Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (5 page)

“Ten,”
answered Admiral Adamson. “We’ll also be taking the troop assault ship
Defender
,
which will serve as your flagship for the operation. The
Defender
will
only be called upon if there’s a situation the assault cruisers can’t handle.”

Dylan nodded.
He had known about the possibility that the
Defender
was going to be
included in the fleet. As a matter of fact, he had suggested it weeks earlier
during the initial planning stages for this mission. “What about your fleet?
How many warships will be going along?”

Adamson folded
his arms across his chest as he watched several squads of Marines enter the bay
carrying heavy weapons to place in the assault cruiser. “The
Constellation
and the
Castillo
will be the two heavy battlecruisers going. There will
also be six regular battlecruisers and fifteen light cruisers. That should give
us sufficient firepower to handle almost anything we come across unless we run
into a major Kleese fleet.”

“The
Constellation
is a new ship, isn’t she?” asked Dylan. He knew the admiral used to command a regular
battlecruiser with the same name.

“Yes, it only
recently completed its space trials,” Adamson replied with a pleased smile.
“We’ve replaced all of the battlecruisers that once served as fleet flagships
with the more powerful heavy battlecruisers. They really proved their worth in
the attack upon the Kleese home system.”

Dylan stood
looking at the assault cruiser. It had an almost unlimited range and was capable
of attacking targets on the surface of a planet. The ship was equipped with two
particle beam cannons, eight pulse fusion cannons and twenty dual energy
turrets for defense. In addition, there were six KEW batteries, which could be
used to take out targets upon the surface of a planet. The ship was also equipped
with eight missile tubes that could handle the new multi-warhead sublight
missiles with twenty-megaton warheads. Dylan let out a deep sigh. They were
getting ready to go poke a finger in the multifaceted eyes of the Kleese. He
just wondered what type of reaction they would get.

-

Ryan took a cautious
bite of the lasagna in front of him. They were inside a stylish Italian restaurant
sitting at a long table that easily accommodated all of them. Looking around
the dining room, Ryan noticed what appeared to be several other clones eating
meals. Clones were, for the most part, easy to spot. Their skin was unblemished
and had a healthy pink tone. They also acted a little uncertain in the company
of Humans. Of course the clones Ryan was associated with had been exposed to enough
harsh environments they were difficult to distinguish from a Human.

“Pizza!”
uttered Lauren in disgust, glaring at Alexander. “How can you come to a nice
restaurant like this and order pizza?”

“I like pizza,”
Alexander said defensively as he picked up a slice and took a bite. “I can’t
even pronounce what you ordered.”

“
Fettuccine Alfredo,” Lauren said, speaking
the words slowly.

“Whatever,” Alexander replied dismissively.
“I’ll stay with my sausage pizza.”

“What did you order?” Lauren asked Casey,
looking curiously at her plate.

“Pasta Primavera,” Casey answered. “It’s
vegetables with a really tasty sauce. I’ve had it before and it tastes
wonderful.”

Juan shook his head at the two girls. “I’m
with Alexander. Pizza for me.”

Casey looked next to her at Ryan. “What did
you order?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” he said with a
grin as a waiter came over to the table and set a large steaming plate of
spaghetti in front of him. “I haven’t had any since we were home and Mom cooked
some.” There was a small plate of garlic bread in front of Ryan, and he reached
out and picked up a slice.

Casey nodded. She well remembered that trip
to Vesta. She had gotten to see Wade and Beth’s new baby and even hold it. She’d
been amazed at how small and delicate the child was. It had been a wonderful
trip and one she would always remember.

 “I spoke to my brother earlier,” Autumn
said as she took a bite of her food. “He says they’ve nearly cleaned up the
debris from the Kleese bombing of Mars Central and are even talking about
rebuilding the city.”

“I hope they do,” Ryan answered as he used
his fork and spoon to swirl his spaghetti into a manageable bite. “We lost a
lot of people when the Kleese hit Mars; it’s good to see it getting back to
normal.”

