The Simulin fleet formed up around the station to help give it added protection. The station was essential to help provide the energy needed to operate the intergalactic vortexes. It could have a crippling affect on operations if it were damaged or destroyed.
As the Federation fleet entered optimal engagement range, the collector station opened fire and space became full of hundreds of powerful energy beams, each seeking to destroy one of the incoming attacking ships.
-
Jeremy winced as the Avenger shook from several powerful Simulin energy beams smashing into the ship’s energy shield. “Maximum acceleration and close to pointblank range,” he ordered. Jeremy planned to overwhelm the Simulin defenses. This was a battle he needed to win quickly so they could enter the tunnel and make their way to the Dyson Sphere before Simulin reinforcements arrived.
“Weapons firing,” reported Lieutenant Preston.
“AI sphere 227 is down,” reported Kevin as the fifteen-hundred-meter sphere vanished from his sensors.
Looking at the viewscreens, Jeremy could see countless explosions lighting up space. This battle was just a precursor to what was waiting for them inside the black matter nebula.
-
The Simulin warships were under heavy attack. Not just one or two but dozens of particle beams were striking their shields. The beams were causing the shields to flare up brightly and then they began to penetrate. Particle beam fire slammed into the stern of a Simulin battlecruiser, blasting a hole completely through the vessel. A well placed Devastator Three missile exploded in the damaged area, blowing the ship apart. The other Simulin ships were rapidly suffering the same fate as their defenses were overwhelmed. In less than thirty seconds, all seventeen Simulin warships had been ruthlessly eliminated.
However, the Simulin energy collector station was another matter. It had a powerful energy shield and was heavily armed. Its energy weapons reached out and overloaded the shield on an Alton battlecruiser. The cruiser was cut to pieces as dozens of energy beams tore it apart. From the missile hatches of the station, two hundred sublight antimatter missiles flashed out and struck one small section of the advancing Federation fleet formation. Four strikecruisers died as they were instantly turned into miniature suns.
-
Jeremy grimaced as the destruction of the four strikecruisers was reported. “Rear Admiral Barnes, it’s your turn,” he said over the comm, which connected him to the Distant Horizon. They had a plan to destroy the station and now was the time to implement it.
-
From the center of the formation, the Distant Horizon fired its powerful ion cannon from its bow. The beam flashed out and impacted the energy screen of the Simulin station. For long seconds, the beam tore at the shield as the full power of the exploration dreadnought’s Fusion Five reactors fed it energy. Then a twelve-meter hole suddenly formed in the station’s screen and four one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles flashed through. Each missile detonated simultaneously within one kilometer of each other, shaking the station to its core. Molten metal flared up and huge pieces of the station’s hull were torn loose.
The station’s screen flickered briefly, but that was long enough to allow more antimatter missiles to penetrate as well particle beams. More titanic explosions rattled its surface as the beams cut deep trenches into the armored hull. The damage was now so severe that internal explosions began to rock the station. The Simulin energy collection station had a tremendous amount of energy stored from the surrounding blue giant stars and now the energy containment systems became compromised. The energy was suddenly released, tearing through the station. In a blinding explosion, the station blew apart, sending flaming debris in all directions.
-
“Target is down,” Kevin reported as the large red icon swelled up and slowly began to dwindle. “I can’t even measure how much energy was released in that explosion.”
Jeremy breathed a long sigh of relief. The first part of the attack had been a success. He spoke once more over the ship-to-ship comm. “Admiral Sithe, prepare your blocking fleet. All ships that received substantial damage will be staying with you. All other ships prepare for hyperspace jump to the Dyson Sphere.”
On one of the tactical displays, Admiral Sithe and his task group moved away from the attack formation. The admiral from New Providence had twenty ships under his command. His personal battleship, the Star Defender, two battlecruisers, two Alton battleships, four Alton battlecruisers, eight fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres, and three AI warspheres. Their job was to keep the dark matter entrance to the Dyson Sphere clear of any incoming enemy ships until the fleet returned from its mission.
