“Five more minutes,” answered Colonel Sheen, looking down at the plotting table. “They are starting to take some damage from Hocklyn weapons fire.” The plotting table was full of red and green icons. The battle had grown so large it was becoming difficult to keep track of everything.
Another bright explosion lit up one of the screens as a human light cruiser died under the withering fire from two Hocklyn war cruisers.
“Light cruiser Mace is down,” reported Colonel Sheen, struggling to keep her voice calm.
“Destroyers Lance and Trinity reporting heavy damage,” Colonel Sheen continued, her face turning ashen. “The Trinity reports that her FTL drive has been destroyed, and they have numerous uncontrolled fires burning throughout the ship.”
Shortly another brilliant explosion covered one of the viewscreens.
“Destroyer Trinity rammed one of the Hocklyn war cruisers. The war cruiser appears to be heavily damaged.”
“Move in and finish it off,” Hedon ordered grimly. “That destroyer sacrificed herself; let’s finish the job for them.”
The StarStrike approached the heavily damaged war cruiser and began pounding it with her bow rail guns. Each armor piercing round tore massive holes in the crippled war cruiser’s hull. Moments later, it exploded as its dying commander activated the cruiser’s self-destruct.
“The Harrington just suffered two nuke strikes,” reported Colonel Sheen feeling her heart flutter. “They report moderate damage and several fires are out of control. They are still operational.”
“Have the destroyers Blade and Ranger move over to help cover her,” Admiral Streth ordered. He was not going to lose one of his battle carriers. They were too valuable.
“Evacuation ships are starting to jump,” Colonel Sheen reported with relief in her voice as blue-white jump vortexes began forming in front of the first few.
-
Taylor felt the Explorer shudder as several Hocklyn missiles struck the colony ship’s powerful energy screen. The ship’s point defense turrets were firing non-stop, attempting to knock down as much of the incoming Hocklyn ordnance as possible. The two colony ships were prime targets, and the space around them was full of exploding ordnance and dying missiles.
“The passenger ship Maken’s Dream is down,” Captain Jonas reported, his face turning white with shock. Over three thousand fleet personnel had been aboard that ship.
“Jump in twenty seconds,” the ship’s executive officer reported. “The Discovery will jump five seconds after us. The entire fleet will have jumped in forty more seconds.”
“I just hope we make it that long,” Taylor said as a nuke went off against the Explorer’s shield, sharply jarring the ship. Taylor looked at the damage control board and saw a few amber lights flash on.
“The fleet’s taking a beating out there,” pointed out Lendle, gesturing at the viewscreens, which were lit up with exploding ordnance and missiles. Occasionally a nuke would go off against a ship’s shields.
“It will be over shortly,” responded Taylor, clenching his fist and taking a deep breath. He just hoped they all survived.
-
Ariel and Clarissa were in the process of disabling a Hocklyn war cruiser. They would dart in, launch a missile attack, and then accelerate away at high speed filling the space behind them with railgun and missile fire to detonate any incoming ordnance or weapons.
The two light cruisers began another run and then came to a sudden stop, firing two devastator missiles and a full broadside from their railguns. The two missiles struck the war cruiser, weakening its shields to the point of collapse. A number of railgun rounds penetrated, carving large holes in the ship’s hull. Ariel and Clarissa then turned the two light cruisers bow first toward the war cruiser and fired their lasers at the engineering section. Four orange-red beams flashed out, going through the weakened shield and tearing into the engineering spaces. A resounding explosion and fireball erupted from the stricken section of the war cruiser, and her shields failed completely. Two more Devastator missiles were launched, and the war cruiser was incinerated in two massive fireballs of nuclear destruction.
-
“The evacuation fleet has all jumped,” Colonel Sheen reported suddenly. “They lost two passenger liners, one of the fleet supply ships, and the light cruiser Tracer.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Admiral Streth ordered. “All ships to jump immediately. Order all fighters and bombers to make emergency combat landings.”
“We just lost the destroyer Blade,” added Colonel Sheen, feeling numb at the ships they were losing. Many others had suffered major damage.
“Move us closer to the two battle carriers, we will cover their withdrawal. We have to give them time to recover their air wings. We’re not leaving any pilots behind!”
The StarStrike moved into position. Her railgun and missile batteries were firing constantly, taking down Hocklyn fighters and incoming ordnance. The Hocklyn intensified their attack, realizing that the human ships were escaping. The light cruiser Hydra and the destroyer Astral moved closer to the StarStrike, offering supportive fire.
In less than three minutes, all the remaining fighters and bombers were safely aboard the two carriers. The two carriers immediately activated their jump drives and fled into hyperspace.
