Jeremy shook his head. “No, if Kelsey is going to be a commander she needs to know I trust her to do this on her own.”
“It’s the Dominator we’re talking about,” Ariel said carefully. “What if the Originators who are sleeping in that central compartment awaken?”
“We’re not certain the compartment contains surviving Originators,” Jeremy responded. “Is it even possible for them to have survived several million years in deep sleep or stasis?”
“The Dominator and Kazak survived,” pointed out Ariel. “With their advanced science and technology, I believe it could be done.”
Jeremy slowly nodded his head. “If there are Originators in that chamber, there has to be a reason why Kazak hasn’t awakened them. The ship’s been fully repaired, and why take the risk of the ship sustaining damage by helping us?”
Ariel was silent as she searched for a reason. “He needs something from us.”
“What?” asked Jeremy, his eyes narrowing slightly. “There’s nothing we can provide him he doesn’t already have.”
“That’s the question,” Ariel said. “Perhaps we should talk to Kurene and ZED and see if they have any ideas.”
Jeremy looked down on his desk at a picture of him and Kelsey on the beach at New Tellus. That seemed like so long ago. He wondered how things were going now in the Federation. Was former Fleet Admiral Streth still living in the cabin by the lake on Maken as Rear Admiral Barnes had reported? Sometimes he missed the old admiral’s advice. He could really use it in this situation. So many had been lost in recent years. Fleet Admiral Johnson, Admiral Teleck, Rear Admiral Barnes, Clarissa, and others had died in battle. Unfortunately, Jeremy knew there would be more.
“I’ll arrange for ZED and Kurene to come to Gaia.”
Ariel nodded, looking at the picture on Jeremy’s desk. “I’m sure Kelsey and Katie are fine. Admiral Sithe is with them, and he’ll be keeping a close watch on the Dominator. If there are any problems, he could always evacuate the crew from the ship.”
“I still wish we knew more about Kazak and what the Dominator was actually doing out Ornellia way. There has to be more to this than what Kazak’s told us so far.”
“I agree,” responded Ariel, folding her arms across her chest and tilting here head slightly. “I’ve gone over all the files we have on Kazak and even what he and Clarissa talked about. I haven’t found anything suspicious.”
The comm on Jeremy’s desk sounded. Reaching forward he answered it. “This is Admiral Strong.”
“Admiral, we just received a message from Admiral Cleeteus,” reported Commander Kyla Malen. “He has several Alton battleships on patrol on the outskirts of the nebula watching for Simulin activity. He reports in the last forty-eight hours the number of Simulin ships scanning the nebula has quadrupled. There is also evidence of a larger Simulin fleet formation assembling in the Zeta 3A Star System. That’s eight light years distant from the nebula in the direction of the blue-giants.”
Ariel realized this couldn’t be a coincidence. “They must have detected the Dominator exiting the nebula and are waiting for its return.”
“But why?” asked Jeremy, cocking an eyebrow. “They must know what happened the last time and that it was the Dominator that drained all the energy from their ships.”
“Unknown,” Ariel answered, her dark eyes narrowing sharply. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned. “They may be hoping to destroy the ship before it can make its way safely back to Gaia.”
Jeremy clenched his teeth and slowly shook his head. While he doubted there was any chance of the Simulins launching a successful attack on the Originator ship, he wasn’t going to take the risk.
“There’s going to be a change in plans. We’re going to pull together a fleet and attack the assembling Simulin ships. We know the Simulins have suffered significant fleet losses both here and back in our home galaxy. It’s time we showed them this section of the Triangulum Galaxy is no longer a safe place for them. Contact all the admirals, including Rear Admiral Marks, and have them meet me on the Clan Protector tomorrow afternoon. Also, send a message to the Command AI requesting its presence. Kurene and ZED can hitch a ride with the Command AI as well.”
