“We attack!” Anglert responded in an overpowering voice. “Speak with War Leader Sigeth and see if he can perhaps capture those orbital constructs with his protectors. They may serve as excellent forward bases for future conquests in this region of space.”
“Order the fleet to break into four attack war groups as we discussed earlier. War Leader Sigeth will remain here with his ships until I call for him.”
“Yes, Commodore,” First Leader Dreden replied before turning away to carry out the orders.
Commodore Anglert watched as the crew in the War Room went about their work preparing the fleet to attack. Soon they would be engaged in battle. He hoped the humans were worthy adversaries. Very few of his ships had ever engaged an enemy that could actually fire back. Four more planets added to the empire. The riches he would reap from such an addition would give his family much power and prestige for generations. He also had to remind himself that somewhere in this area of space was the human’s home world, which they had not yet succeeded in locating. However, somewhere in these four systems they would find that information and then the home world would fall to the Hocklyns as well.
-
Hedon was taking a brief break in the officer’s mess when the Condition One klaxons started sounding, and Colonel Sheen’s commanding voice came over the com system. “Battle stations, all crew go to Condition One. This is not a drill! I repeat: this is not a drill! We have Hocklyn ships jumping into the system. Admiral Streth to the Command Center.”
Getting up, Hedon laid his half-eaten sandwich down on the table and turned to leave the officer’s mess. It might be awhile before he had a chance to eat anything again. There was a battle to be fought first.
Entering the Command Center, Hedon noticed the increased security in front of the hatch. Four additional marines were now stationed outside with heavy assault weapons. He knew this would be the same throughout the ship. Marines would be guarding all of the StarStrike’s critical systems and compartments. He went over to the command console where Colonel Sheen was sitting as she watched the reports coming in.
“What’s the status Colonel?” Hedon asked as Colonel Sheen stood up and moved over to the side, allowing the admiral to sit down.
“Long-range sensors have detected Hocklyn warships jumping into the system. Current count is twenty-four ships. Four of them are very large. The rest are obviously support ships.”
“Can we tell how large their four capital ships are?” asked Hendon looking up at the sensor screen above the plotting table and wanting to know what he was up against.
“They’re still too far out,” Colonel Sheen replied. She walked over to the plotting table and punched some numbers into a computer console. “Sensors are indicating the four ships are slightly smaller than the StarStrike, but they will have to get closer before we can tell for sure.”
Admiral Streth went over to the plotting table and gazed thoughtfully at the current disposition of his fleet units. Tapping the table with his index finger, he pointed toward the Endeavor and its battle group. “Order the Endeavor to take up a position here.” He pointed to an area nearly ten thousand kilometers from New Providence. Then pointing to a position to one side of the Endeavor group, he continued, “Have the Crucible move to a supporting position five hundred kilometers from the other group.” That would put both battle groups in a line and able to support one another if needed. It would also trap the Hocklyns deep in New Providence’s gravity well.”
“What about our task group?” asked Colonel Sheen, looking across the plotting table at the admiral. “Should we move out from behind the station?”
“No. Pull the screening freighters and liners in a little closer. We won’t move until the Endeavor and Crucible battle groups are ready to engage. I want to lure the Hocklyns in as close as possible before we reveal our true fleet strength. I want them trapped in New Providence’s gravity well. That will prevent them from jumping around and trying to outflank us.”
“Admiral Flaxen has ordered all civilian ships to begin moving beneath New Providence’s defensive grid,” reported Lieutenant Trask, looking over at the admiral. “The screening ships will move last when you are ready to release them.”
“Very well,” replied Hedon nodding at Colonel Sheen. “Now we just wait for them to come closer.”
“I have Senator Glason on the com,” Lieutenant Trask reported her eyes widening. “He is requesting permission to move out and intercept the Hocklyns before they reach New Providence.”
Admiral Streth looked over at Colonel Sheen. He didn’t like the idea, but Senator Glason was on the Federation Council and Hedon’s superior. He took a deep breath and then passed on the order he knew he would probably regret later. “Order the destroyer Lance to accompany the senator,” Hedon spoke in an even voice. “They may leave at the senator’s discretion.”
Colonel Sheen stared at the admiral for a long moment before she sent the order over her mini-com. Amanda was afraid the senator had just pronounced his own death.
Looking down at the plotting table, she watched anxiously as the green icons representing the liner New Atlas and the destroyer Lance broke orbit and began moving in a slow non-threatening manner toward the inbound Hocklyn fleet. It would take them two hours at their current speed to rendezvous with the inbound hostiles.
“Notify Fleet Command that we have a Hocklyn fleet in the system,” ordered Hedon, looking over at Lieutenant Trask. “We will send them more information when we know the exact breakdown of the Hocklyn fleet units. Also tell them that Senator Glason is heading out to make contact and attempt to start peaceful negotiations.”
“This will be over before they receive the message and can reply,” Colonel Sheen spoke.
“I know,” responded Hedon, his eyes gazing at his executive officer. “I just hope when we receive their reply we’re still here.”
-
Commodore Anglert watched curiously as two human ships neared his fleet. One was obviously a light warship and the other was civilian.
