“Just what is the name of this world?” Hedon asked doubtfully. He felt sure the admiral was delusional. This sounded like some wild tale from a vid telecast.
Kinseth’s eyes seemed to grow bright, and for a moment, he seemed stronger. “Earth,” Kinseth replied as the light began to fade from his eyes. “The planet’s name is Earth. Take our people there.”
Kinseth closed his eyes and the machines that were helping to keep him alive started blaring warning alarms. The doctor and nurses ran back in and after the doctor examined the admiral, he turned toward Hedon and shook his head. Admiral Kinseth was gone.
Hedon stepped back out of the room and noticed that Lendle was in Taylor’s arms, openly crying. “I need to see a scientist named Severs.”
“I thought you would,” Taylor responded knowingly. “He is waiting in a conference room close by.”
A few minutes later, Admiral Streth was sitting across from an older man. Severs had nearly white hair and looked to be in his later years. For a Federation citizen with their advanced medicine that was close to ninety years of age.
“Admiral Kinseth said something as he was dying,” Hedon began. “He said I was to take the survivors to Earth. I have never heard of this Earth. He said you could tell me what this is all about.”
“You wouldn’t have heard of Earth,” spoke Severs, leaning forward and gazing intently at Admiral Streth. “It is one of the Federation’s most closely guarded secrets. Less than ten people in the entire Federation are even aware that Earth exists. All of those except for me are now probably dead.”
“I don’t understand,” spoke Hedon, feeling even more confused. “Admiral Kinseth said that we came from this Earth over ten thousand years ago. How is that possible?”
“In this asteroid there is an ancient space ship,” began Severs, taking a deep breath. “It was discovered several hundred years ago by some miners. It’s from a race that existed thousands of years ago in the heart of our galaxy. They were a great race and traveled far in their explorations.”
“The race that created the AIs,” Hedon said with dawning comprehension. That had to be who Severs was talking about. What did they have to do with all of this?
“AIs,” responded Severs looking confused. “What is this about AIs?”
Hedon took a few minutes and told Severs what they had discovered about the Hocklyns and their AI masters.
“It explains a lot,” Severs said nodding his head in understanding. “It also answers how the Federation was defeated so easily. We know from some of the records we were able to translate that there was a big disagreement about the direction the Altons were taking. From what you have just told me, I now believe that disagreement was over these very same AIs.”
“The Altons,” Hedon repeated. “Is that the name of this race?”
“Yes,” Severs replied as he continued to explain. “We don’t know a lot other than they traveled far out into one of the galactic arms and found Earth. The humans on Earth at that time were very primitive, but the Altons brought back a large number as well as some of the more common animals. They put the humans and their animals on Tellus and left.”
“That’s why there’s such wild diversity in the animals on Tellus,” Hedon spoke.
He recalled in his college days, how several of his college professors had claimed that Tellus seemed as if it had two separate but distinct ecosystems. Scientists for years had argued over how this was possible. Now it seemed there was a rational explanation. One they never would have expected.
“They came here to set up a base to watch over us, but over the years they died out. They didn’t have a large enough population to grow. We estimate that there were only a few hundred of them at the beginning. All we know from their records is that they believed that their fellow Altons had made a huge mistake. They felt by placing humans on Tellus that we might be able to rectify that mistake someday.”
“They wanted us to be able to stop the AIs if they got out of control,” commented Hedon, realizing what this group of Altons had sought. “They realized that creating the AIs was a mistake and one their race might regret later. They wanted a failsafe to stop the AIs if it became necessary. But why humans?”
“Our aggressiveness,” Severs responded evenly. “From what you have told me about these AIs, this splinter group of Altons would have wanted a very aggressive race to be able to stop them.”
“It almost worked,” commented Hedon, letting out a sharp breath. “In another several hundred years, I don’t think the Hocklyns would have been able to conquer us. With newer and better weapons, we might even have been able to stop the AI ships. Now we will never know.”
“But Earth might be able to stop them someday,” Severs spoke, his voice sounding hopeful. “With our aid and with what we know of the Hocklyns and the AIs, it could make all the difference.” Severs reached into his pocket and handed Hedon a small dark colored flash drive. “That flash drive contains Earth’s coordinates and everything we have been able to learn from the Alton ship. There was nothing useable in the ship. After ten thousand years, even one of their advanced vessels deteriorates with age. There were a few records preserved on some metal plates, but not much else.”
“So we take the survivors of our people to Earth,” Hedon commented, still finding it hard to believe what he had heard from Admiral Kinseth and Severs.
“Yes,” replied Severs, nodding his head. “It’s our only hope. Perhaps our galaxy's only hope.”
Hedon leaned back and glanced down at the flash drive in his right hand. “The Altons took our ancestors from Earth over ten thousand years ago according to what you have found. What will Earth be like now? Is it even still there?”
“We will only know by going there,” Severs replied in a low voice. “I believe Earth is still there and that humans still live there. If not, then we have no hope at all.”
