Nanomachine War series Box Set

by Don Viecelli

  *****

  Yoyka Fleet Commander Gerrata was extremely pleased with what he was about to accomplish; the complete elimination of the enemy Holtu warship fleet he was sent to destroy at Tekoy. The plan worked to perfection, just as Emperor Rahta and High Commander Anahta said it would. He commanded two hundred of the best equipped and experienced warships in the Imperial Space Fleet. As soon as he burst through hyperspace into the Tekoy solar system, he ordered his warships to head directly towards the enemy fleet. He immediately recognized the surprising number of Yoyka warships losses compared to the Holtu forces. The battle had been raging for too short a time for this to happen, he thought to himself. He became outraged.

  “How many Yoyka warships survived this battle?” Gerrata questioned First Commander Borata.

  A quick scan told the story, “Only thirty-five out of one hundred warships are still capable of battle, Fleet Commander!”

  This seemed impossible to Gerrata. This could only be due to incompetent leadership. He would request the Emperor put the Fleet Commander in charge of this battle to death once this space battle was over.

  “The enemy is firing KEM missiles at our fleet!” Borata announced suddenly.

  Gerrata watched what was happening on his comdisplay. He realized he was at a disadvantage in firing the same type of weapons back at the enemy warships. If the missiles missed, they would hit Tekoy. He had only two options. “Release our Spitka fighters! Shoot those missiles down!”

  The seconds counted down quickly. Gerrata ordered his warships to use all counter measurers available to avoid the KEM missiles heading their way. He knew the destructive power they processed. Energy shields could not stop them. Their only hope was to shoot the missiles down before they reached the fleet.

  Gerrata was not expecting so many Holtu warships to survive the initial space battle. He thought this would just be a cleanup operation to finish whatever Holtu warships were not destroyed in the battle. Even so, he greatly outnumbered the Holtu warships. His only mistake so far was not deploying his warships in smaller groups and spacing them further apart. It was going to be difficult in avoiding many of the sublight missiles heading towards them.

  The first explosions occurred all around Gerrata’s warship. He could not hear them, but they were visible as flashes of light and energy on his viewscreen. It was sickening to watch as warship after warship exploded in front of his eyes. This only enraged him more.

  “What is the damage to my fleet?” Gerrata commanded.

  Borata waited for the damage report from the AI scan of destroyed and damaged warships. “Fifty warships destroyed, Fleet Commander. Twenty more damaged without power.

  The loss infuriated him even more than he was already feeling. His fleet was scattered apart in the process. He had to gather his forces for the attack.

  “Order all warship Commanders to surround and attack the enemy. Destroy every last Holtu warship and Zoltu fighter in this solar system. None must escape our grasp!”

  *****

  Doug watched as the Yoyka warship fleet hesitated to fire their own KEM missiles for fear of hitting Tekoy. Instead they tried moving out of the way of the incoming missiles and tried destroying as many of them as they could with laser antimissile defense systems. The second mistake the Yoyka made was entering the solar system in tightly spaced groups of warships. It made avoiding the incoming KEM missiles nearly impossible. It was another sight to behold as warship after warship exploded from all the KEM missile hits.

  “The Yoyka fleet has sustained considerable damage from the missile strikes, sir!” XO Drake announced excitedly.

  It was a short lived sign of hope. Doug watched as over twenty thousand Spitka fighters had already emerged from the attacking Yoyka fleet. They would be within attack range in less than a minute.

  “Prepare for missile attacks!” Doug warned.

  “Energy shield at one hundred percent,” Control calmly announced over the speakers.

  Doug tried to prepare himself for the worst that could happen. He could sense in every one of his officers on the Bridge the same thoughts he was having. It was the fear of dying in a final explosion of fire or loss of oxygen. It was every space person’s deepest fear; to die in the coldness and darkness of space alone and without hope of survival. He tried to rally his officers.

  “Don’t give up now. Do your jobs and we will find a way out of this!”

