The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) (14 page)

Tolsen nodded.
He could only have faith in Admiral Streth. The entire Federation was depending
on him to guide them through this crisis and preserve the Federation.

“For the time
being, your ships are to be repaired and then your fleet will be sent back to
Gliese 667C,” Admiral Johnson informed him. “We will be reinforcing your fleet
as well as sending a second fleet for additional support if needed.”

“This second
fleet will be under the command of Admiral Adler on board the battle carrier
Wasp,” Admiral Streth informed Tolsen. “When the Hocklyns return, we have some
new carrier tactics we want to try.”

“Will that be
enough ships to stop them?” asked Tolsen, looking doubtfully at the two Fleet Admirals.
He wasn’t sure two fleets would do it. “If they bring ships from six bases, we
will be severely outnumbered.”

Admiral
Johnson looked shrewdly over at Admiral Streth and smiled. They had talked
about this already. “We will be markedly increasing the defensive grid and
fleet above Caden’s World. We will also have several other fleets positioned to
jump in when we need them. The Hocklyns may believe they can take the system. As
a matter of fact, we want them to think that.”

“You’re
setting a trap,” Tolsen said in sudden realization, arching his eyebrows. He
leaned back and gazed at the two admirals. “You want the Hocklyns to attack in
overwhelming force!”

“Precisely,” responded
Admiral Johnson, nodding her head vehemently. “We are going to be fighting a war
where our forces will almost always be outnumbered. We have to use superior
tactics and methods to survive. The coming battle in Gliese 667C will help us
to perfect those tactics, or at least we hope they will. It will also help to substantially
reduce the number of Hocklyns ships in our sector of the galaxy.”

“The Hocklyns
are not used to fighting a superior enemy,” added Hedon, leaning forward
wanting to stress that point. He looked intently at Admiral Tolsen. “They
encounter very few civilizations that can mount a successful defense against
their warships. We will use that overconfidence against them.”

Tolsen nodded
his head in understanding. “We will be ready. What are my orders?”

“Go get your
ships repaired for now, Admiral,” Karla ordered. “Once we have finished analyzing
your recent battle, we will call you back for a more thorough debriefing and
give you some recommendations for your next engagement.”

Tolsen left
the room feeling relieved that he still had command of his fleet. He was
determined that the next battle would be different. He already had some ideas of
his own about how he would do things differently.

“What to you
think, Hedon?” asked Admiral Johnson, turning her attention to the other Fleet Admiral.

“I think that
young admiral of yours has a lot of potential. He just needs a little help with
his tactics and the Hocklyns will not enjoy what they run into.”

“My thoughts
exactly,” replied Karla, nodding her head slowly. “We need to decide which
other fleet units will take place in this engagement. We need more of our
admirals and commanders versed in fighting the Hocklyns.”

Hedon nodded
his head in agreement. Since his awakening, he had spent a lot of time with
Fleet Admiral Johnson talking tactics and possible strategies to use against
the Hocklyns in the coming war. Hedon closed his eyes briefly. There had been
so much to do in the last few months in getting the Ready Reserve Fleet
activated, and setting up First, Second, and Third Fleets so they would be
operational.

Hedon had scarcely
had time to think of those he had left behind. Particularly his brother Taylor
and Lendle. Both had declined the offer to go into cryosleep. Instead, they had
stayed awake and helped to build the Ceres colony and raise their family. He
really missed not being able to talk things over with his brother. When he had
time, he fully intended to look up their descendants. From what he had been
able to learn, there were a number living on Ceres as well as serving in the
Fleet.

-

“Helm, port
hard forty degrees turn and down fifteen degrees, Tactical, fire upon
completion of the turn. Navigation, plot a micro-jump to coordinates 280-47E
and be prepared to jump on my command,” Jeremy ordered calmly as he gazed at
the holographic tactical display being projected above the plotting table.

“In range of
primary target in fifteen seconds,” Lieutenant Walters reported tensely, his
fiery red hair in disarray.