Seeing the battle carriers were safely away, Admiral Streth ordered the rest of the fleet to jump. Blue-white vortexes began to form in front of the remaining fleet ships, and in less than a minute they had fled into the safety of hyperspace. Behind them, they left the human home system behind. Each person in the fleet knew they would never see it again.
-
War Leader Sigeth gazed at the long-range sensor screen, which showed that the majority of the human ships had escaped. It left him with a deplorable decision to make. If he informed the masters that he had failed and allowed the humans to escape, then his career was over. However, he could send out fleets to the surrounding systems, take vids of the destroyed human ships, and inform the masters that the situation had been dealt with. He would not tell the masters how many human ships had escaped. He also would not inform the Hocklyn High Command.
He let out a deep breath. What he was going to do went against all of the ideas of honor that had been so dominant in his life. But to do otherwise would result in his family losing everything. It would not be that difficult to set up the vids to show that the human ships had been destroyed. He would send out numerous small fleets all over this section of space. Then after a while, he would announce that the last few human ships had been hunted down and destroyed. The Hocklyn High Command and the masters would never know that he had lied. Why should they? Hocklyns didn’t lie.
-
Eight Months Later
Admiral Streth gazed at the large viewscreen on the front wall of the Command Center. It showed a beautiful blue-white globe. The view was being transmitted by one of the remaining stealth scouts. Only four of them had made it back after the battle in the home system. He was glad that Captain Arcles had been one of them. It was his scout that was transmitting the current video.
“The planet is nearly seventy percent water, and the atmosphere is Tellus normal,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as he studied the data being transmitted by the scout. “The scout has detected numerous cities and small villages across the planet. It is definitely inhabited by humans, and quite a few of them. The computer is estimating close to two billion inhabitants.”
“That’s quite a few,” Major Andrews said from where he was standing next to Colonel Sheen.
They had been discussing resigning their commissions and raising a family. Admiral Streth didn’t want to lose the two talented individuals and had said they would work something out. He didn’t think marriage and being part of the military would be a problem any longer.
“Ariel says they are in the late industrial age,” commented Amanda, reaching out and taking Richard’s hand. “They have just started using electricity and their medical practices
are rapidly advancing.”
“We can guide them,” Severs commented thoughtfully. He had come over to the StarStrike to help plan their next move.
“What do you mean, guide them?” asked Hedon, glancing over at the older scientist and historian.
“We will work quietly and out of sight,” Severs answered, arching his eyebrow and smiling. There would be much for them to do to get Earth ready for full contact with the remaining Federation survivors. It might take decades. “Contact with an advanced civilization could be devastating to them at this stage of their development. We will guide them through their nuclear age, the information age, and then finally their early space age. At that point, they should be ready for contact with us.”
“That will take time, professor,” commented Richard frowning. “I thought we were going to place a colony on the planet.”
“Oh, we are,” Severs said with a reassuring smile. “We can find a location in some rural area and gradually move our people in. We will just have to be extremely careful. But I believe it can be done.”
“I have run full sensor scans of the system, and it has a large asteroid field with a number of asteroids that might suit our purpose,” Lieutenant Stalls reported.
“Excellent,” responded Hedon nodding his head in satisfaction. “We can send out one of the light cruisers to check them and find one that will be suitable.”
“So you’re going to build your new military base inside an asteroid and not on the planet’s moon?” Severs asked. He had thought the backside of the planet’s moon would be more convenient and still out of sight.
“It will be better hidden that way, and we won’t have to hide our technology from the humans of Earth. If we place it on their moon, we risk the chance of them discovering it someday. Perhaps before we’re ready to reveal ourselves.”
“What about that planet we found twenty-seven light years from here?” Severs continued. “It’s very similar to Tellus. We could even place a colony on it.”
“I may have a plan for that world,” Hedon replied thoughtfully. He had gone down in a shuttle and spent a few hours on the surface. It had been a tremendous relief to get off the ship for a short while. After eight months, he knew that everyone was feeling the same way.
“So what do we do now?” Richard asked, still holding Amanda’s hand.
“We send civilian teams down to the surface,” Hedon replied. “From what my brother Taylor told me earlier, they have some civilians specially trained for this. Once we’re satisfied everything is okay we will start landing the civilians, and I will take the military ships out to the asteroid field and begin constructing our new base. We have over 370 years to get ready to face the Hocklyns. This time we will not fail!”
Amanda and Richard nodded their heads. They believed in the admiral. If he said they wouldn’t fail, then they wouldn’t. Someday the Hocklyns would find the human race again. This time that first contact would be different.