“What did we lose?” asked Jeremy. He was aware of some of the losses.
“Four strikecruisers, one battlecruiser, two Alton battlecruisers and one fifteen-hundred-meter AI sphere. We have one strikecruiser, one Alton battlecruiser, and two fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres that have suffered medium to heavy damage.”
“Have them remain here,” ordered Jeremy. “The rest of the fleet will proceed down the tunnel and attack the Dyson Sphere.”
Jeremy’s orders were quickly carried out, and in a matter of just a few minutes, he had the fleet ready to make the jump down the narrow corridor. The corridor was 1.6 light-years long and only twelve million kilometers in diameter. Any miscalculation in a ship’s jump could see its hyperdrive become too unstable if it came too near the side of the tunnel and could easily result in the destruction of the vessel.
“Fleet is ready to jump,” Ariel reported.
Jeremy took a deep breath. He still had time to turn back, but he knew what duty required of him. He spoke the words in a steady voice. “Initiate jump.”
-
The Avenger dropped out of hyperspace into a sea of perpetual darkness. Jeremy gazed at the viewscreens which were void of stars or any other illumination. He had known what to expect from studying the data the Distant Horizon had recorded when the exploration dreadnought had dared to enter this darkness alone. Even so, it still sent a cold shiver down his back.
“Contacts!” called out Kevin as his sensors began picking up inbound Simulin ships. “I have twenty battlecruisers and thirty-two escort cruisers inbound at three hundred thousand kilometers.”
Commander Malen shifted her gaze from the nearby tactical display to Jeremy. “There are probably other Simulin ships we haven’t picked up yet.”
Jeremy looked at the viewscreens, which still showed nothing but darkness. “How far are we from where Kazak said we need to go to enter the Dyson Sphere?”
“One point two billion kilometers,” Ariel answered promptly. “I’ve already calculated the jump coordinates. We’ll be jumping inside the gravity well of the Dyson Sphere, but our hyperdrives should be able to handle the stress.”
“Transmit the coordinates to all ships,” ordered Jeremy, shifting his gaze to Commander Malen. “How long until the Simulin ships reach combat range?”
“Eight minutes at their current speed,” Malen answered. “I think they’re waiting for reinforcements as their intercept speed has slowed substantially.”
“We’ll jump in five,” Jeremy said with a determined look on his face. He had no intention of fighting a battle at this location.
-
Inside the Dyson Sphere, Simulin Supreme High Commander Nathalee stared in growing anger at the ship’s viewscreens. He had just received a report informing him of the attack on the energy collector. “The AIs and their organic allies have destroyed the H-03 collector station and a large fleet has just exited hyperspace outside the Great Sphere.”
“They dare attack us here!” cried High Commander Tarnell. “None of their weapons can harm the sphere. It’s impervious to all known energies.”
Supreme High Commander Nathalee was a shrewd leader and knew at times all was not as it may seem. “The AIs and their allies have a ship of the Old Ones. They may have discovered something, which could be of danger to the sphere or us. We must be
wary in case they find a way to enter. If they can be kept outside we have nothing to fear.”
High Commander Tarnell nodded. He was confident this attack by the AIs and their organics would be thwarted. Even if they managed to get inside, there were over eleven hundred Simulin warships, which could be used to destroy them. “Should we send a summons to the galaxies nearest us to send reinforcements?” There were three such galaxies where additional ships could be rushed to aid in the battle if needed.
“No,” Supreme High Commander Nathalee replied coldly. They were Simulin and the most powerful race in the known universe. To request aid would indicate to his superiors he was not capable of command. However, it would be prudent to take precautions just in case the AIs and their organic allies had learned something of significance from the Originator ship. “Have ships standing by in case they need to be sent to summon more Simulin warships.”
Nathalee turned to the ship’s battle computer and began questioning it about the reason for this attack. After a few minutes he was satisfied the Great Sphere was in no danger. The battle computer had stated the AIs and their organics would most likely engage the defense fleets outside the Great Sphere and then leave the way they had come once they realized they could not do any harm to the sphere itself or gain entry.
