“We will achieve victory at Careth,” the AI at the main computer terminal reported, satisfied with the latest results. “The computer is predicting a ninety-two percent probability of victory.”
“Yes,” the Command AI spoke in its authoritative voice. “But what about afterward? Will we still possess the ships to continue on and destroy the Human home worlds?”
“The latest projected loss figures show we will still have a Hocklyn and Borzon fleet of over two thousand ships,” the AI responded. “That should be sufficient to destroy the Humans, though not the Altons.”
“With the Humans removed, the Altons will not be a threat,” the Command AI spoke. “They will retreat to their world or worlds and not venture forth again.”
“The Great Project will be completed and the organics will cease to exist; even the Altons,” the AI at the computer station responded. “Our mechanical race will be supreme.”
“Yes, we will be supreme,” responded the Command AI. “There will be no threats to stop us from spreading throughout this galaxy and others. Someday, in the future, this entire universe will be ours. A universe of AIs.”
Chapter Twenty
Admiral Streth was in the busy Command Center of the battleship StarStrike. Anxiety in the room had just skyrocketed as warning alarms on the sensor console began sounding. The FTL sensor buoys were detecting massive amounts of spatial vortexes forming in system K-829, signaling the arrival of the Hocklyns and their friends. Already, the FTL buoys had recorded over fifteen hundred FTL events and more were still occurring.
“They brought everything but the kitchen sink,” Colonel Trist mumbled from his position in front of one of the tactical displays where he was watching intently as more red icons continued to appear.
“I think they even brought that,” Colonel Grissim spoke as the FTL buoys began recording larger warp vortexes opening, indicating the arrival of the large, 1,500-meter AI spheres. “The AIs are beginning to jump in.”
“They’re six light years away,” Hedon informed them as he studied the displays. “We'll have at least an hour's warning when they launch their attack.” That was how long the hyperspace transit time was from system K-829 to Careth. “Contact Colonel Malang on the space station and order her to dispatch two of the long-range stealth scouts to the system. I want to know exactly what we’re up against. Have the scouts determine how many AI, Hocklyn, and Borzon ships are in the system. I want ship types and any other pertinent information they can come up with.”
“Will two scouts be enough?” Trist asked as he began contacting the station. He knew they were asking a lot of just two of the small ships.
“Perhaps not,” Hedon responded with an unhappy frown. “But I don’t want to risk any more. The AIs may be able to detect them.” Then, turning toward Colonel Grissim, “Cancel all leaves and bring up all of our fleet personnel from Careth. Inform our allies to go to Condition Three and expect an imminent attack. Let them know they'll have an hour's notice.”
Hedon knew they still had time to finish their preparations; they didn’t need to panic. “Captain Duncan, send an FTL message to Admiral Sheen that our enemy has arrived and we are expecting to be engaged in combat shortly.”
Janice nodded and began activating the FTL transmitter. This would be an encrypted message and it wouldn’t take Admiral Sheen long to receive it as her fleets were nearby.
Hedon leaned back in his command chair and thought about the coming battle. He'd received an encrypted message from Fleet Admiral Johnson a week earlier detailing the plan that Admiral Nagumo had come up with. It was daring and highly risky, but it was also something that Hedon himself might have proposed.
-
All across the fleet, crews raced to their battle stations. On the ships, the space station, the shipyard, the Alton battle stations, and the type two battle stations everyone prepared for battle. At Condition Three, which was a heightened alert level, the crews knew they still had time. Guns were checked, missiles loaded into their tubes, targeting systems were run through tests, everything was being done in preparation for combat. Every Human, Carethian, Alton, Kessel, and Darvonian knew the Hocklyns, Borzon, and AIs were here for one reason and one reason only, to kill or be killed! One side would win and the other would be annihilated.
Aboard the Kessel and Darvonian ships, the anxiety level was higher. So far in this war, they'd not seen any actual combat. This would be their first battle and the crews were determined to show the Humans they had what it took to be part of the alliance.
