Darst did as ordered and after a moment turned back toward the High Commander. “There is no such ship in our records.”
Lantu took a deep breath. He had a horrifying suspicion who that ship belonged to. “Run a scan of the hull material of the vessel and compare it to the material that comprises the Great Sphere.”
Darst’s face turned pale at the order but did as instructed. The results came back quickly and he turned toward High Commander Lantu. His voice quivered as he gave the answer. “They’re the same.”
“Then that’s a ship of the builders of the Great Spheres,” Lantu said, his eyes growing wide with concern. “We can’t let them escape with that vessel.”
“It’s out of our weapons range,” reported Darst.
“They’re accelerating,” added the sensor operator. “Detecting a massive energy spike.”
“They’re opening up a hyperspace vortex,” warned Darst.
On the viewscreen, the three ships suddenly moved forward and entered a massive spinning vortex. Moments later, the vortex collapsed and the ships were gone.
Lantu knew if that monster ship was allowed to escape, it could mean the end of Simulin dominance in this galaxy. If the AIs and their allies from the Fitula Nebula succeeded in unlocking the science that ship contained, it could spell disaster.
“Track those ships!” he ordered. “We must not let them escape!”
“Long-range sensors are useless,” the sensor operator reported. “They’re being jammed.”
Lantu’s shoulders drooped as he realized what that meant. Unless he could end this battle quickly, the ancient ship would be out of his reach. “Order all ships to close with the enemy. We must eliminate them!”
-
In space, the battle intensified. Half of the Defense Globes had been eliminated and the others were under heavy attack. The Simulins were concentrating their powerful energy beams on just a few of the AI warspheres, attempting to bring down their shields so they could be destroyed by antimatter missiles.
Warsphere-016 was being subjected to a heavy onslaught of Simulin beams and its energy shield was under extreme stress. Suddenly a brief hole appeared in the screen and four Simulin energy beams slammed into the hull, blasting deep craters into the armor of the ship. Flaming debris was ejected from the wreckage as secondary explosions shook the warsphere. The energy screen flickered and then failed completely. Moments later a Simulin antimatter missile changed the one-thousand-meter ship into glowing plasma.
-
“Warsphere-016 is down,” reported Captain Reynolds as the green icon vanished from his sensor screen.
“How many Defense Globes are left?” demanded Kathryn as the lights in the Command Center flickered.
“Twenty-eight,” Clarissa answered.
Kathryn turned toward the AI. “Clarissa, I want those surviving Defense Globes to each target a Simulin battlecruiser. Use their ion beams to blast a hole in the Simulin energy screens and then ram.”
“I assume you want to overload their reactors when they ram?” asked Clarissa as she took over command of the Defense Globes and sent them on their way. She sent the globes weaving in a complicated pattern to increase the likelihood of their survival.
“Yes,” answered Kathryn. “I want to blow the hell out of those Simulins!”
“Globes are nearing the Simulin ships,” reported Captain Reynolds as he watched the progress of the globes on his sensors. “Twenty-two globes inbound. Simulins are targeting them heavily with their defensive weapons.”
“Fifteen globes inbound,” Reynolds reported a few seconds later. “Impact with Simulin energy screens in eight seconds.”
“Ion beams firing,” Clarissa said, as she tried every trick she knew of to get as many of the deadly globes to their targets as possible.
“Eight globes inbound,” reported Reynolds. “Detonation!”
On the main viewscreen, which had been switched to show the approaching Simulin formation eight brilliant balls of light suddenly grew and then slowly faded away.
“Seven targets destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported. “The eighth globe detonated against an energy shield.”
-
In space, the two opposing fleets were now at pointblank range from each other. In the Simulin formation multiple energy beams from six AI warspheres struck two Simulin battlecruisers, tearing through their energy shields and opening up numerous compartments to space. Antimatter missiles arrived and the two Simulin ships were turned into small suns.
