“That sounds good to me,” commented Andrew. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It almost seems like magic,” muttered Willis, frowning. “I had a crewman fall down a flight of stairs yesterday, breaking his left leg and three ribs. That crewman is on duty today, fit as a fiddle. No signs of him ever being injured. I had him on a medical scanner, and you could see the bones actually mending. What do I need doctors or nurses for if a machine can do everything?”
Kurt smiled, understanding the doctor’s frustrations. “We’re all adjusting to new equipment.” He looked at Andrew. “Have you figured out how fast the Star Cross is traveling in hyperspace?”
Andrew looked sheepish. “I just asked Aleea. She said we were traveling at over 460 light-years per hour.”
Kurt nodded. “That’s over seven and a half light-years in a minute.”
Dr. Willis’s face turned pale. “I wish I didn’t know that. What if we hit something at that speed?”
“We won’t,” Kurt assured him. “Our sensors have been enhanced by the Glaymons. They can detect anything in our path up to thirty-two light-years distant. That gives Aleea plenty of time to make a course adjustment if needed. Not only that, the Glaymons have some very detailed galactic survey maps. Our course to Lakiam should take us well around all known hazards.”
“An AI,” said Willis, folding his arms over his chest. “What will they come up with next? Like I said earlier, sometime in the future, all of us will be replaced with robots and AIs. And then what?”
“Many of the Protector Worlds are already like that,” said Andrew. “The Hanorian ships we encountered, their crew size was around ten on each battlecruiser, according to Mara.”
Dr. Willis looked at Kurt. “What will you do if we survive this battle with the Destroyers of Worlds? I understand before we left on this mission you bought a new house.”
Kurt nodded. He had been wondering what Keera and his sister were doing as far as decorating the house and adding furnishings. “Yes, I did. Keera and Denise are working on it while we’re gone. Keera’s sister-in-law is helping as well.”
Andrew only shook his head. “You left three women in charge of decorating your house? I hope you had plenty of money in your account because I can promise you that they’ll spend every bit of it.”
Kurt laughed. It was a good feeling. “Keera’s not a spendthrift. I think she got that from her time on Kubitz.”
“How are Meesa and Dalen doing?” asked Willis.
Kurt remembered the doc had examined and spoken to both of them when they had left Kubitz.
“Better now,” answered Kurt. “Living on Newton is a big change for them, compared to Kubitz.”
Dr. Willis nodded. “I can imagine.” Willis looked at Andrew. “I wonder what your buddy Grantz has been doing while you’ve been gone? Who’s looking after him?”
“Why does everybody think he’s my buddy?” asked Andrew with a deep frown. “Grantz has one priority, and that’s accumulating gold. I feel sorry for Ambassador Tenner since he has to deal with him every day. I’m just glad he’s spending most of his time on Kubitz and not on Newton.”
“Grantz has his uses,” Kurt said, coming to the Profiteer’s defense. “He’s retrieved a lot of valuable information for us. He even saved our lives that time our Humvees were ambushed.” Kurt shifted his gaze to Andrew. “You would have died from your injuries if Grantz hadn’t summoned Avery Dolman.”
Andrew reluctantly nodded. “Perhaps, but I still don’t trust him.”
Dr. Willis stood to leave. “Can we win this battle against the Vorn?”
Kurt took a deep breath. “I don’t know. We have no idea of the size fleet we’ll be facing other than it’s very large. We’re not certain what the Lakiams have done to prepare their system to resist the Vorn. On the plus side, all our ships have been heavily modified, and the Glaymons are certain that our weapons can destroy a Vorn warship. We also have over nine hundred Glaymon disk ships with us that are more advanced than any other ships in the galaxy.”
Willis nodded. “When we return to Newton, I’ll need some time off. When we left home, I didn’t expect to be in a battle like what’s ahead of us. I had hoped for a peaceful voyage. I guess I should have known better.”
“None of us expected this,” Kurt said in agreement. “We just have to play the cards we’re dealt.”