The Darvonians had one hundred and forty warships, including seven of light cruiser strength. The rest were similar to Federation destroyers. The Darvonians had been given the task of helping to protect the seventy-two type two battle stations orbiting Careth and their fleet had been split accordingly. They had one destroyer-sized warship assigned to each station with the rest divided up into seven fleets of nine to ten each. The seven small fleets would help protect the areas where the enemy were concentrating their attack. The fleets would operate inside the satellite defensive grid where they could do the most good.
The Kessels had a smaller overall fleet, but it was much more powerful with ten battlecruisers, twenty heavy cruisers, and fifty light cruisers. The catlike Kessels had been assigned to protect the new shipyard and their ships were clustered around it. Along with the laser satellites, missile platforms, and four type two battle stations that orbited it, the shipyard was well protected. In addition, the shipyard's energy screen was functional as well as ten power beam installations and twenty pulse laser batteries.
Freighters that had been traveling between mining sites in the system redlined their sublight drives as they raced for Careth. They needed to get beneath the satellite grid before the battle started. All mining sites throughout the system began powering down and started sending their staffs to deep underground bunkers. They would be silent until they received the all clear signal that the battle was over.
On Careth itself, the huge underground cities began shutting the massive airlocks that protected them from the outside world. Thousands who'd been outside began to hurriedly make their way back to the hidden locations. On the surface of the planet, interceptor missile batteries turned toward the sky, and highflying interceptor aircraft were moved out of their hangers in preparation for launch. Carethian troops began taking up defensive positions around the larger cities in preparation to defend them if necessary. If the Hocklyns landed their Protectors, they would find an armed fortress awaiting them.
Inside the cities themselves, Carethian civilians began moving in an orderly fashion to prepared underground shelters. Emergency response centers became active and were soon coordinating the movement of civilians to areas of safety. All of this had been practiced numerous times in the past year, and now was the time to put what they'd learned into effect.
-
Colonel Kathryn Barnes stepped into the Command Center of the battlecruiser Ceres. Admiral Telleck had ordered her back to the flagship for this battle.
“Thanks for calling me back,” she spoke gratefully as she stepped into the familiar room.
“It’s good to have you back,” Admiral Telleck responded with a friendly smile. “You'll do more good here during the battle than in your envoy position on the space station.”
Kathryn nodded and took her place in front of the tactical display, relieving Major Carnes, who immediately headed for the emergency Command Center deep in the heart of the ship.
“Sir?” asked Kathryn, looking quizzically at the admiral. “What happened to your hair?” The Admiral was completely bald, his thick dark hair gone.
Admiral Telleck laughed and pointed at his head. “Accident in Engineering yesterday. I got singed pretty good and decided to shave it off. Do you like the new look?”
“It’s different,” replied Kathryn, smiling. “At least you weren’t hurt.”
Looking at the tactical display, Kathryn turned pale at what it was displaying. There
were thousands of red threat icons. This was data being received from the FTL buoys in system K-829.
“I think we’re outnumbered,” she spoke aloud, looking back over at Admiral Telleck, who was sitting behind the large command console.
“Slightly,” Telleck replied with a wizened grin. “It just gives us more targets to shoot when they jump in.”
“They’re coming in all at once, aren’t they?” asked Kathryn, already knowing the answer. It was what she would do, jump in and try to overwhelm the defenders.
“Yes,” Telleck responded, his voice switching to a more somber tone. “After our recent battles, I'm sure that’s what they’re going to do. They will try to overwhelm our defenses in one massive assault.”
“How many AIs can we expect?” Kathryn was relieved they still had thirty-seven Alton battlecruisers in the system. Since their return from Kenward Seven, the Alton ships had been given first priority in the repair bays. She felt certain the Altons could handle the AIs. They'd already demonstrated that at New Tellus.