“All weapons
to fire on completion of the turn. Power beams are to fire ten seconds after lasers
and railguns,” ordered Colonel Malen, keeping her eyes on the tactical display
and listening carefully to Commander Strong’s orders.

Jeremy watched
the tactical display intently. They were involved in a complicated war game.
The Avenger was currently matched up against a Monarch heavy cruiser and two
light cruisers while Jeremy’s own escorts consisted of only two destroyers. He
was about to attempt a daring maneuver to disable his opponent, one he had
never tried before.

“Destroyers,”
Jeremy spoke over his mini-com to the two other ships in his command. “Maintain
maximum range from those two light cruisers. Continue to hit them with long-range
weapons fire; you just need to keep them occupied a little while longer.”

The Avenger
darted forward and made her sudden downward turn, bringing her eighteen railgun
batteries in line with the intended target. On completion of the turn they
opened up, joined by five of the heavy dual laser turrets.

The commander
of the opposing Monarch cruiser swore in frustration as he realized what Commander
Strong had done. He had been caught out of position, and the computer was now
reporting major damage to his ship. Nevertheless, his own weapons were now locking
onto the heavy strike cruiser. It was his turn to cause some damage.

“Fire power
beams,” Jeremy ordered, his eyes narrowing. “Stand by to micro-jump!”

“Inbound
weapons fire,” Kevin reported as his sensors detected the inbound ordinance. He
knew all of this was generated by computer, but it damn sure looked and seemed
real on his screens.

“Power beams
firing,” Lieutenant Preston at Tactical reported.

“Solid hits,”
Colonel Malen informed Jeremy as she saw the dark violet beams reach out and
tap their target on the holographic display.

Jeremy nodded
and counted to five. On the damage control board, a few lights were turning
red. “Jump!” he ordered.

Instantly, a
blue-white vortex of swirling light appeared directly in front of the Avenger.
The Avenger’s weapons fire stopped as she accelerated rapidly into the heart of
the vortex.

“What the
hell?” spoke the Monarch cruiser’s executive officer as the Avenger vanished
from the sensor screens.

“Where have
they gone?” the ship’s commander demanded frantically. “Find them, and find
them now!” He knew that Commander Strong hadn’t fled; he was up to some kind of
trickery.

But it was too
late. Kelsey was the best navigator in the Fleet, and she had plotted a quick
micro-jump that took the Avenger to a position just behind the Monarch cruiser.
A blue-white vortex formed, and the Avenger popped out. Instantly, she opened
up with her power beams, nailing both the FTL and sublight drive of the Monarch
cruiser. A moment later, the computer simulation indicated that the Monarch was
destroyed.

On the Monarch,
the commander watched helplessly as his ship powered down. He was left with
life support and a few other systems until the computer operator restored full power
back to the rest of the ship. His sensor screen was still working, and he
watched helplessly as the strike cruiser, now joined by the two destroyers,
turned on his light cruisers. Five minutes later, it was over. Commander Jeremy
Strong had won again!

“That was a
clever maneuver, Commander,” Colonel Kyla Malen commented as she looked smugly
at the screen that showed all three enemy ships had been destroyed. “Our own
ships took only minor damage.”

“They never
expected us to use a micro-jump to catch them out of position,” Jeremy replied
with a satisfied smile. “They shouldn't have followed us out of the planet’s
gravity well; that’s what allowed us to perform that jump.”

“I couldn’t
have done better myself,” Ariel said. She had watched the entire war game closely,
monitoring everything.

She was very
proud of Jeremy and the others. She wished that his father were alive to see
how good a commander his son was becoming. Jason had been dead for hundreds of
years, but his legacy was living on.

Katie was listening
to the exchange and allowed a knowing smile to cross her face. She doubted that
anyone could beat Ariel when it came to tactics. The AI was constantly running
computer simulations of different battle scenarios. This was the sixth war game
they had participated in, and the Avenger had as yet to receive any major
damage.

