The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel

by Raymond L. Weil

  “This is too important,” answered Kazak, refusing to consider Kelsey’s argument. “The future of the Originator race is at stake, and my first priority is to my creators.”

  Kelsey felt an icy chill run through her. Kazak had more or less just revealed there were Originators in that central compartment. Perhaps Kelsey could use that tidbit of information to her advantage.

  “The Simulins still have a large fleet here in the Triangulum Galaxy,” began Kelsey, carefully thinking about her words. “They already managed to damage the Dominator back at the nebula. What if that happens again? Do you want to put the future of the Originator race at risk? Jeremy can help protect your ship and what’s in that compartment.”

  Kazak walked over and put one of his hands on a warhead. “That was a fluke accident that won’t occur again. Next time I will be prepared. Due to the nearness of so many of your warships, I couldn’t bring all of the Dominator’s weapons to bear. The Simulins won’t ever get that close to this ship again.”

  “Kazak, I implore you, return to Gaia and speak with Jeremy.” Kelsey was growing fearful Kazak wasn’t going to listen.

  Kazak turned back around to face Kelsey with a grim look of determination on his face. “No, I will finish this mission. Once the Simulins have been eliminated as a threat, I will return to Gaia. I may have a use for your people and the Altons. Now, Commander, return to the Command Center. I will be returning most of the consoles back over to your control. If I detect any treachery from any members of the command crew, I will take it upon myself to eliminate all the Humans and Altons upon the ship. Have I made myself clear?”

  Kelsey nodded her head. “You leave me no choice; we’ll cooperate.”

  “Then you will not be harmed,” promised Kazak. “You should take joy in the fact that shortly the Simulins will no longer pose a threat to any of your people. I mean your people no harm, but I have my own priorities which must take precedence.”

  Knowing there was nothing else she could say, Kelsey turned and left the compartment. She would tell Andram, Katie, and Mikow what had just transpired though, at the moment, she didn’t see anything they could do to stop Kazak and his new found vendetta against the Simulins. For the time being, it appeared their best hope to survive was to cooperate and work with the Originator AI. Perhaps if they survived this and returned to Gaia, Jeremy could figure out what to do with Kazak

  -

  Simulin Supreme High Commander Callat gazed critically at the viewscreen in the Command Center of his flagship. The defenses around Malkor were nearly finished, and he was growing deeply concerned over the latest reports from the Fitula Nebula. The fleet he had sent to capture the ancient ship of the Sphere Builders had been annihilated. Not only that but long-range scans from several Simulin battlecruisers which had been assigned to watch the battle indicated the ancient vessel had spent some time near a Simulin warship it had captured. Immediately afterward, it had jumped into hyperspace on a heading toward the Simulin population centers. Shortly afterward a small group of organic and AI controlled vessels from the nebula had set out in what was obviously a pursuit.

  “It’s coming for us,” Callat said as he sat down in his command chair. “We made an error in attempting to damage or destroy that vessel. From the reports of our battlecruisers, it drained the power from our fleet and then spent some time examining one particular ship. No doubt it was attempting to access its computers. From its course, it was at least partially successful.”

  “It’s just one vessel,” commented High Commander Faberh dismissively. “We have thousand of warships at our disposal, and all of our worlds are sitting behind massive defensive networks thanks to you. If the ship shows up here, we will destroy it.”

  Supreme Commander Callat nodded, but he still felt doubtful. “Summon all of our outlying fleets. They are to return to our worlds immediately.”

  “All of them?” asked Faberh, his eyes widening in surprise. “That will leave much of our conquered territory unguarded. There are several small empires on the fringe areas of this galaxy that will take advantage of the absence of our warships to retake some or all of their former territory. The Ornellians are a prime example, particularly since ships from the Fitula Nebula organics are there and assisting them.”

  “Yes,” Callat answered. “It’s a risk we have to take. Only yesterday I received a highly disturbing message from the blue-giant nebula where the Great Sphere once resided. The ancient ship was spotted there many days ago and engaged in combat with several of our vessels. A few days later, ten new supernovas were discovered encircling the Great Sphere supernova. I suspect it was the ship of the ancients that caused these stars to explode in an effort to stop the expansion of the radiation front. I have spoken to several of our leading scientists on Malkor, and they agree with that assessment.”