“Unknown,” Telleck responded. “We’re sending two stealth scouts to scan the system to determine the makeup of the fleets we'll be facing. We know some have jumped in, we’re just not certain as to how many.”
“What’s the plan of battle?” Kathryn asked her eyes focusing intently on Admiral Telleck. She felt certain Fleet Admiral Streth had probably made the plan with input from Admiral Telleck.
“We'll wait for them to enter the gravity well and then engage them in a massive fleet battle. First Fleet and ours will go in together as one unit.”
“What about Admiral Sheen and Admiral Strong; when will they engage?” Kathryn knew that both admirals and their powerful fleets were nearby waiting.
“As soon as the enemy jumps into the system, Admiral Sheen will begin her first jump. They will jump into a nearby system, establish communications, and then jump in under the recommendations of Fleet Admiral Streth and myself.”
Kathryn nodded. She wondered what her father would think if he knew the danger she would soon be in. It was a lot different than playing politics.
-
Hedon looked carefully at the tactical displays. Over the last several hours, the Kessel and Darvonian fleets had taken up their defensive positions. In addition, First Fleet and Ceres Fleet had moved closer together and nearly merged. With both fleets combined, Admiral Streth had nearly two hundred Federation warships at his disposal as well as thirty-seven Alton battlecruisers. For the time being, Hedon had assigned three of the Alton battlecruisers to the space station and four to the partially constructed shipyard. The other thirty were merged, with the two Federation fleets waiting for combat.
“We’ve done everything possible,” said Colonel Trist, coming to stand next to Hedon. “Do we know for sure how many ships Admiral Sheen and Admiral Strong have?”
Hedon knew the two admirals had over one hundred and sixty ships between them. In addition, Rear Admiral Race Tolsen was in the same system with an additional fifty-five ships. There were also twenty more Alton battlecruisers with the three waiting fleets. Everything else depended on whether or not Admiral Nagumo’s plan worked. Hedon hadn’t revealed that to anyone. He also hadn't heard from Admiral Nagumo.
“Nearly one hundred and sixty plus twenty more Alton battlecruisers,” replied Hedon, carefully.
He hated keeping secrets, but he was under strict orders from Fleet Admiral Johnson not to reveal any of Nagumo’s plans or that Rear Admiral Tolsen’s fleet was also available. Hedon didn’t like the secrecy, but there was concern about the AIs intercepting and decrypting Federation communications.
“This is gong to be one hell of a battle!” Trist spoke his eyebrows arching in thought. “The question is will it be enough?”
“It has to be,” said Colonel Grissim, walking over and joining in on the conversation. “All of our ships are updated and Careth is almost as heavily defended now as New Tellus.”
Hedon said nothing in reply. This battle was going to determine the fate of the galaxy. If the Federation prevailed, then it might allow them to move on with the Altons and attack the AIs at the center of the galaxy before they could finish their massive construction project. If they lost, then all hope for survival would be over.
Hedon looked over at Janice at Communications. For the first time in a long while, he actually had a reason to survive the war. The thought of dying in combat had always been comforting, knowing that he would be joining Taylor and Lendle. But now he had a reason for living. He had to find a way to beat the Hocklyns and the AIs if he wanted that new future to come into being.
Colonel Grissim looked over at Hedon, seeing the faraway look in his eyes. She felt confident that the legendary admiral would find a way to win. After all, they'd all been taught as children that the great admiral would awaken from cryosleep to lead the Federation to victory. Who was she to doubt a legend?
-
Grayseth was in the Command Center of the large, heavily armed space station. Carethian fighter and bomber crews were on standby, as well as their small, heavily armed spaceships. He had nearly three hundred of the small ships in the expanded flight bays of space station and the shipyard. Each ship would be carrying ten modified Shrike missiles with twenty-kiloton warheads. Plans were for a massed bomber and fighter strike with the small warships clearing the way.