-
On the Dominator, Commander Kelsey Strong looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was still strange to see herself wearing the uniform of a commander. Her father was the Fleet Admiral at Ceres before the revelation, and he had always hoped she would follow in his footsteps into command someday. She knew if he could see her now he would be proud. She gazed into the mirror and reaching up, flipped a wayward blonde hair out of her blue eyes. Thanks to the life extension drugs developed by the Federation and then augmented by the Altons, she looked as if she was still in her late twenties.
It had been four days since the Dominator procured the dark matter Kazak needed to construct the ten super warheads. After some discussion, they had decided it was going to be impossible to deploy all ten warheads to allow for simultaneous explosions in the ten selected stars. As a result, they had returned to the fleet so they could use the ten AI warspheres to deliver the missiles instead. When Admiral Sithe had been briefed on the plan, his face had turned pale and his eyes had widened in disbelief. This was supposed to have been a science mission, not an undertaking to blow up entire star systems.
It had taken Andram considerable time to explain the necessary details to the New Providence admiral. In the end, he had grudgingly agreed to allow the use of the warspheres to deliver the warheads.
Her comm went off and she stepped over and answered it. “We’re ready to begin transferring the missiles,” Lieutenant Mickelson informed her.
“I’ll be right there,” answered Kelsey. Straightening her shoulders, she turned and left her quarters to go to the Command Center.
-
A short time later, Kelsey was standing next to Mikow and Katie as she waited for the missiles to be transferred over to the AI warspheres. “We’re going to destroy ten star systems,” she said softly as she watched a shuttle leave the Dominator and head over to one of the AI ships. “Are we doing the right thing?” She turned her head, looking over at the other two women.
“The systems would be destroyed anyway when the Dyson Sphere supernova wavefront reaches them,” Mikow answered. “This is the only viable solution we have managed to come up with which may stop the supernova. There are also no inhabited systems inside the nebula.”
Katie had a look of worry on her face. “What happens if the Simulins discover what we’re doing? If they find out we have a weapon that can destroy an entire star system, what will their response be? They have ships around the blue-giant nebula. Eventually they’ll detect the ten new supernovas, and it won’t take them long to realize someone created them.”
“The Simulins may not suspect we were responsible,” Mikow said, glancing over at Katie. “We’ve never used such a weapon before.”
“They’ll know it was us,” responded Kelsey, letting out a deep breath. “Because of the battle we fought earlier, they know the Dominator was in the nebula. When they detect the ten new supernovas, they’ll know we were responsible.”
Kelsey didn’t go on to mention that once these ten warheads were deployed, they would no longer have a weapon capable of blowing up a star system. She had ordered Kazak to dispose of the rest of the dark matter as a safety precaution. She didn’t want to even think about what the effect of such a weapon would be on an inhabited planet.
-
Over the next twenty minutes, she watched as the rest of the missiles were delivered to the AI warspheres. Once the last missile had been delivered and loaded into its waiting missile tube, the ten one-thousand-meter vessels made the transition into hyperspace and were gone.
“We’re committed now,” commented Katie, her green eyes focused on Kelsey. “I just hope this works.”
“If it helps, we had no choice,” added Mikow, drawing in a deep breath. “Just think of all the lives that will be
saved by stopping the radiation front.”
“Including everyone on Gaia,” Katie pointed out. “By doing this we’re saving our home.”
Kelsey knew her friends were right. It was just that she had never made such an important decision before, not even when she had given Clarissa permission to take over the Distant Horizon. “Lieutenant Michelson, send word to the rest of the fleet we’ll be leaving shortly.”
She was going to take the fleet back into the blue-giant nebula where they could monitor the deployment of the missiles. Kazak had equipped each of the ten warspheres with a small communication drone that, when deployed, would send data via FTL communications back to the Dominator. The transmission range was only sixteen light years, but it was instantaneous. The fleet would be positioned ten light years distant from the Dyson Sphere supernova so they could receive the telemetry from the probes.
“Admiral Sithe reports the fleet is ready,” Michelson confirmed. “We can depart at any time.”
