“Aggravated,” replied Mason, with a heavy sigh. “Michael’s been gone for nearly three months since his last break, and Susan and the kids really miss him.”
“I can understand that,” Drake said. He knew that his wife Larcy and his daughter would feel the same way if he were gone for such an extended time.
“I’m ordering Michael back in a few more weeks,” Mason added with a slight smile.
“You’re ordering him back?” Drake said with surprise, his eyes narrowing. “I thought he still had another month of salvage operations before the Raven was due to return.”
“Change of plans,” Mason replied. He then turned and looked directly at Drake. “I’m giving him command of the Armageddon.”
Drake stepped back in astonishment. The Armageddon was the new battlecruiser being built in the spacedock by Ethan Hall and a number of military engineers. Construction was going on around the clock with expanded work crews as they raced to get the large warship completed. It would be the first spaceship ever built for war.
“Why, Michael? He doesn’t have any military experience.”
“No,” Mason replied in agreement. “For that matter, who does in space combat? However, Michael is the best pilot and ship captain we have. I have already spoken to General Wainright, and he has several naval and air force officers that will be coming to Vesta. We’ll assign the most qualified as Michael’s executive officer.”
“Susan won’t like this,” Drake warned in an even voice, shaking his head. “You’re going to make your sister highly upset when she learns what you’re doing.”
“I know,” answered Mason with a heavy sigh. “But this is a question of survival and Michael needs to command that ship; I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
Mason turned his attention back to the screens on the wall. One of them was currently showing five large red icons floating in space a short distance from Vesta. The largest of the icons was the Phoenix and her four recently completed escorts. Soon ten updated prospecting ships would join them, and they would become the solar system’s first war fleet. Mason just hoped it was enough.
-
In space, the five hundred-meter Phoenix and her four escorts waited. Commander Sanders sat in the command chair with his executive officer, Colonel Whetworth, standing next to him. On the large tactical screen, four other green icons hovered in supporting positions around the battlecruiser. The four former cargo ships had gone through a major transformation, with most of their internal structures being ripped out and rebuilt. The now recently commissioned three hundred-meter support cruisers were armed with two large railguns in the bow and twelve additional heavy railguns on the hull. In addition, there were eight missile tubes equipped with MK Four high explosive missiles.
“This new tactical screen is a marvel,” Commander Sanders spoke as he eyed it thoughtfully. The new screen was designed using the FTL communications technology and gave them real time information out to a range of nearly ten million kilometers. It would be extremely useful in a fight.
“How soon before the scout ships are finished?” asked Colonel Whetworth.
“A few more weeks,” Sanders replied. “The Armageddon will be finished two months after that.”
Colonel Whetworth nodded. With the ten scout ships armed with railguns it would allow them to better patrol the space around Vesta and Earth.
Commander Sanders leaned back in his command chair and let out a long breath. He just hoped the aliens didn’t show up again before the Armageddon was finished. At least with the addition of the Armageddon they might have a chance of driving the aliens off. The new battlecruiser had a heavily armored hull. New and more powerful railguns were being sent up from White Sands. The secret production facility at the test site was still operating and had designed an entire new line of railguns for the Armageddon. Sanders just hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Thirteen
Lieutenant Nelson was standing in the Command Center of the Kleese assault ship W-274 alongside Captain Jenkins. Glancing over at the tactical screen, he saw a myriad of red threat icons rising from the planet ahead.
“They’re launching their fleet,” Jenkins said as he watched the numerous red icons form up above the planet.
“It is useless to attempt to stop an assault ship with the technology we have available,” Marken commented dryly as he ordered the ship’s course to be altered slightly. “From previous reports they have primitive laser weapons and light railguns on their spacecraft, nothing that can endanger one of our assault vessels.”
“Railguns?” Wade said with a frown. “We had railguns on some of our navy ships on Earth; I never thought about using them in space.”
