The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (35 page)

It would also
make for some interesting conversation next time she returned to her parent’s
home back on the planet Horizon in the Tau Ceti system. It would be even better
if she could talk Hedon into coming home with her. She could already see the
shocked look in her sister Linda’s eyes when she walked in with the Fleet
Admiral. Janice also wanted Hedon to meet her parents.

With a long
sigh, she lay down on her bed and stretched out. Reaching over to the side, she
flipped off the light, letting darkness fill the room. After a few minutes, she
fell into a deep, restful sleep. In her dreams, there was a Fleet Admiral and
they were both deeply in love.

-

President
Kincaid stared at the latest message from Grayseth with deep concern in his
eyes. The message was a detailed report of the battle at Kenward Seven and the
strength of the fleet that Admiral Streth was expecting to soon attack Careth.

In his office
were a number of Federation fleet officers, Governor Malleck, Ambassador
Tureen, as well as a number of Federation Senators. He had called these people
in because some very important decisions needed to be made and he didn’t have
the time to argue with people such as Senator Fulbright.

“Three
thousand ships!” uttered Governor Malleck, shaking his head in disbelief. “Can Careth
withstand an attack by such a massive fleet?”

“The planet’s defenses
have been dramatically increased,” said Fleet Admiral Johnson, taking in a deep
breath. Then she looked around the room. “But I don’t know if any system can
withstand the attack of three thousand well armed warships. Look at what Fleet
Admiral Streth did at Kenward Seven with only several hundred. We also don’t
know how many AIs will be involved.”

“But we will
be expecting the attack,” Admiral Kalen pointed out. “Admiral Streth took the Hocklyns
by complete surprise at Kenward Seven. The Hocklyns won’t do the same to us at
Careth. Not only that but we have the new Alton battle stations in orbit around
Careth as well as the particle beam satellites. Those will be a very nasty
surprise when the attack comes.”

“Very powerful
weapons indeed,” spoke Admiral Nagumo of Earth. “But even with those weapons,
this will still be primarily a fleet battle. If the Hocklyns had attacked with
three thousand ships at New Tellus, they would have won.”

The room was
silent for a moment as everyone thought over those prophetic words. They all
knew that Admiral Nagumo was right. If the Hocklyns could win the space around
Careth and defeat the Federation and allied fleets, then they would own the
system and could destroy Careth at their leisure.

“We have time
to reinforce Careth substantially,” spoke Governor Malleck, looking around at
the others. “We can send more defense satellites and even type two battle
stations.” He was greatly concerned because not only were the Special Five
going to be involved, but so were Admiral Telleck, Fleet Admiral Streth, and
Admiral Sheen. The Federation couldn’t afford to lose any of them; it would be
devastating to the war effort as well as to the moral of the Federation.

“We can send
additional fighters and bombers,” Admiral Kalen suggested. “We have to find
someway to even up the odds.”

“There is only
one way to ensure victory,” spoke Admiral Nagumo, rising to his feet with a
serious look upon his face. “To win victory, we must risk much.”

“You have a
plan?” President Kincaid asked his eyes focusing on the admiral. He knew that
Admiral Nagumo was a brilliant strategist and next in line to be Fleet Admiral.
If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be in charge of protecting Humanity's most important
system.

“Yes,” Nagumo
responded in an even voice. “We have the time but we must start immediately.
War is a horrible thing, but once started it must be fought with one goal in
mind and one goal only. To do whatever is necessary to end it!”

“Then tell us,”
spoke Kincaid, leaning forward to listen. He had a strong suspicion he wasn’t
going to like what the admiral was going to say. He also knew he probably
wouldn’t have any choice but to go along with it.

For the next hour,
Admiral Nagumo outlined what he felt must be done. There was much arguing from
some of the Federation Senators at what the admiral was proposing, and even
Ambassador Tureen looked uneasy at times. However, in the end they all finally
agreed. Careth had to be protected, regardless of the cost.

-

Later,
President Kincaid sat in his office talking to Governor Malleck and Fleet
Admiral Johnson. “What do you think of Admiral Nagumo’s plan?”

