The Forgotten Empire: Earth Ascendant: Book Two

by Raymond L. Weil

  -

  In the Pallas Command Center, Layla breathed out a sigh of relief. The first part of the Lamothian fleet had been destroyed.

  “The second section has nearly come to a stop,” reported Major Fields. “However, they are still continuing toward Rear Admiral Leeson’s fleet.”

  “What can they be up to?” asked Admiral Reynolds. “They must know we can destroy them.”

  Layla could tell Admiral Reynolds still wasn’t used to hyperlight communications. “They’re contacting their homeworld and telling them what just happened. No doubt the computer scientists on their home planet will send them a new set of firewalls to use against our ships. The Confederation has very sophisticated computers, and, while computer viruses are outlawed, they are familiar with them.”

  Reynolds looked at the communications officer. “Can they do that?”

  Captain Moore nodded her head. “Yes, hyperlight transmitters and receivers have a tremendous range. I estimate there will only be a few minutes delay from here to their homeworld.”

  “Damn!” said Reynolds. “Captain, contact Rear Admiral Leeson and inform him that we believe the Lamothians are downloading a new set of computer firewalls. The virus may no longer be effective. After you have contacted Leeson, do the same for Admiral Cleemorl and Rear Admiral Masters.”

  Layla took in a deep breath. She knew the battle was far from over. It really had not yet begun.

  -

  Rear Admiral Leeson shook his head, after receiving the message from Pallas. “I should have known this wasn’t over.” He looked at Linda Martin. “Is there anything you can do to modify the virus?”

  “I have a much stronger virus, but we’re saving that one for the attack on the Human Empire.”

  Leeson nodded. “So, we’ll have to slug it out.”

  “I’m afraid so, sir,” Linda replied.

  “At least we have Admiral Cleemorl’s and Rear Admiral Masters’ fleets to reinforce us,” said Captain Newman. “That should give us an advantage.”

  “Maybe so, but we’ll lose a lot of warships and a lot of crews. At their current speed, how soon will the Lamothian fleet be here?”

  “Forty minutes,” replied Captain Newman.

  Leeson nodded. “Keep us at Condition One, just in case they speed up.”

  Leeson leaned back in his command chair. The main part of the battle was still ahead of them. While they had won a quick strategic victory, he still had over 1,300 enemy ships bearing down on his position.

  -

  Derrick was disappointed to learn the Lamothians were probably downloading new firewalls for their computers. It meant the coming battle would be difficult.

  “What’s the plan?” asked Captain Banora.

  “I just finished speaking to Admiral Cleemorl. As soon as the Lamothians drop out of hyperspace, he will take his fleet in to reinforce Rear Admiral Leeson’s. As soon as they engage, we’ll jump in behind the Lamothian fleet and unleash all our weapons. Once the Lamothians respond, we’ll jump back out and then return at a different location. We’ll be conducting multiple hit-and-run raids, until the battle is decided one way or another.”

  Audrey laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Derrick asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Just our orders. Go in, pick out some enemy ships, shoot at them, and then run. Keep doing that until we run out of enemy ships to fire at. Isn’t that what our orders are?”

  Derrick nodded. He could see the humor in that. “Yes, I guess it is. Let’s just make sure we destroy as many as possible.”

  “Do you want to fire in groups?”

  “Sort of. Dreadnoughts are free to pick out and attack individual targets. Their primary targets will be any Lamothian battleships within range. I want all the battlecruisers to pair up and to fire on the Lamothians’ battlecruisers. Two of our ships against one of theirs should give us a slight advantage in firepower.”

  Audrey looked at the battlestation, which was up on the main viewscreen. A pair of attack interceptors were visible, flying CAP around the station. “Wish we had a couple hundred of those to take in with us.”

  “Someday we will, once the carriers are completed.”

  “How much more work do they need?”

  Derrick tried to recall what Admiral Reynolds had told him in his last briefing. “About two months and the first ones will be ready to deploy.”

