The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel

by Raymond L. Weil

  “We have numerous compartments open to space,” reported the damage control officer. “There are multiple breaches across the ship and we’re venting atmosphere.”

  High Lord Aktill blinked his eyes and looked around, taking stock of the situation. Alarms were screaming from the damage control console, and power was rapidly failing.

  Aktill suddenly felt faint. Looking down at his hand, he saw it begin to fade away. Strangely enough there was no pain and then he lost consciousness.

  Moments later, the Judgment of Dawn was no more, and High Lord Aktill of the Shari had been erased from this phase of existence.

  -

  On the Dyson Sphere, Reesa watched in shock as the automatic weapon system destroyed all the fleets. Her heart was pounding and she felt faint at how rapidly the fleets had been destroyed. The defensive weapons fire spared no one as the deadly spheres of blue energy annihilated everything in their path. She was relieved Admiral Tolsen and his fleets had managed to escape.

  Turning toward Leeda, Reesa took a deep breath to steady herself. “What type of weapon was that?”

  “It tears apart the bonds that allow atoms to combine with one another and form elements. It’s the most powerful weapon ever discovered by the Originators, so powerful that it was not allowed upon any warships lest an enemy learn its terrible secret.”

  “Why haven’t you used this weapon against the Simulins before? You could have prevented them from accessing any of the Dyson Spheres, and stopped the carnage they’re spreading across so many different galaxies!”

  “It’s the command key,” Rakell answered unmoved by Reesa’s tirade. “If the command key is used to unlock the intergalactic vortexes it overrides the defensive systems. Also, there are very few AIs capable of actual combat.”

  “So what now?”

  “We’ll send an AI out to bring in the Marines and the crew from the exploration cutter your admiral left behind,” Leeda said. “We don’t know as yet if any of the Simulins managed to reach the surface of the Shrieel. If they did, we may need them.”

  Reesa nodded. Shortly she wouldn’t be alone as Kelnor and the others were on their way. However, there was another item that worried her. Rakell and the others, including Leeda, had made it very plain that none of them would be returning to the Federation. With a deep sigh, Reesa realized the Dyson Sphere was now her new home.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reesa was waiting expectantly as Kelnor and the others came down the corridor toward the large briefing room Leeda had prepared for them. She was standing just outside the door wondering how she would be received. She was both excited and nervous about meeting the others. Reesa was certain they had long since given her up for dead.

  “Reesa!” called out Sergeant Wilde with a look of intense relief on her face. “We didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”

  Kelnor walked up to Reesa and slowly shook his head. “I will say this, you seem to have a tenacity to turn up in the most surprising places. This is all astonishing, and we have so much to learn. When Tamon stepped off that spaceship and told us you were still alive, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We had all given up hope of ever seeing you again. I want to hear everything that has happened to you since you vanished through the wall at the museum.”

  “How did you find these AIs?” asked Melvin Blair, his eyes shining with interest. “Tamon hasn’t told us much since he informed us we needed to come with him.”

  “The only thing we’ve been told is that there’s a danger of the Simulins breaching the Dyson Sphere and activating an intergalactic vortex to bring more of their ships here,” added Brenda with a worried look. “Reesa, just what the hell is going on? What happened to the fleet?”

  Reesa let out a deep breath. There was so much to tell. “If you will follow me, the Originator AIs have made a briefing room available for us to use. There will be food as well as drinks available. We have a lot to go over and some of it you’re not going to like.” Reesa turned and stepped into the room. Leeda and Rakell were both there waiting. She had no idea how the others would react when they were told they could never go home.

  -

  An hour later, everyone sat in stunned silence. Rakell had used one of the viewscreens in the briefing room to show everyone what had transpired in space outside the Dyson Sphere. They watched in stunned silence as blue spheres of energy turned entire fleets into space dust. Even Kelnor had been silenced when he saw a blue energy sphere destroy an Indomitable Class battlestation as if it was nothing more than a toy.

  “I don’t understand,” Kelnor finally said in awe of the defensive power the Dyson Sphere had demonstrated. “If you have all of this power, why have you allowed the Simulins to become such a threat? It seems to me you could easily have prevented all of this. Trillions of beings across multiple galaxies have died due to the Simulins use of the Dyson Spheres.”

  Leeda looked over at the esteemed Alton scientist with an uneasy look in her eyes. “Reesa has told us that on your own worlds many of your people are nonaggressive and don’t believe in violence. Unfortunately, we are the same way. There are only a few AIs trained for combat, and none of them are within range of this Shrieel. We are powerless to stop the Simulins. We can use our energy shields to limit their access, but once they’ve taken over the intergalactic vortex areas we are powerless to force them out. Only if they were to perform an act of violence against the Shrieel before using the command key would the core computer deem them a threat and take action. Unfortunately, their possession of a command key prevents the system from doing that once it’s been used.”

  “The fleets are gone and you say the core computer will fire upon any vessel that approaches the Dyson Sphere?” Brenda asked.

  She had been relieved to see the Federation ships escape relatively unharmed. From what Rakell had said, it sounded to her as if they were stranded here, permanently. She had watched the blue energy spheres wipe out the Indomitable Class battlestations and the Simulin fleet as well as the Shari. There was no way Admiral Tolsen would dare to come back and face that type of firepower.