They continued to talk throughout the meal
and then afterward took a long walk through the downtown area of the city. It
was amazing what had been done beneath the large dome. It was like walking in
one of the old cities on Earth except there was no pollution or loud noises. They
only saw a few walls with angry comments about clones but those were few and
far between. Nothing like the riot Casey and Lauren had once been exposed to that
time they were shopping.

-

A few hours
later they returned to the hotel they were all staying in. Ryan and Casey excused
themselves from the others, who were having a drink in the small club on the ground
floor and went up to their room. It didn’t take Casey long to change into the lingerie
Lauren had helped her pick out.

Casey posed in
front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom, eyeing her figure critically.
This sure doesn’t hide much, she thought as she turned various ways to see how
she looked, hoping Ryan would approve. She wasn’t near as innocent and naive
about sex as she once had been. Lauren had made sure of that. She was
constantly giving her suggestions of things to do with Ryan. One thing Casey had
learned was that Lauren had a really good imagination.

Stepping back
into the bedroom where Ryan was she saw his eyes light up upon seeing her. She
felt slightly embarrassed as his eyes moved up and down her body. Getting up,
he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, his hands pulling her close.

Moments later,
they tumbled onto the bed still entwined in a lover’s embrace. Yes, Casey thought
happily. I think he likes this outfit.

-

Colonel
Winfrey was on board the troop assault ship
Defender
. The
Defender
was one thousand meters in length, two hundred meters wide, with a height of
one hundred eighty meters. She was fully able to manage a full combat drop on
an alien world and her Command Center was capable of commanding the entire operation.

“Welcome
aboard,” Commander Greer said as Dylan entered.

“Glad to be
here, Commander,” Dylan responded. “Are we ready to get underway?”

“The last of
the Marines and their equipment will be on board by 07:00 in the morning,”
Greer replied. “The ship is fully supplied and ready for a long term
deployment.”

“I understand
the
Defender
has been equipped with the new multiple warhead subspace missiles.”

Greer nodded
his head. “Yes, we have eight missile tubes and they’ve all been modified to
handle the new missile. I wish we had a plasma cannon like the new heavy
battlecruisers, but the engineers don’t think it’s necessary.”

“At least you
have a heavy particle beam cannon on the bow. It’s up to the warships accompanying
us to do the fighting if any Kleese vessels show up. Our concern will be the Marine
actions on the planets we’re going to be traveling to.”

Greer remained
silent for a moment before replying. “The only thing is at some point during
this mission I strongly suspect the Kleese will come looking for us.”

“We hope so,” responded
Dylan, looking at the large viewscreen on the front wall of the Command Center. The viewscreen was showing Centerpoint Station, which was in orbit between
the Earth and the Moon. Several ships could be seen in stationary orbit near it
and a few assault ships were moving about on maneuvers. “If the Kleese come
looking for us that means they aren’t attacking the Alliance. We need to buy
the Alliance the time they need to finish training the crews on all the new
ships as well as to let Alliance Fleet Admiral Rivers get them into combat
shape.”

“I don’t envy Admiral
Rivers,” Greer said, taking a deep breath. “It’s going to be a challenge to
whip some of those races into shape. Many of them haven’t known war for
hundreds of years or even longer.”

Dylan allowed
himself to smile. “If I know Admiral Rivers, he’ll get the job done.”

A few moments
later, Dylan was on his way to his quarters. He let out a deep sigh of regret.
He wished Major Stevens could be here, but he had met his untimely death on
board the Kleese exploration ship when he and Colonel Stratford had destroyed
it so Captain Nelson and the other surviving Marines from the Diadem debacle
could escape. This was going to be the first time Marines wearing the Type Four
battlesuits were going to be deployed en mass. Steven would have enjoyed the
coming battles and seeing the fruits of his training.

Supreme
Overlord Xatul was in his new flagship, the
Empire’s Dawn
, which had
been built in one of the two trading stations they had taken from Kleese space
and brought to the Strell Empire. For well over a year new Kleese warships had
been built at a rapid pace as well as additional Strell vessels. Xatul had been
surprised to find out the majority of the Strell shipyards had survived the war,
and there were numerous Strell warships available that had been damaged and
only needed to be repaired. This was something the Strell hadn’t mentioned when
they had surrendered their empire.