“True,” Willis said, and then his eyes narrowed. “But you’re a terrible poker player.”
After Dr. Willis left, Andrew turned to Kurt. “Can we win? I really want to get home to Newton.”
“I guess that’s what everyone in this fleet would like to know. We’ll be in Lakiam space tomorrow afternoon. Maybe then we can get some answers. Our long-range sensors should tell us what the Lakiams are doing to prepare for the coming of the Vorn.” Kurt was apprehensive; a lot was riding on what would occur over the next few days. If Lakiam were to fall, no other Protector Worlds were powerful enough to stand up to the Vorn.
Andrew stood, his duty shift was about to begin. “I don’t think Emily or Keera would be pleased with what we’re about to do. When we left to seek the Glaymons, I never imagined we would be fighting the Destroyers of Worlds in a massive fleet battle.”
“None of us did,” replied Kurt. Andrew was right about Emily and Keera. Perhaps, if this battle went their way, it wouldn’t be necessary to get involved in galactic affairs again. They could stay on Newton and live out the rest of their lives in peace.
Later, once Andrew left, Kurt took several photos from his desk drawer. One was of the new house with him and Keera standing in front of it. His sister Denise had taken the photo. The other was of his sister’s family. In the photo, Bryan held his baseball in his hand. Kurt hoped that, in a few more days, he would be on Newton, spending time with Keera and his sister’s family, and playing catch with Bryan in the backyard of his new home. But first he had to deal with the Destroyers of Worlds and hope the Star Cross and its crew survived.
-
Prince Brollen nodded in satisfaction at the massive fleet he had gathered to attack food species 236. He had left nothing to chance. He had augmented his fleet more than he had originally planned. His fleet currently consisted of thirty motherships, one thousand battleships, and 5,500 cruisers. Even if food species 236 put up a powerful resistance, Prince Brollen’s fleet would overwhelm them and then harvest all their worlds. This would be the largest battle the Vorn had fought since coming to this universe. It would not only seal his position as a consort but make him the most important military leader of the Vorn. He would be second in rank only to Queen Alithe.
Fleet is nearly ready to depart, reported Military Commander Fraymot. Our long-range scouts indicate the target system is heavily defended with large fleet units. It also possesses the most powerful planetary defenses we have yet to encounter. The same with the size of the enemy fleet.
It won’t make a difference, replied Prince Brollen dismissively. Our battleships are indestructible, and they will annihilate the fleets of this food species. Their worlds will be harvested, and they will become food for the Vorn.
Our battleships are truly mighty, responded Fraymot.
How long will it take to arrive at our target?
Two days, answered Fraymot. We will exit hyperspace in the outer system, and scan their fleet and defenses for any possible traps. Once I am satisfied with what our sensor scans show, we will begin our attack. The battle should be over quickly.
What about cargo ships? I don’t want any of our vessels rammed. The use of cargo ships to ram by food species 111 had been a shock. He wouldn’t allow that to happen again.
All ships’ military commanders understand the danger posed by a loaded cargo vessel ramming their energy screen. If cargo ships are detected, they will be targeted immediately with our black antimatter beams. They will be annihilated before they can reach the fleet.
Prince Brollen gazed at the viewscreens, filled with ships from his fleet. As far as the princ
e could see were hundreds of Vorn warships. Are we prepared to split the fleet as we discussed earlier?
Since the enemy could not detect Vorn ships in hyperspace, and the Vorn sensor-masking field made it impossible for ships to be detected in normal space, a plan had been put together. Two fleets of five hundred ships each would split off from the main formation before the rest of the fleet arrived in the home system of food species 236. The two fleets would enter the system undetected and wait until the battle was in progress. Once the two opposing fleets engaged in battle, the two smaller fleets would attack the defending fleet on its flanks. The surprise of the two fleets hitting the defending fleet unexpectedly, along with the firepower of the battleships, should ensure a quick victory with relatively few losses of Vorn ships.
