by Jay Allan
“I understand the new light cruisers are already finished,” added Mason, recalling the latest reports from General Mitchell.
“Yes,” Michael replied with a nod. “All twelve are of the new design. They are much more powerful than the cargo ships we converted originally. It’s amazing the difference the Kivean and Kleese construction technology has made in our shipbuilding.”
“What’s Brian up to now?” asked Susan, curiously. Brian had been Michael’s second in command on the Raven, and she hadn’t spoken to him recently. He used to stop by the house occasionally to visit with her and the kids.
“He’s handling all of my mining operations,” Michael replied. “We’ve recently updated the Raven and he’s been out doing some more prospecting.”
“It’s amazing how everything has almost returned to normal over the last eight months,” Adrienne commented. “I was in the new habitat earlier today visiting Harnett. Even she is amazed at all we’ve accomplished.”
“She should be,” Mason responded with a pleased smile. “We just started construction of the additional habitat we’re adding. The new one will be the same size as the one we recently completed and will be able to house nearly one million people. It’ll have plenty of farmland, and we should be able to greatly expand our animal herds.”
“Meat,” Michael said with a pleased smile. “It’s been awhile since I had a good steak.”
“Chickens are easier to raise,” Adrienne quickly pointed out. “Cattle take up an awful lot of room.”
“We got to go to the zoo last week,” Candace interrupted with an excited smile. “There are so many animals there!”
Mason nodded. The new zoo in the big habitat was home to nearly a thousand different species of animals. If they got the opportunity to rebuild the Earth’s shattered biosphere someday at least they would still have some of the animal species with which to do it.
Mason smiled as he listened to Susan, Michael, and the kids talk. Much had changed since the Kleese attack. Nearly all of the survivors had been evacuated from Earth, and almost two million now called Mars their home, and there was already talk of terraforming the planet. The Kiveans thought it would be possible to give the planet a breathable atmosphere in less than sixty years.
Another four million were living in the completed dome habitats on the Moon, and three million were safely inside Vesta. There were still six million living on the large space station, and another two million had been transferred to other habitats built in several nearby asteroids. The latest estimates forecast that most of the refugees still on the station would have new homes in another ten months. Many of the homes would be located in additional habitats being built inside several of the larger asteroids. Mason wanted as much of the Human race as possible protected from future harm.
Adrienne looked over at Mason and felt content. He had recently asked her to move in with him, and she had agreed. Looking around at the smiling children, Michael, and Susan, she knew she was no longer alone.
-o0o—
Major Nelson was standing next to Captain Williams in one of the domes on the large space station. It was the same one they had trained in during their captivity. Nothing much had changed except more barracks had been added. The dome had been set aside for the training of the new space marine force that General Mitchell was demanding.
“It’s strange to be back here,” Beth commented as she watched Lieutenants Stern and Perry put the new recruits through their drills. Most of them were military personnel who had volunteered for battle suit training.
Wade nodded. He had asked to be relieved of his obligations on the Armageddon and allowed to return to his marine duties. He hadn’t felt comfortable being a tactical officer. “General Mitchell wants a full two thousand marines trained in the Type Three battle suits.”
“That’s a lot,” Beth spoke, her eyes widening. “Do we have that many of the Type Three suits available?”
“Not yet, but Marken has assured General Mitchell that the construction facilities on the station can make as many as we need.”
“We’re going to attack the Kleese, aren’t we?” Beth asked worriedly. She knew it was always better to be on offense rather than to set back on defense. However, the Human race no longer had the numbers it once had. Sixteen to eighteen million people were not enough to fight a galactic war.
“Yes,” replied Wade, letting out a deep breath. “I’m sure that’s what he’s planning. Probably some hit and run raids to keep the Empire off balance while our population grows. It will only take a few generations to give us the people we need.”
Beth nodded. Over the past few months, she and Wade had become much closer. There were even entire days now that she didn’t think about her former fiancée. No trace of him had ever been found. She had spoken to her mother about Donald, but even she had no idea what had happened to him. He had vanished immediately after the first volcanic eruptions as he left to try to find his parents. Beth strongly suspected she would never know how he had died.
-o0o-
At Jornada, Lawrence Henderson breathed out a long sigh of relief. Less than two hundred thousand people still resided at the spaceport and the nearby military bases. There was no longer any rush to get them off the planet as they now had plenty of power and living space.
Looking out the large, reinforced windows of the Operations Building, he could see two of the large assault ships setting next to one of the hangars.
“We did it,” General Wainright said from where he was standing next to Lawrence. “We managed to save a lot of people.”
“More than I ever believed possible,” admitted Lawrence, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.
“By the end of the week, all of the other survival camps except Lakenheath in the UK and Ramstein in Germany will be officially shut down. We’ll be using those bases to conduct salvage operations. We have a lot of museums and other sites we need to search for artifacts.”
“Our history is important,” replied Lawrence, nodding his head. “It will be essential to recover as much as we can over the next few years. From the latest reports, conditions on Earth are not going to be improving for a long time. Even the Kiveans have said that due to the instability in the Earth’s crust, there isn’t much their science can do to help.”
Wainright looked out the windows at the blowing gray snow that covered everything for as far as his eyes could see. The Earth was now entering an ice age, and life on its surface was over.
-o0o-
Captain Stevens stepped outside of his command bunker for the last time. Behind him, Lieutenant Griffith shut and locked the door.
“I understand they’re asking for volunteers to become space marines,” Griffith commented as he stepped over next to Mark. He buttoned the top button on his parka, trying to keep out the biting cold.
