“All ships have deployed their defense globes,” Colonel Cowel informed the admiral. “Globes are closing on the Shari vessels.”
The defense globes were ten meters in diameter and contained an ion cannon capable of tearing holes in an enemy ship’s defensive energy screen. From the nineteen dreadnoughts, over one thousand of the small and deadly globes had been launched. It was time to teach the Shari a lesson in humility.
“Let’s punch a hole for Admiral Stoddard’s fleet,” Race said as he leaned forward, his hands clenching the armrests of his command chair.
On the large viewscreen, a fifty-megaton Devastator Three missile crashed into the stern of a Shari support cruiser and the ship vanished in a fiery explosion.
“All ships form up on the WarHawk,” Race ordered over his minicomm, which was set for ship-to-ship communications. “Wedge formation A-3.” Race didn’t intend to allow the Shari to bring the battle to him, he intended to take his ships right down their throat and send them to oblivion.
-
The eighteen dreadnoughts led by the battle dreadnought WarHawk formed a tight formation and advanced toward the heart of the Shari fleet.
Particle beam fire from the dreadnoughts slammed into the main part of a Shari warship, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris into space. An antimatter sublight missile arrived and the one hundred-megaton explosion incinerated the ship in a bright and deadly fireball.
-
The WarHawk shuddered slightly as three twenty-megaton nuclear missiles exploded against the ship’s powerful energy shield.
“No damage,” Colonel Cowel reported. “Those nuclear missiles don’t have the power to penetrate our screen.”
“Those energy weapons do, if they can hit us with enough,” warned Commander Arnett.
“Defense globes are in range,” reported Major Daniels from Tactical. “Ion beams are engaging.”
“Our fighters and bombers are going in,” Commander Arnett informed the admiral. “They’ve joined up with Admiral Stoddard’s and will be going in together.”
“Have them target ships where the ion beams have disrupted Shari energy shields,” Race ordered. The Anlon bombers were each carrying two twenty-megaton Shrike combat missiles.
On the big viewscreen, one of Admiral Stoddard’s battlecarriers suddenly appeared. The ship was under heavy attack from a number of Shari battlecruisers. Nuclear explosions were covering the energy shield and numerous energy beams were seeking a weak spot. The battlecarrier suddenly took a massive hit to her bow, losing most of her heavy weapons. She quickly turned broadside and opened up with her remaining power beams and energy weapons, firing upon the attacking Shari ships, seeking to destroy her tormenters.
“That’s the battlecarrier, Sherman,” reported Colonel Cowel as he listened to the battle reports coming in over his minicomm. “She’s suffered heavy damage and her commander is trying to evacuate as many people as he can in the ship’s shuttles.” Even as he spoke, a massive white light suddenly flashed across the viewscreen and when it died down, all that remained of the Sherman were some glowing wisps of ionized gas and glowing debris.
“The Sherman is down,” reported Major Daniels in a shaken voice. “None of their shuttles made it off the ship.”
“All ships, ion beams are firing, target any Shari ships with weakened or damaged energy shields, give our fighter and bombers as much covering fire as possible,” ordered Race, knowing good people were dying. He wanted this battle over as quickly as possible.
-
Admiral Stoddard watched in incredulity as the WarHawk and her sister dreadnoughts charged toward the heaviest concentration of Shari warships. Already the inbound fire on his fleet was lessening.
“All ships, continue on course toward the Dyson Sphere.” Looking at the viewscreen, he couldn’t believe the size of the battle dreadnought WarHawk. He had heard how big the Alton built dreadnoughts were, but seeing them in action was another thing altogether. He winced as he saw another supply ship explode. The Shari had hurt his fleet but now, thanks to Admiral Tolsen, the survivors should be able to make it to the safety of the incoming Federation Fleet less than twelve minutes away.
-
High Lord Aktill gripped his command console as the Judgment of Dawn was struck by intense weapons fire. A number of lights on the damage control console turned amber and red.
