Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (9 page)

“Those were
harrowing times,” Harnett said in agreement. “For years the Kleese forced us to
do things which were revolting to our way of life. Even on the trading station
and in the dome that was our home we tried to respect life and live as our
people on Kivea did. It was very difficult, and we had nearly given up hope of
ever changing the situation when the Kleese brought you and the other Humans on
board. When they did, it changed everything as Marken and our other leaders realized
this was the opportunity we had waited so many years for. In those early days
when you were on the station, Marken and the others were forced to do things
they regret to this day. I can well remember Marken coming home in the evenings
or after a mission and complaining about what the Kleese had ordered him and
the others to do.”

“We’ve spoken
of this before,” Beth said. “In times of war, we all do things we wished had
turned out differently. Right now all I want to do is raise our son and enjoy
my time away from the war.”

“How’s your
mother doing?”

“Fine, for her
age. She’s having a few memory problems and sometimes I have to remind her who
I am or who Wade is. The retirement home she’s staying at is taking good care
of her. She really seems to perk up when I bring the baby around.”

“Wade’s
parents?”

Beth smiled.
“Never better, particularly when we returned from the Delton rescue mission and
told them I was pregnant. Wade’s mom calls nearly every day to check on Erick,
and I take him over to see them whenever possible. They love having a
grandchild.”

“Perhaps
someday Marken and I will have grandchildren if my plans work out for the
clone.”

A noise
attracted their attention as Wade and Marken came back into the living room.
With a sigh, Harnett stood up and handed the still sleeping Erick to Beth. It
was time for her to finish preparing their meal. Harnett had a special one planned
for the four of them. She also had to be a little careful, as their Human
friends didn’t care for some of the spices Kiveans enjoyed. Therefore, she
would season their food a little differently. Going into the kitchen, Harnett
looked back at Beth, who was making little cooing sounds at Erick. Someday, she
hoped she would be doing the same thing. She was also convinced that Marken
would make a great father.

-

Two days
later, General Mitchell was meeting with President Steward, Fleet Admiral
Kelly, Commander Pasha, Fleet Commander Achlyn, and General Pittman in his
office on Centerpoint Station. “Have all of you read the message Colonel Nelson
sent about what Marken and the other Kiveans believe the Zaltule will do?”

“Yes,” Fleet
Commander Achlyn said. “I have spoken to some of my Delton officers, and they’re
all in agreement with Marken’s assessment. They feel there is a 90 percent probability
the Zaltule will strike here.”

“I’m in agreement,”
Commander Pasha added. “If the Zaltule can conquer the Solar System, then the Alliance will be a much easier task.”

“Six thousand
battlecruisers,” muttered Fleet Admiral Kelly, shaking his head. “How do we
stop that many ships?”

“We can’t,” answered
General Mitchell. “At least not alone.”

“What are you
suggesting?” asked President Steward. “We can’t ask the Alliance to send ships
here. If the Zaltule find out we’ve significantly reduced the size of the Alliance fleets, they could decide to attack them instead.”

“It’s a quandary,”
admitted General Pittman, cocking his eyebrow. “Our biggest problem is we have
too many places to defend. There’s the Moon, Mars, Vesta and half a dozen other
asteroids with large Human colonies as well as the asteroids our Kivean, Talt,
and Delton friends have taken up residence in.”

“We also have Centerpoint
and Freedom Stations,” added Fleet Admiral Kelly. “We can’t risk either of them
being destroyed.”

“I’ve
authorized the installation of more ion cannons and other weapons around our
colonies,” said President Steward in a voice showing his deep concern about the
possible Zaltule attack. “Is there anything else we can do to protect our
people?”

General
Mitchell looked around the group. “We need a plan. Colonel Nelson says the
Kiveans will be looking at developing a new weapon system to use against the
Zaltule battlecruisers though they’re doubtful in the short time we have that
it’s possible.”

“I’ll have our
Delton scientists offer their assistance,” proclaimed Fleet Commander Achlyn.

“Our
scientists will help as well,” declared Commander Pasha. “This solar system is
our home now, and we must see to its defense.”

General
Mitchell leaned back in his chair and then spoke. “Let’s assume we have four to
six months before the Zaltule attack. What can we do in that timeframe?”

“That’s
assuming Admiral Adamson is successful in drawing their attention back into
their empire for a few months,” pointed out Fleet Admiral Kelly. “That plan may
not work. We could be facing an attack much sooner.”