The Simulins in turn were targeting the AI ships as they deemed them the biggest danger due to the multiple particle beams they were able to fire and the ion beams. Another AI ship found itself under heavy attack as the entire Simulin fleet fired their energy weapons in mass upon the hapless vessel. The screen was instantly overwhelmed and the warsphere was blown apart in a violent explosion.
-
“Warsphere-004 is down,” reported Captain Reynolds in an even voice.
“We need to leave,” Commander Grissim said between clinched lips as the Distant Horizon vibrated from energy beams hitting the ship’s shield.
Kathryn nodded. “Short jump to Ornellia.”
“Ornellia?” asked Captain Grissim with a confused look.
“Yes,” Kathryn responded. “The Simulins will be through with their attack upon the planet. “We’ll jump there and then plan our next move.”
“Lieutenant Strong, plot a jump to Ornellia,” Grissim ordered. “I want to be able to leave this system in two minutes!”
“Plotting,” Kelsey answered as she quickly brought up the hyperspace equations as well as Ornellia’s spatial coordinates.
-
The battle continued with both sides taking damage and then suddenly the AI warspheres and the human ships turned away from the battle and accelerated away. Moments later, numerous spatial vortexes formed and the ships quickly entered them to vanish from the system.
-
“They’re gone!” Darst reported, his face showing intense aggravation at the enemy fleeing the battle.
“Can we track them?” Demanded High Commander Lantu.
Darst studied a computer screen for a moment and then turned back toward the High Commander. “They’re going off in the direction of Ornellia, but the battle computer says this is but a feint to draw us away from the course the other three ships took.”
Lantu nodded his agreement of that assessment. “Plot the most likely course of the three ships they’re trying to protect. We won’t be fooled by this trick. Finding that ship of the builders of the Great Spheres is our highest priority. I want hyperspace messages sent out to all battle groups as to what we found here. Ships need to be sent out along the line of flight the three ships have taken. They must be heading back to the Fitula Nebula. We can’t let them get there!”
-
The Distant Horizon exited hyperspace in the Ornellian System followed closely by the rest of her fleet. Fifteen AI warspheres, two Federation battleships, and one Federation battlecarrier appeared in the system as the spatial vortexes they had exited vanished.
“Report,” ordered Kathryn as she breathed a sigh of relief. The long-range sensors were showing no Simulin ships in the Ornellian System and only a few at extreme range, nearly ten light-years distant.
“Picking up a lot of debris around Ornellia,” Captain Reynolds replied as his hands moved across his screens touching various icons. “There are no ships in the system, either Ornellian or Simulin. The defensive grid around the planet has been destroyed as well as the shipyards and research stations.”
“All communication frequencies are quiet,” added Captain Travers.
“Are we going in to Ornellia?” asked Colonel Leon. Petra was hesitant to see the devastation she knew the Simulins had probably done to the planet.
“Yes,” said Kathryn, taking in a deep breath. “We owe it to the Ornellians to see if anyone survived on their capital world.”
“Picking up elevated
radiation levels across the planet,” Clarissa reported. “If there are survivors, they’ll be scattered and probably in deep shelters.”
Commander Grissim approached the admiral. “What about Admiral Bachal and the Originator ship? The Simulins are bound to be searching for them.”
Kathryn nodded. “We set up three potential rendezvous points. Clarissa, contact TAD and inform the command AI to send its ten least damaged ships to the first rendezvous point. I’ll feel better if that Originator ship has a more powerful escort. Also, set up an additional rendezvous point for us to meet them before they enter the nebula shielding Gaia. Let’s meet three hundred light-years away from Gaia to be on the safe side. We might have a very large reception committee waiting for us when we get back home.”
“You think the Simulins will gather their forces outside the nebula?” asked Grissim.
“Yes,” Kathryn answered, her eyes focused on her second in command. “It’s what I would do. Once we’re inside the nebula, the Simulins can’t reach us. They’ll do everything they can to try to capture that Originator ship.”