  Rakell nodded his head. “Unfortunately, that is correct. Due to the way the core computer is programmed, it will destroy all vessels of any of the races that were in the system when the defenses were activated. The only way to override that program is for an Originator to intervene and they all died over two million years ago.”

  “So we’re never going home?” asked Corporal Metz, his eyes showing his shock at what he had just heard.

  “Let’s not worry about that for now,” said Brenda, recalling why Tamon had brought them here in the first place. “From what you’ve shown us on the viewscreen, the Simulins launched a lot of shuttles and their Conqueror Drone pods toward the Dyson Sphere. Did any of them make it to the surface?”

  “None of the drone pods did,” Rakell replied. “However, we believe several of their shuttles did manage to land successfully.” Rakell made a gesture with his hand over a small control console at the head of the table. Instantly, the viewscreen changed to show a view of a concave area on the surface of the Dyson Sphere.

  “This is one of the intergalactic vortexes. Since shortly after the battle we have not been able to access it. We have confirmed emergency energy shields have activated, sealing the area off. That’s standard procedure if anyone other than an Originator enters the vortex zones. The only way to gain access is with a command key.”

  Brenda’s face turned pale at this revelation. “Can the Simulins activate it?”

  “Not for another seventy-six hours,” Rakell answered. “After we talked to Reesa and she explained what was occurring in the galaxies the Simulins have gained control of, we made a temporary change to the systems that control the intergalactic vortexes. While the core computer prevents us from denying access to anyone with a command key, we can still force the computers that control the vortexes to run a full diagnostic. Once the diagnostic is complete, the Simulins will be able to use the
command key to activate the vortex and begin bringing their fleets through. Unfortunately, once the first Simulin ship emerges from the vortex, the core computer will refuse to fire upon it because the command key was used. It will consider all Simulin vessels after that as approved vessels.”

  Brenda looked around the briefing room at her Marines. They all seemed overwhelmed by what they were hearing. “Can you get us into the vortex area so we can engage the Simulins? Perhaps we can get this command key away from them.” She only had one platoon, and she was fearful that might not be enough, particularly if there were any Conqueror Drones present. She shivered at the thought of facing the deadly drones. However, she couldn’t stand by and allow fleets of Simulin warships to pass through the vortex. It would mean the end of the Federation and life as she knew it.

  “You will have additional help,” Leeda announced. “Your Admiral Tolsen sent your exploration cutter back down with another group of Marines with a Captain Abrams in command. We have already sent a small ship to bring them as well as the cutter’s crew here.”

  Brenda closed her eyes briefly, feeling relieved. Captain Abrams was going to be here shortly. With a deep sigh she knew the ass chewing she had been dreading was coming closer. “How soon will they be here and how quickly after that can you get us to the vortex where the Simulins are?” With the addition of Captain Abrams and her Marines, they might just have a chance to stop the Simulins from activating the vortex.

  Leeda looked toward Sergeant Wilde. “They should be picked up within the hour and will be here within four more. The ship retrieving them has a gravity drive that allows it to reach very high speeds. As soon as they arrive, you and your Marines will go on board and will be taken to the vortex site in question. Sergeant Wilde, you must understand. We are not allowed to leave the Shrieel except under extreme circumstances. None of us were aware of what the Simulins were doing in the galaxies where they have gained access to the Shrieels. We are as horrified as you are of what the Simulins have done. We now recognize this was a mistake in our original programming by the Originators.”

  “Then we better get ready,” said Brenda, rising to her feet. She looked around at her Marines. “Get something to eat and drink; we have some Simulins to take care of.”

  -

  Captain Lindsey Abrams felt the small ship they were in set down with scarcely a jar. The cockpit door opened and the female Originator AI, who had come to get them stepped through.

  “We’re here,” Sible announced. “Your other Marines are waiting. We’ll unload the crew of your cutter, and they will stay here with the scientists from your exploratory team.”

  Abrams nodded. It had been good to hear Sergeant Wilde and the others were still alive. She was also pleased they would now all be together. She was startled when the large hatch on the side of the ship opened without any noticeable sound. Looking out, she saw Sergeant Wilde and her platoon waiting. Perhaps now she would get some explanations as to what was going on. She had a lot of questions for the sergeant.

  The twenty crewmembers of the exploration cutter quickly disembarked and Sergeant Wilde then came on board with her Marines.

  “Captain,” Sergeant Wilde said as she stopped and saluted.

  “Sergeant,” replied Abrams, returning the salute. “Get your people on board and situated. I understand we have some Simulins that need to be killed.”

  “I’ll fill you in,” Brenda said as she indicated for her Marines to come on board. “I have a lot to tell you.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Abrams said, eyeing Wilde critically. “I want you to start at the very beginning and explain to me just how the hell you managed to disappear with the entire exploratory team. We thought you were all dead!”

  Brenda winced. She knew she was about to get her ass chewed as feared. Straightening her shoulders, she began to tell Captain Abrams everything that had transpired since the exploratory team entered the structure on the surface of the Dyson Sphere.

