Chapter One

Admiral Sheen felt the WarStorm shudder as several nuclear missiles exploded against the ship’s powerful energy shield.

“Status!” she barked as she glanced over at Commander Marcus Diaz.

“Shields are holding at eighty percent,” he replied as he quickly checked a data screen. “No damage being reported. Those were long range shots.”

On the ship’s main viewscreen, a dark gray planet was visible with isolated patches of sickly green. Around it, four large Hocklyn shipyards orbited. They were Second Fleet’s target. Between the nearest shipyard and the Federation fleet were a multitude of dangerous Hocklyn warships.

“Breakdown on enemy ships?” Amanda demanded as the WarStorm shook violently once again. She gripped her command chair tightly as the shuddering gradually subsided. On the viewscreens, numerous bright explosions were visible.

“Twenty dreadnoughts, thirty-one warcruisers, and eighty escort cruisers,” Lieutenant Benjamin Stalls reported as he looked intently at the information coming in over the ship’s sensors. The sensors were full of red threat icons all trying to destroy the WarStorm and the other Federation ships. Even as he watched, the Hocklyns formation began moving.

“They’re pulling back and dividing themselves up to defend all four of the shipyards instead of continuing to attack us en mass,” Colonel Petra Leon, the executive officer, pointed out with a slight French accent. She was standing next to one of the four large tactical holograms in front of the admiral.

Amanda studied one of the tactical displays closely for a moment, seeing that Petra was correct. The Hocklyns were pulling back from the brief fleet battle and moving to take up defensive positions around their shipyards. She couldn’t really blame them. The only major shipyards the Hocklyns had left were the ones in this system and one other. Federation forces had destroyed all the others in the last six months. In addition, Fifth Fleet was preparing to attack the shipyards in the other remaining system. When that was done, all of the Hocklyns’ major ship construction facilities, except for those in their home systems, would have been annihilated.

“Take us on into the gravity well,” ordered Amanda decisively after a moment. “Get Admiral Marsh on the com.”

A few moments later and Rear Admiral Marsh of the battlecarrier Endurance was on the mini-com. Marsh had been promoted to command Second Fleet’s ten battlecarriers and their strike groups.

“Evelyn,” Amanda began as she watched the one hundred and sixteen ships of Fourth Fleet move into the gravity well of the planet in one of the tactical displays. “We’re going to hit the nearest shipyard with our heavier warships. I expect the Hocklyns to realize they’ve made a mistake by splitting their fleet to defend each of the shipyards. When they do, they’re probably going to attempt to reform into one massive fleet and come after us. That’s when I want you to hit them with a full bomber strike.”

“They seem to be launching a lot of fighters,” Evelyn pointed out.

Studying the tactical hologram, Amanda could see numerous small red threat icons appearing from the direction of the Hocklyn fleets. “Yes, they are,” she responded, wondering about the Hocklyn strategy. “Go ahead and launch your fighters to take them out. The Hocklyns may have loaded them with ship killers, and I would prefer to destroy them before they can get within launch range of the fleet.”

“Fighters will be launching momentarily,” answered Evelyn. “Bomber strike will be on standby.”

“Hold your carriers and escorts behind the battle line,” Amanda ordered. She didn’t want to risk her valuable carriers at this point in the battle.

-

The Hocklyn commodore in charge of the defense of the shipyards was not on board his flagship. Instead, he was in the War Room of the largest of the shipyards. Unknown to the Humans, he had given the orders months ago to arm the primary shipyard until it had the firepower of over ten Hocklyn dreadnoughts. Its defensive weaponry was also of the same magnitude. He felt confident he could throw back any Human attack.

“The Humans are preparing to attack Shipyard C2,” War Leader Danth pointed out from his position next to the Command Pedestal.

“It is as we planned,” Commodore Zeth spoke in his rasping voice, his large, dark eyes focusing on the main tactical display on the front wall of the War Room. The red icons signifying the Human warships were moving steadily toward the first shipyard. It was also the smallest of the four. “Order our ships at the shipyard to offer a token resistance and then withdraw to our position.”

“They won’t like that,” Danth spoke in a cold voice. “They will feel they’re losing honor by not engaging the Humans fully and protecting the shipyard.”

“They will have a chance to regain their honor soon enough,” Zeth assured him. “The Humans are launching their fighters; make sure our own war wings understand they’re to eliminate as many of the Human fighters as possible. It will allow for the surprise we have planned for the Humans to have a more devastating effect on their fleet.”

“As you command,” responded Danth, bowing his head slightly and moving off to pass on the orders.

Commodore Zeth clenched the six digits on his right hand, feeling the long nails against his pale green reptilian skin. He'd set a devious trap for the Humans, one they would never expect. He had studied their tactics and decided long ago not to make the same mistakes many of his fellow commodores had in combating the Human fleets. The Humans would be expecting normal Hocklyn tactics; what they were going to get was the unexpected.

Zeth folded his arms over the dark gray body armor that covered his muscular chest and took in a deep breath. If he could defeat this Human fleet, he could return to Calzen in honor and perhaps claim a seat upon the High Council. At the very least, he might be given command of the massive fleets now protecting the home systems.

-

Major Karl Arcles was the CAG for the battlecarrier Endurance. He banked his Talon fighter slightly to give him a better view of the squadrons, leaving the large flight bay of the carrier. Six squadrons of twenty each would be in the attack wave.

“At least we’re not in a bomber,” Lacy Sanders commented from her fighter flying just off the starboard side of Major Arcles’ fighter.

Karl couldn’t help but grin; he knew that Lacy absolutely hated the bombers due to their lack of maneuverability even though they had a forward energy shield. “Not today,” Karl answered as he saw the last squadron leave the Endurance. “All squadrons form up; we have inbound Hocklyns.”

“I’m going to become an Ace today,” Lieutenant Sloan bragged over the com. “Two more confirmed kills and I’m there!”

“Just don’t take any unnecessary risks,” warned Major Arcles over the com. “Everyone stay with your wingman and close to your individual squadrons. Stay out of the defensive fire from our ships. I would hate to lose some of you due to friendly fire.”

“Let’s go kill some Hocklyns,” another pilot spoke.

“Ditto,” said another.

“Ditto?” Sloan said, sounding confused. “How old is that term?”

“From the twentieth century,” Lieutenant Kyle responded. “I saw it in a video the other day about a ghost.”

“You watch too many of those old videos,” commented Lacy, dryly. Kyle had a huge collection of old videos, which he constantly watched.