“Captain Adams, send the fleet the nav coordinates. It’s time for us to go.”
-
AI warsphere WS-129 exited hyperspace into the blue-giant star system that was its destination. For several minutes the vessel stayed at its position scanning the system and the star. The star was 9.744 million kilometers in diameter with a surface temperature of 24,000 degrees Kevin. After a few minutes of observations, the warsphere opened a spatial vortex and entered hyperspace once more. A few moments later, it reappeared in an orbit twenty million kilometers from the star. As soon as it exited hyperspace alarms began sounding in the Control Center.
“Report,” ordered the AI in command of the ship. There were only sixty AIs on the warsphere as most of its functions were automated.
“Intense radiation from the star,” the AI at the science console answered in its cold mechanical voice. “Shield is holding.”
“Hyperdrive?”
“Recharging,” the AI at the navigation and helm controls answered. “Hyperdrive will be fully operational in six minutes.”
“The dark matter missile?”
“Ready to launch,” reported the AI in front of the tactical console.
The AI in command of the ship checked the timer on one of the consoles. It was twenty-seven minutes until time to launch the missile.
“Will the gravity well of the star have any effect on the hyperdrive?”
“Minimal,” replied the science AI. “We’re just on the edge of where the influence of the star’s gravity would interfere.”
“Sensors?”
“No contacts.”
The AI in command was satisfied. There was nothing to hinder the completion of their mission.
The minutes passed quickly by, and the timer on the console finally reached zero.
“Missile launch,” confirmed the AI at Tactical. “Sixteen minutes until impact and detonation.”
“Launch the FTL probe,” ordered the AI in command. “As soon as it has cleared the energy screen, activate it.” The AI knew that due to the intense radiation the probe would only function for forty minutes. That would be more than enough time for it to complete its mission.
On one of the viewscreens, the small probe became visible as it moved away from the ship. It was a small globe five meters in diameter.
“Activate hyperdrive and set coordinates for the fleet rendezvous point.”
-
In front of the AI warsphere, a swirling white spatial vortex appeared and moments later the vessel vanished into it, leaving the blue-giant star system far behind.
In the system, the dark matter sublight missile continued to accelerate toward its destination. The minutes passed as the missile drew nearer and then it finally dove into the Corona of the blue-giant star. The missile was made of the same material as the Dominator and resistant to the raging heat. It continued through the Corona entering the Chromosphere, but it didn’t stop there. The heat was beginning to affect the missile, and the massive turbulence attempting to tear it apart, but it continued diving into the Photosphere where it exploded.
The blue-giant star at first seemed unaffected, then it contracted in on itself. Massive solar prominences rose high above the surface. Then, in a titanic release of energy, the sun exploded, transforming into a supernova as electrons and protons fused together sending out a massive wave of neutrinos and matter.
-
Aboard the Dominator, the huge panoramic viewscreen was divided into ten sections, each one showing a blue-giant star. Almost simultaneously the ten stars began to expand until they covered the screens with their violence.
“Detonations confirmed at all ten stars,” reported Andram as he studied the data coming across his science screens. “Detecting a massive increase in neutrinos.”
Even as he spoke, the screens rapidly went blank, one by one.
“FTL communication probes have been destroyed,” reported Kazak. “Preliminary data indicates we were successful in turning all ten stars into supernovas.”
“How soon before we know if they’ll stop the radiation front?” asked Katie. Her eyes had been glued to the viewscreens. She had never imagined seeing something like a supernova at close range. The screens had made the star explosions seem as if they were right next to the Dominator.
“Not for seven to nine months,” Andram answered. “The energy front from the supernovas is only moving outward at the speed of light. While the radiation front from the Dyson Sphere supernova is moving much faster, it will take three to four months before they interact with each other and then another four to six months before we can judge the affects.”
Kelsey shifted her eyes away from the viewscreen as it began to show a normal view of space, if the heart of the blue-giant nebula could be called normal. “As soon as all the warspheres have reached us, we’ll set a course for home.”