  Faberh’s eyes narrowed sharply at hearing this. “Are you saying this ancient ship has a weapon that can make a star explode?”

  Callat shifted his gaze to Faberh. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. As a result of our attack upon the vessel at the Fitula Nebula, I believe it’s now on its way here to destroy us.”

  -

  Jeremy was in the Command Center watching the swirling purple colors on the viewscreens. So far, there had been no sign of the Dominator. He hoped nothing dire had occurred on the ship as Kelsey was its commander. “How far ahead of us do you think the ship is?”

  Ariel spent a few moments accessing some information from the ship’s computer. “We’re traveling at our top speed, but we still have to drop out of hyperspace periodically to cool down our drive cores and recharge the hyperdrive system. The Dominator has to do neither. We’ve been traveling for ten days, and I would estimate the Dominator is at least fifty to fifty-four hours ahead of us. We’ll continue to lose ground until Kazak brings the ship to a stop.”

  Jeremy leaned back in his command chair and let out a deep sigh. He knew no matter what they weren’t going to arrive at the Simulin worlds in time to intercept the Dominator.

  “Why stop Kazak?” asked ZED. “Do we not want the Simulins destroyed?” The AI had requested to be allowed to come on the mission and Jeremy agreed since ZED offered some unique insights into what might be driving the Originator AI.

  Jeremy realized this was a difficult question to answer. It was an internal battle he had been fighting for days. “For the crimes the Simulins have committed against so many civilizations, they deserve to die,” admitted Jeremy. “However, I don’t want Kazak risking the Dominator and its crew on a venture that’s so dangerous. They will be facing thousands of Simulins warships and whatever defenses protect their worlds. Even the Dominator might not be able to handle such odds. If Kazak had waited, perhaps we could have come up with a better solution.”

  “Kazak is an AI,” ZED reminded Jeremy. “He may show Human emotions but he is ruled by logic. The Simulins are a direct threat to the Dominator and what Kazak has hidden in that central compartment. This is his attempt to remove that danger.”

  “What’s in that compartment, Jeremy?” asked Kevin, wanting to know what could be so important Kazak would risk everything to attack the Simulins.

  Jeremy took in a deep breath. There was no longer any point in keeping secret what they suspected Kazak was hiding. “We believe that central compartment has the last surviving Originators in it. They are most likely in some type of stasis or deep sleep.”

  “Originators!” exclaimed Kevin, his eyes showing his disbelief. “You have got to be kidding!”

  “Of course,” said Commander Malen with a nod of her head. “That would explain many of Kazak’s actions.”

  “We believe it’s his programming to protect these surviving Originators that’s causing Kazak to respond as he is now,” ZED added. “His primary responsibly will be to protect them at any cost.”

  Kevin looked from Jeremy to ZED. “Just who knows about these Originators?” Kevin wasn’t pleased Jeremy had kept this from him, particularly since
Katie was on the Dominator.

  Jeremy braced himself and then answered. “Katie, Mikow, Kurene, Ariel, ZED, the Command AI, and myself.”

  Kevin’s face turned red in anger, nearly matching his hair. Taking a few deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down. “You should have told me before sending Katie off on the Dominator.”

  “You’re right,” replied Jeremy, wishing now he had told Kevin. “We were just keeping the number of people who knew down to a minimum. We couldn’t risk Kazak finding out.”

  Kevin didn’t reply. He just turned back around, staring at his sensor console.

  With a deep sigh, Jeremy knew he needed to give Kevin time to get over this.

  Ariel wasn’t happy Kevin was upset with Jeremy. She realized he had every right to be. However, of more importance was what Kazak was preparing to do? If the Originator AI attacked the Simulin worlds with dark matter warheads he would be endangering the Dominator, and there was nothing she could do to protect her friends on board. For the first time in many years, Ariel felt helpless.

