by Jay Allan
“The corridors are wide enough,” responded Mitchell, turning his head to look over at the colonel. “We can set up bunks on each side and still have plenty of room to walk down the center. What’s the food situation?”
“Looking better every day,” Tricia replied. “We’re using some of the advanced growing methods the Kiveans have shown us and it’s really making a difference. There’s plenty of room in the habitats to grow food.”
“How’s the crew training going?” inquired Mitchell, taking a deep breath.
“As well as can be expected,” she replied with a tired smile.
He knew that Colonel Morgan had been working really hard with the Kiveans training Humans to staff and operate the station. Already, nearly thirty thousand personnel had been trained in station operations. In addition, ten thousand military troops had been assigned to keep order. Most of these had come from the nearly fifty thousand personnel that had been in stasis.
Mitchell’s gaze turned back toward the large tactical screen showing the current status of the entire solar system. More sensor satellites had been spread throughout the outer reaches of the system, and now they had real time data extending out to the very edge of the Kuiper Belt. Looking at the screen, Mitchell could see the numerous ships currently out on missions. In the asteroid belt, dozens of prospecting ships and a number of cargo ships were moving between mining operations.
Closer to the Kuiper Belt, all ten of the converted scout ships were on patrol, scanning it for any hidden Kleese vessels. He could also see Rear Admiral Sander’s fleet in orbit above Mars as well as all the ships around Earth and the stations. For now, everything was peaceful and calm in the solar system; Mitchell just wondered how much longer that would last.
-o0o-
Mason was over at his sisters with Adrienne eating a late meal. Susan had asked that he bring Adrienne, and Mason had been pleased when she had agreed to come. Over the months, they had become closer, and Mason had even taken Adrienne out several times. They were currently sitting at the table finishing off the pecan pie that Susan had baked for dessert.
“I can’t believe that Michael is the Fleet Admiral,” Susan spoke with a pleased smile. She knew that he had been extremely happy to have been promoted to the prestigious position.
“He was the best qualified, particularly after leading the military part of the mission that brought back the Kleese space station,” Mason replied as he took the last bite of the pecan pie on his plate, savoring the taste.
Susan definitely took after their mother when it came to cooking. He could fondly remember those home cooked meals his mother used to make for the family. The pecan pie had a hauntingly familiar taste.
“The Kiveans agreed with his selection,” Adrienne added. “They’ve been very impressed with him.”
Susan nodded and leaning back in her chair, folded her arms across her breasts. “Mason, just how much danger is he in out in space? Won’t the aliens come looking for their space station?” She knew Michael was excited about his new job, but she also knew he would be in the line of fire when the Kleese eventually returned. That part made her nervous, and it was something she worried about constantly.
Mason let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head. “Eventually,” he admitted. “We already have two pretty powerful fleets deployed, and the Liberation will be finished in another two weeks. That will give us three fleets to fight the Kleese with when they finally show up.”
“Will it be enough?” asked Adrienne, uneasily. “Can we stop them this time?”
She had spent some time with Harnett recently setting up an advanced hospital based on Kivean medical technology in the new habitat. She had told Adrienne what living under Kleese rule had been like. She had also been frightened when Harnett told her just how heartless and cruel the Kleese were. It was hard for Adrienne to imagine how an entire race could be like that.
“We hope so,” replied Mason, laying his fork down. “We’ve also added a lot of defenses to the space stations as well as Mars Central, Luna City, and Vesta. If the Kleese come back, we’re going to be a hard nut to crack.”
Adrienne nodded and then turned her attention back to Susan. “How are the kids taking Michael’s absence?”
“Not too badly,” Susan confessed with some anguish in her voice. “He calls us nearly every day and spends a few minutes talking to both of the girls. They were already used to him being gone on his mining ventures, so they don’t see this as anything different.”
“I’m glad he gets to talk to them,” replied Adrienne, smiling. “The girls need to hear from their father.”
“Michael will be back to oversee the launching of the Liberation,” Mason informed them. “His executive offer will be taking command of the new ship. Perhaps Michael can take a few days off from his duties then.”
“That would be great!” Susan said, a broad and excited smile spreading across her face. “I’ll tell the kids that will give them something to look forward to.” Then, looking back over at Adrienne, she asked, “Have you been to the new habitat recently?”
“Yesterday,” Adrienne replied, her deep blue eyes looking across the table at Susan. “I went with Harnett to inspect the new hospital. It’s amazing what the Kiveans have accomplished in the new habitat. We thought it would be at least another year before we would be ready to begin moving people in. With Kivean construction technology, they do in weeks what would normally take us months to complete. You need to have Mason take you on a tour; the habitat is beautiful. The buildings are so elegant, and the outlying areas remind you so much of Earth before there was any pollution. They already have trees nearly forty feet high. Harnett explained that the rapid growth was from some type of forced maturity science they have.”
“You need to fly over and see the Kivean’s new habitat in their asteroid,” added Mason, looking over at Adrienne. “If you think our new habitat is amazing, theirs is astonishing. It almost looks like a fantasyland inside. Their buildings are slim and have high, soaring towers. They are interconnected with moving walkways far above the ground. It’s the type of city we might have built in another five hundred years.”