“I have to
believe that it will,” Mitchell responded. They needed that extra time. His
eyes narrowed and then he continued. “I want all current warship construction
completed in four months and all ships fully crewed. If we have to rob from our
defense installations to do that, then we shall. The same for any ion beam
cannons or other defensive measures around our colonies and bases. I want all
of those projects completed as soon as possible.”

“We need a
better way to protect the civilian populations on Mars and the Moon,” commented
President Steward with a deep sigh. “They’re our most vulnerable colonies.”

“We have deep
shelters in place already,” commented General Pittman.

President
Steward looked over at the general. “Will the deep bunkers stand up to a
twenty-megaton antimatter strike or multiple strikes?”

General
Pittman frowned and slowly shook his head. “They might be able to stand up to
one direct strike, but multiple strikes would eventually penetrate the
bunkers.”

“If the
Zaltule show up with six thousand warships we’ll only have a few hours’
notice,” Steward said, referring to the Fold Space detection system. “There’s
no way we can get millions of people into the deep bunkers that quickly. If the
Zaltule attack with a force that large, we’re going to lose a lot of people.
Mars Central is an example of what could happen to the Moon as well as the
other cities on Mars, including the bunkers.”

The room was
silent as they thought about President Steward’s ominous words. They were
facing a nearly unstoppable force in the Zaltule, one that wanted the Solar
System wiped out of existence.

Admiral Adamson
took a deep breath as the
Constellation
and her fleet dropped out of Fold
Space into an orange dwarf star system. They had dropped out an equal distance
between the two systems that the Marines would be targeting. So far the fleet
had remained undetected.

“System is
clear of contacts,” reported Lieutenant Percy Lash. “It’s an orange dwarf
spectral class K with a mass of .78 percent that of Sol. Sensors have located
three planets and a small asteroid field. There’s also a moderate sized moon
orbiting planet number two.”

“Are any of
the planets life sustaining?”

“No,”
Lieutenant Lash replied. “The system has a very small Goldilocks Zone and all
three planets are outside of it. One is a gas giant similar to Neptune and the other two are much smaller, about the size of Mars.”

“Take us to
Condition Three,” ordered Adamson since there were no obvious threats. “We’ll
remain here for two hours and then launch our attacks on the two systems. I
don’t want to stay in this sector of space any longer than necessary as we can’t
risk our fleet being detected.” The area of space they were currently in had a
number of advanced space-going races, all of which were controlled by the Kleese.
There was also a Kleese trading station a little over three hundred light-years
away.

“Going to Condition
Three,” reported Commander Shepherd as she made the announcement over the
ship’s comm as well as communicated the order to the other ships of the fleet.
“I’ve ordered all departments to begin preventative maintenance checks to
ensure all equipment is functioning properly.” This was standard procedure each
time the
Constellation
dropped out of Fold Space.

Admiral
Adamson nodded his head in acknowledgment. “Lieutenant Travers, get Colonel
Winfrey on the comm. We need to make our final preparations for the attacks.”

“Yes, sir,”
replied Lieutenant Travers a she turned toward her communications console.

Adamson leaned
back in his command chair. He would be dividing the fleet into three task
groups. Task Group One would consist of the
Constellation
, two
battlecruisers, and four light cruisers. They would be escorting two of the Marine
assault cruisers to the first target.

Task Group Two
would consist of the heavy battlecruiser
Callisto
under the command of Commander
Bree Symington. Her fleet makeup would be the same as the
Constellation’s
.
The remaining ships would remain in this system under command of Commander
Greer, who was on the troop assault ship
Defender
. If it was necessary
for the
Defender
to respond to a call for additional aid from either of
the two attack groups, then the command of the ships remaining in the system
would fall to Commander Kevin Melvin on the battlecruiser
Falcon
.

“I have Colonel
Winfrey on the comm,” Lieutenant Travers reported.

The plans for
the attacks on the two Kleese controlled worlds had already been made. All Adamson
wanted to do was check with Colonel Winfrey to ensure everything was still on
schedule.

-

Hours later, Captain
Ryan Nelson was in the Command Center of the
Deliverance
as the three
hundred fifty-meter assault cruiser dropped out of Fold Space close to their
intended target.

“Unknown
starships detected,” called out Ensign Donna Edwards from the sensor console as
alarms began to sound.

“Weapons
online,” reported Lieutenant Samuel Michaels from Tactical. “Energy shield is
powering up.”

