by Jay Allan
“As you know, the Earth has been destroyed; or I should say made nearly uninhabitable,” Mason began in a carefully controlled voice, keeping his anger in check. He still didn’t know if he could trust these people. “For the past year we have been conducting rescue operations, trying to save as many people as possible. Now you show up with a fleet of spaceships. I guess the main questions I have for you is why now, and what do you want?”
General Mitchell nodded and then spoke. “It’s a long story, and much of it will be difficult to believe, but I assure you everything I am about to tell you is the truth.” Mitchell then began explaining to Mason and the others in the conference room what had occurred to them since being abducted from Earth.
Several times he was interrupted as Mason or his people asked pointed questions. Mitchell tried to answer as fully as he could, knowing he needed to win these people’s trust. If Mason turned them away, they had no place else to go.
After nearly two hours of explanations, he stopped and looked at Mason inquiringly. “That’s it. Marken and his people helped us to escape and we returned home. It was only on the return voyage that Marken revealed to us what the Kleese had done to Earth.”
Mason nodded, letting out a deep breath. The general’s story seemed fantastic, but Marken was sitting here in front of him and there was a large alien fleet out on the edge of the solar system. Mason turned his attention to Marken and asked the alien a direct question. “What do your people expect to get out of this, and why should we help you? You were on the Kleese ship when it destroyed Earth.”
“We have much to offer,” replied Marken, carefully. He was one of the few people of his race that could actually speak English. He had put in a lot of time and effort learning to be able to speak it fluently. “We have advanced medical techniques, we are familiar with the Kleese and their Empire, and we are willing to turn over to you all of our technical advances, including the Space Fold drive. You must understand that my race also has been a prisoner of the Kleese and forced to obey their commands.”
Mason’s eyes lit up at being able to get an FTL drive for the Phoenix and the Armageddon. The thought of having an actual star drive for the ships made the offer very tempting. “I understand your plight,” he said evenly, trying to hide his excitement. “But we are short on space and still have millions of survivors trapped on Earth. I just don’t know where we will put your people.”
“I think we can help there,” Marken replied with an honest smile. “With the technology we have available on our ships, we can help you to construct new habitats for your people as well as offer our ships as a means to move them off the planet. The passenger ships we brought are fully capable of landing upon Earth.”
Mason leaned back in his chair placing his right hand upon the table as he thought this over. The biggest problem they had was building new habitats to hold all of the survivors. The passenger ships would also be a big help in getting people off the planet. People were dying daily on Earth due to the harsh conditions upon the surface. “What if the Kleese come looking for you?”
Marken looked over at General Mitchell, who nodded. “We have developed a new weapon that the Kleese are not aware of,” replied Marken, evenly. “It is a particle beam which we believe their large disk ships will have no defense against.”
“We have two large warships of our own,” Mason spoke as he thought over the possibilities. “Would it be possible to install these particle beam weapons on them?”
“Yes,” replied Marken, nodding his head. “I have engineers that could build and install the beams, as well as upgrade your ships with faster sublight drives and the Space Fold drive. We would have to see your ships first, but it could probably be done very quickly. We would also be willing to upgrade all of your weapons systems. The Kleese also have a sublight antimatter missile they use which we can provide you.”
“We could bring the Armageddon back inside the spacedock and allow your engineers to make the modifications there,” Sean suggested, excited about the possibility of upgrading the battlecruiser to something far more deadly. He was also extremely interested in the advanced technology that Marken seemed to be offering access to.
“We have some military scientists and a few engineers that were abducted as well,” General Mitchell added. “They have been studying the Kleese technology for months and should be able to help explain it to your people.”
“That would be helpful,” responded Sean, thinking of the possibilities. He would also like to see the inside of some of the alien ships in Marken’s fleet.
“At some point in time the Kleese are going to find us again,” Wade spoke for the first time. He had been listening and knew this needed to be brought up. “They will be searching for us after our escape from their station, and we must be ready for that confrontation. I will never go back to serve them. None of us will!”
Mason nodded in understanding. “If these Kleese are as bad as you say they are, then we need to be prepared. I have no intention of allowing them anywhere near any of our installations. I’ll want all the information you have on what types of weapons they possess and what we can do to defend ourselves from them.”
“You will have it,” promised Marken, leaning forward. “Given enough time, I firmly believe we can defend this system from the Kleese.”
“I would also like to meet with some of your people,” spoke Lori Wright, looking over at Marken. “If you have engineers that are familiar with life support systems for large habitats I could really use their expertise.”
Marken smiled. “We have a large number that can aid you. On the huge station we just left there are numerous ecological habitats where the various races that serve the Kleese live.”
Beth looked over at Mason and then spoke in a nervous voice. “Do you have a list of survivors?” She desperately wanted to know if her mother and here fiancée had survived. “I was supposed to get married, but I was abducted. I would like to know if my mother and fiancée survived.”