What the crew
wasn’t aware of was that Ariel was doing everything in her power to make sure
Jeremy’s orders were carried out to the fullest. If he ordered a turn, she
monitored the Avenger and even adjusted the ship’s systems as needed to make
sure the command was carried out. If the weapons were ordered to be fired, she
made sure the maximum amount of ordnance possible arrived on target. Even with
the jump that Kelsey had plotted, she had carried it out several more decimal
points to make sure it was extremely accurate. Ariel also knew that even
without her help, Jeremy would have still won all six of the war games. She had
just made sure the wins were even more impressive.

“Take the ship
back to Condition Five and secure from combat stations,” Jeremy ordered as he
activated the ship’s interior com system. “Crew of the Avenger, congratulations
on another victory. All three enemy ships have been destroyed, and we only
received minor damage. Good job!”

“That’s it for
this series of battle drills,” Colonel Malen commented.

She had been
extremely surprised by Commander Strong’s command ability. His tactical skills
were remarkable. When she had been told about the group of five that were
coming aboard the Avenger she had been apprehensive. But not anymore all five
were exemplary officers and extremely talented. She knew she should have
realized that, considering whom some of their parents had been. The crew was
still a little bit in awe of all five, considering their history. They were
already getting the attitude that they would soon be the best ship in the
Fleet.

-

Later, all
five of them were in the officer’s mess eating a light meal. Jeremy enjoyed
these rare opportunities where they could get together and talk privately.

“Wasn’t that
drill today great?” Kevin said as he chowed down on his normal meal of a hamburger
and fries. “That Monarch never knew what hit them!”

“They never
expected the micro-jump,” Kelsey commented, her deep blue eyes looking over at
Kevin. She grinned widely. “I put us right on their tail; there was nothing
they could do.”

“It was a
perfect jump,” admitted Jeremy pleased with the way everything had worked out.
“It’s a tactic that the Fleet should probably consider using against the
Hocklyns.”

“How can you
eat so many hamburgers?” spoke Angela, shaking her head at Kevin. “You’re going
to turn into a hamburger one of these days.”

“I just like
hamburgers,” Kevin answered defensively as he took another large bite.

“Ariel would
like to participate in one of the war games,” Katie mentioned, casually. She
already suspected some of what the AI had been doing but had not mentioned it
to anyone.

“I have been thinking
about that,” admitted Jeremy, leaning back and looking over at Katie. She was
nothing like that crazy fifteen-year-old girl he had known so long ago. She was
so much more mature and now a beautiful young woman. So far she had acted very
properly, which was a relief to Jeremy considering how he felt about Kelsey.

“What’s next
on the agenda?” asked Kevin, putting his hamburger down, grabbing a couple of
fries, and dipping them in ketchup. “More war games?”

“We are
supposed to report back to Ceres for a briefing by Admiral Teleck tomorrow,”
responded Jeremy, looking over at his closest friend. “He’s the one that’s been
receiving all of our battle efficiency reports from the war games. I haven’t
used Ariel yet, but I definitely intend to. She may be our ace in the hole if
we ever get into a really bad situation. I just haven’t found the right
scenario to test her with.”

Unseen by
Jeremy, Ariel smiled to herself, feeling pleased. She could see and hear
everything in the Avenger. She was always monitoring and watching the five.
Unknown to any of them, it was something she had promised their parents long
ago. She would always do whatever it took to keep all of them safe from harm.

Kelsey looked
over at Jeremy, her dark blue eyes focusing on his. “I guess the war’s coming
soon. The crew is constantly talking about it. Some are pretty nervous about
what we may be facing.”

Jeremy nodded
slowly. Years ago, Kelsey and he had decided to put off having a serious
relationship or commitment until they were older. It was the only way they
could serve on a ship together. They both still had deep feelings for each other,
but they kept those out of sight unless they were on leave together.

“I’ve heard a
few people talking,” added Kevin, as he picked up his hamburger. “What do you
think will happen, Jeremy?”

“I don’t
know,” answered Jeremy, truthfully. He would never lie or mislead his friends.
“We won’t know until we face an AI ship. If we can destroy one, then we might
be able to win this war.”

“The AIs,”
Katie repeated, her green eyes showing some worry. “They’re the big unknown in
all of this; I wish we knew more about them.”