Nanomachine War series Box Set

by Don Viecelli

  “I just called Alejandro back. He found a replacement for me. He sent me her background data, but she won’t be sent here until after we deal with the Yoyka.”

  “Glad to hear. Any idea what I’ll be doing after she comes?”

  Doug smiled and said, “I’m recommending you for my old job as UN Security Director, Gwen. You deserve it and I hope you will accept the position.”

  Gwen did not hesitate in her response. “I accept. What about Chuck? Where’s he going?”

  Chuck Williams was the former US Army officer from Waco, Texas who also worked for Doug before everything changed.

  “Chuck agreed to serve with Lieutenant Colonel Shirley Tills as a Marine Captain in the UN Space Strike Force. His officer training is sorely needed. He will be leaving with me to join the space fleet today.”

  “Do you still want me to run things here until the new Deputy Secretary arrives?”

  “Of course, Gwen. Try not to mess things up too much while I’m gone.” He was joking. Gwen also had a good sense of humor and he knew she could take a joke.

  “Try not to get yourself killed up there, Doug,” Gwen added seriously as Doug prepared to leave the office.

  Doug offered his hand. “The same to you, Gwen. However, if we win the war, the Qumru promises us the option to be reborn whenever we need it. Could be a good thing.”

  They both laughed, but that possibility was something most humans simply could not fully comprehend yet.

  Chapter 37

  Preparing For War

  The Holtu transport shuttle Doug Martin and Marine Captain Chuck Williams were on climbed steadily until they reached the same orbital path the Holtu warship was on. It closed quickly with the warship and landed inside the hangar bay with a slight jolt. Doug was impressed with the piloting even though he knew the approach was handled by the AIC controller.

  “First time on a Holtu warship, Chuck?” Doug asked as they prepared to depart with the other people on board.

  “Afraid so, Doug. This will be a new experience for an old Army man.” Chuck straightened up his six foot frame as he exited the craft.

  “Don’t worry, Lieutenant Colonel Tills will have you ship shape in no time.”

  “Yes she will, I have no doubt. Where are you headed?”

  Doug took a deep breath of the artificial air inside the hangar and hoped he could get used to it quickly. It was dryer than the air on Mars and had a slightly different smell. “I have to report to Vice Leader Di to meet my new boss. I’m the new Space Wing Commander on board this warship.”

  “You command the Zoltu fighters on board this ship?” Chuck looked surprised.

  “Yes, I used to be an Air Wing Commander on board an aircraft carrier in my old Marine Navy Pilot days. I guess the military thinks I can handle a CAG’s job now.”

  “I think I’ll stick to Marine Landing Assault Teams. I never did like flying,” Chuck added as they approached the hangar exit doorway.

  “Well, good luck to you, Chuck. I’ll see you later.” They shook hands and Doug left Chuck standing in the narrow hallway as he headed for the lift to the warship’s Command Center on Level 1. It was time to meet his new boss and get settled into his new command.

  As soon as Doug stepped out of the elevator, a Holtu officer on the Bridge directed Doug to Vice Leader Di’s officer quarters just down the hallway from the Command Center. The Holtu officer opened the door without knocking and let Doug enter on his own.

  Inside sitting at a small conference table were Di and another human officer Doug recognized immediately. Doug saluted and said, “Captain Weston! I was not expecting to see you.”

  “Welcome aboard, Commander Martin. Vice Leader Di just informed me you would be my second in command. I’m glad you’re finally on board.”

  Vice Leader Di motioned for Doug to have a seat at the table. He appeared as calm and unemotional as usual. “I thought we should meet first before you begin your new duties. I have outlined my expectations to Captain Weston who will be in charge of my Zoltu fighters. I shall do the same again for you.

  “High Leader Altek has assigned this warship to me. It is called Bakutu after a fierce predator on Holtu. I have commanded other warships in my career, but none recently. This warship is updated with the latest weapon technology and our new FTL hyperdrive. There are one hundred Zoltu fighters on board. Captain Weston is in command of the Space Fighter Group. However, the fighter crews will be composed of mixed Holtu and human pilots and navigators. It is expected the pilots will become experienced in battle at the same rate, but how they will perform is unknown at this time.