-
The Avenger was one thousand kilometers above the Dyson Sphere. Even at this distance, the pull from the mass of the sphere upon the ship was substantial.
“Is this the correct location?” Jeremy asked as he gazed at the dark object on the viewscreens. The screens suddenly changed and a dim view of the Dyson Sphere appeared. Below them was a smooth metallic surface with what looked like a small structure over to one side.
“The small structure is the control center for this access hatch,” Ariel explained. She was standing in her customary spot just to Jeremy’s left and slightly behind him. “That structure is five kilometers in height.”
Jeremy gazed at the screen trying to see the edges of the hatch. This close to the Dyson Sphere was overwhelming. It was beyond belief that any civilization could build a megastructure like this.
“Have Clarissa transmit the code,” ordered Jeremy after a moment. Now they would find out if the access code Kazak had provided them would work. If they couldn’t gain entry to the interior of the sphere, then their mission would be a failure.
“Simulin ships are jumping in,” warned Kevin as alarms began sounding on his console again. “Admiral Bachal is moving into a defensive position with the Starlight and the Alton battlecruisers to intercept.
Jeremy nodded. Admiral Bachal’s job was to keep this area of space free of Simulin warships until Jeremy returned with the rest of the fleet.
“Clarissa’s transmitting now,” Ariel said in her youthful and vibrant voice.
On the viewscreen, nothing happened. Several long seconds passed and Jeremy was beginning to fear the access code had failed when suddenly the hatch seemed to peel back into the hull of the Dyson Sphere, leaving a great circular opening.
“How large is that?” asked Commander Malen, focusing her eyes intently on the main viewscreen.
“Thirty kilometers,” Ariel responded. “Scans indicate the entrance tunnel below us is fifteen-hundred-kilometers in length.”
Jeremy took a deep breath and spoke over the ship-to-ship comm one more time. “All ships, we’re about to enter the Dyson Sphere. Undoubtedly, there will be Simulin ships waiting for us on the other side. Good luck and good hunting.”
“Message from Admiral Bachal,” Angela reported. “He says he will be waiting for us to return.”
Jeremy nodded. “Ensign Striker, take us in.”
-
Supreme High Commander Nathalee could not believe what his sensors were telling him. The AIs and their organics had managed to open a hitherto unknown corridor, which led into the interior of the Great Sphere. Already their ships were emerging. While it was true they couldn’t cause great harm to the sphere, they could possibly damage some of the energy collectors, particularly those near the central sun, which could hamper the operation of the intergalactic vortices.
“Send our ships through to the other galaxies,” ordered Nathalee. He realized now he should have done this earlier. In his arrogance, he had underestimated his foe. It would not happen again. “All ships will form up on the Silent Victory and we will move to engage the enemy.”
“It will be over an hour before reinforcements can arrive,” pointed out High Commander Tarnell.
Nathalee knew this could not be helped. “It is our duty to defend the Great Sphere. There can be none but Simulin.”
“None but Simulin,” High Commander Tarnell responded.
-
Jeremy stared at the now well-lit viewscreens. They showed a massive world. It was beyond anything he could have imagined. As they accelerated away from the surface of the Dyson Sphere, they saw that it was divided up into giant squares. Each square was a world unto itself.
“There’s enough living area here to hold over two million planets the size of Earth,” Ariel informed Jeremy. “Atmosphere is Earth normal and so is the gravity.”
“Just how big a surface area are we talking about?” Jeremy asked. On the viewscreens, he could see hundreds of the large squares of the Dyson Sphere. Some were complete water worlds, others seemed to be jungles, some rolling plains, and even a few held mountains covered in deep snow.
“8,980,000,000,000,000 square kilometers,” Ariel answered.
“Any signs of cities or inhabitants?” Jeremy shook his head. The number Ariel had spilled out was nearly incomprehensible.