“
Constellation
and her escorts are moving in to intercept the unknowns,” reported Ensign
Edwards as the tactical screen flashed on and began updating.

“Energy shield
is online and at full power,” added Lieutenant Michaels.

“We have
tentative identification of the unknown ships,” reported Ensign Edwards. “Four
Kleese assault ships are in orbit as well as a number of what appears to be
civilian craft; probably cargo and passenger ships.”

The tactical
screen began displaying the contacts. There were contacts spread throughout the
system. Captain Durham looked questionably at Ensign Edwards.

“All the
contacts in the outer regions of the system are confirmed to be cargo ships and
a few passenger vessels, probably ferrying crews to the various mining
installations.”

Captain Durham
nodded. From his briefings, he knew the system had a robust asteroid mining
operation.

“Admiral
Adamson is advising us that they will take out the four assault ships and then
we’ll be clear to begin landing operations,” reported Ensign Jacob Ernst from
Communications.

Caption Durham turned toward Ryan. “Get your Marines ready, we’ll be sending out the drop ships shortly.”

Ryan nodded.
“We’re ready; Lieutenant Guthrie is loading and inspecting the troops as we’re
speaking.” He took a deep breath. Very shortly they would once more be engaged
in combat. The last time Ryan and his Marines had been in a battle, they were
kidnapped by the Kleese. Ryan hoped everything went smoothly this time.

-

In one of the
ship’s two flight bays, Autumn was seeing to the loading of the two drops ships
and the cargo drop ship that she was responsible for. Twenty Marines each were in
the process of boarding the three ships and in preparation for the coming combat
drop. Sergeant McElroy was on board the cargo ship, which contained both of the
Marines’ two hover tanks. In the other bay, two other drop ships were loading
as well.

Autumn had assigned
Sergeant Casey Hunter to help supervise the loading in the other bay until Ryan
arrived. She had the experience to make sure that nothing was being overlooked.
In her bay, Autumn watched as Sergeant Katy Lewis and Sergeant Harmon Dewey hurriedly
finished getting the last of their Marines up the loading ramps and into the
two drop ships. She was anxious to see how the two sergeants did on this deployment
as neither had much combat experience.

-

Corporal
Alexander Parker watched as the Marines under his command took their seats and
buckled themselves in. The descent of a drop ship was quite rapid and sometimes
very turbulent. With a wolfish grin, he stepped over to where Private Richards
was struggling to get one of the harnesses fastened over his chest armor.

“Private
Richards!” barked Alexander, the smile leaving his face. “Do you know the
danger of dropping without your safety harnesses fastened?”

Alexander knew
since the private was in a Type Four battlesuit very little harm could come to
him, but the private might not know that. Also, Lauren was in the other drop
ship and couldn’t use her charm to protect the private.

“No, sir,”
stammered Richards, fearing he was going to be doing additional duty when they
returned from this mission. He was getting very adept at doing pushups.

Alexander
reached down and grabbed the wayward harness and after a few hard tugs had it
fastened securely. “Easy as pie.” He then turned and walked back to where he
could see the other Marines. While it had been tempting to lay it on Private
Richards, Alexander had decided that now, right before a combat drop, wasn’t
the best time. However, he would remember this little incident and take
appropriate action when they returned to the ship. With a frown, he wondered
just what Lauren saw in this aggravating private.

-

On the
Constellation
,
Admiral Adamson studied the tactical screen briefly before turning toward
Commander Shepherd. “Four assault ships are in orbit around the planet. We’ll
take the battlecruisers
Cygnus
and
Cepheus
in with us. The four
light cruisers will stay with the two assault cruisers and give them protective
cover if needed.”

“We’re at
Condition One, and all weapon systems are primed to fire,” reported Commander
Shepherd. “We can be in weapons range of the first assault ship in twelve
minutes.”

Adamson turned
his gaze back to the tactical screen and the four red threat icons it showed around
the planet. He was certain that by now the Kleese had detected the presence of
the Human ships. “Order the
Cygnus
and
Cepheus
to take up supporting
positions on our port and starboard sides. We’ll go in together and launch a
coordinated attack against the assault ships. We should be able to take their
shields down rather quickly.”

Commander
Shepherd spoke over her comm to the two commanders of the battlecruisers
passing on the admiral’s orders. “Ships are ready.”

“Take us in,”
ordered Adamson as he settled back in his command chair.