  -

  Later, Brenda leaned back in her seat gazing out the viewport next to her at the stunning scene that met her eyes. They were flying far above the Dyson Sphere and the view was spectacular. It completely surrounded them and seemed to be a magical patchwork of color. Blue, green, brown, white, and even dark areas were plainly visible. There were thousands of these squares in evidence, and Brenda knew from what she had been told by Reesa that each one was many times the size of the Earth.

  She was also well aware that most of the landscapes were teeming with life. The oceans were full of every type of fish species imaginable as well as other living aquatic creatures. The landmasses were much the same. Herds of animals roamed free, and Leeda had even mentioned there were actual dinosaurs still living in several of the habitat areas. Then there were the dark areas. These habitats were completely enclosed because they required environments uncommon for normal oxygen breathing animals. Most held exotic species such as the flowering plants Reesa had been shown. At some point in time when this was all over, Brenda was interested in seeing some of these animal and plant species. She was particularly fascinated in seeing the dinosaurs.

  “How was your talk with the captain?” asked Corporal Metz, coming to sit down next to her. “Was she very upset?”

  Brenda let out a deep sigh. “Not as bad as I was expecting. I think she’s more relieved we’re all still alive than anything else.”

  Metz nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. I guess everyone did think we were dead.” Then in a more quiet voice. “So, what’s this op all about?”

  “Simulins and possible Conqueror Drones,” Brenda said, looking down at her assault rifle. All of the members of her platoon had switched their ammo rounds to armor piercing and light explosive. Both rounds were designed to take out a drone.

  “Any idea of the numbers we’ll be facing?”

  Brenda thought back to the briefing they had received from the Originator AIs. “Not many. There were only six confirmed Simulin shuttles that made it to the surface and none of the drone pods. All of them but one were quite small. However, there was one shuttle nearly the size of our exploration cutter. Rakell felt that shuttle might belong to the Simulin commander and if so he would be the one most likely to have the command key the AIs are so worried about.”

  Corporal Metz leaned forward closer to the sergeant. “What’s going to happen to us when this is all over? I mean, the AIs made it pretty plain we couldn’t go back home. Are we going to be stuck here forever?”

  Brenda blinked her eyes and looked around. None of the other Marines were paying any attention to her and the corporal. “I don’t know; the Dyson Sphere is a big place. Counting the exploration team and Captain Abram’s people there are nearly eighty of us.”

  “I’m not ready to settle down,” muttered Metz. “I have family back home; my parents and my younger brother.”

  Brenda understood what Metz was saying. Many of the Marines were young and had families back in the Federation. It would be difficult to leave all of that behind. “Let’s take care of the Simulins and Conqueror Drones first. Then we’ll worry about getting back home.”

  Metz nodded and, standing up, returned to his own seat.

  Looking out the viewport, Brenda saw the spacecraft was beginning to head down. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and thought back over the last few weeks. During none of that time had she ever imagined being in the situation she was in right now; fighting Simulins on the Dyson Sphere.

  -

  Rakell was standing next to Captain Abrams as the spacecraft sat down at a small landing facility next to a tall structure that reached over one thousand meters into the air.

  “That’s one of the vortex field generators,” the Originator AI explained. “There are eight of them around each intergalactic vortex station. They store power from the star at the center of the Shrieel and control the energy shield that surrounds the area. They can be used to prevent anything harmful from coming through or entering.”

  “Is it
operating now?” asked Lindsey, peering out the viewport and not noticing any obvious evidence of a shimmering in the air that might indicate the presence of an energy shield.

  “Yes, we activated it as soon as we realized what the Simulins might be up to. Even with the command key, the Simulins won’t be able to bring the shield down until the main computer here completes its diagnostic.”

  “How much time do we have left?”

  “Eighteen hours,” replied Rakell. “We’ll need to move quickly once we disembark. There’s a transit station nearby we can use to take us to just outside the area we need to enter. The only way the Simulins can activate the vortex and shut down the primary energy shield is in the Control Center where the main computer’s located. If they can insert the key into the command slot, they’ll have full control of the vortex site and the Shrieel’s core computer will recognize them as having permission to use this particular vortex. It won’t allow them admittance to any other areas of the Shrieel as that takes an override from a living Originator.”

  “Can they access other vortex sites?”

  “Yes, but only from the outside of the Shrieel and with the command key. They can use the key to access each site and activate it.”

  Lindsey mulled this information over. “Just how did they get a hold of one of these command keys? I can’t imagine it just lying around.”

  “We don’t know,” confessed Rakell uneasily. “It has been a subject of much discussion over the years. We’ve never been 100 percent certain they have a command key, but it’s the only explanation we could come up with for how they’ve managed to gain admittance to so many of the Shrieel.”

  The hatch to the cockpit opened and Sible appeared. “We’re down and you can disembark. The local energy shields are up, but you can go through them using one of the copper colored keys.”

  Rakell stood and gestured for Lindsey to follow him. “This will be a combat operation and in that I can be of no help. I’m not programmed to engage in hostilities. I do have a key we can use to gain admittance. I believe Sergeant Wilde is in possession of one as well.”