“No,” Ariel replied. “There is some evidence of there once being cities in some areas, but there are no structures still intact.”
“There are metal roofs over some areas,” pointed out Kevin, gazing at the viewscreens. “Is it possible the cities we’re looking for are there?”
“Possibly,” Ariel acknowledged. “Kazak would know.”
“Unfortunately, he’s not here and we can’t ask him,” Commander Malen said. She looked at the viewscreens, gazing at the giant world spread out beneath them. “Some areas seem to be in darkness; how is that possible?”
Jeremy turned toward Ariel, expecting an answer. He knew she was probably communicating with Clarissa on the Distant Horizon. Andram and Shilum were on the exploration dreadnought and might be able to offer an explanation.
“There are a number of energy collector rings close to the Dyson Sphere’s sun,” Ariel explained. “They’re set to rotate around the star in such a way as to give all areas of the Dyson Sphere eight hours of darkness each day.”
“How long are the days on the Dyson Sphere?” asked Kevin, cocking his eyebrow.
“Thirty-one,” answered Ariel. “The days here are much longer than on Earth or Gaia.”
Warning alarms began sounding on Kevin’s sensor console. “Simulin ships exiting hyperspace in close proximity.”
Jeremy turned anxiously toward Kevin. “How close and how many?”
“They’re still emerging,” answered Kevin, as red threat icons began to appear in the tactical displays. “So far over seven hundred at a range of eighty thousand kilometers.”
“How far to the nearest intergalactic vortex?”
“Two million kilometers,” Kevin answered promptly.
Jeremy nodded and then spoke over his ship-to-ship comm. “All ships, initiate operation furnace fire.”
-
Far above the Dyson Sphere, the Federation ships accelerated away from the approaching Simulins vessels. Their destination was one of the seven intergalactic vortices the Simulins kept open at all times.
-
“What are they doing?” asked High Commander Tarnell in confusion. “They can’t be planning on going through the vortex. It leads to one of our galaxies, and we have a large fleet on the other side.”
Supreme High Commander Nathalee was uncertain as well. “What does the battle computer say?”<
br />
Tarnell stepped over to the computer and then a few moments later turned back toward the Supreme High Commander with a look of concern on his face. “They’re going to try to destroy it and release the stored energy that powers the vortex.”
“We must stop them!” cried out the Supreme High Commander, his eyes growing wide in shock. He could not allow the AIs and their organics to damage the Great Sphere.
“Too late,” replied Tarnell, pointing to one of the ship’s viewscreens focused on the vortex area.
On the screen, hundreds of powerful antimatter explosions began going off around the swirling intergalactic vortex. Huge bursts of blinding light surrounded the vortex area as the surface was repeatedly pounded by the deadly missiles.
“Engage those ships!” grated out Nathalee in a grim and cold voice. “We must not allow them to damage or destroy that vortex or we will lose contact with the galaxy it’s connected to.” Nathalee knew his career was probably over. The Simulin Grand Council would not tolerate his failure in allowing the Great Sphere to be attacked. His entire bloodline would face deletion if the AIs and their organic allies managed to damage the sphere.
-
The Simulin ships let fire with every weapon they possessed. The seventeen-hundred-meter battlecruisers activated their energy cannons and the deadly beams flared out to strike the ships of the enemy. Missile hatches slid silently open and sublight antimatter missiles flashed out to strike defense shields. In fury, the Simulins attacked as they tried to defend the Great Sphere from the AIs and their organic allies.
Energy beams from a pair of Simulin battlecruisers slammed into the energy shield of an Alton battleship. The shield held steady and then half a dozen antimatter missiles detonated, causing the shield to weaken in one small spot. A Simulin energy beam penetrated and struck the ship’s armored hull, cutting deep inside the ship. Emergency hatches activated and interior energy shields snapped into place, cutting off the damaged areas. Then the energy shield regenerated, stopping the Simulin beam.
The Lost Fleet: Oblivion's Light: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 28