“It’s risky as
hell,” replied Karla, crossing her arms across her breasts with a heavy frown.
“But I don’t see where we have any choice, not with what Ambassador Tureen and
his scientists have told us. This is a battle we can’t afford to lose.”

“The news
about what the AIs are building at the center of the galaxy is terrible,” said
Governor Malleck, taking a deep breath and looking meaningfully at the other
two. “We must do everything in our power to protect Careth, or we may never be
able to reach the galactic center in time to stop the AIs.”

“Even if we
save Careth, we still might not be able to make it to the galactic center,”
Karla reminded him in a soft voice. “There will be hundreds if not thousands of
AIs ships between us and our targets.”

“Admiral
Streth,” Governor Malleck spoke, his eyes showing fire. “This is why he was
brought out of cryosleep, to save us from the Hocklyns and the threat of the
AIs. We have to have faith in the Fleet Admiral.”

“I’m afraid
this time we’re going to need something more than faith,” Karla spoke with a
heavy sigh.

-

Jeremy looked
in surprise at the new orders that had just come in from Fleet Admiral Johnson.
Instead of taking his fleet in to Careth, he was supposed to stop in system
K-891 and wait for additional instructions. Not only that but Admiral Sheen and
Admiral Tolsen had received the same orders. The supply fleet would go on as it
contained some important weapons and parts for the defenses around the planet.

“What’s going
on?” Kevin asked from his sensor console over their secure com channel.

“I don’t
know,” admitted Jeremy, feeling that something big was happening. He looked
over at Kelsey at Navigation. He forced a smile on his face and saw her shake
her head. She could tell when he was worried. “We’re to wait in system K-891
for further orders.”

“Could this
have something to do with Fleet Admiral Streth’s attack at Kenward Seven?”

“Probably,”
Jeremy responded. He had read over the official report of the attack. It seemed
to him that it had been highly successful. There had to be something here he
was missing.

“What about
the new aliens?” persisted Kevin. “You think it might involve them?”

“The Altons
are going to be sending us all the information they have on the Borzon,” Jeremy
responded. It had been extremely worrisome to find out another one of the AIs
proxy races had come to the Hocklyn’s aid. He wasn’t sure yet what that meant
for the war effort.

“Admiral Sheen
has sent us orders to be prepared to jump shortly,” Ariel reported as she
walked over to stand in her customary spot on the left side of Jeremy. “There's
been a lot of com traffic between Careth and the Federation for the last
several days. It’s encrypted and I haven’t attempted to break it.”

“That’s good,”
Jeremy replied. He knew Ariel could probably break the encryption in just a few
minutes if she wanted to. However, he'd been stressing that she needed to act
more like a Federation officer. “Angela, inform Admiral Sheen that we’re ready
to jump upon her orders.”

“I was hoping
to get back to Careth,” Commander Malen said as she turned around to face
Jeremy from one of the tactical screens. “I wonder how long this delay will
be?”

“I don’t
know,” answered Jeremy, looking at his executive officer. “I'm anxious to get
back to Careth also.” Jeremy had been looking forward to seeing and talking
face to face with Grayseth. They'd been sending messages back and forth, but it
wasn’t the same.

Jeremy looked
around the Command Center at all of the familiar faces. Kevin, Angela, Kelsey,
Katie, and even Ariel were all going about their jobs as if being out in deep
space was absolutely normal. He just wondered if this was the calm before the
storm. He watched silently as Commander Malen returned to the tactical display
and began checking the fleet prior to jump. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jeremy
leaned back in his command chair. There was nothing he could do but wait.

-

Admiral Sheen
was in the Command Center of the WarStorm studying the ships on the tactical
displays. There were currently three distinct fleets displayed. Her fleet,
Admiral Strong’s, and Rear Admiral Tolsen’s fleet were all vividly shown as bright
green icons on the displays. From her command console, she could zoom in on any
ship and it would give her the ship class, weapons, as well as the name of its
commanding officer. It was amazing all the information she now had at her
fingertips.