All has been taken care of, responded Military Commander Fraymot. It will be a great victory, and Queen Alithe will be very pleased with you.
-
Later, in his quarters, Prince Brollen inspected his personal collection of food pellets. One entire wall of his quarters contained over one hundred small square containers kept at a low temperature so as to preserve the pellets indefinitely. On the front of each case was the food species number and a brief description. His goal was to have over one thousand such cases when the harvesting of this galaxy was complete.
Stepping to one container, he opened it and took out one of the small gray pellets. Placing it between his mandibles, he chomped down on it, grinding it up and swallowing. This particular pellet had a slight sweet taste to it, and almost instantly he could feel a surge of invigorating energy flowing through his body. This would be the last time he ate before the battle. He had plans for feasting on a number of food pellets from food species 236. It had become a ritual to taste the food pellets of newly harvested worlds as the first pellets were processed in the converter chambers. This coming feast would be special, as this particular food species had become quite troublesome. That was about to end.
-
Late the next day Fleet Commodore Dreen was summoned to the Command Center. He had been resting in his quarters, knowing the Vorn could show up at any time.
“What do we have?” he asked as he stepped into the busy Command Center.
“They’re coming,” Laylem reported from his sensor console. “The new hyperspace detection buoys picked them up just a few minutes ago. They’re about twenty hours out and coming fast. Current distance is 1,200 light-years.”
Commodore Dreen frowned. “I didn’t think we had any detection buoys out that far.”
“You can thank the Bascoms for that,” said Alborg from Tactical. “They planted a number of buoys in what they thought would be the most likely approach vectors for the Vorn. We got lucky.”
“All members of the alliance have been informed,” added Keenol.
“Alliance fleets should be in position within twelve hours,” reported Alborg.
“Sheera, contact Captain Callast and inform him we have detected the Vorn, estimated arrival time is twenty hours. Alborg, put up a counter on the main viewscreen.”
Fleet Commodore Dreen sat and gazed at the tactical display, showing an expanded view of the Vorn fleet from the sketchy data sent from the hyperspace detection buoys.
“Estimates show over six thousand Vorn vessels,” reported Alborg as he studied some information on one of his computer screens. “We have confirmation of a new ship type, possibly a battlecruiser or battleship. Also a large number of Vorn motherships are at the heart of the formation.”
“Let’s set our battle plan into motion,” ordered Commodore Dreen. “We’re making the assumption that the Vorn don’t know we can detect their ships. That gives us a big tactical advantage.”
“They’re still Vorn, and our ships are no match to theirs in one-on-one combat,” Jalad said to the fleet commodore. “The firepower that fleet represents is tremendous. It’s also troubling that they have this new ship type.”
“We’ll stop them,” replied Commodore Dreen. “Sheera, contact the council and tell them the Vorn are inbound. Then contact Lakiam Space Control and have all noncombat ships begin evacuations. I want them out of the system in the next ten hours.” Dreen also was greatly concerned about this unknown new ship type. They were barely able to destroy the known Vorn cruisers. What would it take to destroy one of these larger warships?
“What about our other worlds?” asked Sheera. “Should I send messages to them as well?”
“That’s up to the council,” replied Dreen. “However, notify all fleet units in all our star systems that we’ve detected the Vorn and expect a major fleet battle in twenty hours.”
Fleet Commodore Dreen studied the tactical display for a few more minutes, then he stood. “Inform me if there are any changes. I must speak to some of our fleet captains as well as send some messages to Fleet Leader Moor and a few others.” Dreen wanted to make sure everyone understood their part in the coming battle. Special hyperspace transmission relays tied all the main worlds of the alliance together. It allowed communication in a matter of hours, where otherwise it would take days.