It took a few minutes for the AIs to separate their ships into two separate fleets. Once it was done, the ten selected warspheres accelerated and entered swirling white spatial vortexes and vanished from the Ornellian System. TAD sent Clarissa a final message promising to be at the rendezvous location with the Altons and the Originator ship.
“Take us to Ornellia,” Kathryn ordered. It was time to see what the Simulins had done to the planet.
-
An hour later, a silent command crew stared aghast at the large viewscreen in the front of the Command Center at the devastation done to the Ornellian home world. Every city with a population in excess of ten thousand had been nuked. In addition, large numbers of Conqueror Drones were moving about on the surface. The planet’s atmosphere was darker from the dust and ashes from the nuclear strikes. In some areas, nuclear winter had already set in.
It was hard for Kathryn to contain her anger knowing billions of Ornellians on this world and upon their colonies had been ruthlessly exterminated. “Are there any signs of survivors?”
“We’re picking up some scattered fighting in some of the mountainous areas,” confirmed Clarissa. She was using the ship’s short-range sensors to carefully scan the surface of the planet.
Kathryn activated her ship-to-ship comm. She wanted to speak to the battlecarrier Ardent. “Commander Jackson, I want you to scramble all of your fighters and bombers. Have them armed for surface strikes against Conqueror Drones. We will be launching our fighters and bombers as well. Our first strikes will target the mountainous regions where there is a greater likelihood of survivors.”
Major Weir walked over to stand close to the admiral. “We could use our defensive railgun batteries to take out some of the drones,” he suggested. “I would need Clarissa’s help as the target areas will be very small.”
“Clarissa?” asked Kathryn, looking over toward the AI.
“I can do it,” the AI replied. “You should warn our fighter and bomber pilots that some of these drones may have surface-to-air missiles. These are probably the Simulins’ more modern drones and could pose a danger.”
“I’ll pass the warning on,” Kathryn replied.
-
Down inside a small bunker complex on Ornellia, Dax Matol gazed in sadness at the viewscreens, which showed the battle going on above him. The small bunker complex he was in charge of sheltered 607 Ornellians, most of them young families. On the surface, his last sixty soldiers fought a losing battle against the horde of Conqueror Drones that had recently descended upon them.
“It won’t be much longer now,” his second in command spoke in a soft voice. “We’re running low on ammunition.”
On one of the viewscreens, four Conqueror Drones had pushed into the collapsing defenses. One of them grabbed an Ornellian soldier and promptly used its large pinchers to tear him in two. Dax grimaced at the gruesome scene and turned his eyes away. “I’ve set up the last of our heavy explosives throughout the complex. Once the drones penetrate into the first bunker, I’ll set them off. Our young people will not face the drones!”
“I have contacts descending from space!” the Control Center’s sensor operator suddenly reported. “I think they’re human!”
-
Captain Lacy Sanders was in her Talon fighter leading her squadron of ten against the Conqueror Drones besieging the meager defenders below.
“This is Echo One flight leader, stay away from the Ornellian defensive line and try to take out the Conqueror Drones moving up to attack.”
“Let’s go fry some crabs,” said Lieutenant Ronald Stehr in Echo Two.
“Crab legs for supper tonight!” proclaimed Cindy Maherst in Echo Three.
“Might be a little tough to chew,” responded Clancy Borsht in Echo Six.
Captain Sanders allowed herself to smile. She had a well-trained squadron and it was time to put that training to the test. “All Echoes, engage.” With those orders, Lacy pushed her flight control forward and the deadly fighter dove toward the ground and the waiting drones.
-
In the Control Center of the bunker complex, Dax watched spellbound as the human fighters suddenly dove toward the surface and began firing explosive rounds at the incoming Conqueror Drones. Small explosions carpeted the forest floor, blowing the advancing drones apart. Flames and dark smoke rose above the treetops, blotting out the sun.
“Quick,” Dax said, wanting to take advantage of the human help. “Order our soldiers to pull back into the outer bunker. That will give the humans a clear field of fire!”