  This seemed to help lift the mood. Somewhere deep down, they all knew this would not be the end of their existence. There was the final hope that Onutu technology would allow them to beat the hands of death. It made some of them calmer in the realization that death would not end their existence; they would get another chance to finish what they all started.

  The first nuclear missiles hit their energy shield in full fury. It was not enough to drain their shield completely before Control compensated and protected them from further damage. Doug watched as his ship fought back with laser antimissile defenses and fired his own missiles at the approaching warships. The first Yoyka warships were within railgun range and Doug ordered every railgun to fire. The noise on the Bridge inside the USS Illinois was deafening. Everything shook and rattled as the big railguns continued to fire at passing Yoyka warships.

  The smoke and fire from exploding warships on both sides made visibility from outside cameras almost impossible to determine who had survived the first engagement. It was a miracle to Doug that his ship was still intact and operational. As visibility outside his ship cleared up, he could see numerous warships completely destroyed or damaged. Hundreds of Zoltu and Spitka fighter were still battling one another in dog fights trying to stay alive and protect their home warships. It was a desperate battle for survival, especially for the outnumbered Allied fleet.

  “Damage report?” Doug demanded from his XO or Control.

  The AI responded first. “We suffered minimal damage to our hull and outside weapon systems. Energy shield is down to sixty percent. I am rerouting energy from other systems. We are out of missiles. Laser guns are at full power. Railguns are over heated, but will be ready to fire again in one minute. We still have Orca drones ready to launch.”

  Doug realized what must be done. The newest weapon of cloaked Orca drones was the weapon of last resort. It was time to use them. He sent the request to Vice Leader Di hoping he was still alive. He was and replied, “Fire Orcas at will!”

  Doug had ten Orcas and gave the order to fire all of them at enemy targets. He knew any surviving warships in their fleet were doing the same thing now. He watched on his viewscreen as ten Orcas left his ship and approached enemy warships unseen by their radar scans. They would not know what hit them until too late.

  Chapter 54

  Final Battle

  “We have destroyed twenty more of their warships and damaged 10!” First Leader Borata said loudly for all to hear on the Bridge.

  Gerrata appeared more aggravated at the situation than before. He studied his viewscreen and noticed the enemy fleet had lost a total of 50 warships after his first attack. Still, they proved hard to kill. “How many warships left to destroy?” he demanded.

  “There are still ninety warships left.”

  “What are our losses?”

  “We lost fifty-five of our warships, thirty damaged plus sixty-five from Tekoy’s fleet.”

  Total losses were 150 out of 300 warships; 50%. It was three losses for every one of theirs; unacceptable as far as Gerrata was concerned. The only way to make up for this was to destroy the rest of the Holtu fleet. He looked at the enemy warships. Most were still orbiting too close to Tekoy to shoot missiles without some hitting the planet. He ordered his remaining fleet to surround the enemy one more time. Then he would destroy them. Just as he was about to give the order, something totally unexpected happened. Warships all around him began to explode without warning. It was impossible.

  “What is happening?” he demanded.

  There was no answer. He demanded again, “Tell me
what is happening to my ships!”

  “We cannot explain it, Fleet Leader. Nothing appears on our scanners. Something is exploding near our warships draining down our shields allowing other missiles to penetrate and destroy our warships!”

  It was a disaster in the making. Gerrata ordered his warships to retreat further back from the enemy fleet until he could figure out what was happening to his fleet. He ordered the Spitka fighters to attack the enemy warships and destroy them at all costs.

  A quick scan revealed he had lost another twenty warships in a blink of a moment. He simply could not believe what just happened. It was clear the enemy had a new weapon they just used against his fleet. He had to decide whether to retreat or fight on. He knew retreat was out of the question for him. Attack was his only option. He was ready to give the order when First Leader Borata yelled out suddenly, “More Holtu warships have entered behind us, Fleet Leader!”

  It was true. One hundred forty more enemy warships just exited hyperspace behind them. There was nowhere to escape. He was trapped.