Kelsey saw the relieved look in Katie’s eyes. With a deep sigh, Kelsey leaned back in her command chair. She wondered what Jeremy would say when he learned she had allowed Kazak to talk her into blowing up ten star systems. She just hoped she had made the right decision and the Dyson Sphere supernova would be substantially weakened.
-
In Simulin space, Supreme High Commander Callat was inspecting one of the massive shipyards in orbit around Malkor. He was in one of the enormous construction bays watching the final work being done to a new seventeen-hundred-meter battlecruiser.
“The reports have been confirmed,” reported High Commander Faberh. “The ship of the sphere builders was detected leaving the Fitula Nebula.”
“Did the ship that detected the vessel report on its destination?” Callat knew because of the distance involved this report was several weeks old.
“The nebula where the Great Sphere resided.”
Callat turned his cold gaze upon his second in command. “We have several fleets in the vicinity of the nebula, have they been informed?”
“Yes, the commander of the vessel sent warning messages to the fleets at the nebula. They will be watching for the ship’s arrival.”
“And the fleet we have forming up at the Fitula Nebula?”
“Many of the ships have arrived; there are still a few task groups inbound to the assembly coordinates.”
Callat was satisfied things were going as planned. He had been waiting for the appearance of the ship. Once the ship of the sphere builders was detected returning to the Fitula Nebula, the waiting Simulin fleet would jump in and launch every antimatter missile they had in their missile tubes. Callat was convinced such a massive onslaught of antimatter energy would at least damage the vessel, giving the attacking Simulin fleet a chance to capture it. If he was wrong, they could lose the entire fleet. It would be a setback but one that could be dealt with.
“The fleet we sent from Tranton should be arriving at Ornellia shortly,” Faberh added. “Once we have destroyed the Fitula organics and their AIs in the Ornellia System, the threat they pose to that region of space will have been neutralized.”
<
br /> “All must be Simulin,” Supreme High Commander Callat spoke in a resounding voice.
“All must be Simulin,” replied Faberh reverently.
Callat watched as several energy cannons were moved over to the battlecruiser for installation. The Grand Council was now firmly under his control and his plans for a more powerful fleet as well as increased planetary defenses were proceeding smoothly. The only real threat to eventual Simulin domination of this galaxy were the organics and the AIs from the Fitula Nebula. If the ship of the sphere builders could be captured or destroyed, then that threat would be a very minor one. Someday they would have the technology to penetrate the nebula and strike at the system the organics and AIs were encamped in.
“It is time for us to return to the flagship,” he said, turning away from the battlecruiser. “I wish to go to Tranton and then to Gladen Three to inspect the defenses there.”
“I will have the flagship prepare for departure,” replied Faberh.
-
In the Fitula Nebula, Jeremy was back on board the Avenger. He had just returned from a second staff meeting with all of his admirals. During the meeting he had announced the promotion of Commander Newman of the battlecruiser Gaia to the rank of rear admiral as well as the promotion of Commander Hiru Akira of the battlecarrier Retribution to the rank of rear admiral. Newman would be in charge of the squadron of twenty-four Gaia class battlecruisers built by the Clan Protector. Akira would be responsible for all the fleet’s battlecarriers as well as fighter and bomber operations.
“Grayseth reports his fleet is ready to depart,” said Lieutenant Shayla Lantz from Communications.
“Admiral Cleeteus and the Command AI have their forces ready as well,” added Commander Malen.
Jeremy looked over at the main computer console where Kurene was sitting. Behind her hovered ZED, who would be accompanying them. This would be the first time Jeremy had ever allowed an AI to be in the Command Center of the Avenger during a mission. While he sought to destroy the fleet in the Zeta 3A Star System, he also wanted to attempt to capture a Simulin warship. If they could capture a ship and access its computer, they might be able to learn just how strong the Simulins were in the Triangulum Galaxy as well as find out where their inhabited worlds were. The tactical data they could gain would greatly enhance their ability to fight the war.
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 19