  Ariel knew Jeremy was deeply concerned since Kelsey, Katie, Mikow, and Andram were all on the Dominator as well as several hundred other crewmembers.

  “How much danger is the Dominator in?” asked Commander Malen from her command console. “Is there any chance the Simulins could penetrate its energy shield?”

  “Doubtful,” Ariel answered as she studied several simulations she had been running. “It would take a tremendous amount of firepower, more than the Simulins currently have. Also, I don’t believe Kazak will be willing to risk any harm coming to the ship.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Jeremy, turning to face the beautiful AI.

  “There is a strategy Kazak can use that will minimize the threat to the Dominator and allow him to destroy the Simulin worlds.”

  “That’s assuming he does have the black matter warheads for the Dominator’s missiles,” Kurene said.

  She had been listening to the conversation and was aware of the simulations Ariel had been running. She and ZED had been discussing the different strategies Kazak might use to attack the Simulins and were in agreement with what Ariel was about to reveal. It was the most logical strategy for the Originator AI to employ and still protect his ship and its valuable cargo.

  “I believe he has a number of the warheads,” Ariel said. “However, I don’t believe he has enough to eliminate all of the Simulin worlds in this galaxy.”

  Jeremy looked from Ariel to Kurene and then back to Ariel. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What’s Kazak going to do?”

  “It’s actually quite simple,” answered Ariel, folding her arms across her chest. “The Simulins will probably detect the Dominator before it reaches its target system though it will do them little good. Kazak will simply drop out of hyperspace in an area free of Simulins warships, launch his missile at either the star or the planet and then jump right back into hyperspace before the missile detonates. The Simulins will only have a limited amount of time to react and with the Dominator’s energy shield they will be powerless to prevent him from launching the missile and then escaping.”

  Jeremy stood up and gazed over at Kevin. It seemed to him that Kevin had calmed back down. “So what do we do? Do we allow Kazak to carry out this attack or do we try to stop him?”

  Kevin looked over at Jeremy and then responded. “The Simulins are the ones who reprogrammed the AIs back in our home galaxy. We all know how that turned out.”

  “It was a horrible time,” acknowledged ZED. “Even now large parts of the home galaxy, as you call it, are still under the control of the AI proxy races. Thousands of worlds remain enslaved. My fellow AIs and I are deeply ashamed of the part we unknowingly played. I have no sympathy for the Simulins. They are a scourge and must be eliminated.”

  “Kevin?” asked Jeremy, wanting to hear his best friend’s opinion.

  “I say we let Kazak take out as many Simulin worlds as he can. If what Ariel said is true and the Dominator won’t be putting itself in danger, then I say power to him. If he can take out enough of them, the Simulins may stop being a threat.”

  “Kurene?” asked Jeremy, turning toward the Alton.

  Kurene’s face turned pale, realizing what she was being asked. “As you know most of my race are pacifists. However, in this case considering the threat the Simulins pose and what they have done in the past, I would not willingly stand in Kazak’s way.”

  Jeremy closed his eyes and shook his head. “Fleet Admiral Streth and others arranged for the relief fleets to come to the Triangulum Galaxy so we could take the war to the Simulins and keep the home galaxy safe. We have already accomplished part of that goal by destroying the Dyson Sphere. However, to keep the Federation permanently safe the Simulins must be stopped. We’ll proceed on and observe the Dominator, but we will not interfere unless we see that our help is needed.”

  The others nodded and returned to working at their consoles. Jeremy knew by making this decision he had probably just condemned billions of Simulins to death.

  “You couldn’t have stopped him anyway,” commented Ariel, suspecting what Jeremy was thinking. “As hard as this may sound, it is the right decision.”

  Jeremy’s eyes returned to the viewscreens and the swirling deep purple colors of hyperspace. “Try to figure out where Kazak is heading. Somewhere in Simulin space we’ll find the Dominator. Kazak and I need to have a long conversation when this is over.” Jeremy didn’t know how, but somehow he needed to gain the trust of the Originator AI. If not, even Gaia could be in danger.