“We have a list of some of the survivors,” responded Mason, knowing how she must feel. He had witnessed a lot of pain and suffering over the last few months as people realized their loved ones had not survived the disaster. “The list is not complete as the survivor camps are quite large and it has been difficult to keep track of everyone. We are talking about millions of people.”
“We have nearly twelve thousand military personnel with us,” General Mitchell said, knowing he was asking a lot. “I think all of them would like to know if they have any family members that survived this catastrophe.”
“If you can furnish me a list of your personnel, I will send it to Generals Wainright and Pittman and see what they can find.”
“General Wainright!” Mitchell echoed with surprise on his face. “I know General Wainright quite well. I am glad to hear that he survived.”
“You should be glad that he did,” Mason spoke in a serious tone. “It was because of him that we allowed you to land.”
-o0o-
The next several days saw a number of major changes. The Kivean fleet was allowed to go into orbit around Vesta, and two of their assault ships as well as one of their transport ships were allowed inside to land at the spacedock. The arrival of the ships was broadcast live to all of the inhabitants of the asteroid as Mason did not want to keep secret from his fellow Humans that aliens had arrived. He had also gone live the previous day and explained what was happening and that some of the military people that had been abducted were returning home.
-o0o-
Mason was standing in the spacedock with Drake, Cheryl Robinson, and Major Nelson. They were watching the Kivean technicians that were busy working with Human engineers on the Armageddon.
“Do you trust the Kiveans?” Drake asked the major as he watched equipment being transferred from the transport ship over to the Armageddon.
“Yes,” replied Wade, glancing over at Drake. “They revolted against the Kleese and if any of them are ever captured I im
agine they will be executed immediately. The Kleese don’t seem to understand the concept of mercy. You either serve them or you are eliminated.”
“I have seen the photos that Marken furnished of the Kleese,” Cheryl spoke. She was currently working on taking the list of military survivors on the Kivean ships and comparing them with the known survivors from Earth or that were still living on Earth in the camps. “They look like giant spiders with Human torsos.”
Even the torsos are not Human,” replied Wade, recalling the first time he had seen one of the Kleese. “Pray that you never meet one up close.”
“What are the Kiveans going to do with the Armageddon?” Drake asked as he watched the work going on around the ship.
“They’re going to turn it into a major warship,” responded Wade, hoping the Kiveans could finish their work before the Kleese found them. “The two assault ships in here as well as the battlecruiser are being equipped with particle beam weapons which should be able to penetrate the energy shields of the Kleese ships. The assault ships are two hundred meters long, one hundred and fifty meters wide and forty meters thick. Normal armament consists of four heavy pulse fusion beam weapons, paralyzing beams, and sublight antimatter missiles with an explosive warhead of twenty megatons. Sixteen dual energy beam weapons around the hull provide a point defense as well as additional offensive capability.”
“How many particle beams are being installed?” Mason asked as he saw large pieces of equipment being moved into the Armageddon through one of the open hatches.
The Armageddon will have two large particle beam cannons mounted on the bow and one each on the upper and lower hulls,” Wade responded. Marken had spent some time earlier explaining to Wade just what they planned to do.
“What is a particle beam weapon?” asked Cheryl, looking confused.
“I had to ask the same question,” Wade replied.
“I think I can explain it,” said Drake, looking at the others. “I spoke to General Wainright earlier, and he admitted they had done some research on particle beam weapons at White Sands but just didn’t have the technology to create one that would actually work.”
“I knew they were working on other weapons research there,” responded Mason, recalling some of his earlier conversation with Lawrence about some of the strange sightings that had been seen around the White Sands testing facility over the years.
“Anyway,” Drake continued. “A particle beam weapon generates its destructive power by accelerating quantities of subatomic particles to velocities close to that of the speed of light and focusing them into a very tight high-energy beam. The energy within the beam is the aggregate energy of the rapidly moving subatomic particles; each particle having kinetic energy due to its own mass and motion. When this beam strikes a target, the energy is partially absorbed and results in overheating of the area, which results in an explosion.”
“A very significant explosion from what Marken has described,” Wade added. “The stronger the beam the more powerful the explosion, and the particle weapons that are being installed on the Armageddon and the two assault ships should be capable of inflicting major damage.”
“What about these pulse fusion beam weapons?” Drake continued. “Will the Armageddon be receiving those as well?”
“Every weapon the Kiveans have will be put on the Armageddon if they have time,” Wade responded. “If the Kleese show up, the Kiveans want to defeat them in battle. Which reminds me, there is one other thing that Marken wishes to speak with you about later.”
“What’s that?” Mason asked curiously.
“The Kiveans are not a very warlike race. They would like some Human military officers assigned to the two assault ships to take them into combat. The Kiveans firmly believe the ships will be more capable in Human hands.”
“They’re going to turn their ships over to us?” Drake uttered, stunned at the thought.
“There will still be Kiveans on board,” Wade explained quickly. “But they want Human officers in charge of the actual combat.”