  Looking at the tactical display, Derrick could see the Lamothians would soon reach Rear Admiral Leeson’s position. “We’ll attack in a double line formation. That way all ships can fire and not get in each other’s way. We’ll stay for thirty seconds and then reverse course and go back into hyperspace, jumping back here to the station. We’ll scan the enemy fleet and then jump back in again.”

  “And how long will we use that strategy?”

  Derrick looked at Audrey. “Until the battle is over.”

  Audrey nodded. “I’ll speak to the other captains and inform them of our strategy. Let’s hope it works.”

  Derrick hoped it did too; however, this would be a violent battle between large fleets of ships. He feared the Human fleets, even in victory, would suffer massive losses.

  -

  Admiral Zahn was ready. The new firewalls had been installed in all the computer systems of the fleet. His computer officers were confident the new firewalls would stop the Humans’ computer virus. It was time to commit his ships to battle.

  “Navigation, increase speed and drop us out of hyperspace just inside the engagement range of the Human fleet. It’s time for us to test their weapons. Tactical, as soon as we exit hyperspace, target their largest warships with our antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams. I want their primary warships destroyed as soon as possible. That should also take out their fleet commanders.”

  “What about our cargo ships?” asked Vormalt.

  Admiral Zahn thought for a moment. “Have them drop out two million kilometers from the battle. That will keep them safe until we’re ready for them. Make sure they have a suitable escort.”

  “I will assign ten battlecruisers to protect them.”

  Zahn was satisfied everything was ready.

  -

  Rear Admiral Leeson watched the tactical display, waiting for the Lamothian fleet to drop from hyperspace.

  “They’re almost here,” announced Lieutenant Stewart. “I estimate twenty seconds until they exit hyperspace.”

  Rear Admiral Leeson quickly addressed the fleet. “All ships will fire as soon as they have viable targets. We may adjust our formation once we see what the enemy is doing. All ships stand by. Combat is imminent.”

  Leaning back in his command chair, Leeson waited. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his breathing had deepened.

  “Emergence!” called out Stewart.

  On the main viewscreen, hundreds of Lamothian warships appeared.

  “Fire!” ordered Captain Newman. “Launch the missiles, and hit them with our energy beams!”

  -

  Leeson’s dreadnought, the Titan, shook slightly as it launched dozens of missiles. Across the fleet, thousands of missiles hurtled toward the emerging Lamothian fleet in a massive first strike.

  -

  Admiral Cleemorl waited. Alarms suddenly sounded, announcing the Lamothians had finally arrived. Leaning forward, he addressed his fleet. “All ships, stand by to enter hyperspace. We will stay in our wedge formation and will attack the enemy on their right flank. That should give Rear Admiral Leeson the time he needs to adjust his fleet formation. We will jump in twenty seconds. Ship captains, you may fire as soon as you acquire a target.”

  The seconds passed, and then First Fleet made the transition into hyperspace and emerged moments later near the Lamothian fleet. Almost instantly missiles were launched, and energy beams began to fire.

  -

  Rear Admiral Masters watched as the First and Second Fleets engaged the enemy. “Navigation, put us directly in the rear of the Lamothian ships
at point-blank range. We will stay for thirty seconds and then jump back out.”

  “Coordinates set,” replied Viktor.

  Derrick nodded. It was time to go into battle. “Execute!”

  -

  Admiral Zahn staggered, barely keeping his footing as his flagship was struck by several antimatter missiles. The ship’s energy shield had barely stabilized before it was under assault.

  “Shields are holding,” reported Vormalt. “Firing weapons.”

  On the viewscreens, his fleet seemed to be on fire from the sheer magnitude of incoming fire. Alarms sounded as a second fleet of Human ships appeared out of hyperspace, attacking the flank of his fleet. A few seconds later another smaller fleet appeared behind his ships.

  His own weapons fire was now reaching the Human ships. His eyestalks quivered as two Human battlecruisers blew apart under intense missile fire. A Human dreadnought was split in two as an antimatter missile penetrated its weakened energy shield. The Human ships were powerful, but he had the numbers.