“This could be some type of trick,” First Leader Dreden warned.
“No, this is a race of fools,” replied Anglert, feeling disappointed in the humans. “That civilian ship will be full of negotiators wanting to talk us out of attacking. I have seen this tactic before in other weak races. Destroy those two ships as soon as they come within weapons range.”
Anglert glanced across the War Room. There was an aura of anticipation as they neared time for combat. This was what the Hocklyns lived for; to grow the empire through domination of every race they encountered. The humans and their paltry resistance would soon fall before the power of the Hocklyn fleet.
-
Admiral Streth watched anxiously as the two Federation ships neared the Hocklyns. He didn’t want to see the senator die in his valiant attempt to communicate. “Contact the captain of the New Atlas. He is to have his jump core powered up. If there is any sign that the Hocklyns are going to attack, he is to jump the New Atlas out of harm's way immediately. Once the New Atlas has jumped, the Lance is to follow.”
“Senator Glason won’t go along with that,” cautioned Colonel Sheen, looking over at the admiral. She knew the senator was determined to contact the Hocklyns and prevent this conflict.
“He doesn’t have to know,” Hedon responded calmly, making eye contact with the colonel. “Make sure the captain of that liner understands that.”
Colonel Sheen nodded. She proceeded to contact the captain of the New Atlas and pass on the admiral’s instructions. Once finished with that she would contact the destroyer Lance. However, knowing how determined the senator was to prevent this war, Amanda doubted if this would do any good. She suspected the captain of the New Atlas had some overriding orders about what the senator expected him to do.
Admiral Streth moved over to the plotting table next to Colonel Sheen. Both of their eyes were on the two green icons moving steadily closer to the Hocklyn fleet.
“I contacted the New
Atlas and the Lance,” Colonel Sheen commented. “I don’t know if it will do any good. The senator is committed to this.”
“I know,” Hedon replied discontentedly. “But we had to try.”
“We have new data coming in from the Lance on the makeup of the Hocklyn fleet,” Lieutenant Stalls reported. “Their command ship is 1,200 meters long, the other three capital ships are 1,000 meters, and their support ships are 800. All are heavily armed, and their weapon ports are all open.”
“Not exactly looking for peaceful contact, are they?” commented Colonel Sheen, looking up from the plotting table at the admiral.
“No, they’re not,” Hedon replied worriedly as he watched the two green icons steadily close with the mass of threatening red ones.
He knew that the two Federation ships must be close to entering the Hocklyn’s weapons range. Very shortly, they would know if Senator Glason would be successful in his attempt to open negotiations, or if his attempt at communication had been a deadly mistake. Hedon just prayed that he was wrong about the response he expected from the Hocklyns.
“The New Atlas has started transmitting,” Lieutenant Trask reported as she listened intently to the com channel the New Atlas was on. “Senator Glason is asking for a meeting with the commander of their fleet. He is stressing that we don’t want an armed conflict. Peaceful contact between our two cultures would be far more beneficial to both than war.”
After a moment, Hedon looked over at Lieutenant Trask. “Any response from the Hocklyns?”
“I’m detecting weapons fire!” Lieutenant Stalls reported suddenly in a loud voice. “Energy weapons are being fired at the New Atlas and the Lance.”
“Tell them to jump now!” Admiral Streth ordered, his eyes looking up at the long-range sensor screen. He prayed for the ships to jump or they would be destroyed. He should never have agreed to let the senator do this.
“New Atlas reports their jump core is down. The Lance is moving in to cover the liner and is returning fire,” Colonel Sheen reported as she listened to the two ships over her mini-com. “The captain of the New Atlas is trying to escape with their sublight drive, but he’s not turning fast enough. Their damage control officer is reporting heavy damage to the ship with numerous fires and other sections of the ship in vacuum.”
On the sensor screen, one of the green icons suddenly flared up and vanished. A moment later, the other green icon disappeared to reappear several million kilometers away from the Hocklyns.
“The New Atlas has been destroyed,” reported Lieutenant Stalls, feeling stunned at the sudden loss of the senator’s ship.
“The Lance jumped away but is reporting heavy damage,” Colonel Sheen added in a restrained voice. It had been a shock to see the senator’s ship destroyed so quickly.
The Command Center suddenly became eerily quiet. Their last hope for peace had just been blown away.
“Send a message to Fleet Command on Tellus that Senator Glason’s peace attempt has failed. His ship was attacked and destroyed without warning. Also, give them the latest data the Lance transmitted on the Hocklyn ships. Inform them that we are now at war.”
“Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Trask replied as she began sending the messages. She noticed her hands were shaking slightly as she pressed the buttons on her console. She took several deep breaths and slowed down. The admiral would get them through this.
Colonel Sheen looked across the Command Center. While the death of Senator Glason had been a shock, she could see the determined look upon the face of every crewmember. The Hocklyns would not like what the StarStrike was going to do to them. This crew would show them what the consequences were for killing helpless civilians, particularly a Federation Senator.
“Hocklyns are continuing to approach,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as the data continued to come across his screens from the ship’s sensors and scanners.