As Fleet Commodore Dreen made his way to his quarters, he couldn’t help thinking about Mara. She was a distant relative and was off somewhere working with a primitive race in a remote section of the galaxy. He wondered if she realized how lucky she was to be away from all this. As he reached his quarters, his mind refocused on the job at hand. He hadn’t planned on going into battle against over six thousand Vorn ships. The larger battlecruisers or battleships would be a big problem. He needed to come up with a plan to deal with them, or he wouldn’t be able to hold the Lakiam System.
-
Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers gazed with deep concern at the massive Vorn fleet inbound toward the Lakiam System. “How do we defeat that?” The Star Cross had detected the hyperspace detection network, and Aleea had tied into it so they were seeing the same data as the Lakiam fleet was.
“One ship at a time,” replied Tasid. “From the complexity of this detection network the Lakiams and their allies have put up, it’s evident they’ve reverse engineered some of the technology on the captured Vorn mothership. I hope, when this is over, we’re granted access to it. It could reveal a lot about the enemy we’re up against.”
“I still think I should be allowed to go to Lakiam and tell Fleet Commodore Dreen about what we’ve brought with us,” said Mara, her eyes focused intently on Kurt. She had come over from the Aurelia to speak with him and Tasid. “It could make a big difference in the battle.”
“No,” replied Kurt, shaking his head. “Our biggest advantage is that no one knows about us. We’ll let the battle begin and see what develops. When the time is right, we’ll take our fleet in and attack the Vorn. I’m sure your Fleet Commodore Dreen has made some special arrangements to deal with the Vorn fleet.”
“The Vorn battlecruisers or battleships will be the problem,” said Tasid, sounding concerned. “No doubt the Zero-Point Energy rounds we’ve created for the Star Cross and your four heavy battlecruisers can destroy them. I’m not so certain about our own vessels until we see what effect our energy weapons have.”
“What about our energy screens?” asked Andrew. “Can they stand up to these larger ships?”
“They should,” answered Aleea. “There’s a lot of redundant capacity built into the screens. It would take several of these larger Vorn vessels acting together to penetrate one.”
“The energy screens we equipped your ships with, as well as the ones on our disk ships, are the most powerful that we know of,” Tasid informed them. “The Vorn’s smaller spindle-shaped cruisers don’t have the power to penetrate the shields. As Aleea said, we’re not so certain about the larger Vorn vessels. If their size is an indication of their increased firepower when compared to their smaller cruisers, we should be safe in one-on-one combat. Against more than one ship, I’m not so certain.”
“We’ll just have to make sure none of our ships engage more than one of the Vorn’s l
arger ships at a time,” said Kurt. “If that occurs, we’ll have orders in place for that vessel to pull back until more of our ships arrive so we can even up the odds.”
Tasid gazed at the tactical displays for several long moments. “It’s strange to think we’re shortly going into battle. In the long history of the Glaymons, only in the days of the first Destroyers of Worlds’ invasion did any of our ships ever meet a Vorn ship in combat. Immediately after that first contact, we sought a place for our people to hide. The Vorn weren’t even finished harvesting this galaxy before we moved into the nebula. At first our people lived in massive colony ships, and eventually we settled on a few barren worlds, building enormous habitat domes. Then we set out to build the Dyson Sphere.”
“But you survived,” said Mara. “If not for your survival, what chance would we have today against the Vorn?”
Tasid nodded. “I only wished we had done something to stop their reign of terror many millions of years ago. I fear my race is responsible for the deaths of countless trillions of innocents over the long history of the Vorn incursions.”
“Your people did what they thought was right,” said Kurt. “Who knows if anyone else would have done differently?”
“Admiral, there’s a lot of ship movements in some of the star systems,” reported Lieutenant Mays. She studied several tactical displays. “From what I’ve determined, the Andocks, Bascoms, and the Parmonts are all sending ships to aid Fleet Commodore Dreen against the Vorn. This will be one hell of a battle.”
Mara looked surprised and then smiled. “So he was successful in building an alliance against the Vorn!”
“It looks like it,” Kurt said as he turned and examined the fleet movements Lieutenant Mays had pointed out.
The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril Page 27