“Can we trust
the Strell?” demanded Overlord Syndat in a grating voice. “Their forces now
outnumber ours.”

“We haven’t
removed the collars of obedience from all of the Queens in the Great Dens,” Xatul
replied coldly, his multifaceted eyes gazing at the large viewscreens in his
new Command Center. “They will continue to do as we ask to ensure the Queens’ continued well-being. The Strell are a subservient race to the Kleese as they
should be.”

Overlord
Bixutl had been listening and now spoke. “You promised the High Strell Queen
you would remove all the collars once Supreme Military Overlord Harmock has
been killed or driven from Kleese space. If we are successful in removing the
Zaltule from the empire, the Strell will once more become a major threat to
us.”

“I have no
intention of allowing that to happen,” Xatul replied. He shifted about on the Command
Pedestal, his six legs making clicking noises against the metal of the deck.
“We will only remove the last of the collars of obedience once we have
determined the Strell are no longer a threat to our empire.”

“And how do we
do that?” Demanded Syndat. Many of his clan had fled with Supreme Overlord
Xatul to Strell space. The two trading stations they brought along belonged to
him.

“We make sure
the Strell are involved in the heaviest fighting,” Xatul explained. “Their
ships will suffer the most, and we will use ours to destroy whatever vessels of
the Zaltule remain after the Strell have engaged Harmock. When this war is over
their fleet will have been decimated while ours will still be intact.”

“We have
brought in many conscripts from Strell controlled worlds to operate our new
warships and fill the ranks of our battlesuits,” Bixutl said. “The lesser races
in Strell space are no different than those in our own empire.”

“All races are
destined to submit to the Kleese,” spoke Syndat. “We are the superior race.”

“It is our
destiny to rule this galaxy,” Supreme Overlord Xatul said in agreement. “The
Zaltule, instead of helping in that goal, have only delayed it by their
arrogance.”

Of course,
there was one race he was not so sure about when it came to being inferior to
the Kleese, and that was the Humans. From the reports his spies had brought
back the Humans had managed to attack the home system, laying waste to a large
portion of the capital city. They had also done considerable damage to the
Zaltule shipyards and the deep sleep complex beneath the surface of the icy
moon. Xatul could well imagine the anger Harmock must have felt from the
attacks.

“The Zaltule
were put in deep sleep because their warrior ways were deemed a threat to the empire,”
Bixutl said, his multifaceted eyes focusing on the Supreme Overlord. “Even back
in those days, the desire of the Zaltule to dominate the other Kleese clans was
becoming apparent. They were great warriors but the path they were putting the
empire on was too dangerous.”

“Yes,” replied
Xatul. “The Zaltule were encouraged to go into deep sleep because there was no
great danger to the empire. It was implied by the Supreme Overlord of that time
that the Zaltule would be of greater service to the empire by being reawoken when
a new threat to the empire arose.”

“Unfortunately,
what we forgot was these were the same Zaltule who had become a threat in the
past and once awakened they continued down that same dangerous path,” commented
Overlord Syndat.

“A situation
we are soon to correct,” Xatul responded.

“Supreme Overlord,”
said the Kleese standing in front of Communications. “I have Den Leader Bith on
the comm. He wishes to speak with you.”

It was
distasteful for Xatul to have to speak with any member of the Strell. However,
in order for his plans to come to fruition, it was necessary to have some
contact with various members of the Strell race. “I will speak with him.”

On the main
viewscreen, a Strell appeared. Bith was six feet tall and very thin. His head
resembled that of a large snake. His eyes, set wide on the side of his head,
narrowed to small slits as he turned to gaze at Xatul. Bith’s eyes could make
out different colors though his ancestors in the dim past had only been able to
see in black and white. The Strell had progressed far on the evolutionary scale
from the time they had slithered on the ground until they developed arms and
legs to allow them to build a technological civilization. The Strell were a cold-blooded
species and showed very little emotion. Only the Queens in the Great Dens were
emotional and they controlled the empire. A Queen very seldom ventured into space,
preferring to stay beneath the ground surrounded by thousands of Strell who
obeyed her every command.