“They would make an excellent space-based weapon,” Captain Jenkins informed Wade, recalling what he knew about them. “They fire a high density round and are extremely accurate. Several nations on Earth wanted to put a few in orbit to use against terrorist organizations. A round fired from space would be virtually undetectable until it nearly reached its target.”
“The Kleese have not used railguns in centuries,” Marken spoke as he watched his instruments and data screens carefully, noting the fleet’s formation.
There were one hundred and twenty assault ships in the fleet, all heavily armed and carrying Human soldiers. The world they were approaching had launched twenty-eight vessels to oppose them. Marken knew this would be a quick and extremely one-sided battle. Very few races had the technology to damage a Kleese constructed warship.
Lieutenant Nelson and Captain Jenkins had been told that this world was inhabited by an insectoid race. The beings upon the planet were very similar to Earth locusts with wings and very powerful arms and legs. Marken had explained to them that a Kleese exploratory ship had found the planet nearly two years in the past and they were only now getting around to bringing it into the Empire. Part of the problem had been the language barrier, as many insect races used a form of telepathy as well as scents and even body gestures to communicate.
“What do the Kleese want out of this race?” asked Wade, turning his attention toward Marken.
Marken hesitated for a moment before replying. Sometimes it was difficult to explain why the Kleese operated the way they did, particularly since the Kleese themselves were not a humanoid race. “This particular insectoid race is called the Wren and have begun to move out into space. They are capable of breeding in vast numbers and could spread out into the galaxy very rapidly. The Kleese do not want that to happen since there are a number of inhabited worlds they control nearby. The Wren also possess a highly developed science in entomology which may be useful to the Kleese.”
“What are our orders?” Captain Jenkins asked curiously. He also was wondering how the combat suits would hold up against this race of insects. From the briefing he had sat through earlier, he knew the Wren were extremely powerful with mandibles that could tear through most metals and arms that could tear a Human apart.
“The Kleese want all of the Wren’s facilities capable of building or launching a spacecraft destroyed,” answered Marken, knowing this would be the toughest battle for the Humans yet.
From his experience, most insect races were difficult to kill in battle. Many of the species he had previously encountered could be cut in half and the separate pieces would continue to fight. He was not pleased that the Humans would have to fight such a race. At least the soldiers under Captain Jenkins still had the Type Three battle suits.
“Ground them to their planet?” Wade responded with a heavy frown. It seemed as if the Kleese wanted to severely limit some race’s access to space.
“Yes,” confirmed Marken, noticing that the Wren fleet had broken orbit and was coming out to meet the inbound assault ships. “There are some insect races that are slow breeders, but the Wren are just the opposite. Their world is heavily populated, and their cities are very similar to hives. From the reports the Kleese have furnished us, their race is divided up into casts. The working casts, including the
ir military, are considered expendable and easily replaced.”
“So we could be facing an army of thousands when we launch our attack,” mused Captain Jenkins with a look of deep concern. “Can the suits withstand attacks from such numbers?”
“We’re going to find out, aren’t we?” Marken replied as he noticed the Wren ships were almost within engagement range. “The biggest danger will be from the Wren themselves and not so much their weapons. They are extremely strong.”
In space, the one hundred and twenty assault ships were in a staggered formation twenty ships wide, three ships high, and two deep. All the ships were spaced three kilometers apart. On the hulls of the two hundred-meter ships, hatches slid open revealing missile tubes containing sublight antimatter missiles. Energy gun turrets rotated and locked upon the incoming Wren vessels.
“Weapons locked on,” reported the Kivean at Tactical, glancing back at Marken.
“Standby to fire,” responded Marken, folding his long arms across his chest. “Fusion beams first, followed up by a missile strike. We want to eliminate the Wern ships quickly so we can begin our troop landings.”
“The Wren are firing,” Skagern informed Marken as he saw several scanners record sudden power spikes in the Wren ships. Skagern was Marken’s second in command.