“Ion beams,” warned Lower Lord Samarth. “They’re tearing holes in our energy screens.”
“Target those globes!” ordered Aktill in a shrill voice as he saw numerous Shari ships on the tactical screen begin to disappear as they were annihilated by the deadly missiles and energy beams the monster Human ships were deploying.
More Human weapons were penetrating the shield, rattling the ship with each hit. More lights on the damage control console turned a glaring and threatening red. High Lord Aktill blinked his eyes and looked around, taking stock of the situation. He could probably destroy or at least damage most of the attacking Humans ships, but it would cost him the majority of his fleet.
“Their small attack craft are launching missiles,” reported Lower Lord Samarth. “We have many ships reporting their energy shields have been compromised.”
The Judgment of Dawn shook violently and emergency klaxons began blaring.
“We have multiple breaches along the forward hull, we’re venting atmosphere,” the damage control officer reported.
“Energy shield is down to 30 percent,” added Samarth with deep concern in his eyes. “We must withdraw!”
Aktill slammed his hand down on the command console in front of him ignoring the pain. “Withdraw,” he grated out in anger and frustration. “Order all ships to enter hyperspace and rendezvous at the fallback coordinates. This battle with the Humans and their allies isn’t over. Once we have sufficient ships, we’ll resume the attack and overwhelm them. We will achieve victory!”
-
In space, the Shari fleet began to break off contact and turn away. In just a matter of a few moments, spatial vortexes began to open as the Shari ships began jumping away from the battle.
-
“Shari fleet is withdrawing,” reported Captain Davis with obvious relief in his voice.
“All dreadnoughts are reporting minimal battle damage,” added Colonel Cowel. “We got off lucky.”
Race allowed himself to relax. He knew the Shari had managed to heavily damage the relief and supply fleet. From the reports he had received, he knew Admiral Stoddard had lost three battlecruisers, one battlecarrier, four strikecruisers, and six supply ships. Race knew that if he hadn’t arrived when he did, the losses would have been much heavier.
“We lost eighty-seven of the defense globes, sixteen Talon fighters, and twenty-three Anlon bombers,” Colonel Cowel reported. “That includes the ones from Admiral Stoddard’s battlecarriers as well.”
“Communications, have Admiral Stoddard’s battlecarriers return to pick up their small craft. We’ll stay here and provide cover while landing operations are being conducted.” Race was confident the Shari fleet wouldn’t return, not after the losses it had suffered.
The battle had gone better than expected. It was still obvious the Shari hadn’t come up with a battle plan to deal with the dreadnoughts. That was fine with Race. Right now, they were the biggest ace he had. Once they were back at the Dyson Sphere, he wanted to find out what was going on with the mission to the surface and if Reesa and Kelnor had been successful gaining entry. He was also looking forward to the arrival of Alton Fleet Admiral Baasil and his fleet. With the additional Alton warships, he knew he had a more than decent chance of being able to defeat any attempt by the Shari to drive his forces away from the Dyson Sphere.
-
An hour later, the fleet was back in orbit around the megastructure. The supply ships of the relief fleet had originally contained sixty Type Two battlestations. Unfortunately, two of the large supply ships had been destroyed, leaving only forty battlestations wh
ich could be deployed. However, even forty would make a significant increase in their defensive and offensive capability.
“The exploration cutter has returned,” reported Colonel Cowel, turning to face the admiral.
Race shifted his gaze over to Cowel. “So did Reesa and Kelnor find a way in?” Race was intensely curious to find out if they had finally managed to enter the Dyson Sphere.
“Yes, they did,” answered Cowel, with a strange look on his face.
“Why do I feel there’s a but in what you’re getting ready to say?” Race was concerned, as he knew at times Reesa could be a little reckless. She was unusually high-spirited for an Alton.
