“Did you get to spend much time with Mom and Dad while you were on leave?”
“Yes,” Massie replied as she leaned back on the sofa. “They told me some about what happened at Ceres. I still can’t believe the entire population ran off to fight some obscure war with Rear Admiral Barnes.”
“They had encouragement,” Race said, taking a sip of his tea. “Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth suggested they go and you know as well as I do how convincing he can be.”
Massie let out a deep sigh. “I know. I guess we should be glad our parents didn’t run off with them.”
“Ceres is being resettled from New Tellus. In another year or two it will almost seem like home again.”
“It won’t be the same though,” Massie said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Too many people I knew are gone.”
“Off to fight in a mysterious war with Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong.”
Massie looked over at Race. “You knew Admiral Strong. What was he like?”
Race smiled. “Young, impulsive, and a brilliant strategist. He reminded me of Admiral Telleck in many ways.”
“Admiral Telleck was the one who took Jeremy under his wings,” said Massie in recollection. “He set Jeremy up on his way to becoming an admiral.”
“And the others as well. The Special Five were a symbol to the Federation during the war with the Hocklyns.”
“People from the past...” Massie’s eyes took on a thoughtful glint. “Can you imagine going into cryosleep for several hundred years just so you could take part in a war?”
“Just be glad they did. The Special Five were not the only ones in cryosleep. Fleet Admiral Streth, Admiral Sheen, and numerous others were as well. The war might have turned out quite differently if not for them and their dedication to the Federation.”
“You’ve played a major role as well,” Massie said. “You’re a war hero just like the others.” Massie was quite proud of her brother.
Race looked surprised for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m no hero. I’ve only done what I’ve been ordered to do.”
“Like blowing the hell out of those Simulin fleets at the galactic core, or discovering the Dyson Sphere in Shari space.”
Race didn’t say anything. He could still remember nearly dying when the first WarHawk was blown out from under him in the first battle with the Hocklyns. That seemed like a century ago.
Massie took a long drink from her glass. Race’s tea was sweetened; hers was not. “What chance do you think we have against the Ralift?”
“You’ve never been in a battle like this before, have you?” Race studied his sister’s face, seeing a little uncertainty in it.
“No,” she admitted, blinking her eyes. “Before the Dyson Sphere all I ever had to worry about were routine patrols and occasional space raiders. Nothing big like this.”
Race had to admit he was concerned about Massie in the coming battle. Her flagship was a battlecarrier, not a dreadnought or a battleship. “Your battlecarriers and their escorts will stay slightly behind the rest of the fleet. As far as we know, the Ralift have no fighters. Your ships will be sending out their Anlon bombers on shipping strikes targeting damaged Ralift vessels. You have to make your bomber crews understand they must leave the undamaged Ralift warships alone. They won’t stand a chance against them.”
“I’m going to lose a lot of my pilots, aren’t I?” This was something Massie hadn’t experienced before. She didn’t want to experience it. “Even those damaged ships are still going to have energy shields and functioning point defense systems.”
“Yes,” Race answered stoically, trying not to show how much that bothered him as well. “It can’t be helped. We’ll do everything we can to keep the pressure off your bombers, but as outnumbered as we’re going to be we’re going to need every one of them.”
“I understand,” replied Massie, squaring her shoulders. “My people will do what’s expected of them. They’re a good bunch.”
Race slowly nodded his head. “All of our people are. I wish this battle didn’t have to take place, but it’s going to.”
Massie stood up, setting down her half-finished glass of tea. “I’d better get back over to the Hera as we’ll be jumping soon. Will I see you again before the battle?”
“I hope so,” responded Race. He watched as Massie left his quarters. Race just hoped both of them survived this and made it back home to Ceres.
-
Several thousand light years away, Nest Lord Creesth gazed at the main viewscreen showing nuclear explosions going off on the planet below. Bright flashes of light marched across the surface of the Shari world, leveling cities and infrastructure. Mushroom clouds rose up into the atmosphere, obscuring the sunlight. In a few more hours the atmosphere would darken, reducing the sunlight to a lifeless world.
“All population centers have been eliminated,” reported Second Lord Alboin. “There are no longer any signs of life on the planet.”
“The Shari brought this upon themselves,” responded Creesth coldly. “They turned away from the masters, and for that they must pay an appropriate price.”
“We will arrive at their core worlds shortly. What will we do there?”
“We shall destroy one of them as an example and then our masters will demand the Shari surrender. They will doubtlessly obey and will become part of our empire. Then we shall proceed to the Dyson Sphere in the Rylus Cluster. Our masters plan on making the Rylus Cluster and the Dyson Sphere their base for future operations in this galaxy.”
“The Shari will certainly attempt to stop us before we reach their core worlds.”
“That is what the Command AI is predicting,” replied Nest Leader Creesth. “All three of our fleets will join together as one under my command in the Razale System. From there we will proceed toward the Lyral Cluster and once we arrive, we will destroy one of their primary worlds. If the Shari are going to meet us in battle, it will be before we reach the star cluster.” Creesth knew this plan would force the Shari to commit their fleets to battle.