Wade felt the assault ship shudder as if had been struck by something, and several warning alarms went off in the Command Center. “What was that?” he asked Marken, seeing the surprised look upon the other Kivean’s face.
“Two railgun rounds struck our hull,” Skagern responded as he quickly checked for damage. “We have a pressure leak in zone four, section three; I am dispatching repair teams.”
“I thought the railguns were not a threat.” Captain Jenkins admonished as he saw one of the green icons representing a Kivean assault vessel vanish from the tactical screen. He knew that eighty Humans had just died on that ship.
“Did we just lose a ship?” asked Wade, glancing with concern at Marken. In all of their battles before, he had never seen one of the assault ships destroyed.
“Yes,” Marken replied, his eyes full of worry as he hurriedly checked his instruments and data screens. “The energy shield is not designed to withstand railgun rounds. However, the composite armor of our hull should have easily stopped them. Something is not right here.”
In space, the twenty-eight Wren ships continued to close. Each ship was one hundred and ten meters long and twenty meters wide. Unknown to the Kiveans, a massive railgun cannon ran down the center of each ship capable of firing a round of nearly ten thousand pounds.
Assault ship W-274 shuddered violently again as one of the large railgun rounds struck the ship just below the Command Center. Several Kiveans screamed out in pain as their consoles shorted out and the lights in the Command Center visibly dimmed. Several were thrown to the floor as smoke filled the air. Alarms sounded and red warning lights began flashing.
“All weapons, fire!” Marken screamed in terror, knowing his ship could not take another hit. Looking at the main tactical screen, he saw two more green icons blink out. The air circulation system was having a hard time clearing the smoke out of the Command Center, and several consoles were still on fire. Kiveans were rushing around trying to put out the fires and get a handle on the damage. “Turns those alarms and warning lights off!”
From the W-274, four bright blue fusion beams shot out, striking one of the Wren ships. The ship instantly lost power as the beams melted through the thin armor before striking the ship’s reactor. Two sublight antimatter missiles followed and the Wren ship vanished as it was consumed by the massive explosions. All up and down the Wren attacking fleet it was the same. Powerful fusion beams damaging or immobilizing their ships and then antimatter missiles finishing them off.
The Wren refused to back off and continued to fire their massive railgun cannons, sending round after round into the advancing Kivean ships. Three more assault ships exploded as the heavy rounds tore the ships apart. Ships fell out of formation as their panicked commanders tried to evade the Wren railgun rounds. However, others stayed in formation and continued to fire upon the Wren ships, destroying them one by one.
The Wren command ship was the last to go; it was slightly larger than the other Wren ships. It also had two of the massive railgun cannons and thicker armor on its hull. Two antimatter missiles struck it, carving massive glowing holes in its side. But even as it died it managed to take out two more of the Kivean assault ships with its deadly cannons before succumbing to heavy fusion beam fire.
Wade watched in horror, knowing that over six hundred Humans just died on the eight assault ships that had been destroyed. “We lost eight ships,” spoke Wade accusingly, looking at an ashen faced Marken. “If they would have had more ships we all could have died!”
“But we didn’t,” Marken snapped as he realized how close they had come to death. If the railgun round that had impacted the ship just below the Command Center had hit another ten meters higher, everyone in the Command Center would have died. “They possessed a weapon we were not aware of. I will certainly report this to the Kleese and demand an explanation!”
“It’s war,” Captain Jenkins spoke, surprised at how frightened Marken had become. It was evident that very seldom did the Kiveans ever encounter an opponent who could strike successfully at one of their assault ships. “Losses are to be expected, even Kivean.” Jenkins looked at Marken pointedly, curious how the Kivean would respond.
“You are right,” admitted Marken, calming down. “It just happens so seldom I was not prepared for it.”
“Lieutenant Nelson and I will go get our marines ready,” Jenkins said as he gestured for the lieutenant to follow him.