Colonel Cowel took a deep breath and then continued speaking. “Reesa managed to use the key to get a door to open in the structure. Sergeant Wilde then had the other Marines in the cutter come out with a large amount of supplies and they all entered the structure together. Everything was being observed on the cutter and records were made. After entering the structure, Reesa was seen to reappear at the entrance, remove the key, and then vanish back inside. Almost as soon as the key was removed, the entrance closed and there has been no contact with the research team or Sergeant Wilde since then.”
Race took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. He knew Major Nolan and Captain Abrams wouldn’t be happy to learn Sergeant Wilde and the scientists were missing. “Send the exploration cutter back down. I want Captain Abrams and at least one squad of Marines to go along. The cutter is to stay on location until I send down another shuttle relieving them.” The exploration cutter was large enough that it could stay down on the surface for weeks if necessary.
“Yes, sir,” Cowel answered as he turned away to carry out the orders.
“At least they’re inside,” Race said, leaning back in his command chair and wondering just what was going on within the sphere. He wished they had communication with the exploration team.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Madelyn said. “Reesa has the other scientists with her as well as Sergeant Wilde.”
Race just hoped Madelyn was right. What concerned him was that Reesa had the only key, and there was no way for them to find out what had happened until the research team reappeared. At least they had a full platoon of Marines as well as their supplies with them. All they could do was wait.
Looking over at a counter on one of the tactical displays, Race saw it would be another twelve hours before Admiral Baasil arrived. Shifting his gaze to the big viewscreen showing the Dyson Sphere, Race wondered what Ambassador Tureen would think of all of this.
-
Reesa Jast let out an exasperated breath. The corridor they had been following had led them to another dead end. Once more, they had come up against a metallic wall with no evidence of a slot for the key.
She turned and looked at Kelnor. “What now?”
“There was a junction a ways back,” he said. “I suggest we return to it and try another corridor.”
It took them awhile to retrace their steps and then proceed along another well-lighted corridor. After walking for several hours, they came to another seemingly sealed wall, only this one had an indentation for the key.
“Why is everything in here so clean?” asked Sergeant Wilde as she looked around. “This place looks as if it was built yesterday. And have you noticed, not a single light in the ceiling is burned out.”
Kelnor paused and slowly nodded. “The material this place is constructed of is far beyond anything our science has to offer. There may also be some type of automated repair system operating.”
“Do we use the key?” asked Reesa, taking it out of her pocket.
Kelnor looked toward Brenda for her approval.
The sergeant slowly nodded her head. “I don’t think we have any choice. This is the first place we’ve come across in a while that has an access point for the key. I think we have to use it so we can find out what’s on the other side of this wall.”
Reesa slowly approached the key slot and with trepidation, gently put the key in place. With an eerie silence the wall slid open, revealing a large lighted chamber. Stepping inside, she stared around in wonder as the others cautiously followed her. Once everyone was inside, Reesa turned around to retrieve the key only to find it now rested in a slot on this side of the wall. Without hesitation, she reached out and removed it. The wall instantly sealed back up but at least this time the key slot remained.
Turning back around, she began examining the large chamber. “What is this place?”
“A transportation center,” Brenda said as she walked over to stand on a platform where some obvious transit cars were waiting. “I’ve seen something like this in New York City. The subways there still run, though they’ve been highly updated.”
Kelnor walked over to the front car and looked inside. “There’s a slot for the key inside,” he reported.
Reesa and the rest walked over. “This might take us to the inside of the Dyson Sphere.”
“That’s what we came for,” Brenda said. Perhaps if they managed to actually find a way inside, Captain Abrams and Major Nolan would let her off with only a mild dressing down. By now, they must know the exploration team was missing.
“Then we all enter the car and try the key?” asked Kelnor. “There’s no way to tell where this car will take us and it’s large enough to hold all of us and the supplies.’
“Why the hell not?” said Corporal Metz, standing there cradling his assault rifle in his arms. “Maybe we’ll find someone living inside the sphere. We’ve come this far, we might as well go on.”