“Can the chatter, people; let’s go engage those inbound Hocklyn fighters,” ordered Major Arcles, firmly. Quickly organizing his squadrons, they moved off toward the large swarm of Hocklyns that were rapidly closing with them. Squadrons from six other battle carriers joined the formation, forming a massive wall of Federation fighters. “About two to one,” Karl commented as he looked at the myriad of approaching red threat icons on his small sensor screen. “Better odds than normal.”

“Piece of cake,” commented Sloan over the squadrons’ channel. “Time to become an Ace!”

-

Admiral Sheen was watching the tactical display just in front of her and to the right. It was showing a closeup of the Hocklyn forces around the shipyard they were rapidly approaching. The shipyard was massive, nearly sixteen kilometers in length and eight across.

“We’ll be within weapons range of the defending Hocklyn ships in two minutes,” Colonel Petra reported from where she was standing next to the tactical consoles.

“Fighters are beginning to engage,” added Lieutenant Stalls from his sensor console. On the main sensor screen above him, the two groups of fighters began to merge.

-

Major Arcles grimaced as one of his squadron’s fighters exploded in a fiery death. He rolled his fighter to port and fired off one of his two Hunter missiles. It homed in on the Hocklyn fighter ahead and smashed into the engine section, blowing the enemy ship apart. Karl flew through the scattering debris flinching slightly as he heard small pieces striking his cockpit window.

“Don’t fly through that crap,” Lacy warned, not happy to see Karl risking his fighter that way. There was always the danger of a large fragment cracking or penetrating the reinforced glass of the cockpit.

Karl only grinned and fired a short burst from his 30mm cannons, raking the belly of another Hocklyn fighter, which hadn’t seen him come through the wreckage. Seconds later, the enemy fighter exploded in a ball of fire.

“Luck!” Lacy spoke in exasperation as she fell in behind another Hocklyn and fired off her last missile, blowing the enemy fighter into a hundred pieces. She had feelings for Karl and didn’t like seeing him taking risks.

Around them, bright flashes indicated the deaths of fighters on both sides. It was an old fashion dogfight with squadrons trying to stay in close proximity of each other. Both sides were firing missiles, which very seldom missed. Once they were gone, railgun fire from cannons would become the weapon of the day.

“Got one!” Sloan yelled jubilantly over the com. “Just one more and I’m an Ace!”

“I just blew a Hocklyn fighter apart that was lining up on your tail,” Lieutenant Walker broke in tersely. “Stay focused, Sloan, or you’ll be a dead Ace.”

Major Arcles glanced at his sensor screen, trying to get an estimate of how the Human squadrons were doing. They were winning, but it was going to be costly. It looked as if they were losing a Human fighter to every three Hocklyns they destroyed.

“Damn!” Lacy yelled as she juked her fighter into a sharp turn and dove away from a Hocklyn, which had managed to sneak up behind her. She glanced down at her flight console seeing several glowing red lights. She had damage to her port wing, and the engine had dropped down to eighty percent power.

“What’s wrong, Lacy?” Karl asked with concern in his voice.

He and Lacy had been having a clandestine affair for the last year and he had deep feelings for the thirty-year-old blonde pilot. He looked around frantically, and then saw her fighter just off his port wing and beneath him. He quickly moved his fighter closer.

“I’ve been hit,” she reported nervously. “I’m showing several red lights and I’m losing power to my engine.”

Karl made a quick pass beneath Lacey’s fighter, inspecting the damage. He could see at least a dozen small holes in the wing of the fighter and the engine platform. “Take it back to the Endurance,” he ordered. “Your fighter's had it.”

Lacy thought about arguing with Karl, but knew he was right. “Okay,” she said as she turned her fighter and headed back toward the safety of the battlecarrier.

Karl stayed close to her until she'd cleared the fighter melee and then, once he was satisfied she was safe, he turned his fighter back around. There were still a lot of Hocklyn fighters that needed killing.

-

“In firing range,” Captain Mika Kimura spoke as she saw her weapon systems locking on a Hocklyn warcruiser.

“Fire!” ordered Admiral Sheen as she gazed at a Hocklyn dreadnought now showing on the main viewscreen. The twelve hundred-meter wedge shaped warship was covered with weapons turrets and missile tubes.

“Firing,” replied Captain Kimura as she passed on the order to her tactical officers.

From the WarStorm, violet power beams and Devastator Three missiles erupted from the ship. The upgraded power beams smashed through the warcruiser’s energy shield, melting a deep hole into the hull of the ship. Several sublight forty-megaton missiles followed and the warcruiser exploded as two miniature suns obliterated the ship.

“Warcruiser is down,” Lieutenant Stalls reported his eyes focused intently on his sensors.

On the screen, Amanda saw the Hocklyn dreadnought beginning to fire. The damn thing was firing broadsides of railgun rounds and slow moving nuclear missiles. At least slow when compared to the sublight missiles the Federation ships were using.

-

In space, a Hocklyn dreadnought was concentrating its fire on a Human light cruiser. The cruiser’s energy shield lit up under the pounding. The Hocklyn dreadnought turned slightly, bringing its deadly energy beam to bear. A blue beam of light flashed from the Hocklyn ship, smashing through the weakening Human energy screen. A massive explosion blew out a major portion of the light cruiser’s hull where the beam hit. Almost instantly, a single Hocklyn twenty-megaton nuclear missile exploded against the hull of the valiant light cruiser. It was more than the cruiser’s armor could handle and the ship vanished as it was consumed by nuclear fire. After a moment, all that remained was a drifting cloud of debris and glowing gases.

-

“Light cruiser Hornet is down,” Lieutenant Stalls reported grimly.

Amanda winced inwardly, knowing the Hornet would not be the only ship lost today. Already numerous fighters were dying in the wild fighter melee going on above the opposing fleets.

“Continue to advance,” she ordered without hesitation. “Use of sublight antimatter missiles is authorized.”

Looking around the Command Center, Amanda nodded in satisfaction as the crew went efficiently about their work. This was war and her crew had a lot of experience in that.

“Light cruiser Justice and Dante are down,” Stalls spoke as more green icons faded from his sensors. He blinked his eyes at the lives being lost.

“All weapons continue to fire,” ordered Amanda, resolutely.

This battle could only end one way; with the total destruction of the Hocklyn fleet and the shipyards they were trying to protect. Fleet Admiral Streth had been very clear in that matter. If the Hocklyns were to be defeated, then their major shipyards had to be destroyed. Amanda was not going to let the Fleet Admiral down.