The Wren had managed to destroy eight assault ships; it made the captain wonder just what else might be in store for them down on the planet. This operation was not starting out well considering that they had already lost over six hundred soldiers and the ground battle hadn’t even started yet.
Marken watched them go, realizing the Humans didn’t understand what was at stake. There were certain key Kiveans in the assault fleet that couldn’t be lost, not if their plan to escape from the Kleese was to be successful. This was also the first time in years that he had come so close to death. It made him wonder how the Humans did it, knowing that, in each ground campaign, they could die. It made him respect the Humans even more.
-
Reaching the main flight bay where the drop ships were waiting, Wade saw that Sergeant Stern already had everyone suited up in their Type Three battle suits. Each suit was plugged into a power unit, ensuring that when they departed the ship the suits would have a full charge. For the first time, all three units that normally trained in their dome would be going down. There were three assault ships that contained Captain Jenkins’s marines. Wade just hoped that the other two ships had survived the Wren’s attack. Lieutenant Williams and Jeffries were on those other ships. Several weeks back, Lieutenant Jeffries had been transferred to Captain Jenkin’s command.
“What hit the ship?” Jamie asked over the com as Wade mounted the small platform and felt his suit close up around him. “We could feel it even down here.”
“A damn railgun round,” replied Wade, shaking his head and looking over at Sergeant Stern. “Evidently these Kleese ships have a problem with certain primitive weapons. We lost eight assault ships and several others, including this one, were damaged.”
“Prepare for drop,” Captain Jenkins voice came over the com.
“Let’s mount up,” Wade ordered as he activated his suit and strode over toward one of the four drop ships in the bay.
“We’re fighting bugs, Sir?” asked Private Dawson, sounding nervous.
“They look like giant locusts,” replied Wade, calmly. “Just shoot them like you would anything else.”
“I hate grasshoppers,” Dawson complained as he climbed into the drop ship. “I can’t believe we’re going to be fighting intelligent grasshoppers
.”
“They’re not grasshoppers,” Captain Jenkins’s voice came over the com. “They’re more similar to Cicadas, though most people call them locusts.”
“I don’t like those either,” Dawson muttered as he tried to picture a giant Cicada in his mind. “They’re loud.”
“Just remember their mandibles are strong enough to tear through metal,” Sergeant Stern reminded him. “Don’t go getting your head bitten off.”
Dawson reached up and touched the armor around his suit’s neck. “If one gets near me, I’ll kill it!”
Wade nodded as he listened and watched the last member of his team climb on board the drop ship. At least fighting an insect race would make the killing easier; it was the humanoid races that left everyone feeling guilty afterward.
A moment later the hatch closed, and shortly afterward they were falling rapidly down toward their destination. The ride was rough as the drop ship was buffeted by the thickening atmosphere.
“Our target is their main spaceport,” Captain Jenkins’s voice came over everyone’s com. “There will be our own three units as well as six others taking part in the attack. We can expect heavy resistance and massive suicide waves. The Wren warriors have no fear of death; they only live to serve the ruling cast and their queens.”
“Sounds like fun,” mumbled Private Russell over the com. “Any idea about how many we will be facing?”
“Could be a few hundred to a few thousand,” replied Captain Jenkins, evenly. “Remember, our job is to destroy the spaceport as a demonstration of the power of the Kleese. They want the Wren to understand that we are not afraid to land on their planet and fight them on their home ground if necessary.”
“That’s easy for the Kleese to say,” complained Private Dawson. “At least they’re safe in their big ship.”
Jenkins didn’t reply as Dawson was speaking the truth. One of the big Kleese disk ships was currently sitting on the edge of the system, monitoring the attack.
“Weapons check!” snapped Sergeant Stern, her voice sounding firm and confident over the coms. “RG rifles and energy beams at the ready. Hold off on explosive rounds until needed. Suit rounds are for the spaceport only, so don’t go lobbing them around without permission. We don’t want to blow anybody up by accident.”
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars) Page 21