“I might have to get Harnett to show me around,” Adrienne replied, thrilled at the thought. It had been a long time since she had been off the station.
It was at that moment that Mason’s small phone, lying next to his plate, began ringing. With a frown, Mason answered it, and as he talked his frown deepened to a look of worry. He finally laid it back down and was silent for a moment, deep in thought.
“What is it, Mason?” asked Susan, growing concerned. She could sense from her brother’s composure that something was wrong.
“That was Pamela,” Mason answered as he slowly stood up. “They just picked up an unidentified assault ship just outside the orbit of Neptune. It hung around for a few minutes and then left. General Mitchell informed her that it wasn’t one of ours.”
“So they’ve found us,” Adrienne spoke, her eyes widening in concern.
“It seems so,” responded Mason, trying to sound calm. “I’m calling Colonel Bailey, Drake, Ethan, and a few others in for a quick meeting. The ship will have to report back, so we probably have a week or so before they can return with a fleet.”
“I’ll stay here with Susan for a while,” volunteered Adrienne, knowing this news would worry Mason’s sister.
“Thanks,” Mason replied, grateful that Adrienne had volunteered to stay with Susan a bit longer. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.” With that, Mason turned and left.
“I’m glad you’re staying,” Susan said with a weak smile. “It’s good to have someone to talk to at times.”
Adrienne nodded in understanding. She just hoped that everything turned out okay.
-o0o-
Twelve days passed, and the Liberation and her fleet were ready to be deployed. Plans were already underway to build the next generation of battlecruisers, and Vesta’s interior spacedock was being expanded under the careful
direction of a number of experienced Kivean engineers. The new dock would be able to build four of the newly designed battlecruisers at a time with a completion date of eight months.
Production of the newly designed light cruisers was being shifted to the captured Kleese space station. The spacedock would also be able to continue to construct new cargo ships and prospecting ships as needed. Currently, they only had ten cargo ships being used to haul metals from the mining sites to the smelting operations inside Vesta. New cargo ships would be needed to haul additional refined metals to the large space station for ship construction as well as to Luna City and Mars Central.
Mason was inside the Control Center speaking to Pamela Cairns and Colonel Bailey when the alarms went off on the main sensor panel. Instantly, everyone’s eyes were drawn to the red threat icons suddenly appearing just outside the orbit of Neptune.
“Assault ships detected,” the sensor operator called out as the red icons continued to appear.
“This is it,” Pamela spoke her eyes locked upon the sensor screen. She was glad Paul was home with their son. She knew that the media stations on Vesta would shortly be reporting the incoming ships. She could feel her heart beginning to beat faster.
“General Mitchell is placing all military at Condition One,” Jessica reported from Communications. “He is expecting engagement within the next six hours.”
Colonel Bailey walked over to the four new tactical consoles recently installed in the Control Center. He wanted to speak to the pair of military officers that were sitting in front of each one to ensure they knew their responsibilities in the coming battle. The new consoles controlled the weapon emplacements inside the ship tunnel as well as all the ones that had been installed upon the surface of the asteroid. A series of viewscreens above the consoles gave the weapons techs a full view of the space around Vesta. There was also a small tactical screen above each console.
“Contact all cargo and prospecting ships and tell them to go dark,” Mason ordered. “Same for all mining sites. No communications unless it’s an emergency.”
Pamela quickly made sure the four Communication operators understood their orders and stood over them as they began sending out the messages. Her eyes kept wandering up to the large sensor screen showing more enemy ships arriving.
Captain Williams came rushing into the Control Center, her eyes quickly going to the sensor screen and taking in the red threat icons, knowing instantly what they meant. “They’re here,” she stated, coming to a stop and turning her attention to Mason and Colonel Bailey.
“Make sure the spacedock is secure, Captain,” Bailey ordered in a calm voice. He knew his other military personnel would be securing the rest of the asteroid. Williams was his most experienced officer with the battle suits, and as long as she could hold the spacedock, the enemy couldn’t get to the civilians inside.
Beth nodded; she hoped the sudden change in the situation wouldn’t frighten her mother. If she had time, she would give her a call and try to reassure her. Right now she needed to get her marines ready. They wouldn’t put on their battle armor until they knew Kleese warships were approaching Vesta. She was also glad there were energy beam batteries as well as railgun turrets in the main tunnel that led to the spacedock. An enemy intent on reaching the spacedock would suffer heavy losses if they were foolish enough to try.
-o0o—
Fleet Admiral Michael Kirby let out a deep breath as he gazed at the tactical screen. “What’s the latest ship count?”
“Two hundred and twelve assault ships and six Kleese disk ships,” Ensign Bree Fullerton reported in an uneasy voice. “No more ships have dropped out of Fold Space in the last five minutes.”
“That’s probably all of them,” Wade commented. He was currently serving as executive officer since Colonel Stehr had been promoted and taken command of the Liberation.
“What do you think they’ll do?” asked Kirby, seeing they were going to be greatly outnumbered.
“They’ll come straight for the station. Once it’s secured, they’ll take out all of our settlements across the solar system. This time they won’t leave a single Human alive, not after what we did to them.”