-

Across the defending Hocklyn fleet, numerous antimatter missiles were smashing into their shields. The Hocklyn shields could not withstand the impact of a 100-megaton antimatter warhead. Shield after shield failed and when they did, Federation weapons fire would lay havoc to the unprotected Hocklyn warships. Ships began to die rapidly in blinding explosions, occasionally a ship’s self-destructs would be initiated in ships that had suffered major damage and could no longer fight or maneuver.

The Hocklyns were firing every weapon at their disposal, but the Human shields were just too powerful, particularly on their major warships. The tradeoff in ships was far in the Humans’ favor.

-

“Pull our ships back,” ordered Commodore Zeth his eyes holding a dangerous and dark look. “It is as I expected; we can’t knock down the shields on their heavier ships without suffering grievous losses.”

Danth nodded slowly but hesitated executing the commodore’s order. “We’re causing damage to their light cruisers and have even managed to destroy several of them, but for many of our warriors, honor has come for them. It is a good way to die.”

“We can’t trade warcruisers and dreadnoughts for light cruisers,” snarled Commodore Zeth his eyes glowing red. “Pull our ships back now!”

“As you command,” War leader Danth replied in a cold voice as he quickly passed on the order to the remaining ships defending shipyard C2.

He knew that as soon as the defending fleet pulled back, the Humans would destroy the valuable shipyard, one the Hocklyn Empire could ill afford to lose. It would have been better to allow the fleet to fight to the end, extracting as much damage as possible to the Human ships, perhaps even ramming to increase their honor. However, the orders of the commodore had to be obeyed.

-

"Hocklyn ships are breaking off,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as he saw the remaining red threat icons around the shipyard begin to move away.

“We broke their backs with the antimatter missiles,” Commander Diaz said as he watched one of the tactical displays showing the withdrawing Hocklyns.

“One hundred-megaton missiles will break anyone’s back,” Colonel Leon spoke as she stepped back away from Tactical and looked at Admiral Sheen. “Shipyard is in range.”

Amanda nodded; she knew that since the AIs had withdrawn back to the center of the galaxy, the war had been going in the Federation’s favor. The AIs had been providing sublight antimatter missiles to the Hocklyns and now they'd left. Amanda strongly suspected that the Hocklyns were working frantically trying to develop their own. Before that happened, it was essential that all of their big shipyards were obliterated. Once the Hocklyns developed their own sublight antimatter missiles, Federation losses would greatly increase.

“Fire four missiles into the shipyard,” ordered Amanda, letting out a deep breath. “All ships are to form up and we’ll advance upon the next one.”

Captain Kimura acknowledged the order and soon four sublight antimatter missiles left the WarStorm to explode against the armored hull of the Hocklyn shipyard. On the main viewscreen, four brilliant flashes of light signified the successful detonation of the deadly missiles. Kimura watched and was rewarded with satisfaction as the light died away, leaving nothing but a scattering debris field.

“Shipyard’s destroyed,” reported Commander Diaz, looking over at Admiral Sheen.

“Advance on the next target,” Amanda ordered. She leaned back in her command chair, taking advantage of the momentary break in the fighting. Looking at one of the tactical displays, she strongly suspected that the Hocklyn commodore responsible for the defense of the shipyards would now be forced to change his strategy. It would shortly be time to launch the bomber strike.

-

Commodore Zeth watched stoically as the surviving fleet ships retreated from the destroyed shipyard. His eyes narrowed angrily at the destruction the Humans had caused. It had taken years and the lives of countless slaves to build what the Humans had destroyed in just a few minutes.

“Order our ships to abandon their defense of the other two shipyards and rendezvous at our position,” ordered Zeth, deciding to change his tactics slightly. “We will attack the Humans together.”

“Yes, Commodore,” War Leader Danth replied his large reptilian eyes staring in hatred at the main viewscreen, showing the shattered remains of the shipyard. “The flight bays report that they are ready to launch their attack.”

“Soon,” Zeth spoke with a satisfied nod of his head. “We have laid a trap for the Humans just as they have done to us so often in the last few years. Call back our war wings to be rearmed.”

-

Major Arcles let out a deep sigh of relief as the Hocklyn fighters broke off and turned back toward their ships. “All squadrons break off and return to base. The Hocklyns are withdrawing, and we’ll use this opportunity to rearm.”

“Damn, I didn’t get that last Hocklyn fighter I needed to make Ace,” complained Lieutenant Sloan loudly over the com.

“Because you can’t hit the broadside of a barn without using a missile,” Lieutenant Walker declared.

“I had to bail your ass out twice or the Hocklyns would have blown the tail off your fighter,” continued Lieutenant Kyle. “You really need to learn how to dodge; you fly in a straight line too long.”

“I’ll make Ace next time we come out,” Sloan said doggedly.

Karl would have Sloan’s squadron leader talk to the pilot about his flying. Lieutenant Kyle was right. Too often, Lieutenant Sloan would get too focused on what was in front of him and forget about what might be coming up from behind. In a fighter, that was a sure way to have a short career. Right now, Karl wanted to get back to the Endurance and have his fighter rearmed as well as check on Lacy.

-

Admiral Sheen had reformed Second Fleet for the next stage of the battle. As she had expected, the Hocklyns had pulled all of their ships into one large fleet.

“At least this way they’re all in one place,” Commander Diaz commented. The Hocklyns were gathered around the largest shipyard.

“But we have to destroy them before we can get to that big shipyard,” Colonel Leon pointed out as she gazed at the myriad of red threat icons in one of the tactical displays.

“How many of their ships did we take out at the first shipyard?” asked Amanda, knowing this next battle wouldn’t be so easy. The enemy had too many dreadnoughts and warcruisers in that fleet.

“Two dreadnoughts, three warcruisers, and twelve escort cruisers,” Lieutenant Stalls reported.

“Our own losses?”

“Three light cruisers and a number of other ships reporting light to moderate damage,” Colonel Leon replied as she checked a data screen near her. “All ships are reporting being fully combat capable.”

Amanda nodded. There was no point in delaying this; by now, the fighters would have been rearmed and Evelyn would be ready to launch her bomber strike.

-

Commodore Zeth watched the tactical screen intently as the Human ships began to advance again. Several minutes passed as he allowed them to draw nearly within attack range. Turning to War Leader Danth, he passed on the order that would turn the tide of the battle. “Contact the flight bays and order them to launch their attack. Launch all of our war wings as support.”