  “Captain Weston has assured me human pilots have real battle experience in Earth wars and they will perform well. Holtu pilots have little experience in real space battles but they have faster reflexes and are less emotional than humans. We will see what happens and adjust our tactics accordingly.

  “We will proceed to deep space immediately and begin training exercises with Zoltu pilots from other warships. Are there any questions?”

  Doug looked at Di. “Is there any news on the Yoyka warfleet?”

  “Our surveillance probes in the Yoyka star system have observed five hundred Yoyka warships entering hyperspace. Our probes will try to track their hyperdrive signatures in hyperspace, but it will be difficult. We are still confident they are headed to Holtu.”

  “What if they all decide to stop here first?” Doug asked.

  “If the entire Yoyka warfleet stops here, we will not be able to prevent them from taking over your solar system. However, it is unlikely they will commit their whole fleet. The Yoyka will only send as many warships they think will destroy our fleet here guarding your star system. We still estimate the Yoyka will send forty warships to battle what they think is ten of our warships.”

  “How much time before they arrive,” Captain Weston asked.

  “The Yoyka warship fleet left three of your days ago. They will arrive in thirty Mars days.

  “Good, that will give us more time to train our pilots.”

  *****

  The next four weeks were filled with intense training exercises scheduled by Doug’s commanding officer. Officially, Jason Weston’s title was Captain, UN Space Strike Force (UNSSF), everyone including Doug referred to him as Commander, Air Group. Captain Weston would rank as an equal to an Admiral commanding an aircraft carrier, but until humans actually had their own space warships, Vice Leader Di was in control of the Bakutu. The first Earth built warships were in final assembly on the Moon and would be ready for space flight tests in another week or so. They would not be ready in time to battle the Yoyka when they arrived.

  Sitting inside the Space Fighter Group’s Command Room on Hangar Deck Level 12 Doug was reviewing the latest analysis of his Space Wing Squadron and noticed the results were continuously improving each time they participated in a mock space battle drill with pilots from other warships. Currently, they were deep in space between Ceres and Jupiter, well clear of the Asteroid Belt.

  Squadron Commander Susan Potter entered the Command Room, just back from a trial run with two Zoltu space fighter squadrons, ten fighters each. She saluted Doug and reported, “Everything went as expected, Commander Martin. The Squadron Leaders and pilots are working well together.” Commander Potter had chosen to follow Captain Weston wherever he was assigned. He was her mentor.

  “I see the results of both of fighter squadrons. They are performing well. Congratulations.”

  “Should I send out the squadrons for more training?”

  “No, we have orders to pull back to Mars space. The fighter training is over for now. Vice Leader Di has decided to test our warship weapons one more time before returning to Mars. Then we wait for the Yoyka to show up.”

  “How soon with they arrive, sir?”

  “Captain Weston says in two days. High Leader Altek has repositioned his warships to protect Mars and Earth. All our Earth and Mars based Zoltu Fighter Squadrons are on full alert. We’re as ready
as we can be.”

  *****

  Commander Balota was exalting in his recent promotion to Fleet Commander under the command of High Commander Anahta. Instead of guarding the pacified planet of Qum, he was now in charge of forty Yoyka warships headed for ultimate glory in battle against a new enemy of the Yoykan Empire. Moments from now, Balota would issue the command to his fleet to drop out of hyperspace and attack two planets in a new star system.

  Balota turned to Second Commander Rida and ordered, “Send a message to High Commander Anahta; we are ready to enter the Human star system and engage the enemy. Glory to the Empire!”

  “Yes, Fleet Commander!”

  Fleet Commander Balota turned his attention to his outside viewscreens. He watched the timer count down to zero. Suddenly the view on his screens burst in a bright light as his warship exited hyperspace near a large gas giant planet. “All shields up!” he ordered.