The order was quickly given and on the viewscreens, the surviving Ornellian soldiers turned and bolted toward the concealed entrance to the bunker.
-
Up above, a squadron of six Anlon bombers saw the Ornellians sudden withdrawal. Without hesitation, the flight leader ordered his bombers in to unload their heavier munitions. Moments later, the forest floor and the slopes around the hidden underground bunkers erupted in towering explosions, annihilating most of the remaining Conqueror Drones. As the bombers pulled away, the Talons moved in to ensure not a single Conqueror Drone escaped.
Across the entire planet, 180 Talon fighters and 120 Anlon bombers were busy annihilating every Conqueror Drone they could find. From the orbiting human warships railgun rounds rained down on any group of Conqueror Drones that could be detected by the ships’ sensors.
-
For hours, the squadrons attacked the multitudes of Conqueror Drones on the surface. During that time contact was made with a number of deep underground bunkers on the planet still in hiding from the drones.
After speaking to the leaders of the complexes, Admiral Barnes sent shuttles down carrying supplies as well as weapons. She knew there was little else she could do. Areas around bunker complexes were cleared of drones to allow them to scavenge for other supplies and to prepare for a long period of time underground. Kathryn stressed the importance to the commanders of the bunkers of staying hidden lest the Conqueror Drones learn their location. She also informed them that once the fleet left the Simulins would probably return and land more drones.
-
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of Simulin ships on the long-range sensors,” commented Commander Grissim. Anne had been expecting to see an inbound Simulin fleet at any moment.
“I suspect they’re off chasing our other ships,” Kathryn answered. “We need to begin winding up our ground operations. Another hour and I want us to be on our way.”
“I estimate we’ve eliminated 64 percent of the Conqueror Drones on the surface of Ornellia,” Clarissa announced. “Between our Talon fighters, Anlon bombers, and railgun rounds our attack has been overwhelmingly successful.”
Kathryn leaned back in her command chair with a deep sigh of regret. She wished there was more she could do for the Ornellians. She knew the likelihood of their long-term survival wasn’t great. The Conquero
r Drones were very good at seeking out survivors and eliminating them. Perhaps someday she would return to Ornellia with a fleet to free the planet and see if anyone had survived this apocalypse. However, that was far in the future. Now she needed to leave the system and meet up with the Originator ship. That ship might hold the key to all of their futures.
Chapter Thirteen
Admiral Race Tolsen sat in his command chair feeling impatient. They were in orbit around a small airless moon in the Zatel System. Kelnor Mard and Reesa Jast had taken the exploration cutter down to the surface to explore some relatively intact ruins. The cutter had been down on the surface for nearly two hours, and the two scientists had not reported any of their findings. Race was growing concerned and was wondering if he should send more marines down to check on the situation. What if the Simulins had already been here and there were Conqueror Drones inside the complex?
Major Drake Nolan was in the Command Center speaking with Major Jonathan Daniels, the tactical officer. “Captain Abrams is reporting they lost communications with the exploration team nearly an hour ago.”
“It may be some type of interference from the materials the Originators used to construct this place,” suggested Daniels. “Our scans can’t penetrate the surface. We’re not sure what’s down below or how deep beneath the surface the Originators built.”
“I think I can answer that,” Captain Davis responded from his sensor console. “While it’s true our scans can’t penetrate the material the Originators used in their buildings, we can penetrate where it’s not. From the results of my last sensor scans, the Originator complex is quite extensive beneath the surface of the moon.”
Race gazed at the viewscreen, which covered the front wall of the Command Center. It showed a desolate surface with numerous asteroid impact craters. The complex the two Altons scientists had entered was near a small range of mountains, which towered up above the cratered surface of the small moon.
“Major Nolan, inform Captain Abrams that if she hasn’t heard from the exploration team in another thirty minutes, she’s to lead a team to find them and report back. Also, have another squad of marines standing by in the Alpha flight bay ready to be deployed if needed.”
The Lost Fleet: Oblivion's Light: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 18