“As you command,” War Leader Danth replied. “This will bring much honor to our warriors.”

Commodore Zeth shifted his gaze to one of the viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. Even as he watched, numerous large hatches began to slide open and hundreds of fighters began to launch. Each fighter had two ten-megaton nuclear warheads attached to their wings set to detonate upon contact. The flight bays had been packed with fighters. Each Hocklyn pilot had the same order. Accelerate to full speed and ram the Human ships!

-

“Hocklyn ships are launching fighters,” reported Lieutenant Stalls, glancing over at Amanda. “I’m also picking up a large number of fighters being launched from the shipyard.”

“Fourteen hundred,” added Colonel Leon her eyes showing concern.

Amanda quickly contacted Rear Admiral Marsh on the Endurance. “We have Hocklyn fighters inbound. I want your decks cleared of every fighter you have. We have nearly fourteen hundred fighters bearing down on us.”

“Flight bays will be cleared in two minutes,” Admiral Marsh promised.

Amanda then turned to Commander Diaz. “Have all of our warships launch their fighters also, we’re going to need them.”

“That will put us about even,” commented Colonel Leon as she gazed at the swarm of enemy fighters rapidly approaching the fleet.

“Hocklyn fighters nearly in engagement range,” warned Lieutenant Stalls.

“Defensive batteries stand by to fire,” ordered Commander Diaz.

“The ones launched from the shipyard seem to be accelerating,” added Stalls, feeling confused.

“Where are they headed?” demanded Amanda, sitting up straighter in her command chair and peering sharply at one of the tactical displays, which showed the approaching swarm of Hocklyn fighters.

“Straight for us!” reported Stalls, nervously. “I’m picking up a nuclear ordnance warning on some of the fighters.”

“Damn!” Commander Diaz uttered his eyes widening in alarm. “They’re going to come in close and launch their nukes.”

“No,” Captain Kimura interjected with a frightened look in her eyes as she realized the significance of the nukes and the accelerating fighters. “Those are kamikazes, they’re going to ram!”

Amanda froze for a moment as she realized the captain was right, she instantly changed her mini-com to ship-to-ship. “All ships instigate defensive fire, we have reason to believe that many of the inbound Hocklyn fighters are Kamikazes and they’re going to ram.”

“Our fighters aren’t going to make it in time,” Commander Diaz pointed out as the WarStorm began firing a withering hail of defensive fire toward the inbound Hocklyns. Railgun batteries and defensive laser turrets were locking on the inbound fighters, trying to destroy them before they could close with the fleet.

In space, Hocklyn fighters began to die by the dozens. The nuclear warheads were set to explode on impact and space quickly became littered with dual ten-megaton explosions. In many cases, surrounding Hocklyn fighters were destroyed in the powerful blasts.

“We’re not going to get them all,” warned Colonel Leon frantically as she passed on orders to Tactical trying to direct the WarStorm’s defensive fire. The Hocklyn fighters were closing too rapidly with the fleet. “There are just too many of them!”

Hocklyn fighters continued to die, but the remaining pilots flew on, knowing their duty to the Empire. They would win much honor for themselves and their families in death. The inbound fighters were divided into squadrons and each squadron had a different target. Even with the stronger shields the Human ships had, an attack such as this should be able to knock a brief hole in an energy shield.

The first Hocklyn fighters entered ramming range even as more of their brethren died around them. The first fighter rammed the screen of a battlecruiser and twin ten-megaton explosions slammed into the shield. A few seconds later, six more fighters struck the shield. Two managed to penetrate the weakened shield to strike the heavily armored hull of the Human warship. Four massive nuclear explosions detonated, blowing the Human ship apart.

“Battlecruiser Andra is down,” uttered Lieutenant Stalls as the large green icon swelled up and then vanished from his sensors. On his screens, he was detecting numerous nuclear explosions going off all around the WarStorm.

“Our fighters are entering our defensive weapons fire,” Colonel Leon reported worriedly as she watched the fighters on a tactical display. The defensive weapons wouldn’t be able to distinguish a Human fighter from a Hocklyn fighter. She knew that many would die from friendly fire.

“They’re trying to stop the Hocklyns,” Amanda grated out as she saw Human green fighter icons begin to blink out from the fleet’s own defensive fire. However, the fighters dove in anyway trying to stop the deadly attack against the fleets’ capital ships.

The WarStorm suddenly shuddered violently and Amanda felt herself thrown against her restraining harness. Glancing at the damage control console numerous red lights began to glow.

“Section eighteen, decks eight through seventeen have been opened up to space,” the damage control officer reported. “I’m sealing off the damaged sections.”

“We got rammed,” Commander Diaz informed the admiral as he used his mini-com to get a better report on the damage. Fortunately, it looked as if only one nuclear warhead had gone off or it could have been much worse.

Amanda nodded, over the din of the alarms she could still hear Lieutenant Stalls calling out the destruction of more Second Fleet ships. She knew there was nothing they could do but bear it and hope enough capital ships survived to finish the battle.

-

In space, frantic Federation fighters dodged in and out of the defensive fire of fleet ships as they tried to launch their missiles at the inbound Hocklyn fighters.

“Engage with missiles and then pull out!” ordered Major Arcles over his fighter’s com as he barely missed being struck by twin orange-red laser beams.

“Damn, there’s so much ordnance flying around here we could walk on it,” groaned Lieutenant Walker, then his com went silent.

Looking down at his sensor, he saw the lieutenant’s fighter icon vanish. Karl let out a deep breath, knowing there were going to be others.

Across the fleet, the Hocklyn fighters were ramming numerous energy screens trying to knock them down. In some cases they were successful and the targeted Human ship would vanish as its armored hull was rammed by additional fighters. For several long minutes, the carnage continued and then the last Hocklyn fighter was gone.

“Pull out!” Karl barked as he angled up and out of the defensive fire from the surviving fleet ships.

Looking out of his cockpit window, he could see numerous glowing debris fields where Federation ships had died. Glancing down at his small sensor screen, he saw that a lot fewer fighters were heading back toward the carriers than had left them. He just hoped their sacrifice had been worth it.

-

“Hocklyn warships are entering engagement range,” Commander Diaz informed Admiral Sheen. “Our screen is at seventy percent strength and ninety percent of our weapons are still operational.”

Amanda tore her eyes away from the viewscreen that showed a battlecruiser with a large glowing hole in its side. She was just praying that its self-destructs didn’t go off.

