel his heart beating steadily beneath her palm.
“We’re moving two smaller asteroids into orbit,” Richard responded, sliding his arm around Amanda. “It will still take us two years to emplace the offensive and defensive weapons that we have planned on them.”
Amanda didn’t reply; she knew from what Fleet Admiral Johnson told her that they might not have two more years, not if the AIs could activate their new weapon at the center of the galaxy, if it was a weapon. There were just too many unknowns about what the AIs were building. The Altons had a theory, but there was no way to confirm it without going to the center of the galaxy and taking close in scans of the constructs orbiting the black hole. That would be no easy task in itself since there were possibly thousands of AI ships guarding their creations.
Amanda shook her head and turned her attention back to the ship. Richard had promised to try to come to Careth as soon as possible. She just hoped he could and that she would be there when he did.
“What’s the ship’s current status?” asked Amanda, looking over at Commander Diaz.
“Power consumption normal, FTL drive normal, drive core showing only a slight heat buildup, and everything else is functioning within specs,” Diaz replied. “We have a good ship, Admiral.”
“We shall see,” responded Amanda, looking sharply at her second in command. “The WarStorm hasn’t been tested in combat yet.”
Diaz nodded and then went off to make his rounds of the Command Center. Amanda looked over at Lieutenants Stalls and Trask; it was comforting to see at least two familiar faces.
-
At Kenward Seven, High Leader Nartel was in the largest of the four massive shipyards that orbited the planet. He was meeting with Fleet Commodore Resmunt, Fleet Commodore Versith, Commodore Tantil, and Commodore Parco.
“How many ships do we have updated?” he demanded in his harsh, commanding voic
e.
“A little over two thousand,” answered Fleet Commodore Resmunt, recalling the latest figures. “We still have an additional four hundred to be updated in the next few weeks. Once they are done we shall have updated all of the warships in our region of space.”
“Excellent!” Nartel responded, pleased to hear that they were nearly ready to go back on the offensive. “The other shipyards in the different galactic regions of our Empire are reporting the same. All updates will soon be finished.”
“These updates have strengthened our ships' weapons and shields,” Fleet Commodore Versith spoke, his eyes focusing on the High Leader. “But the Human weapons and shields are still superior. We also have no idea how our recent upgrades will hold up against an Alton ship.”
Nartel stared at Versith, feeling aggravated. Versith was only a recently promoted Fleet Commodore and should not be doubting the strength of the new weapons. Forcing himself to remain calm, he had to remind himself that Versith was also perhaps their best strategist. It would be wise to take his words under consideration.
Pointing to one of the large viewscreens in the conference room showing a nearby AI sphere, Nartel responded, “The AIs currently have ten of their warships in this system. They're in the process of updating and building even more advanced warships of their own. They've assured me that when they are completed, the new ships will be able to handle the Altons.”
“That may be true,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt spoke cautiously. It made him nervous that the High Leader had come all the way out to Kenward Seven to oversee the updating of the Hocklyn fleet. “But what if the Altons are also updating the Humans' warships? War Leader Briton’s fleet was destroyed a few months back by a large Human fleet. From the reports from our other fleet in the system the Humans' weapons and shields seemed stronger than before. They annihilated War Leader Briton’s entire force with only minor losses to their own fleet.”
“As they nearly did ours,” added Fleet Commodore Versith, recalling the Human attack in system K-774.
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 21