  “All warships accounted for,” Rida acknowledged as the control system identified thirty-nine Yoyka warships exiting hyperspace after them, but spaced far apart in groups of four each.

  Within seconds, alarms sounded to alert the Bridge of ten enemy Holtu warships orbiting two planets in the solar system identified as Earth and Mars.

  “There are our targets!” Balota bellowed. He sent messages to two groups of four warships each to speed towards the two planets and fire their nuclear tipped missiles at the enemy warships. Then he added, “Do not let them escape. Destroy them!”

  Balota leaned back in his command chair. This was too easy. There was no way ten Holtu warships full of androids could possible defeat his fleet of forty warships. It has never happened in the entire history of the Yoykan Empire. To make it even more clear to the enemy how futile their position was, Balota decided to move the rest of his fleet towards the two human planets. Once the Holtu warships were destroyed, Balota was under orders to fire his new nanomachine missile weapons at both planets where humans lived. These nanomachines would infect all living organisms. The organisms would not die at once; they were meant to pass the infection to all living humans where the newly modified nanomachines would cause human extinction if not stopped by the Yoyka. The humans would have to obey the Yoyka Emperor or die.

  Balota watched as nuclear missiles by the hundreds raced towards the Holtu warships. Even if the Holtu energy shields prevented total destruction, their shields would be weakened enough to let other Yoyka energy beams penetrate and slice open every single enemy warship. It was enough to make Balota gloat in anticipation.

  Chapter 38

  Space Battle Begins

  Vice Leader Di ignored the loud warning alarms ringing in his Command Center. He showed no emotions that would indicate he was worried. He was too preoccupied with critical preparations for battle with the sudden emergence of numerous Yoyka warships in this solar system near the planet called Jupiter. Looking at his monitor screens, Di counted the number of warships. Forty warships. Altek was right.

  “Enemy missiles fired!” First Leader Miata acknowledged on the Bridge.

  “Permission to fire our missiles. Target the nearest group of Yoyka warships, First Leader!”

  Di felt the rapid fire vibrations caused by numerous missile tubes two decks below.

  Immediately after the Yoyka warships fired their missiles, they launched Spitka fighters to begin their attack runs. The detection of over 4,000 space fighters heading towards them caused even more alarms to go off on Di’s Bridge.

  Bakutu’s Artificial Intelligence Control (AIC) immediately increased power to the energy shields, powered up the hyperdrive system and began to quickly move the warship deeper into open space away from the planet Mars. The incoming Yoyka missiles followed them as expected.

  AIC powered up the missile defense system. It would initiate antimissile laser beam fire at the nuclear tipped missiles as soon as they came within range of the Bakutu. The AI would not stop firing until all incoming missiles were destroyed.

  Di checked the status of the other warships in his group. High Leader Altek left Di in command of ten Holtu warships; five orbited Mars and five orbited Earth waiting for the Yoyka warships to appear. Now, Di ordered all ten Holtu warships to move away from the planets and towards the attacking Yoyka warships. The intent was to draw the remaining Yoyka warships closer together. Di was confident the leader of the Yoyka warships would see his opportunity to outflank the ten Holtu warships and commit the rest of his fleet. The Holtu appeared to be trapped and would therefore be easily destroyed.

  Di gave another command. “Launch all Zoltu fighters!”

  The Zoltu fighter squadrons had moments to clear the warships before the missiles reached them. It was clear to anyone monitoring the situation, the Zoltu fighters were hopelessly outnumbered by the Spitka fighters headed their way.

  The 50 megaton nuclear tipped missiles fired from the Yoyka and Holtu warships raced closer to their targets. AIC targeted defensive energy laser beams sliced through space and thinned out most of the missiles before they could reach any warships. However, many missiles made it through the deadly laser fire and began exploding with immense power against the energy shields. No noise could be heard outside in deep space, but shockwaves bouncing off energy shields rolled through the warships like earthquakes and shook crewmembers not strapped in their seats to the ground. Outside, the multicolored lights from the explosions were brighter than any fireworks ever seen on Earth. People on Earth and Mars could see the space battle effects with unaided eyes.