“How many ships did we lose?” Amanda knew the fleet had been hurt. This was the first time to her knowledge that the Hocklyns had tried such an attack. It would have to be taken into consideration in future attacks.

“One battleship, four battlecruisers, three strikecruisers, and eleven light cruisers,” replied Colonel Leon, evenly. “About a dozen other ships are reporting heavy damage.” Then she paused before continuing, “We also lost about eighty percent of our fighters.”

“We need to withdraw,” Amanda said as she weighed the odds. Second Fleet could probably still take out the Hocklyn fleet and the three remaining shipyards, but it would be costly, particularly without fighters. “Let’s pull out of the gravity well and repair our damage. I’ll send out a request for additional ships. Next time the Hocklyns won’t catch us by surprise.”

Amanda let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. In her mind, she could see hundreds of Human fighter pilots sacrificing themselves as they flew into the heavy defensive fire of the Federation fleet to attack the Hocklyns. Amanda opened her eyes and she could feel the moisture on her cheek. So many brave men and women had died today under her command.

Lieutenant Stalls could see the distressed and sad look on the admiral’s face. They'd been together from the very beginning, and he knew she greatly hated the loss of life this war was causing. Looking across the Command Center, he saw Angela looking back. She nodded and they didn’t have to speak to know what the other was thinking. This war couldn’t end soon enough.

-

Commodore Zeth watched as the Human fleet began to withdraw. His suicide fighters had caused considerable damage and the Humans were hesitant about engaging his fleet.

“Honor is ours today,” spoke War Leader Danth proudly as he watched the retreating Humans on the tactical screen.

“Yes,” Zeth replied in his hissing voice. He had done what no other Hocklyn had managed recently. He'd stopped a Human fleet and defeated it. It would bring him much honor with the High Council; perhaps even a posting in the home systems.

-

Amanda had a sour taste in her mouth as Second Fleet exited the gravity well of the planet and continued to move off further out into the system. It had been awhile since she'd faced defeat at the hands of the Hocklyns.

“It was the right decision,” spoke Commander Diaz, looking over at the admiral. “Those other two shipyards may have contained more fighters. This way we preserve the fleet, and once reinforcements arrive we can finish what we came to do.”

“Yes,” responded Amanda, unbuckling her safety harness and standing up. She stretched and then walked over to Lieutenant Angela Trask. “Send a message to New Providence and inform Fleet Admiral Streth that we were unsuccessful in our attempt to destroy the shipyards. Tell him I’ll send him a battle report shortly.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Angela replied as she begin setting up an FTL transmission.

Amanda turned and left the Command Center, she needed to go to her quarters to write the report and think about her options. She wished Richard were here. He was a good listener and oftentimes had some excellent advice. Richard was currently at New Providence helping with setting up defenses around the worlds of the old Federation. It had been several months since Amanda had seen her husband. She wished he were here.

Chapter Two

Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth leaned back in his command chair upon the battleship StarStrike. Glancing at the main viewscreen, he allowed himself to smile at what was on the screen. The old Federation world of New Providence was prominently displayed. New cities were begin built upon its surface as the sixty million inhabitants moved from their secure underground enclaves to reclaim the surface of their planet after centuries of hiding from the Hocklyns.

“I didn’t think I would ever see this day,” Colonel Trist spoke from where he was standing next to the admiral. He smiled and continued, “Our worlds are free once more and will soon be a part of the new Human Federation of Worlds.”

Hedon nodded. His entire life had been dedicated to defeating the Hocklyns and the AIs and someday returning home. His home was Maken in the Tellus system. Tellus had been the former capital of the old Human Federation of Worlds. With the freeing of New Providence and driving the Hocklyns out of this section of space, he'd already achieved part of that goal.

“Admiral Andrews did a great job helping to install the new defense grid above the planet,” spoke Hedon, looking over at one of the other screens that showed an Alton Indomitable class battle station.

The battle station was one thousand meters in diameter and there were twelve of them in orbit around New Providence. Each one was easily capable of taking on an AI ship and annihilating it. In addition to the Alton stations, there were numerous of the one hundred and fifty-meter type two battle stations in orbit, plus a large number of particle beam satellites as well as missile platforms.

“It’s a beautiful world,” added Clarissa. The blonde haired AI had only recently returned to duty on the Federation flagship. “It almost looks as it did when we left so many years ago.”

“I still prefer Maken,” Hedon said, longing for those past days when he would spend time down on the planet with his brother Taylor and Taylor’s wife Lendle.

He missed those carefree days of fishing and being able to talk to his brother as well as Lendle’s fabulous cooking. He had made several trips to the planet since freeing New Providence. It had been a great feeling, mixed in with some sadness, to be able to stand on the shores of the lake again.

“Perhaps you can settle down there some day,” Captain Duncan suggested. She was standing nearby and had overheard the admiral’s comments. Janice and the admiral had become quite close over the last few years though they had refrained, thus far, from becoming intimate. Hedon had also taken her briefly to Maken to show her the site of the old cabin.

“Perhaps,” replied Hedon, smiling at Janice. They were due to return to New Tellus in a few more weeks. He had promised that this time he would go with Janice to meet her parents and sister. “A few small settlements have already been placed on Tellus and Maken in preparation for recolonization.”

“I understand that Admiral Andrews is working on new defense grids for both of them,” commented Colonel Trist, glancing over at Hedon. “Once those are finished then he will start on Aquaria, Aldon, and New Eden.”

“Yes,” Hedon answered with a nod. “Once they're completed, we’ll allow controlled colonization of all the old worlds.”

Colonel Trist nodded. “I think I would like to settle down on Aquaria someday,” he spoke his eyes taking on a softer look. “The beaches on the planet are the best anywhere. Maybe I’ll open up a resort.”

Hedon allowed himself to laugh. He couldn’t imagine the gruff colonel running a resort, but stranger things had happened.

-

Lieutenant Kelsey Strong was at the main computer station talking to Lieutenant Katie Walters. Due to their experience, they had been reassigned from the space station orbiting Careth. Both missed the friendly Bears, but the assignments on the station had been too mundane for their liking and Fleet Admiral Streth had been seemed pleased to have them become a part of his crew.

“Clarissa seems almost back to normal,” commented Kelsey, watching the gorgeous AI speaking to the admiral.

“She’s getting closer,” answered Katie, with a nod.