  *****

  Altek had followed the Yoyka fleet as soon as he determined they had turned around in hyperspace and were headed for the Tekoy solar system. He half expected this attack on Holtu was not their true mission. For one thing it made no sense. The Yoyka had already been defeated once in trying to destroy Holtu. They failed.

  The second reason was more obvious and important. The Emperor Rahta had to protect his two home worlds from attack. With the large Holtu space force at Qum the enemy was too close for comfort. If Rahta weakened his force significantly, he was certain to be attacked by Holtu warships. Something must have caused Rahta to take this chance. Whatever it was, it was about to cost Rahta one of his home worlds. Altek’s only concern at the moment was if he was going to arrive in time to help avoid destruction by this large Yoyka force. It was a trap within a trap and Altek was not sure yet which side would win the battle.

  Altek exited hyperspace as close to the Yoyka home world of Tekoy as he dared. He knew where the space battle would be fought and hoped he would be close enough to enter the fight as soon as his ships arrived. It only took a few moments to see what was happening in the battle. The surviving Holtu warships were outnumbered, but appeared to have put up a gallant fight. He watched as numerous Yoyka warships exploded without warning. A fast scan identified the Orca weapons being used to destroy the Yoyka warships.

  Altek received a message sent from Di telling him what they must do to defeat the enemy. The best way to accomplish this was to use the Orca drones. Altek agreed with the message and quickly ordered his fleet of warships to release their fighters and then launched their Orca drones. In a matter of minutes every Yoyka warship was hit and explosions soon followed.

  *****

  Fleet Leader Gerrata had only moments to live. He knew it and so did everyone else. It seemed impossible to him that this could happen to the greatest space force that ever existed in this galaxy. He watched in amazement as one warship after another exploded around him without any indication what was causing the destruction. He feared what this new weapon would do to the rest of the Imperial Space Fleet. He had just enough time to send a final message over the quantum transmission channel before a huge explosion shook his ship, draining his energy shield completely leaving his ship defenseless. Soon afterwards, alarms rang throughout his ship that more missiles were about to impact his ship. The only satisfaction Gerrata felt before his ship exploded into a million small pieces was he would not feel a thing before dying.

  *****

  Doug had been ready to give the order to leave orbit and attack the nearest Yoyka warship when he saw one hundred forty warships exit hyperspace behind the Yoyka fleet. They were immediately identified as part of Altek’s fleet. Altek must have realized what the Yoyka were up to and turned back to help them. It was a sight for sore eyes. He watched as more Yoyka warships were attacked by Orca drones and then finished off with nuclear missiles fired from every warship and Zoltu leading the attack. Soon two hundred Yoyka warships had been destroyed and all that remained were trying to escape the solar system before being destroyed themselves. It was a great victory by the Galactic Military Alliance over the Yoyka battle fleet.

  As soon as the solar system was cleared of enemy fighters, Doug received new orders. He was to remain in orbit around Tekoy until a fleet of warships arrived carrying two battalions of UN Space Marines. They would land at the two largest spaceports on Tekoy and secure the areas for future landings. It seemed the Yoyka never expected to be invaded by another race and were not heavily defended by any Yoyka ground troops. It would be up to the Yoykans who lived on Tekoy to decide if they wanted to live or die.

  Chapter 55

  Qum

  Two days after the battle at Tekoy was over, High Leader Altek called a meeting to be held in Ollala, the Capital City of Qum. He invited all of his most senior warship leaders to meet with First Chair Cleota to go over the next phase of the Yoyka war. It was time to plan for the invasion of the Yoykan solar system.

  First Chair Cleota was waiting patiently in the room for everyone to be seated at the large conference table located on the top floor of the Capitol Building. Altek stood beside Cleota and would start the meeting after Cleota said a few words.