  The Holtu warship energy shields held as best they could against the surviving Yoyka missiles. Holtu shields were stronger than anticipated by the Yoyka. They were powered by Zero Point Energy, which was inexhaustible in the universe. The only limiting factor was the size of the power supplies needed to store the quantum field energy. The new power supplies were much bigger now and the shields could absorb more energy from nuclear explosions than the Yoyka knew. No Holtu warship was destroyed by the first wave of missiles fired by the attacking Yoyka warships. However, a few Holtu warships that were hit by more than five nuclear missiles at one time did suffer major damage and needed time to recover. Di knew the warship commanders would use their Zoltu fighters to help protect them from future attacks. Hopefully, they would survive the next few minutes of the battle.

  Squadron Commander Susan Potter was facing the most dangerous situation in her life; if you didn’t count the first time the Yoykan Malee sliced her spacecraft called the USS Illinois in half and left the crew to die in space. Instead of feeling fear, Potter was intently focused on payback for her lost crewmembers. She was no longer helpless. She had four squadrons of 25 Zoltu fighters each headed into battle, armed with deadly weapons and piloted by Holtu and human crews ready to die for their worlds. The Yoyka were about to face their deadliest enemies yet.

  Potter issued two orders to her four Squadron Leaders over the comlink, “Fire at will! Attack the Yoyka warships!”

  Scores of fighters from each side were on a collision course. Many would have collided in space were it not for their AI controlled avoidance systems. Instead they all fired laser beam weapons at each other as they passed. The Zoltu and Spitka fighters were evenly matched in speed and fire power, but when travelling at sublight speeds there was no time to make the critical decisions when and where to fire their laser guns. AIC picked the targets and fired automatically. It happened so quickly, the space lit up like fireworks as the fighters passed by each other in milliseconds.

  The Zoltu fighters were outnumbered four to one, but they have one advantage the Spitkas did not; they had better shields. Laser beams cut through large swaths of Spitka fighters destroying two or more fighters to each Zoltu fighter lost. More damage occurred from flying debris from exploding fighters as they passed through each other. It was a sight no fighter pilot from either side had ever witnessed before.

  Commander Potter barely took a breath when her fighter broke through the onrushing Spitka fighters still in one piece. Her comli
nk had been open the whole time. She heard countless voices over the comchannel from her Squadron Leaders checking to see who survived and who did not.

  “Squadron Leaders—Report!”

  “Squadron Leader Two reporting: five fighters down!”

  “Squadron Leader Three reporting; seven fighters down!”

  “Squadron Leader Four reporting; six fighters down!”

  No word came back from Squadron Leader One. “First Leader Squadron One reporting: Squadron Leader One is gone. Ten fighters down!”

  Twenty-eight fighters lost with all crewmembers. Potter had no time to mourn the loss of close friends. She had to compartmentalize the loss and deal with it later. Now, she still had a mission to accomplish.

  “All Squadrons target the nearest warships and fire all missiles! Their shields have been weakened. Aim for the aft power thrusters. Then return to protect our ship!”

  The Yoyka warships were displayed on their monitoring screens. Potter’s fighters had seconds to fire their missiles before they came into range of the Yoyka warship defensive laser beam guns. The laser beams were much more powerful than fighter shields could handle at close range. However, the nuclear tipped missiles the fighters carried were closer now and would be harder to hit traveling at sublight speeds. With a little luck, some of the missiles would get through the weakened energy shields and defensive laser fire and penetrate the hulls of the warships.

  Commander Potter noted with satisfactions that some of their missiles did reach the targeted warships when explosions lit up the dark space behind her fighter. A few more fighters were lost in the approach, but most of them made the turn back towards the Bakutu. All they had to do now was fight their way through hundreds of Spitka fighters surrounding their warship.