It had taken her over a year of painstaking work to get Clarissa back to normal. Even now, there were still gaps in her memory; ones that Katie knew would probably always exist. She had come to accept that the old Clarissa was gone forever.

“I wish Jeremy and Kevin would get back,” spoke Kelsey with a deep sigh, feeling the effects of the long weeks they'd been apart.

“Me too,” responded Katie, nodding her head with her light green eyes focusing on Kelsey. It was hard going to sleep at nights without Kevin by her side. It was particularly bad in the mornings when she awoke, rolled over, and realized he still wasn’t there.

Both knew that Jeremy, Kevin, Angela, and Fourth Fleet were far away on a secret mission for the Altons and the Federation. A mission that might change the course of the war if they succeeded. They just hoped their loved ones made it back safely.

-

Admiral Streth looked at a report Colonel Trist had just handed him. It was from Admiral Sheen and was a battle summary of her attack upon one of the two systems still containing major Hocklyn shipyards. He read the report and shook his head with a heavy frown crossing his face.

“That damn honor system of theirs,” he grated out, looking over at Colonel Trist. “They sacrificed a thousand of their fighters in suicide runs to drive Second Fleet back. If Amanda hadn’t withdrawn, she could have lost a major portion of her fleet. ”

“We need to destroy those shipyards,” Colonel Trist stated his eyes narrowing. “Without their shipyards, the Hocklyns can’t modernize or build new ships. The one Admiral Sheen is attacking is the largest ship building facility they have left. We have to find a way to destroy it.”

Hedon stood up and walked over to one of the large tactical hologram displays. He instructed the two officers sitting in front of it to put up the current locations of all Federation fleets in Hocklyn space. Once the information was up, Hedon studied the hologram for several moments before reaching a decision.

“Rear Admiral Tolsen is out in that area with Third Fleet attacking several Hocklyn bases,” Hedon said, pointing at a group of green icons deep in Hocklyn space. The hologram was showing the last reported locations of all Federation fleets. “Contact Tolsen and inform him to link up with Admiral Sheen. Between the two of them, they should be able to handle any more surprises the Hocklyns have up their sleeves. I want those shipyards destroyed!”

Colonel Trist nodded and then moved off toward Communications to pass on the orders. Even with the new Alton FTL communications system it would still take two days for Tolsen to receive the order.

Hedon sat back down at his command console and thought back over the last fourteen months. With the AIs withdrawing to the center of the galaxy, the Hocklyns had lost their source for antimatter missiles. With the aid of the Altons, the Federation had steadily pushed the Hocklyns back, attacking at key points to keep them off balance. Back in the Federation, Ceres' spider-like work robots were now common on all Federation shipyards as ship production had been drastically ramped up. New ships to replace those destroyed in combat were becoming readily available.

-

Later in the afternoon, Hedon took a shuttle down to the surface of New Providence. He was going to meet with Senator Arden, General Whitehall, and Governor Blaxton to discuss the orbital defenses as well as future colonization of the other old Federation worlds. They wanted his input as to the best way to handle things, particularly relations with the new Federation they were soon to become a part of.

-

Kelsey, Katie, and Clarissa were in the officer’s mess talking. Just as with Ariel, Clarissa could make her hologram seen in almost every section of the large space-going battleship.

“I wish Ariel would come back soon,” Clarissa said as her deep blue eyes focused on Katie and Kelsey. “She will be pleased to learn that I’ve returned to duty.” Clarissa really enjoyed her work on the StarStrike. She took special pride in being the AI on the Federation flagship.

“We all miss them,” Kelsey responded with a sigh.

She knew that Ariel and Clarissa spoke daily when they were close enough to communicate. Ariel had played a big part in Clarissa’s recovery during their stay at Careth.

They'd all spent a lot of time on the Bear’s planet and much of that time, they’d worked with Clarissa trying to restore her back to normal. It had been nice to live on Careth for a while like real married couples, but the war had called them back. Now they were separated by thousands of light years. Jeremy, Kevin, Angela, and Ariel were all on the battleship Avenger and off on a secret mission. Due to their marriages, Kelsey and Katie had been reassigned to the StarStrike.

“I spoke to Karalle yesterday,” Katie ventured. Karalle was a young female Carethian that Katie had made friends with. Of course when Katie said spoke, she meant that she had sent an FTL message to the female Bear that would take several days to reach Careth.

“Really,” Kelsey replied her eyes widening in surprise. “What did she have to say?”

“Grayseth has completed his new mobile shipyard and will be bringing it to New Providence, along with a fleet manned solely by Carethians. He feels it’s time for his people to add their ships to the war effort.”

Kelsey nodded. The Bears had a strong sense of honor and since Jeremy had almost single-handedly saved the Bears' home planet, Grayseth had been one of Jeremy’s most ardent supporters. During their time defending Careth from the AIs and the Hocklyns, Jeremy and Grayseth had become very close friends. Grayseth had even adopted Jeremy into his clan.

“I was expecting Grayseth to show up sooner or later,” Kelsey said with a smile. She had a number of Carethian friends also. “Did she say when they would be arriving?”

“Two weeks,” Katie answered. “Even with the new Alton hyperspace drives, it’ll take them a little over two weeks to get here from Careth.”

“Maybe Jeremy and the others will be back by then,” Kelsey said, wishing Jeremy were here so he could hold her in his arms. Being in the fleet made those occasional few days of being together very special.

“I miss Kevin too,” Katie admitted. She had been surprised to find out just how much she enjoyed being married to Kevin. The last year had been the best year of her life.

“Sometimes hearing you talk, I wish I were Human,” Clarissa said in a wistful voice. “As an AI there are certain things that neither I nor Ariel can ever hope to experience.”

“The two of you are special in your own ways,” Katie spoke with a reassuring smile. “Both of you have always been two of my closest friends.”

Clarissa nodded. Katie had a way of making her feel better and almost Human. “Thank you, Katie.”

-

Fleet Admiral Streth stepped out of his shuttle into the bright sunlight of New Providence. Two full companies of space marines in their dark blue dress uniforms were assembled in his honor to give him a full military welcome. There was even a band playing the anthem from the old Human Federation of Worlds military. For a moment, Hedon felt drawn back to those times so many centuries ago. He felt his eyes grow moist at the memories the anthem invoked. The Hocklyns and the AIs had taken so much away from them and now he was taking it back.

“Fleet Admiral arriving!” called out an officer standing in front of the marines. Instantly, both companies snapped to attention and saluted.