“These new
displays are a marvel,” Commander Diaz commented from where he was standing at
her side. The command console had two designated seats, one for Admiral Sheen
and another for Commander Diaz.

“Yes,” Amanda
replied with a courteous nod. She was still getting used to all the new
officers on the ship. It was still a strange feeling not to see Samantha
standing at her side, but the commander of the old WarStorm had died in the
battle of New Tellus. “They’re a combination of Alton and Federation
technology.”

“All ships are
ready to jump,” Colonel Petra Leon reported from where she was standing near Navigation.

“Very well;
set the jump and initiate,” Amanda ordered.

She had
specific instructions to proceed to system K-891 twenty light years from Careth
and wait there for further instructions. Two more jumps and they would be
there. The instructions had come from Fleet Admiral Johnson and had offered no
explanation for the delay other than she would be contacted later. The supply
fleet with its own escorts had already been sent on ahead to Careth.

Amanda glanced
back over at the tactical displays; over two hundred Federation ships were in
the three fleets as well as twenty Alton battlecruisers. She knew more Alton ships had been assigned due to the changing situation at the galactic center. She
had an extremely powerful force under her command with all new or recently
updated ships.

She felt the WarStorm’s
powerful sublight drive activate and then moments later the stomach wrenching
sensation of the jump into hyperspace. She let out a deep, calming breath and
looked over the crew of the Command Center. Everything seemed normal, as if a
jump into hyperspace was a common everyday occurrence. For them, after
traveling all the way from the New Tellus System, it almost was.

“We’re getting
close to Careth,” Lieutenant Benjamin Stalls commented to Lieutenant Trask over
their private com channel.

“I don’t know
if I’m ready for this,” Angela said uneasily. “I really enjoyed our leave time
back at New Tellus.”

“You just
liked the resorts,” teased Benjamin, trying to inject some levity into their
conversation.

He knew Angela
had been seriously considering opting out of the fleet before agreeing to stay
on board the new WarStorm. She'd been given that option because of her time
spent in cryosleep and what had happened to the ship. He'd been given the same
choice.

“The resorts
were nice,” admitted Angela, allowing a smile to creep onto her face.

“The resorts
on Careth are also,” Benjamin reminded her. “Maybe we can swing some leave time
to check them out.”

“It’s a
thought,” replied Angela, letting out a deep breath. Talking to Benjamin did
help to make her feel more at ease. He had that type of charm about him.

They both fell
silent as they watched the ship’s main viewscreens. The deep, swirling purples
of hyperspace were a comfort as no ship could be attacked while in this strange,
other reality.

Amanda let out
a deep sigh and leaned back. She closed her eyes briefly wondering how long it
would be before she saw Richard again. She'd been briefed by Fleet Admiral
Johnson about the threat at the center of the galaxy. It was hard to imagine
that they only had two years to defeat the Hocklyns and stop the AIs. If the
structures the AIs were building around the black hole at the galaxy’s center
were indeed aimed at wiping out all organic life, she wasn’t sure they could
stop them. Amanda had a lot of faith in Hedon and his ability to survive
impossible situations. However, for once Amanda greatly feared that her long
time friend was up against a force that he would be powerless to prevail
against.

-

Admiral Streth
was in his quarters aboard the StarStrike as he studied a detailed map of the
galactic center. The map and the photos that had accompanied it had been
furnished by the Altons. There was an area ten thousand light years across
where the average star was less than a light week apart. Closer to the center,
stars were moving at millions of kilometers per hour as they orbited the all
consuming black hole monster at the galactic core, Saggitarius A. This entire
section of the galaxy was home to the AIs. Hedon doubted if any type of organic
life still existed in this dangerous part of space.

He moved the
map over to one side and looked down at a photo showing the black hole itself, a
monstrosity with the mass of over four million times that of Earth’s sun. At a
distance of one tenth of a light year there orbited hundreds of massive
structures, all constructed by the AIs. Hedon knew if they'd been built any closer,
the tidal forces from the black hole would tear them apart. As it was, they orbited
the black hole at extremely high speeds.