“Yes,” Mark replied with a nod. “I’m thinking about signing up.”
“At least it will be warm up on the space station,” added Griffith, kicking his boot at the snow. “I’m tired of this damn cold and this infernal gray snow. My family’s settled on the Moon. I’m going to take some leave time and spend a few weeks with them.”
Mark nodded as the two of them crawled into their jeep. As they drove away the power to tent city was turned off, and darkness swept in to claim the now abandoned Human survival settlement. It was silent across the desert as the gray snow continued to fall.
-o0o—
The next day, General Mitchell was holding a meeting with Colonel Bailey, Major Nelson, and Marken on the space station. It was time for them to begin planning their next move.
“Our four new battlecruisers will be undergoing their shakedown cruises shortly,” Mitchell informed the others sitting around the small conference room table.
“We’ve also finished updating all the assault ships,” Marken added. “We have two hundred and ten ships equipped with updated shields, particle beam weapons, and trained crews.”
>
“In addition, we’ve built defensive weapons emplacements around all of our bases and colonies on the Moon, Mars, and the asteroids that we’re establishing habitats in,” General Mitchell continued. “For the first time I feel confident we’re fully capable of protecting ourselves from future attacks.”
“Then what’s next?” Colonel Bailey asked. He knew there had to be more to this meeting. He had known the general too long.
“We need to go on the offensive,” Mitchell said evenly, his eyes narrowing. “The Kleese will someday return and probably in much greater numbers than the last attack.”
“They’re a Galactic Empire,” Wade spoke nervously, recalling all that Marken had told him in the past. “How can we take them on?”
“Hit and run raids at first,” suggested Mitchell as his eyes swept over the group. “Even commando raids where possible.”
“We launch a guerilla campaign,” responded Colonel Bailey, arching his eyebrows as he thought over the idea. “It just might work.”
“We hold fleet battles to a minimum unless we know we can win,” Mitchell added. “We do everything we can to keep them off balance while we grow our population back and build up our ship strength. Then, when we’re ready, we go and avenge what they did to our world!”
Everyone in the room nodded. It would take time, but the Kleese with their attack upon the Earth had set the Human race on a path that would someday lead to a full scale galactic war. It was a mission that every Human now living would dedicate their lives toward.
-o0o—
Two days later, Marken was back in the new Kivean habitat deep within a large asteroid. They had built the habitat at the asteroid’s center and with the help of the Humans, had covered the surface with defensive and offensive weapons. Marken was standing with Harnett, looking out over their new city.
“The Humans will soon be going to war with the Kleese,” Harnett spoke as she watched several children in the distance playing. “They won’t stop until they have avenged the death of their world.”
“Yes,” Marken replied as he took Harnett’s hand and gently squeezed it. “Our race planned the escape from the Kleese; I don’t think even then we fully realized what we were unleashing when it came to the Humans.”
“They’re a good people,” Harnett replied softly, her eyes shifting to those of her life mate. “I wonder how we would feel if our home world had suffered the same fate as theirs?”
“I don’t believe the Kleese understand what is about to fall upon them,” Marken said as he thought about the recent meeting he had attended with General Mitchell. “The Humans will take the fight to the Kleese, and someday there will be a full scale galactic war. I just hope we did the right thing in freeing them.”
“The Kleese are a cruel and heartless race,” Harnett replied, her eyes getting that faraway look. “With the Human’s help, perhaps someday we can return to our own home world. You did the right thing, Marken. The Humans deserve to be free and so do we.”
“I hope so,” responded Marken, knowing that a lot would have to happen to make that day possible. “But this may be a long war and we might not live to see the end of it.”
“We must trust the Humans,” Harnett said, her eyes showing her belief in their new friends and allies. “Our fate and theirs is now intertwined.”
Marken nodded as he and Harnett walked back into their home. Due to his actions, a galactic war was about to start. He just hoped he had made the right decisions and the Humans were ready for what was ahead. In some ways, he almost felt sorry for the Kleese.
----o0o----
Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Galactic Empire Wars Book 2) is now available.
About the Author
I live in Clinton, Oklahoma with my wife of forty years and our spoiled cat. I attended college at SWOSU in Weatherford, Oklahoma, majoring in Math with minors in Creative Writing and History. I am an avid reader and have a science fiction / fantasy collection of over two thousand paperbacks.
I love writing science fiction because it allows me to create totally new worlds from my imagination. I was fourteen years when I first started writing but didn’t publish my first story until I turned fifty-six. Just goes to show that perseverance pays off.
My hobbies include watching soccer, reading, camping, and writing. I coached youth soccer for twelve years before moving on and becoming a high school soccer coach for thirteen more. I also enjoy playing with my five grandchildren who are a very big part of my life. I have a very vivid imagination, which sometimes worries my friends. They never know what I am going to say or what I am going to do.
Raymond L. Weil
-o0o-
Listed below are all of my books that are currently available on Amazon. I don’t currently publish on any other site.
For updates on current writing projects and future publications go to my author website. Sign up for future notifications when new books come out.
Website: http://raymondlweil.com/
Books by Raymond L. Weil
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 1)
Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 2)
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Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (The Slaver Wars Book 2)
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 3)
The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book 4)
The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book 5)
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (The Slaver Wars Book 6)
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Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars
Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening
Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon
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Star One: Tycho City: Survival
Star One: Neutron Star
Star One: Dark Star
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Coming Soon!
The Slaver Wars: Endgame!
Coming October 2014
The Star Cross
Coming January 2015
Find Raymond’s Books on Amazon