Colonel Sheen watched the plotting table as the information being displayed was constantly updated. She was watching to see what type of attack formation the Hocklyns would use. “Hocklyns have entered the outer regions of New Providence’s gravity well.”
“Let them come in a little deeper,” Hedon spoke with a cold and determined look upon his face. The death of the senator had angered him. The Hocklyns had demonstrated once more that they were a heartless and cruel race, just as they had done when they had nuked the defenseless mining colony at Stalor Four. “Order the Victory and our support ships to stand by. We will be moving out shortly. I don’t want a single Hocklyn ship to escape.”
-
Commodore Anglert watched from the War Room of the Hocklyn dreadnaught Invincible as they closed on the human ships. He felt satisfied and pleased with the progress of the fleet. They had destroyed the human negotiating ship easily, and the lone escorting warship had fled. Now the remaining human warships were pinned within their own planet’s gravity well. To attempt to escape would seriously damage or destroy their ships if they attempted to jump to safety. That was good. It meant there would be no searching nearby systems for escaped human warships. They would die here. This was a serious mistake in the human’s strategy. This commander was sacrificing his warships in a battle he couldn’t win.
“Standard attack formation,” ordered Anglert, gazing coldly at the sensor screen, which showed the human fleet’s current position. “We will take them one group at a time.”
The opposing fleet only had ten warships in it. The human’s two heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and four support ships would not stand a chance against his fleet of twenty-four powerful Hocklyn warships. He would sweep them quickly out of the way and continue to advance upon the planet. He could already taste victory.
“Ten minutes until we reach optimum weapons range,” Second Leader Kirel reported from where he was standing behind the main weapons console.
“There are still a large number of ships around and behind that orbital installation,” cautioned First Leader Dreden, looking at the sensor data that was coming in. Unless there were additional warships hiding at that installation, this battle would be extremely short. “They could be masking some of their warships with their civilian vessels.”
“Doubtful,” Commodore Anglert spoke, his eyes focused on the sensor screen and the human ships he was about to destroy. “Even if there are a few more human warships, we will just destroy them later.”
“Should we launch the war wings?” First Leader Dreden asked. He knew if they were going to use their fighters, they should be launching now.”
“No, we won’t need them,” Anglert replied confidently. “We will use them later to eliminate any planetary defenses they may have and to reduce the defenses of that orbital construct.”
First Leader Dreden nodded. He had never served under Commodore Anglert before. While the Hocklyn race was supreme in the galaxy in weapons, not counting their masters, he hoped Commodore Anglert was not underestimating these humans.
-
Admiral Streth was watching intently as the Hocklyns passed the inner marker and continued in toward his waiting warships. “Order all ships to go to full power and move out,” he ordered. It was time to show the Hocklyns just what they were facing. “Order Admiral Flaxen to begin launching the station’s squadrons, they will go in with us.”
The StarStrike and Victory began to move out from behind their screen of freighters and passenger liners. Five additional light cruisers moved out with them as well as three more destroyers.
Once clear of the station, Admiral Streth ordered the Victory to begin launching their air wings. He planned on taking the fight right down the center of the Hocklyn formation.
-
Warning alarms began sounding on the Invincible. First Leader Dreden looked at the reports coming in, and his face paled. He turned to face Commodore Anglert. “More enemy warships have been detected emerging from the mass of ships around the orbital construct.”
“What are a few more warships?” Commodore Anglert commented without concern.
“We will just destroy them sooner.”
“Perhaps not,” First Leader Dreden replied with a hint of anger in his voice at the overconfidence of Commodore Anglert. “One of the ships is of Dreadnaught class, and the other is even larger. They have eight more escort ships with them. Not only that, but the orbital construct is launching numerous fighters.”
Commodore Anglert turned on First Leader Dreden with a scathing look. “They will be of no consequence. Our weapons and technology are superior. Launch our own war wings. It is time to destroy these humans!”
First Leader Dreden turned to obey. For the first time, he had actual concerns about this attack. It was becoming rapidly evident that Commodore Anglert might not understand what he was up against. However, a Hocklyn was duty bound to obey his commanding officer.
-
The StarStrike and her battle group rapidly joined up with the Endeavor and Crucible. He ordered both of the other two battle groups to close up with his formation. The StarStrike would strike the center of the enemy fleet with the two Monarch cruisers and their escorts hitting the sides. It would be swift and deadly. Hedon planned on taking his ships into the heart of the enemy formation at point blank range. He hoped the extreme close proximity to the Hocklyn ships would neutralize their more powerful shield technology.
“Standby for nuclear strike,” he ordered over his mini-com as he watched the sensor screen intently. Only the two Monarch cruisers, the StarStrike and the Victory, were armed with the deadly nuclear weapons. These missiles were in their own launch tubes, and it took two Command Center officers to activate the arming codes. “Immediately after the nuclear strike all ships are to hit the Hocklyns with Shrike missiles. One pod each!”
Colonel Sheen turned her nuclear launch key on the command console and entered her access code. It felt strange to her to be authorizing the use of nuclear weapons.
After Colonel Sheen had finished entering her code, Hedon did the same. He intended to destroy the Hocklyn fleet, and the use of nuclear weapons were the key to that strategy.
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 16