  -

  In the Pallas Command Center, Princess Layla felt her heart skip a beat when Derrick’s fleet jumped into the fray. She realized her feelings for the young admiral were much stronger than she had thought.

  “All ships are engaged,” reported Colonel Bryson.

  “There are still too many of them,” commented Lead Councilor Tristan. “Do we have any more ships we can send?”

  “Just the fleets protecting Mars and Earth,” replied Admiral Reynolds. “If we send either, we leave one of our primary worlds open to attack.”

  Captain Moore turned to face Admiral Reynolds. “I just spoke to Alicia. She’s been talking to Linda Martin about modifying the virus they used earlier. It might weaken the Lamothian ships briefly.”

  “How soon will it be ready?”

  “In a few more minutes.”

  Admiral Reynolds looked at the tactical displays. Ships on both sides were dying. The battle out there was turning into a bloodbath. “Let’s hope it works.”

  -

  Rear Admiral Leeson felt the Titan shake violently as an energy beam penetrated its energy screen. Glancing at the damage control console, he saw several lights turn alarmingly red.

  “Lamothian energy beam penetrated through seven decks,” reported the damage control officer. “I’ve sealed off the affected compartments.”

  Leeson looked back at the tactical display. His fleet was rapidly adjusting from its globe formation into a line formation, six ships high and one hundred ships long. His own dreadnought and a few others were bunched in the center, adding more firepower to the main part of the formation.

  “We can’t afford to trade them ship for ship,” commented Captain Newman.

  Leeson looked over where Linda Martin was frantically entering computer code on her computer. “We need to buy a few more minutes. All ships will increase their rate of fire to the maximum.”

  “We could run out of missiles if we do that,” warned Newman.

  “I know, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Leeson hoped Linda finished quickly, or there wouldn’t be much of a fleet left to save.

  -

  Derrick’s fleet had just jumped out for the second time. So far he had lost seven battlecruisers in the battle.

  “Admiral, look,” said Captain Banora, pointing to the long-distance tactical display.

  Derrick turned, seeing a grouping of red threat icons several million kilometers away from the main battle. “What are those?”

  “Cargo ships,” suggested Lieutenant Keela Nower. “From what I can tell, they’re only protected by a few battlecruisers.”

  Derrick and Audrey exchanged glances. They both knew these had to be the ships waiting to take captive Humans back to the Lamothian worlds to serve as food.

  “We need to destroy those cargo ships,” said Audrey.

  “I agree. Lieutenant Viktor, calculate a hyperspace jump that will put us in combat range of those cargo ships.”

  After a few moments, Lieutenant Viktor confirmed he was ready to jump the fleet.

  “Execute,” ordered Derrick. “All ships to fire as soon as we drop out.” If he could destroy the Lamothian cargo ships, it would eliminate one of the main reasons they had come to attack the Solar System.

  -

  Fifth Fleet emerged from hyperspace right in front of the Lamothian cargo vessels. Intense weapons fire immediately broke out between the defending battlecruisers and the attacking Human ships.

  “Ten Lamothian battlecruisers,” reported Banora. “They’re being targeted.”

  “Sending virus toward the cargo ships,” added Kala. This was the old unmodified virus. She was hoping the Lamothians had not upgraded the firewalls on their cargo ships.

  On the viewscreens, three of the Lamothian battlecruisers blew apart under the intense fire from the fleet. A sudden bright flash of light near the Destiny momentarily caused their viewscreens to dim.

  “What was that?” asked Derrick.

  “We just lost the battlecruiser Juno,” answered Audrey.

  The Destiny shook slightly as a Lamothian antimatter missile struck its energy screen. On the viewscreen, the Lamothian battlecruisers were being eliminated one by one.

  “The cargo ships are losing power,” confirmed Lieutenant Nower. “The virus must be working.”

  “Begin shifting our weapons fire to the cargo ships,” ordered Derrick. He felt no sympathy for the Lamothians they were about to kill. Any race that fed upon another deserved no mercy.