“The fleet is
nearly ready,” hissed Bith, his eyes unwavering and unblinking.

“Our own ships
as well,” replied Xatul.

Bith’s tongue
flicked out from his narrow mouth. “When will you remove the rest of the
collars of obedience from our Queens?”

“When I have
my empire back,” Xatul answered. “Your High Queen and those with her have had
their collars deactivated, the same will be done for all the other Queens once we have driven the Zaltule from the Kleese Empire.”

Bith’s cold
eyes regarded Xatul unflinchingly. “How do we know you will remove the collars
once we have done what you ask?”

Xatul rose up
to his full height gazing intently at the viewscreen. “Do you dare doubt the
word of the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese?”

Bith hesitated
briefly before he answered. “You conquered us, and our High Queen has sworn
allegiance to your empire so ours might continue under your rule. You have
promised us our empire back if we obey your orders. We will do so, but when the
Zaltule are no more, we expect our Queens to be set free. If this happens, the
Strell will never venture into Kleese controlled space again. This is the
promise of our High Queen.”

Xatul paused
at hearing those words. It sounded as if the Strell were offering never to come
into conflict with the Kleese again. “What about the disputed worlds between
our borders?”

“They will be
yours,” Den Leader Bith answered.

“I will keep
our agreement,” Xatul replied. There were a number of disputed worlds that
would be of value to the empire. “When this is over, the Queens will be set
free.”

With that, the
screen went blank as the communication ended.

“Are you
really going to return their empire back to them?” asked Syndat.

“Yes,”
answered Xatul, turning to face Syndat. “The Strell are a very difficult race
to control. They have little fear of death, unlike other subservient races. If
they will stay in their empire, then we shall leave them be.”

“It will
matter little,” Bixutl said. He folded his powerful black arms across his upper
chest. “In time, we will surround their empire and the Strell will become
insignificant in the grand scheme of the galaxy.”

Xatul turned
his attention to the large tactical screen to the right of the Command Pedestal.
On it, four hundred and eighty-two icons representing Kleese exploration
cruisers were in formation around Xatul’s new flagship. There were also two
hundred and forty new warcruisers, which had been built in the construction
bays of the two large trading stations. While not as large as Zaltule
battlecruisers, they were still very powerful warships. Additional weapons had
been added to the exploration ships, increasing their firepower by nearly 40
percent.

Xatul had lost
count of the number of conscripts who had died in building and modifying the
new Kleese fleet. He knew the numbers were in the thousands. However, there
were several thousand inhabited worlds in the Strell Empire that could be used
to glean prospective conscripts. The deaths of thousands of conscripts were
inconsequential.

Construction of
the new fleet and modifications to the exploration cruisers had begun as soon
as the cruisers and the two trading stations had arrived in Strell space.
Construction had been nonstop, and those conscripts who were technicians or
common workers and could not keep up to the new increased work schedules were
summarily eliminated. More conscripts were brought in from Strell controlled
worlds to replace those killed by Kleese overseers.

The sounds of
small explosions had become quite common on the two trading stations as non-efficient
personnel were removed. However, it had served its purpose. New Kleese warships
had come into being and when combined with the exploration cruisers, the thousands
of assault ships, and the recently rebuilt Strell fleet they would be able to
challenge the Zaltule for control of the empire.

-

In the Kleese
Empire Supreme Military Overlord Harmock watched his ship’s tactical screen
closely. A large enemy fleet was maneuvering into position to defend the world
he had come to conquer.

“They dare to
defy us!” said Minor Overlord Gareth in disbelief. “They know they cannot
defeat us.”