“With our masters’ battle spheres and our own fleet victory will be ours,” said Second Nest Lord Albion confidently. “The Shari fleet, if it dares to show, will be annihilated.”
Nest Lord Creesth slowly nodded. It would indeed be a great victory, one that would be spoken about in the nests of the empire for generations.
-
The Command AI was satisfied that all was going according to plan. “How soon before we arrive at the Dyson Sphere?”
“Four weeks if we continue on our present course,” the AI in front of the navigation console replied. “We could be there sooner except for our involvement with the Shari.”
The Command AI turned until its cubical body was facing the navigation AI. “It is necessary. With the Shari Empire under our control, there will be no resistance to us in this part of the galaxy. It will give us thousands of slave worlds the Shari currently manage to produce whatever we desire.”
“The Dyson Sphere must be brought under our control,” the science AI said in a monotone voice, the energy ball above its body shining brighter. “With the science available on such a structure, we should be able to construct a new Master Codex to create more of our kind.”
“The one on Astral is inaccessible,” the AI in front of Tactical said. “If we attempt to conquer the Astral System, there is no doubt the Altons will instantly destroy it if we make an appearance with any of our ships.”
“Our plan is a sound one,” replied the Command AI. “We conquer the Shari Empire, take control of the Dyson Sphere, and create a new Master Codex. With the science of the Dyson Sphere under our control, we can then proceed with our original plan of annihilating all the organic races in this galaxy. It will become a galaxy of AIs and sometime after that, we will begin moving into other galaxies. Our future empire awaits; all we have to do is follow the plan.”
The Command AI turned away from the others. It had been involved in research on Astral working ben
eath the City of Lights in the huge computer center that lay beneath the city. Upon hearing of the defeat of the AI master fleet by the Federation it had instantly fled with as many other AIs as possible in all available ships. Now it was time to reestablish their empire.
Chapter Nine
The Avenger, the Warrior’s Pride, and their two fleets were proceeding very slowly as they prepared to drop out of intergalactic hyperspace near the Median Galaxy. Ariel had reduced the intergalactic speed of all the ships in hyperspace so they would not come upon any Anti-Life ships unexpectedly. Ariel was using the ship’s long-range sensors to scan ahead and making subtle changes to their flight path anytime she detected an unknown anomaly, of which there were many. Ariel was determined to get the two fleets safely into the Median Galaxy undetected.
Finally satisfied they were in a safe region in the outermost fringes of the Median Galaxy she dropped the fleets out of hyperspace. As soon as the ships exited their vortexes, their stealth shields instantly snapped on. Ariel was not going to take any chances on the fleets being detected. At the same time, she chose another set of coordinates and took the two fleets back into hyperspace only this time the stealth shields were active on all of their vessels. Due to the power requirements and speed of intergalactic travel, the stealth shields were nonfunctional under those situations. They were functional in normal hyperspace.
“We’re in,” she said finally, satisfied they had not been detected. There was nothing ominous showing up on the sensors. She turned toward Jeremy and smiled.
-
Jeremy nodded. “You made several small course changes while we were just outside this galaxy, why?” He had noticed them earlier but hadn’t wanted to interrupt Ariel. While he knew she was capable of multi-tasking, he felt better allowing her to concentrate on the mission at hand. Particularly when she was interacting with all the ships of both fleets.
“The long-range sensors detected a number of unidentifiable anomalies which I deemed might be additional hyperspace detection satellites around the periphery of this galaxy. I made course changes to keep us as far away from those anomalies as possible.”
“Why did you take us back into hyperspace?” Jeremy trusted Ariel implicitly. That was why he had asked her to navigate and take the ships into the Median Galaxy.
“A precaution,” Ariel explained, her dark eyes glinting in the light of the Command Center. “I put the stealth shields up on all of the ships and took us back into hyperspace. I’ve chosen a location just outside of a small star cluster seventy-four light years from here for us to exit. Long-range observations indicate the cluster has a number of stars which may possess planets capable of supporting life.” The ship had an astrometric section, which Ariel had accessed to determine the makeup of the star cluster.
Jeremy turned toward Aaliss who was standing close by. “What do you make of the fact this galaxy might be surrounded by a hyperspace detection network?”
Aaliss didn’t seem surprised. “If this galaxy is controlled by the Anti-Life, or Eternals as they now seem to call themselves, they could very easily have harnessed the resources of a number of planets to construct such a detection system.”
Jeremy frowned. The more he learned of the resources the Anti-Life seemed to have at their disposal, the more concerned he became about the success of this mission. “Once we arrive at this star cluster we will move in and explore it. Our primary goal will be the detection of inhabited planets to see if they are under Anti-Life control. If they are, we must know in what way the Anti-Life are using these worlds.”
“I assume we’re going to keep our stealth shields up the entire time?” asked Major Preston. The reason he was asking was because with the stealth shields in operation the fleet’s primary energy shields were nonfunctional.