  -

  Admiral Zahn was stunned when the force of the Human ships that had been attacking the rear of his formation suddenly appeared where his waiting cargo ships were. He couldn’t believe the Humans would attack defenseless ships. That was not the way civilized war was fought. Of course the Confederation applied those rules to other races, not to the Confederation itself.

  He now found himself in a quandary. He had a slight tactical advantage over the two Human fleets he was currently engaged with. If he withdrew to protect the cargo ships, he might lose that advantage. However, without the cargo ships, he could not procure the Human cargo he had been sent to bring back to the Lamothian worlds.

  -

  “New virus is ready!” called out Linda Martin.

  “What will it do?” asked Rear Admiral Leeson. He was losing too many valuable ships in this battle. Ships that would be needed when they took the war to the Empire. On the main viewscreen, he could see the shattered remains of several Imperial battlecruisers.

  “It will attack just one system on their ships,” replied Linda. “It should bring down their energy shields. Be aware though, with the new firewalls the Lamothians have installed, it may only work for a few seconds.”

  Leeson nodded. A few seconds was all the time they would need. “All ships, we are getting ready to broadcast a virus that should briefly bring down the enemy’s energy shields . We’re only talking about a few seconds. Make sure we’re targeting as many Lamothian ships as possible.”

  Taking a deep breath, Leeson looked at Linda. “Send it!” His gaze quickly returned to the viewscreens to see if the virus would work.

  For a few moments nothing happened, and then suddenly weapons fire from the Human ships struck the hulls of numerous Lamothian warships. In massive explosions of sheer energy, dozens of Lamothian battlecruisers began to die.

  -

  Admiral Zahn’s eyestalks quivered in frustration as his ship’s energy shield died. “What happened?” He knew somehow the Humans had to be responsible.

  “A new computer virus,” replied the systems officer. “It ordered our energy shield to shut down. We should have the shield back up shortly.”

  Zahn gazed in anger at the viewscreens. Many of his warships were being blown apart, as they were now vulnerable. Without having to be told, he knew he had lost his advantage.

  “Shield is back up,” reported the tactical officer.

  “Our other ships are reporting the same,
” added the Lamothian in front of Communications.

  Admiral Zahn shifted his eyestalks to the main tactical display. Those few seconds of vulnerability had cost him nearly two hundred warships, with many more damaged. The Humans now had an advantage over him.

  “Take the fleet back into hyperspace and drop us out where our cargo ships are. Perhaps we can rescue some of them. This battle is over. We can no longer win.” Admiral Zahn knew he had failed. He would inform the Confederation they had a major problem with this Human system. It was obvious now this system was a threat to the entire Confederation.

  -

  Derrick’s fleet was rapidly annihilating the Lamothian cargo ships. Ship after ship was being blown apart, filling space with glowing wreckage.

  “Admiral, the main Lamothian fleet has entered hyperspace and is heading here,” warned Lieutenant Keela Nower. Even as Nower said those words, Lamothian warships started dropping from hyperspace all around Fifth Fleet. More alarms sounded as the tactical display filled with red threat icons.

  Derrick winced as several of his battlecruisers were rammed by emerging Lamothian warships. The Lamothians had jumped in right on top of his fleet.

  “Lieutenant Viktor, get us out of here!” ordered Derrick. His fleet would not last long against those numbers. The Destiny shook violently as it was hit by multiple antimatter warheads. On the viewscreen, the dreadnought Vega suddenly blew apart as its shield was overloaded.

  The display on the viewscreen vanished as the Destiny escaped into hyperspace. “How many ships did we lose?” Derrick knew those few seconds when his fleet had been exposed to the full firepower of the Lamothian fleet had been costly.

  “The dreadnought Vega and nine battlecruisers,” answered Captain Banora breathlessly. “It could have been much worse.”

  “How many of their cargo ships did we manage to destroy?”

  “Four hundred and twelve.”

  Derrick nodded. He strongly suspected this battle was over. “Take us back to the battlestation. We’ll wait there and see what happens next.”

  -