Hedon nodded his head. With sudden realization, he knew the decision had already been made in the back of his mind. They had no other real choice. He was going to take the fleet to Earth.
“I guess the next big question is how do we evacuate this base?”
Severs smiled. “I think your brother can answer that. He has something to show you.”
An hour later, Hedon gazed out across a cavernous bay in the heart of the asteroid in shock. Two massive ships resided in their construction cradles.
“What are those?” he asked. He had never seen ships like these before. Both ships looked to be over fifteen hundred meters long.
“Colony ships,” Taylor replied with a smile. “Admiral Kinseth and the Federation Council had been planning on setting up several more colonies farther out away from the Federation. They had already picked out two habitable worlds for the new colonies. Then the Hocklyns struck. Now they will be used to evacuate our people. Lendle and I were sent here to make sure those two ships were finished in time in case we had to evacuate. Admiral Kinseth felt a stronger military presence would get the civilians to working faster.”
From what Hendon could see, the ships were similar to a battle carrier but without the heavy armaments. He could see a large flight bay and numerous point defense weapons, but nothing heavy.
“What weapons are the two colony ships equipped with?” asked Hedon, wondering how well they could defend themselves. If they left the protection of this bay, they would be prime targets. Their size would draw the Hocklyns to them. He doubted if they could get away from the base without a fight.
“They are each equipped with one squadron of Talon fighters and ninety-six dual point defense turrets. They also have a very powerful energy screen. As strong as a Conqueror Class Battle Cruiser.”
“How many people can they hold?”
“Ten thousand each plus a crew of twelve hundred,” Taylor responded. Each ship has the manufacturing capability to create a viable colony.”
“If my calculations are right, that still leaves fifteen thousand fleet personnel without a way off this astero
id.”
“We have more ships,” responded Taylor, motioning for Hedon to follow him. “As soon as the Hocklyns hit the colonies, Admiral Kinseth sent several passenger liners as well as some additional fleet ships to us. They’re in the bay next to this one.”
Reaching the next bay, Hedon looked out over the other ships. He was pleased to see two light cruisers in the bay. There were also five more passenger liners, several fleet supply ships, and two marine assault ships.
“Did marines come with those two assault ships?” asked Hedon, hoping they had.
Additional marines could be very useful. He also knew the two marine assault ships were heavily armed with point defense weapons as well as a number of medium railgun batteries. They were heavily armored and designed to take a pounding.
“Yes,” Taylor answered. “General Crist is in charge of the marines. He has two thousand marines under his command.”
Hedon nodded. “We have a lot of plans to make. It’s not going to be easy escaping from this asteroid. As soon as our ships try to exit, the Hocklyns are going to detect them on their sensors.”
“We will have to fight our way out,” Taylor agreed. “We were expecting that. It will take us twenty minutes to get the ships out of the bays and into space. Then another thirty to navigate the asteroid field and reach a safe distance from the asteroid field’s gravity well to allow us to jump.”
“That’s nearly an hour,” spoke Hedon, thinking about how this could be done. “We’re going to lose some ships.”
“I know it’s a risk, but we have no other choice.”
Hedon thought for several long minutes, gazing out over the bay. “How many stealth scout ships do you have here?” he asked, recalling something that Captain Arcles had mentioned a few days back.
He might just have a surprise for the Hocklyns. The key to getting the ships out of the base was time. Somehow, he had to buy them the time they needed to get to a safe distance so they could jump away. Once in hyperspace, the Hocklyns wouldn’t be able to follow.
“We have seven,” Taylor replied, his eyes narrowing. “What do you have in mind?”
“Let’s go to the Command Center, and we can talk there. I might just have something that could buy us the time we need.”
Chapter Thirteen
Admiral Streth was back on board the StarStrike. For the past two days, he had been working with his command staff to set up a quick strike on the Hocklyns in the home system. Two scout ships had been sent to get more detailed scans of Tellus and Maken to determine if any resistance was still going on. From the number of Hocklyn ships around the two planets, Admiral Streth strongly suspected there was. They had also been directed to scan several of the moons that had large mining operations on them.
“This is quite daring,” Commander Adler commented as he studied what they had come up with looking for anything that might increase their chances of success. They had discussed several different plans, and the current one seemed to hold the highest probability of success.
“Ariel and Clarissa have gone over it, and they made a few suggestions for improvement that we have added,” Commander Standel said gazing over at the main viewscreen on the wall upon which Ariel’s avatar was listening.
“We have thirteen stealth scout ships at our disposal now counting the ones that Admiral Streth brought back from the hidden base,” Ariel commented in her soft feminine voice. “They will be used to create a diversion that should confuse the Hocklyns for a brief period.”
“Everyone needs to understand that we could lose some ships in this operation, but those two colony ships are too valuable not to rescue,” Admiral Streth spoke evenly. “Each one of the colony ships is capable of setting up a viable colony plus they have a tremendous manufacturing capability.”
“From what you have told us the twenty thousand civilians on those two ships were specially chosen,” added Colonel Sheen looking over at the admiral. She had been pleased to learn that the admiral’s brother and Lendle had survived. “They are the best and brightest in the Federation.”