“Should I and the other females prepare to go to the surface?” Malith asked as she stepped over closer to Grayseth, who towered over her. It was customary for females of the Carethian species not to partake in actual combat.
Grayseth turned and studied Malith with her deep brown fur and her friendly eyes. She'd made many friends amongst the Humans and was an excellent Communications and Navigation officer.
“No,” Grayseth spoke after a moment. He looked at Malith with a very serious gaze. “If we are to fight the evil ones and their masters, then I think that both our males and our females are going to have to be a part of this. For this battle, all females that wish to stay on board either the space station or the shipyard will be allowed to do so.”
“I will stay,” answered Malith, quickly. If the females amongst her Human friends were not afraid to fight, how could she do any less? She turned and went back to her station. She had some fighter patrol routes she needed to set up.
Grayseth watched her go. He knew that what he'd just decided went against tradition, and Carethians valued their traditions highly. However, this was a matter of survival, and half the Carethian race could not be told they couldn’t fight, not if they wanted to survive this and build a new future.
Colonel Malang had listened to the conversation with interest. The female part of the Carethian crew on the space station numbered about ten percent, while the female portion of the Human crew on the station was closer to thirty percent. There was no doubt in her mind that Grayseth was making the correct decision.
“I would suggest that we begin deploying our marines to all key positions in the station,” said Malang, turning to face Grayseth, who was only a few meters away. “It also wouldn't hurt to deploy some of our damage control teams to the more critical areas of the station.”
“Those are two wise precautions,” Grayseth replied in his loud booming voice. The Carethians also had armed troops that could be deployed along with the Human marines.
-
“Hocklyn, Borzon, and AI ships are jumping,” Colonel Grissim reported grimly from her position in front of one of the tactical displays. The display was being updated continuously with new information being sent from the two stealth scouts. “Estimate contact in fifty-four minutes.”
“They’re coming,” Trist breathed, his eyes focusing on Admiral Streth.
“Bring all military units to Condition Two and stand by for combat maneuvers,” Hedon ordered as he sat down in his command chair and looked around the large Command Center. The room was humming with activity and he could see no signs of increased anxiety over the imminent attack. “Captain Dunca
n, send an encrypted FTL message to Admiral Sheen informing her that the enemy have jumped.”
“Yes, Sir,” Janice replied as she began powering up the FTL transmitter.
“Navigation, begin moving us away from the station to a point forty thousand kilometers out from the planet,” Hedon ordered. “I want room to maneuver.”
In space, the two Federation Fleets and thirty Alton battlecruisers began moving away from Careth and the space station. Energy screens were being activated and weapons were being powered up. Crews waited anxiously at their weapons for a target to show up. Fighter and bomber crews, both Carethians and Humans, sat in their ready rooms waiting for the orders to prepare for combat. They all knew many of the pilots around them would not be coming back from their attack runs. They were quiet as them contemplated the future that awaited them.
Time seemed to pass slowly as the military forces in the system waited. All eyes were focused on the sensor screens, which would show the first signs of enemy forces. Then the time arrived, and the first red threat icon flashed into existence, then ten more, and soon after that they were arriving by the hundreds. It took nearly ten minutes for all three thousand enemy warships to drop out of hyperspace and exit the swirling white space vortexes, which everyone associated with Hocklyn, or AI hyperspace drives. Shortly afterwards, sixty larger space vortexes opened and out stormed the massive AI spheres of war.
-
“Range, two million kilometers,” Captain Reynolds reported from his sensor console. “Jumps have stopped.”
“Bring all military units to Condition One,” ordered Hedon, taking in a sharp breath. “Prepare to launch fighters.”
Instantly, the red Condition One lights began to flash and klaxons began to sound. Hedon allowed that to go on for thirty seconds before he ordered them to be turned off. The crew was already at battle stations, but the lights and alarms would ensure that everyone was aware combat was imminent.
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 28