“We don’t want to be discovered,” replied Jeremy. “I would prefer to explore this cluster and then leave with none of our ships ever being detected.” It was paramount the Anti-Life not realize the Originators were involved. Jeremy hoped to get the fleets in, take observations, and then safely back out without being detected.
“How will we explore the cluster?” asked Commander Malen. “Are we going to keep the fleets together or separate them?”
Jeremy let out a deep breath. “Ariel, are you detecting any spacecraft on the ship’s long-range sensors?”
“Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied as several red threat icons suddenly appeared on the nearest tactical display.
“Eighteen contacts,” Kevin said as he studied the data coming across his screens. “They’re too far away for positive identification, but based on the two Eternal ships we encountered earlier, I would say at least three of those ships are similar.”
“I concur,” said Ariel as she used the ship’s computer to analyze the data they had on the distant contacts. “All the vessels seem to be either coming from or going to the star cluster we’re heading toward.”
“That would indicate a number of star traveling civilizations reside in the cluster,” commented Commander Malen. “If we follow those ships, they should lead us directly to the worlds we’re seeking.”
“We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace eight light years outside the star cluster,” reported Lieutenant Striker from the Helm.
“Still no indication we’ve been detected,” added Kevin as he studied his sensor screens.
“We are currently at Condition Two,” reported Commander Malen. “I recommend we go to Condition One as soon as we drop out of hyperspace, particularly if several of those ships belong to the Eternals.”
“Do so,” ordered Jeremy. “I want all ships at Condition One ten minutes before we drop out of hyperspace. Major Preston, if any of those Eternal ships come near us drop the stealth shields and activate our energy shields. If we become involved in combat, use the ion beams and then hit the Eternal ships with our dark matter missiles.” If they did become involved in combat, Jeremy wanted it brief and decisive.
“Yes, Admiral,” Major Preston replied. “I’m passing the orders on to the rest of the fleet.” As chief tactical officer for the combined fleets, Preston was responsive for carrying out and initiating combat strategy.
-
The minutes fled rapidly by and suddenly the two fleets dropped out of hyperspace.
“All ships are in standard defensive formation around the Avenger and the Warrior’s Pride,” reported Kevin.
Jeremy looked at the nearby tactical display seeing the thirty-eight green icons being displayed. The stealth shields prevented the ships from being detected but each ship’s computer was in contact with the Avenger, allowing their positions to be plotted. The Avenger was equipped with a special sensor, which could penetrate the stealth shields, but the use of that sensor might give their position away to the nearby Eternal ships.
“Any indication the ships of the Eternals have spotted us?”
“No,” replied Ariel, as she brushed several errant strands of her shoulder length black hair away from her eyes. “They have not varied their courses and have now entered the star cluster. From plotting their courses I have calculated three probable destinations. All three are in star systems that are capable of supporting inhabited planets.”
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair in thought. The large viewscreen was on showing the star cluster. Several thousand stars filled the screen. It was a very imposing sight.
“We’ll stay here for several hours and monitor the traffic going to and from the cluster. Perhaps it will reveal where more planets with sentient populations are located.” Jeremy wanted as many options as possible before he took the two fleets into the star cluster. It was going to be dangerous as they knew there were Eternal ships there. If any of them detected the two fleets, the entire mission could become unhinged.
“Jeremy, keep in mind our long-range sensors only reach out thirty light years. We can only see into a very small part of the star cluster and only from this side. There could be large numbers of ships we’re not detecting, in
cluding those of the Eternals.”
“I’m aware of that, Ariel. However, from the traffic we’ve already observed, there should be more ships coming and going that we can detect on sensors from this side of the cluster. I would like to remain here until we have determined the probable location of at least six star systems which may contain inhabited worlds.” That number of systems would give them a good idea of what Eternal control of those systems meant. Once they investigated those worlds, Jeremy intended to take the two fleets deeper into the Median Galaxy to see how much the Eternals actually controlled.
Commander Malen turned toward Jeremy. “I’m concerned about staying in one location for such an extended period of time. We’re assuming the Eternals can’t detect our ships. We have no positive evidence of that. There could be more being summoned to attack us even now.”
Looking at the nearby tactical display, Jeremy could see three ships that were probably Eternal warships heading away from the Avenger and going deeper into the star cluster. “For the time being we will assume we can’t be detected. If at any point the Eternals approach our position we will move immediately into the cluster.”
“I don’t believe our ships can be detected by the Eternals,” said Aaliss, pursing her lips. “While their technology appears advanced, it still seems to be on a level similar to ours. Doubtlessly there will be a few differences but not enough to be of concern.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Jeremy, crossing his arms over his chest. “Contact Grayseth and inform him we will be staying at this location for two to four hours. At that time we will transmit his search coordinates to him.”
“Then we are going to divide the fleet?” asked Commander Malen, her eyes narrowing.
Jeremy nodded. “Yes, I want to do this search as quickly as possible. We’ll divide up the area between our two fleets and then rendezvous back here in forty-eight hours.”
The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 13