“I will need to contact General Wainright and see if they can find some more qualified naval and air force officers,” Mason said as he realized the ramifications of what the Kiveans were proposing. If they could get all of the modifications made to the ships before the Kleese came hunting for Earth, they might actually have a real warfleet to use to stop the Kleese disk ships.
Wade looked around the massive spacedock at all of the work being done. It felt good to be back home again, if Vesta could be called home. At least the asteroid had a large Human city and there were no explosive collars being worn by anyone. However, as calm as everything seemed now he knew it would not stay that way for long. Soon the Kleese would come searching, and once they found Earth it would be the beginning of a galactic war that might last for generations.
CHAPTER 16
Major Nelson and Lieutenant Williams were walking down one of the busy streets in Smithfield. Around them, people were going about their lives as if it was just another day. It was hard to imagine that life here could seem so normal after what had happened to Earth.
“It’s amazing what they have done,” Beth spoke as she looked around in amazement. Tall, ten story buildings rose around her, and she could smell the aroma of baking bread coming from a nearby café.
“I spoke with Cheryl Robinson, their recruitment officer. She told me they have over 250,000 people living in Vesta right now, and that total grows larger ever day as new people are brought in from the camps on Earth,” Wade replied as he watched several young children and their parents cross the street in front of them. A number of troops off the ships had been allowed to come to Smithfield for leave until new barracks were ready for them.
“I heard several of the Kiveans talking about building new, extensive habitats inside a nearby asteroid,” Beth informed Wade as she continued to look round. It felt so good to be around other people. “They’re also going to help finish the new one that is being built here in Vesta. They think they can finish it in just a few months and begin moving people in.”
“But the others are going to take awhile, even with Kivean science,” spoke Wade sadly, knowing that more people on Earth would die before the new habitats were finished. It had been devastating to learn what the conditions were like on Earth. It was difficult to imagine all the suffering the Kleese had caused.
He had spoken to Drake Thomason about the refugee problem. It was amazing what all had been accomplished just to keep so many people alive. Now if they could only find a way to save all of them.
“What’s next?” asked Beth, taking a deep breath. She was still waiting to hear news about her mom and fiancée. She knew that it was a long shot that they might have survived, but she still had hope.
“It will be four more weeks before the Armageddon and the assault ships are ready to deploy,” Wade commented recalling his last briefing. “General Mitchell has offered me command of the marine detachment for the Armageddon.”
“Where does that put you in the chain of command on the ship?” Beth asked curiously.
“Third officer,” Wade replied. “Commander Kirby and Colonel Stehr will actually command the ship. They want an officer on the ship that is familiar with the Kleese and the way they use the assault ships to attack.”
“Are you taking anyone else with you that came back with us?” Beth asked. She had requested not to be assigned to a warship until she found out what had happened to her family. She needed some time to find herself and think about her future.
“No,” Wade replied, shaking his head. “The corridors are too small for us to use our battle suits, so I’m not taking anyone who can. They might be needed elsewhere. The ship was never designed with battle suits in mind.”
“Newer ships will have to be built taking the suits into consideration,” Beth responded with a nod. She thought about how shocked some of the military people on Vesta had been when they had demonstrated what the battle suits were capable of.
&n
bsp; “General Mitchell and Marken have already been discussing new ship designs with Ethan Hall and Sean Miller,” continued Wade, knowing that because of the Kleese the Human race would have to maintain a large and powerful battle fleet. He just hoped they had the time to build it.
“There’s an Italian restaurant,” Beth said suddenly, her eyes opening wide in excitement. “Let’s eat there!” She could smell the enticing aroma of Italian food.
Wade laughed and nodded. “Sounds fine! After all, it’s been over a year since I’ve eaten at a real restaurant.”
The two entered the restaurant and soon had their food ordered. It was nice to be able to relax for a few minutes and not have to think about what they had been through or what waited in the future. The food was great, and for a while they felt like normal people again.
-o0o-
Captain Stevens looked at his latest orders in confusion. Major Anderson had asked him to check tent city for certain people. After running the names through the computer master files at the main gate processing center, several names had printed out.
“Looks like it’s going to be a lucky day for a few people in tent city,” commented Mark, looking over at Lieutenant Griffith. “We need to pick up a family called the Nelsons, as well as a Janice Williams.”
“Do you think this involves the military people that escaped from the aliens?” Griffith asked, his eyes looking over at Mark.
The news about the new aliens and the military escapees had been broadcast from Holbrook Station. There had even been several recorded interviews with the Kivean Marken. It had caused a lot of heated discussions over the past few days. Griffith would like the opportunity to speak to a few of the returned soldiers himself just to hear firsthand what had happened. He had heard rumors that the abducted military forces had been forced to fight for the aliens.
“Possibly,” Mark replied as he buttoned up his parka. “Let’s go see if we can find them. Tent city is a big place.”