-

On board the
Kleese assault ship, R-4572, Minor Overlord Tanel gazed in anger at the
tactical display. “Identify those unknown ships!” No ships were allowed to
enter the system unscheduled. Whoever had authorized these ships would suffer
greatly as soon as Tanel found out who it was.

Tanel was the
only Kleese on board the vessel as its Command Center and other essential
systems were manned by Nabians. The Nabians were a little over six feet tall
with clean-shaven heads and small, elfin-like ears. Their eyes, nose, and mouth
looked nearly human. Their skin had a slight greenish tint to it, and they were
completely devoted to the Kleese.

“Human,”
replied Marlock, the lead Nabian in the Command Center. “Those are Human warships.”

Tanel felt
growing concern. Of all the races the Kleese had encountered only the Strell
and now these Humans posed a real threat. The Strell had been conquered, but
the Humans continued to prove themselves to be worthy adversaries. Tanel had no
respect for most of the inhabitants of the worlds the Kleese controlled. Most
were barely more than vermin; however, these Humans were different. They dared
to challenge the Kleese superiority. It was rumored Zaltule Supreme Military
Overlord Harmock even looked at these Humans as equals. Tanel shifted about
uneasily upon the Command Pedestal, his six legs making clicking noises upon
the metal deck.

“Activate our
energy shield and weapons,” he ordered in a cold and uncompromising voice.
“Have the other three assault ships join us and prepare for immediate combat.”

“Yes,
Overlord,” Marlock answered. He moved quickly to obey.

Stepping off
the Command Pedestal Tanel went over to the communications station, pushing the
two Nabians there out of the way. He quickly sent a message to the nearby
trading station reporting the presence of the Humans. His assault ship was the
only one of the four that had an FTL transmitter on board. It would take eight
hours for his message to reach the station. Tanel knew that assistance wouldn’t
arrive in time to prevent the coming Human attack. However, he was a Kleese and
he would not flee.

The Zaltule
had made it very plain that every combat action would be examined closely to
ensure all Kleese were following the Zaltule code of battle. There were rumors
of a number of Kleese being executed who had failed to live up to Zaltule expectations.
Tanel then sent a message to the Kleese down on the planet informing them of
the approaching threat and what he intended to do. There were fourteen Kleese
down on Airad as well as several hundred conscripts in Type Two battlesuits. If
the Humans dared to land, they would be met with a hail of weapons fire at the
spaceport. They would find the Kleese on the ground would not be easy to
overcome.

-

Admiral
Adamson had no desire to risk damage to his warships. He had three major
advantages over the assault ships. His heavy battlecruiser was armed with a
plasma cannon, particle beams, and multi-warhead sublight antimatter missiles.
He intended to make this battle short and sweet.

“Open missile
hatches and target each one of those assault ships with a multi-warhead
missile. If any survive the missile strike, hit them with our particle beams.
Order the
Cygnus
and
Cepheus
to hold their sublight missiles and
use particle beams only once we’ve launched.”

“Yes,
Admiral,” replied Commander Shepherd.

“In combat
range in four minutes,” announced Lieutenant Lash.

“Missile tubes
one through four open and missiles are ready to launch,” reported Lieutenant
Kali Summers from Tactical.

Admiral
Adamson nodded. He fastened his safety harness as a precaution. Even these
small assault ships of the Kleese were armed with sublight missiles as well as
energy beams and could be dangerous.

-

In space, the
two small groups of ships rapidly closed. From the
Constellation
, four
sudden blurs in the missile tubes indicated the launch of the sublight
missiles. At a major fraction of the speed of light, the missiles streaked
toward their targets. Almost instantly, six brilliant flashes of released
energy lit up the defensive shields on all four Kleese assault ships. Twenty-four
antimatter explosions hammered the Kleese vessels. Each warhead released twenty-megatons
of raw energy, which pummeled the shields and quickly overloaded them, causing
the shields to immediately collapse. The ravaging energy then stuck the thin armor
of the hulls and in a matter of microseconds, three of the Kleese assault ships
exploded in fiery blasts. In their places all that remained was molten metal
and glowing gas.

The fourth was
heavily damaged with numerous blackened scars across its hull and a huge ragged
rift that ran for nearly seventy meters and extended deep inside the ship. Inside,
fires raged out of control as panicked Nabians tried to get to the ship’s
flight bay to escape in the drop ships. In most instances, they found their
paths blocked by fires or impassable corridors. Alarms were sounding loudly and
panicked voices could be heard coming over the ship’s internal comm system.