  Doug and five UN Security Council Admirals from the UN Space Strike Force were also invited to the meeting. As soon as the last member arrived, Cleota asked someone to close the door and addressed the group. “Welcome back to Qum. I want to thank all of you for your military success in the Tekoy solar system. It was a relief to hear our Allied space force won the battle and drove the Yoyka forces out of their own solar system and captured their second home world.

  “I am also sorry for your losses during the battle. Those who died in battle will be remembered and honored for their sacrifices. Fortunately, they did not die in vain and with Onutu technology will live again to fight another day. This is a great advantage in our war against the Yoyka and any other evil race that desires to rule or enslave other races to do their bidding. With your help and help from all our Military Allies, we will defeat the Yoyka and bring peace once again to our galaxy. Now I will turn this meeting over to High Leader Altek.”

  First Chair Cleota took her seat at the table. Altek faced the group and began speaking without a translator. “I called this meeting here on Qum to bring everyone up to date on what will happen next. The war with the Yoyka is not over. We won the battle at Tekoy decisively, but suffered many losses in warships, fighters, crewmembers and pilots; almost twenty percent causalities.

  “The Yoyka tried to trick us with an attack on Holtu. It did not work thanks to our surveillance probes and ability to decipher Yoyka warship communication channels. However, we now believe the Yoyka figured out what we were able to do and have recently changed their encryption codes.

  “We plan to attack Yoykan solar system as soon as we convince more Rebel warship commanders to join us. The Yoyka have recalled all their warships. They still have two hundred warships and thousands of planet based Spitka fighters protecting Yoykan. Our fleet stands at two hundred forty-two warships. We are strong enough to attack Yoykan alone, but it would mean heavy losses. We are waiting for our Rebel leaders to respond.

  “Are there any questions?”

  Senior Leader Erlatu spoke up. “What are we planning to do with Tekoy?”

  Altek replied, “All who stay on the planet will be allowed to live if they accept our unconditional surrender terms. Most of the Yoyka living on Tekoy are civilians who left Yoykan long ago and are not part of the military forces.”

  “Won’t Rahta try to take the solar system back?” Erlatu followed up.

  “He cannot risk reducing the size of his fleet by sending a force to take Tekoy back at this time. Rahta must defeat our force first before attempting to win back Tekoy. If Rahta does send a force back to Tekoy, we will take care of it immediately,” Altek responded.

  Doug asked a question many had
on their minds. “What happens to Yoykan after we defeat the Yoyka fleet?”

  Altek looked at directly at Doug before answering. “It has been decided by our Galactic Military Alliance leaders that all on Yoykan must die for their past atrocities and actions. Only the Yoyka who live in the Tekoy solar system will be allowed to live and pay for their actions until reparations are made to the races they enslaved. It will take centuries in your time to accomplish this.”

  This caused a lot of small talk among the group around the table, most in agreement of the decision, before Cleota spoke up. “It took a lot of discussion before this decision was made. The Yoyka have proved to all of us what their race is capable of, most of it evil and unforgiveable. It is hoped that by allowing those on Tekoy to live and pay for what they allowed to happen over generations, they can learn to change their behavior and join the rest of our community of peaceful races.”

  Vice Leader Di asked the final question at the meeting. “How do you propose we eliminate all those who live on Yoykan?”

  Altek provided the answer. “We have a new nanoweapon. It is based on the killer swarm nanobot drones the Yoyka used on several of our and other Rebel home worlds. We have modified it to kill only Yoyka. The missiles will arrive at Qum later today. They will be transported onto several warships before we leave to attack Yoykan.”

  Altek dismissed the meeting and everyone left to travel back to their ships.

  Doug was not shocked at what he heard. He knew the Yoyka home world would be heavily guarded and had to be invaded if they wanted to defeat the Yoyka. Now, any type of invasion using ground troops could be avoided, saving thousands of lives. The only downside was using a new nanoweapon that only escalates the savagery of war. He and Janice had hoped this would not be necessary until the Yoyka decided to use it first. Now they didn’t have a choice. The Yoyka would pay for it in the end with their own lives.