  -

  “We’ll be emerging from hyperspace in twenty minutes,” Andram said, looking back at Kelsey.

  “Long-range sensors indicate a populated Simulin world and what appears to be hundreds of spacecraft operating in the system,” Lieutenant Tracey Burke reported uneasily. “The largest grouping of ships is around the planet.”

  Kelsey looked over at the large holographic tactical display Tracey had just activated. It showed a system of ten planets with hundreds of red threat icons. Kelsey knew at this range they couldn’t tell the difference between warships and cargo vessels.

  “Detecting defensive satellites and battlestations over planet number four,” Lieutenant Burke continued. “Sensors indicate twenty-four hundred defensive satellites and ten five-hundred-meter battlestations.”

  “Are you sure about that?” asked Kelsey. It almost sounded as if the Simulins were expecting them. “When the Distant Horizon had gone through this area of space none of the Simulin planets they detected had defensive grids around them. Something had definitely changed.

  “Positive,” Burke replied. “It’s the only thing they could be. We should have the ship types in orbit shortly.”

  Kazak suddenly strolled into the Command Center and everyone became quiet. “Lieutenant Burke is correct. I have run an analysis of the ships in the system, and there are six hundred and twelve Simulins warships as well as the defensive system around the planet. There are also numerous mining operations and small bases on some of the other planets and a number of the moons.”

  Kelsey turned to gaze unflinchingly at Kazak. “What are your plans?”

  “We will eliminate the fourth planet with a dark matter missile. If we cause the star to go supernova, it could endanger other nearby star systems. While there are a few small Simulin bases nearby, it is not worth destroying additional planets that might be of use in the future for such a minor return.”

  Kelsey felt relieved. At least Kazak was still willing to hold the destruction down to a minimum. Perhaps there was still hope of reasoning with the Originator AI.

  “Bring the ship to Condition One,” ordered Kelsey, settling back in her command chair. “Stand by for combat operations.”

  Kazak remained silent, but Kelsey noticed all command consoles seemed to be working, including Tactical. “Get our energy shield up as soon as we drop out of hyperspace. Sensors, I want a complete scan of any possible threats to the ship. Kazak,
how long do you need to prep and launch the missile?” Kelsey had decided she needed to earn the AI’s trust and the best way to do that and protect the crew was to cooperate.

  “Twenty seconds after emergence I can launch the missile. Fifteen seconds after that the Dominator can reenter hyperspace.”

  Kelsey was surprised at that. Kazak had never revealed to them how quickly the ship could jump back into hyperspace though she had taken note that the Dominator didn’t need a cool down time for the drive core as other ships did. It could also stay in hyperspace for an extended period of time.

  It was silent in the Command Center except for the occasional updates from the various officers as they neared the target system.

  Kelsey felt her nerves on edge knowing they were about to wipe out several billion Simulins. She took a deep breath before asking Kazak the next question on her mind. “Once this system has been dealt with, where to next?”

  Kazak turned to gaze at Kelsey. “I have chosen five Simulin systems to destroy,” he said evenly, his eyes focused on Kelsey. “After the fifth system, we will travel to the Simulins’ primary world where their leadership is located. We will deliver an ultimatum. If they accept the war is over, if they refuse, I will destroy that system as well.”

  “Emergence,” announced Captain Brent Adams from Navigation.

  Kelsey felt a slight uneasiness in her stomach and then the massive viewscreen surrounding her cleared, showing a view of space and hundreds of unwinking stars. In the distance was a planet, which rapidly swelled as the viewscreen’s magnification was increased. It was a blue-white world with numerous orbital facilities.

  “Sensor contacts,” reported Lieutenant Burke. “I have sixty-seven Simulin battlecruisers in orbit above the planet as well as two hundred and twelve escort cruisers. There are also a number of cargo ships as well as orbital and defensive installations.”

  “Are we in combat range?”

  “Not of the Simulins, but they may be for our weapons,” Burke responded.

  A red light suddenly appeared on the tactical console. “Missile launched,” reported Major Mason Donaldson. He hadn’t launched the missile, Kazak had!