“God, I hope we don’t find anyone,” spoke Private Richard Trent with a frown. “Whoever built this place would look at us as if we’re insects.”
“The Originators were a peaceful race,” Kelnor said in mild reproach. “If we were to find any of them still living inside, I don’t believe we would be in any danger.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone home,” Melvin Blair commented. Melvin was a Human scientist well versed in the study of alien civilizations. “I believe we would have found some evidence by now if anyone was around.”
“I agree,” added Maalon Delz one of the other Alton scientists. “If the Dyson Sphere was inhabited, I believe we would have been contacted by now.”
“Then let’s go,” Brenda said as she stepped inside the transit car. “I want everyone in the same car and we’ll see what happens.”
It didn’t take long and everyone was inside. It was a tight fit with all the supplies they were carrying. It was instantly obvious the seats in the car were designed for a race much taller than the Humans or even the Altons.
“These Originators must have been giants,” commented Corporal Metz. His feet just barely touched the floor. He looked small sitting in one of the large seats.
“All signs indicate they were a large race,” Kelnor responded as he sat down. Being taller than the Humans, the cushioned seat felt more comfortable to him.
“Ready?” asked Reesa as she took the key out of her pocket once more.
Brenda took a deep breath. “We’re as ready as we’re going to be. Let’s do this.”
With a nod, Reesa slowly inserted the key. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but then the door slowly slid shut and the car began moving forward. Reesa was a little nervous. She knew the inner surface of the Dyson Sphere was easily the equivalent of over two million planets the size of Earth. She had no idea where the transit car might be taking them, but it would be very easy to become hopelessly lost in something with an interior area as large as the Dyson Sphere.
For long minutes, the car moved along a wide and brightly lit tunnel. Several times they approached large hatches, which slid open as the car approached and then sealed back shut once they passed. Finally, the car began to slow and then it came to a stop. They had arrived at a transit platform very similar to the one they had just left.
“What now?” asked Brenda as she grasped her assault rifle.
“There seems to be a
key slot on that far wall,” Kelnor said pointing.
The group quickly left the car and made their way to the indicated wall.
Taking a deep breath, Reesa inserted the key and waited.
The wall slid open, revealing another tunnel.
“Here we go again,” muttered Private Trent. “This place is a maze. I don’t think we’ll ever find our way out.”
“Do we go down the corridor?” asked Reesa, glancing over at Sergeant Wilde.
It was a relief the sergeant didn’t seem to have a problem with making decisions. Reesa didn’t want the responsibility as so many lives were at stake. Private Trent’s words worried her. If they couldn’t find a way to the inner surface or back out, they could all very well die down here in these endless corridors.
“Yes,” Brenda answered without hesitation. “If we go back into the car it will probably just take us back to where we just left. I think we at least need to find out where this corridor leads.”
Nodding her head, she stepped inside and Reesa saw, as in the last transit station, that her key was now on this side of the opening. She waited until everyone was in the corridor and then retrieved the key; she saw the opening seal back shut.
“Let’s go,” suggested Kelnor. “One of these corridors has to lead somewhere.”
“I hope so,” Corporal Metz muttered. “I could really use some chow.”
“You’re always hungry,” commented Private Sandra Carton.
“We’ll take a break shortly,” Brenda said. She was beginning to feel hunger pains as well. They had plenty of dehydrated rations with them. So food for the time being wasn’t going to be a problem though water at some point would be.
It didn’t take them long to reach the end of the corridor. With relief, Reesa saw there was another indentation for her key. Placing it inside, she waited and then a large section of the wall slid open. She stepped back as brilliant sunlight struck her.
“We’re inside,” spoke Private Anastasia Malone in wonder. “I can see the sun.”
Slowly everyone emerged. They seemed to be in a long valley covered in bright green grass with a few trees and shrubs. There was even a small stream running down its center.
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 4