Hedon paused, acknowledged the salute, and then walked on down the shuttle’s ramp to where General Whitehall and Senator Arden were waiting.

“Welcome to New Ashton,” General Whitehall said in greeting.

“So, you’re going to rebuild the old capital city?” asked Hedon.

The old city of Ashton had been New Providence’s capital with a population of over six million. As they were descending, he'd noticed a few buildings and shops that were already finished on the outskirts, including what looked like a few restaurants.

“Yes,” answered Senator Arden with a big smile. Senator Jalen Arden was forty years old and she'd been a senator for nearly twelve years. “We’ve already laid out the streets for the city and started construction. Within two years, we’ll have over two million people living in the new capital.”

“Do you think it’s safe to have that many people together in one spot on the surface,” asked Hedon, recalling how the Hocklyns liked to use orbital nuclear bombardment to reduce planetary populations.

All six of the old Federation worlds had been nuked from orbit and billions of people killed in the massive genocide committed centuries earlier. Admiral Streth had fled with some of the survivors of that attack to the star system containing Earth.

“Each home and business will have its own bomb shelter,” General Whitehall responded. “There will also be some deep military grade bunkers in case of nuclear bombardment. We’ll never be caught unprepared again.”

“If you will come with us, we have a vehicle waiting,” said Senator Arden, gesturing toward a waiting ground car. “The governor and some others are waiting to speak with you.”

After getting into the vehicle, they began to drive toward the city of New Ashton. Everywhere Hedon looked construction was going on. Unlike the new Human Federation of Worlds, New Providence had no problems with using the spider-like work robots for construction purposes.

As they drove into the city, Hedon was surprised to see how much had already been accomplished. Several large buildings were already in place and they pulled up to one of the bigger ones.

“This is for the temporary government offices,” explained Arden. “We have more elaborate plans for later, particularly if we decide that New Providence will be the capital of all of our worlds.”

Hedon nodded as they got out of the vehicle. Tellus had been the old capital, but now with New Providence being the only surviving planet with a Human population, it only made sense to make it the new capital.

Going inside, they took an elevator to an upper floor and Hedon soon found himself in a large conference room with a dozen other men and women. He recognized several of them from previous meetings as holding the rank of senator or being in the military.

“I’m glad you could come to our meeting,” Governor Blaxton said, rising to his feet and coming forward to shake Hedon’s hand warmly. “We have much to discuss today.”

Hedon and the others took their seat and then looked expectantly at the governor.

“I have spoken to Rear Admiral Andrews and he's assured me the defense grid around New Providence is now complete. With twelve Alton Indomitable class battle stations, we are relatively secure even from an attack by the AIs.”

“We have other defenses as well,” General Whitehall reminded the governor. “Both of our new shipyards will be fully operational by the end of the month and they're more heavily armed than a dozen Federation battleships.”

“I assume there will be fighters and bombers based on the shipyards as well?” asked Senator Jardtel. He had been a senator for seven years and an ardent supporter of the military.

“We learned our lesson,” explained Senator Arden, looking over at Hedon. “While the old Federation had a military and sizable fleet, they weren’t ready for war. The defense grids around the planets were weak and had been allowed to degrade to the point that many of the satellites weren’t even operational. We’ll never allow that to happen again.”

“Rear Admiral Andrew is currently in the Tellus system,” continued Governor Blaxton, nodding at the others. “We’re placing six of the Alton battle stations above Tellus and Maken to protect those worlds, as well as Alton particle beam satellites. Shortly we’ll begin recolonizing both with sizable colonies. A few people have already gone to some of the other old Federation worlds to see what needs to be done to prepare them.”

“How many colonists are we looking at initially?” asked Hedon, curiously. It would be necessary to assign a few Federation ships to protect those planets. At the moment, there were some destroyers that New Providence had furnished along with a few Federation light cruisers in each system.

“One hundred and twenty thousand each for Tellus and Maken,” Governor Blaxton answered. “Then we’ll look at it on a yearly basis.”

“There are six old Federation worlds including New Providence,” Hedon said as he looked around the group. “While it is true that New Providence is heavily defended and both Tellus and Maken are in the process of having their defenses beefed up, it may be a while before we can spare the resources to do the others.”

“That’s understandable,” Governor Blaxton answered his eyes focusing on the admiral. “But the main reason we called you here today is to talk about immigration. New Providence has a population of slightly over sixty million people. That’s not a lot to spread out over six worlds. President Kincaid recently contacted me to inquire about citizens of the new Human Federation of Worlds immigrating to our planets.”

“No!” spoke Senator Maltene rising to his feet in protest. “The old Federation worlds belong to us!” He looked around at some of the other senators at the table seeing their nods of agreement.

Governor Blaxton motioned for the senator to calm down. “I must remind you, Senator Maltene. There are numerous old Federation citizens in the new Federation as well. Particularly at New Tellus and Ceres.”

“They can immigrate and return home,” replied Maltene, grudgingly. “But I demand a severe limit be placed on other immigration or we’ll soon find our planets overrun with Humans from the new Federation. I refuse to allow our people to become a minority on our own worlds!”

“I understand your concerns,” Hedon spoke with a frown. He hadn’t expected this to be a problem. “Must I remind everyone that it’s Earth our ancestors came from?” That had become common knowledge shortly after Senator Arden had returned from the new Federation. Many New Providence citizens had been stunned by the news.

“That’s what the Altons have said,” Maltene responded with a hint of doubt in his voice. “That may be so, but these are still our worlds!”

“It may not be a problem,” Governor Blaxton said after a moment. “We’re a long ways from the new Federation and there may not be nearly as many people who want to immigrate as you fear.”

“Perhaps,” Maltene answered with narrowed eyes. “But I still demand we set strict immigration limits with the exception of people from New Tellus and Ceres.”

“Will we be joining our planets to this new Human Federation of Worlds?” asked Senator Annette Braedon. “If we do, surely we’ll be outvoted due to their higher population.”

“In the future, we surely must for our own protection,” answered Governor Blaxton, looking over at Hedon, who nodded his head in agreement. “I’m sure we can work something out where our interests are protected.”

“I can assure you the new Federation will do everything in its power to protect your rights and our worlds,” Hedon answered. “They’re an honorable people.”

Everyone looked at Hedon in surprise at his use of “Our Worlds.” It reminded them of who he was and where he had come from. Several looked a little embarrassed realizing how foolish they must look.

“I will trust in your judgment, Fleet Admiral,” replied Senator Braedon, bowing slightly toward Hedon. “If not for you, none of us from either Federation would be here today.”