“There are also a number of key research scientists in that base,” Commander Wisthom commented. “They could be very useful in helping us to decide on how to move against the Hocklyns in the future. We will need new and better weapons. We must maintain our technology base wherever we go to set up a new colony.”
“All true,” Admiral Streth responded, his eyes moving over the small group. He hadn’t told any of them, other than Commander Largo, about Earth.
“We need to be able to hold the Hocklyns off the evacuation ships for nearly an hour,” Commander Vincent of the Harrington spoke with a frown. “That’s going to be a tall order, Admiral. There are a lot of Hocklyn ships in the home system.”
“I don’t see where we have a choice,” Major Andrews said, shaking his head slightly. He looked around the group, making eye contact with each of them. “We need those people. It’s our duty as part of the Federation fleet to save them. We’re talking about over thirty-six thousand survivors, counting the fleet personnel in the base.”
Amanda nodded in agreement, giving Richard a slight smile of encouragement. The Harrington had just returned the day before with a full load of supplies, as well as bringing another destroyer and two more passenger ships. They had also evacuated the second depot’s crew.
“To me this plan offers us the best hope of doing that,” Richard continued. “The one thing we need to realize is that if this plan succeeds, the Hocklyns will know there are human survivors and will come looking for us. After the battle we’re going to have to run and run fast.”
“They will have a long ways to go to catch us,” Admiral Streth commented.
He had given Commander Largo the flash drive with the coordinates to Earth. The SwiftFire and one light cruiser would be staying with the civilian fleet at the depot. If the attack failed and the rest of First Fleet was destroyed in the attempted rescue, Commander Largo had orders to proceed to Earth.”
“We attack tomorrow,” ordered Admiral Streth, gazing one more time across the group. He was pleased to see the determined look upon their faces and in their eyes. It was time the Hocklyns received some payback.
-
Amanda and Richard were in her quarters talking about the upcoming mission. With the Harrington away at the second supply depot, they hadn’t had an opportunity to talk for several days.
“This mission is going to be dangerous,” Amanda commented with a heavy sigh. “As many Hocklyn ships as there are in the home system, we’re going to take some losses.”
“I know,” replied Richard, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “But we have surprise on our side. The Hocklyns have no idea we exist. If we can confuse them long enough, we have a good chance of succeeding.”
The two continued to talk about the mission and what had happened to the Federation worlds. They had no idea what their future destination was since the admiral had been very tight lipped about it. They both knew that he had discovered something extremely important on his visit to the secret base in the home system and that he had given Commander Largo a destination to take the survivors to if the mission failed.
Richard finally stood up and leaning forward, kissed Amanda gently on the lips. “I need to be getting back,” he said. “I have the watch tonight.”
Amanda stood up, put her arms around his neck, and smiled. “Not tonight. I asked Admiral Streth to pull some strings. You don’t have to be back aboard the Harrington until morning.”
“Morning...” Richard repeated, his eyes narrowing in surprise. “I don’t understand.”
Amanda leaned forward and kissed Richard again. This kiss held all the passion and desire she had been holding in check the past few months. “Tonight I want you to stay with me. We don’t know what might happen tomorrow. I want this night to be about us.”
Richard looked into Amanda’s eyes and slowly nodded. “I want this too,” he said, with a gentle smile spreading across his fa
ce. “I love you, Amanda. I have for quite some time.”
Amanda closed her eyes and felt her face flushing. “I love you too, Richard. Now let’s quit talking.” She leaned forward and kissed him again.
-
Taylor looked at the countdown timer on the main viewscreen in the Command Center. He was on board the colony ship Explorer. In another fifteen minutes, the exodus from the base would begin. The two light cruisers would go first as well as the base’s two squadrons of Talon fighters. The Talons had orders to sweep the asteroid field near the base and eliminate any Hocklyn fighters that might be present. Once the Explorer and Discovery were clear of the asteroid, they would launch their own squadrons for additional protection. Then it would be a waiting game to see if they could clear the asteroids and the gravity well before the Hocklyns responded.
“Do you think we will make it?” Lendle asked nervously. She was standing next to Taylor and watching the busy crew in the Command Center. Her stomach felt as if it had butterflies in it. Combat on the ground was one thing. She was trained for that. But space combat was a new game entirely.
“I trust Hedon,” Taylor responded calmly. “He has never let me down. I don’t think the man knows how to fail.”
Captain Jonas walked over to Taylor. “All systems are ready, sir. We can leave the dock at your command.”
“Some flight trial isn’t it, Captain,” commented Taylor forcing a grin onto his face.
“Trial by fire, Major,” Captain Jonas responded with a friendly nod. “This is a good ship and a good crew. We will make it. I’m confident of that.”
“Are the Talons ready to launch?”
“Yes, they are. Both squadrons will launch from the Explorer and Discovery as soon as we have cleared the base.”
Taylor reached for his wife’s hand and squeezed it. “Now I guess we wait for Hedon. Once he starts his attack, we go.”
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 30