-
On distant Aquaria, Anson Sheen and Avery Brennen stepped out on the porch of the small house on Krall Island. There had not been any sign of the Hocklyns in the last three months. They hoped the enemy had moved on. In the last few days, they had carefully searched the island for other survivors. There were not many. They had found only eight other families still surviving. All of these had hidden in basements or storm shelters during the Hocklyn attack and occupation.
“We will have to plant a garden soon,” commented Avery looking out toward the ocean. He could see a few sea birds flying above the ocean waves. Everything seemed so normal. Krall Island had escaped most of the harmful effects of the radiation from the nukes.
“It will have to be disguised,” Anson said thoughtfully. “We have plenty of seeds, but we will have to avoid straight lines and anything that looks like cultivation. There may still be a few Hocklyns around. I can’t imagine them leaving Aquaria completely.”
“It’s so peaceful out here,” Anson’s wife spoke stepping out on the porch and gazing at the ocean. “I wish Amanda would come home.”
“I don’t think Amanda is coming home,” Anson said in a low voice, turning to face his wife. They both missed their daughter. It was difficult to think that they would never see her again.
“No, she isn’t,” Anson’s wife replied with a gentle, all knowing smile. “She is far away from here and safe. I believe Richard and Amanda will shortly be building a new life together.”
Anson only nodded. His wife had a knack for knowing these types of things. If she said that Amanda had survived and was now far away from danger, then he believed her. It gave him peace of mind knowing that his daughter had survived.
“Let’s go back down to the basement,” he suggested. “We will get up early in the morning and go into town to see if we can find any supplies.”
His wife nodded and, reaching out, took his hand. “Don’t worry, Anson; everything will work out. I know it will.”
-
On board the light cruiser Avenger, Ariel smiled at the news she had just heard. Lieutenants Arcles and Barnes were being transferred over to the colony ship Explorer to work with Major Streth. It was a temporary transfer until the civilians had been settled on their new world.
Ariel looked around the Command Center. For now, the war was over. She didn’t know if she would still be around when the Hocklyns found them in the future. Looking at the ship’s sensors, she knew one thing. This world was now under her protection. Clarissa and she would do everything in their power to ensure that it remained safe. Someday, humans from the planet Earth would walk in her Command Center. She couldn’t wait for that day. She was already thinking about what her first words would be to their commanding officer.
The End
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy will be the next novel in the Moon Wreck series. It will serve as a linking novel between The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact and The Slaver Wars: First Strike. This story takes place 20 years after Moon Wreck: Secrets of Ceres.
Earth has advanced significantly since Commander Jason Strong discovered the wrecked Federation ship Avenger on the Moon. Now Earth is launching its first interstellar mission. Unknown to Jason, there is a plan to hijack the ship. On Ceres, plans are being made to send a mission back to the former worlds of the Federation to see if anyone survived. It will take a miracle to prevent the Hocklyns from becoming aware of Earth. Can Cadet Lieutenant Jeremy Strong provide that miracle? Find out in Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy.
If you enjoyed The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact and want the series to continue, please post a review with some stars. Good reviews encourage an author to write. If you have suggestions, please contact me at my website listed on the following page. Thank you for reading Alien Contact and being so supportive.
Exciting announcement read below!!!
Stars & Empire
Humanity wasn't built for peace. Not on Earth. Not in space. Not on other worlds. Join first colonizers, space marines and rebel forces as they battle for domination against separate factions, alien nations and, sometimes, themselves across the galaxies.
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This LIMITED-EDITION bundle includes:
MARINES (Crimson Worlds 1) - Jay Allan
PENNSYLVANIA: Books 1 and 2 - Michael Bunker
OMEGA RISING (Omega Force 1) - Joshua Dalzelle
FOREVER GATE: Parts 1 and 2 - Isaac Hooke
THE EMPIRE'S CORPS - Christopher G. Nuttall
REBEL - Edward W. Robertson
DARK SPACE: Book 1 - Jasper T. Scott
THE TERRAN GAMBIT (Episode #1: The P
ax Humana Saga) - Endi Webb
THE SYNCHRONICITY WAR: Part I - Dietmar Arthur Wehr
GALACTIC EMPIRE WARS: Destruction - Raymond L. Weil
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Other Books by Raymond L. Weil
Available at Amazon
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Dragon Dreams
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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Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 2)
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (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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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (Book 1)
Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Book 2)
Turn the page to read an insert from Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction.
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction
“Mason, I’m glad you’re back,” Pamela Cairns said, hurrying over to where Mason and Drake were standing. She had a look of confusion in her eyes. “Something interesting is coming in over our communication feeds from Holbrook Station and Luna City; you need to see it!”
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 32