Kirby studied the tactical screen for a moment before reaching a decision. “I’m joining all three fleets into one and we will meet them before they can reach the Moon or the Earth.”
“I think that’s the correct decision,” Wade responded in agreement. He felt a little out of place not wearing a battle suit.
“Lieutenant Jones, contact the Phoenix and the Liberation and tell them to rendezvous with us at the following coordinates. The ones he gave her were ten million kilometers out past the orbit of the Moon. “Then get me General Mitchell and I’ll explain to him what we’re doing.”
-o0o-
Four hours later, Michael gazed at the tactical screen, watching the approaching Kleese fleet. He looked nervously at the handful of green icons that now comprised his own fleet, hoping it was enough. He had three five hundred-meter battlecruisers, twelve three hundred-meter light cruisers, and thirty two hundred-meter assault ships. His biggest advantages were superior energy screens, particle beams, and the large railguns on the battlecruisers and the light cruisers. He had twenty more assault cruisers equipped with the newer energy screens and particle beams, which he could call forward. They were currently in a defensive position over Luna City and the Kleese space station. The other assault ships in the Kleese station hadn’t been updated and lacked trained crews and were being used to shuttle survivors.
“Enemy is continuing to close,” Ensign Fullerton spoke as she watched her sensors. “The assault ships have taken the lead with the disk ships following a short distance behind.”
“The Kleese don’t want to risk physical injury to themselves,” commented Wade, seeing that they were going to let the assault ships fight the fleet battle. This was a weakness the Kleese were showing, and Wade wondered how they could take advantage of that.
Kirby nodded and activated his fleet communications. “All ships, prepare to engage. Use our particle beams and railguns to knock their screens down and then finish them off with antimatter missiles. We can’t let any of them get past us.”
Wade stood at the tactical console behind Fleet Admiral Kirby. He had trained enough with Colonel Stehr that he knew how to handle the ship’s weapons. He wondered what Beth was doing at Vesta. He strongly suspected that by now she was in the spacedock with her marines ready to repel any attack made on the asteroid. He just hoped they both survived this battle.
CHAPTER 20
The Kleese assault ships advanced in a massive wave, intent on destroying those that had defied their Galactic Empire. The six large disk ships followed in their wake, with the Kleese on board directing the movement of the assault fleet. Nothing would be left to chance; the renegade Kiveans and the surviving Humans would all be wiped out. Defiance of the Empire was not allowed and would not be tolerated. Kleese had been killed by these renegades, and now they would die for it.
There was also some confusion as to why this system still existed. The Kleese exploration ship involved had been destroyed when the Humans and Kiveans had taken the space station from its assigned position. However, several surviving Kleese who had been on the exploration ship when it was in the Human’s system had reported that a fusion missile had been fired into the Human’s planet and detonated.
Now, long-range scans indicated thriving colonies on the planet’s moon as well as upon the fourth planet. There were even indications of activity at one of the larger asteroids. All would have to be dealt with before the Kleese left the system. This time there would be no survivors.
Seeing the Human and Kivean controlled ships were entering attack range, the Kleese commander gave the order to attack. Simultaneously from two hundred and twelve assault ships energy beams, pulse fusion beams, and antimatter missiles were hurled at the blocking Human fleet. They would destroy the defending fleet first and then proceed to the space stati
on. Once it was back under Kleese control, all traces of Humans and Kiveans would be annihilated from the system.
-o0o-
“They fired from extreme range,” Major Nelson reported as the Armageddon shook slightly from the long-range attack. Then the ship shook more violently as several antimatter missiles impacted the ship’s energy shield. Fortunately, the reinforced shield held, though it was weakened considerably. “Shield strength at forty percent; regenerating.”
“We just lost one of our assault ships,” Ensign Fullerton reported. “Ship W-212 is down.”
Fleet Admiral Kirby looked at the tactical screen and watched the green icon representing the assault ship fade away; several more ships had amber circles around them indicating damage. “Fire all weapons,” Kirby ordered over the fleet channel. “Two can play at this game.”
Instantly, from the Human fleet energy beams, pulse fusion beams, and more powerful particle beams shot out. Mixed in were railgun rounds and a few antimatter missiles. Kirby didn’t want to waste the powerful missiles at this stage; he needed them to finish enemy ships off when their shields were disabled.
The Human attack also fell to the wayside for the most part due to the distance. Energy beams and pulse fusion beams weakened exponentially at long distances. However, the particle beams were better contained and half a dozen Kleese assault ships vanished in blazing explosions as the beams tore through their shields, vaporizing sections of the hulls and then causing internal damage. Then, a few seconds later, the massive railgun rounds began to impact. Kleese shields flickered as the rounds passed right through and struck the armored hulls. The three thousand pound tungsten rounds penetrated the hulls, inflicting massive amounts of internal damage to vulnerable systems. More shields wavered and then collapsed.
“Optimal firing range,” Wade called out as he directed the weapons crews to concentrate on individual Kleese ships. His plan of attack was simple: hit a ship with several particle beams and then follow up with an antimatter missile.