Harmock only
shook his triangular shaped head. His head resembled that of a praying mantis.
“It’s the Humans and their so-called Alliance. They have sown disrespect and
rebellion across our empire. Daily we receive reports of unrest and collusion
on many of the nonaligned words we have conquered since coming out of deep
sleep. The Bashan fleet ahead of us is an example of the rashness which now
sweeps the empire and will endanger it if we don’t soon deal with this Human
threat.”

“A threat the
former council under Supreme Overlord Xatul should have dealt with many years
ago,” Gareth said coldly.

“Former
Supreme Overlord Xatul,” Harmock reminded Gareth coldly “The former Council of
Overlords was weak and incompetent. It is well that most of them died when the
Humans attacked our home world.”

“The Bashan fleet has taken up a position between us and their world,” reported Jalridd. “There
are numerous outposts on the other planets and upon several moons in the
system.”

This didn’t
surprise Harmock as the Bashan System was rich in heavy metals and the Bashans
maintained a robust space mining industry. The Bashan traded heavy metals for
many coveted items found on other nonaligned worlds, something the Zaltule put
a stop to when they had conquered them. Now the Bashan found themselves
standing alone.

“The Bashan
Chancellor is demanding that we honor the neutrality agreement they signed seven
hundred and forty-two years ago,” Dalock reported from Communications.

“Neutrality
agreements!” Harmock spoke in anger. “How could our race have been so foolish
to sign so many and allow hundreds of worlds to remain free of the empire?”

“The council
was weak,” Gareth responded, unmoved by the Bashan request. “The Zaltule are
not weak, and the council no longer exists.”

Harmock
returned his attention to the tactical screen. “What is the composition of the Bashan fleet that opposes us?”

“It is quite
large by nonaligned world standards,” Jalridd replied. “There are two hundred
and twelve battlecruisers and four hundred and sixty support vessels in the
fleet ahead of us.”

“Their primary
weapons?”

“Pulse fusion
beams similar to ours as well as a powerful energy cannon,” Salten reported
from the tactical station. “Their ships are also protected by a strong energy
shield.”

Harmock had
been aware this wouldn’t be an easy world to conquer so he had brought two
thousand Zaltule battlecruisers with him. He would overwhelm this fleet and
then proceed to Bashan where the collars of obedience would be placed around
the necks of the chancellor and the other foolish leaders of that world.

The Kleese
were the dominate species in the galaxy, and all others would submit to Kleese
rule. In Harmock’s mind, only the nonaligned worlds were worthy of surviving
and being part of the empire. Their more advanced civilizations could be of use
to the Zaltule when the Kleese ventured out to conquer the rest of the galaxy.
The other inhabited worlds were infested with vermin and were only worthy of
providing conscripts to be used as cannon fodder and to serve upon the
exploration ships and assault vessels. Even though Harmock found this
distasteful, it freed up Kleese and particularly Zaltule warriors to expand the
empire.

“Advance upon
the enemy, standard fleet offensive formation.”

Harmock was
determined this would be a short battle, and once this world was subdued only
one nonaligned world would remain. After that, it would be time to deal with
the Humans and their paltry Alliance. Harmock wasn’t concerned so much about
the Alliance; however, the Humans were another matter. They were a race of
warriors and who Harmock had come to accept were almost equal to the Kleese in
their ferocity. Of all the races the Zaltule had ever encountered only the
Humans had shown no fear when facing the Zaltule in combat, both upon the
ground and in space.

-

 The two
thousand Zaltule warships formed up into their offensive formation of five
lines two hundred ships long and two ships deep facing the Bashan fleet. The Bashan had formed their fleet into a massive cylinder formation with the support ships on
the outside and the heavier battlecruisers on the inside. The cylinder was
aimed at the heart of the Zaltule formation. The Bashan battlecruisers were
eight hundred meters in length, eighty meters wide, sixty meters thick, and
almost arrow shaped. The front of the vessels flared out as well as did the
stern where the sublight drives were located. All along the hulls were weapon emplacements.
Powerful pulse fusion batteries, energy cannons, and a few missile tubes. The
escort vessels were five hundred and twenty meters in length and fifty meters
wide.