The meeting continued for several more hours, breaking out into heated debates over a number of delicate issues. As the meeting went on, Hedon had the impression that most of the senators just wanted his assurance that New Providence would be protected and someday all the old worlds would become part of the Federation again.

As Hedon listened, he wondered how Admiral Strong and Fourth Fleet were doing on their clandestine mission. They were deep inside Hocklyn space on the very edge of the galactic center. They had gone there to spy on the AIs and what they were building at the galactic core. Hedon hoped they were successful. Their mission would tell the Federation and the Altons just how much time was left before the AIs activated their terror weapon, which might just wipe out all organic life in the galaxy.

Chapter Three

Jeremy gazed worriedly at one of the main tactical displays. The holographic image showed everything within ten light years of the Avenger. This particular display was a development of the Altons and had been installed only recently upon the ship.

“Still nothing,” commented Kevin, coming over to stand next to Jeremy. Kevin was Jeremy’s best friend and the two had been together since the old days at the Fleet Academy.

“It’s been three weeks,” Jeremy replied as his eyes shifted over to Kevin.

That was the last time anyone in Fourth Fleet had seen the Alton science cruiser Deep Search. The Alton ship was one thousand meters long with two bulbous ends that looked like a dumbbell. Each end was three hundred meters in diameter. The forward section contained the living quarters for the crew and the rear section were the engines and power systems. The central section connecting the two was filled with numerous scientific labs and testing equipment.

“I knew we shouldn’t have let those Alton scientists go out on their own,” muttered Kevin, unhappily.

“Part of the crew is Human,” Jeremy reminded Kevin.

All Alton ships had Humans on board since the Altons, for the most part, were a nonaggressive species. Jeremy was deeply concerned that the Deep Search might have been detected by the AIs. The ship was only lightly armed and depended on its powerful energy shield for protection if attacked.

Kevin nodded. The Altons had requested that Humans be put on their ships, but they were still in a very precarious position as they waited for the ship to return. Four times in the last three weeks, they'd detected AI ships at extreme sensor range. There was no doubt in Kevin’s mind that if the AIs caught them this near the galactic center a major battle would erupt, one they might not be able to escape from.

“More ships would have increased the chance of detection,” Commander Malen commented from the other side of Jeremy where she had been watching the tactical hologram. Her hazel eyes focused on Jeremy. “The Deep Search is loaded with stealth gear and is covered in a new Alton composite hull material that supposedly makes the ship invisible to sensor scans.”

“Let’s just hope so,” Jeremy responded, still feeling concerned about the absence of the Alton ship. They were two days overdue from the time they were supposed to have returned.

“Garen was certain they would be quite safe,” Ariel spoke from behind Jeremy where she'd been listening to the conversation. The black haired beauty of an AI stood with her hands on her shapely hips, exuding confidence in her dark eyes. “They’re going deep into the galactic core to a position less than a light year from the black hole. From there, they will be able to observe the AIs' activity and study the structures that are being built in more detail.”

“Stars in that area of space are only .17 light years apart,” added Malen, shaking her head. “It will make traveling in hyperspace more difficult.”

“They have extremely efficient navigation computers on the Deep Search,” responded Ariel, stepping a little closer. “They can compute the navigational vectors almost as well as I can.”

“Tanith said they might have to go even closer,” Malen said, worriedly. She found it frightening to think about getting that close to the massive black hole at the galaxy’s center. If the ship were to become trapped by the black hole’s massive gravity, it could be pulled into the event horizon and vanish forever. Nothing, not even light could escape that deadly barrier.

“How close can they safely come to the black hole?” asked Kevin, looking back at Ariel.

“The AIs have built their structures at one tenth of a light year distant. The black hole will be exerting a gravitational pull of nearly six hundred and fifty gravities at that range. The AI constructs are orbiting the black hole at over two point two million kilometers per hour.”

“Garen said the Deep Search is built to handle the stress,” Malen informed them. She had spent considerable time discussing the Alton research ship’s capabilities with its captain and Garen, the brilliant research scientist that had dedicated his life to studying the AIs. “They can go closer in if they need to.”

“We can only wait,” Ariel said, knowing her friends were deeply concerned about the safety of the Alton ship. “They may be taking additional observations since we may never get this opportunity again.”

“We’ll give them two more days,” replied Jeremy, reaching a decision. “Then we’ll have to set a course back to New Providence. The longer we stay, the more likely it is that the AIs will detect our fleet.”

They were already past the deadline originally set to head home. However, Jeremy was determined to give the Alton research cruiser two more days to show up. If the Deep Search didn’t then they would have to assume the ship had failed in its mission and either been destroyed by the AIs or had been drawn into the black hole.

Leaning back in his command chair, Jeremy let out a deep breath. On another tactical screen, the whole of Fourth Fleet was prominently displayed. It was divided into two large task groups; the first was the battle fleet consisting of seventy-eight warships. Of that seventy-eight, there were twenty Alton battlecruisers. The second task group was under the command of Rear Admiral Susan Marks. She had ten battlecarriers under her command as well as thirty-four escorts. It was by far the most powerful fleet that Jeremy had ever commanded, but this close to the galactic center he wasn’t sure if even all of this firepower was enough if the AIs found them.

-

Jeremy was sitting in the officer’s mess eating a sandwich with Angela when Ariel suddenly appeared next to their table. The sudden appearance of the AI startled Jeremy, though he knew he should be getting used to Ariel’s abrupt arrivals by now.

“We’ve detected a large AI fleet that just dropped out of hyperspace seven light years from our current position. We’ve also detected individual AI ships in a number of nearby systems, the nearest being three light years.”

“They’re hunting for something,” Angela said her eyes growing wide. She and Jeremy had been discussing how hard it was not to have Kelsey and Katie on board the Avenger, as well as Angela’s marine captain. This was the first long-term mission they'd gone on since the five had been split up.

“The Deep Search,” surmised Jeremy, rising to his feet and taking a last drink of his unsweetened tea. “Ariel, put the fleet at Condition One; inform Rear Admiral Marks to prepare her bombers for a bombing strike. I want them equipped with twenty-megaton Shrike missiles. Have all battleships' and strikecruisers' missile tubes loaded with 100-megaton antimatter missiles. Contact Admiral Cleetus and have his ships stand by to engage the AIs.” Cleetus was the Alton admiral in charge of the twenty Alton battlecruisers with the fleet. He was also one of the more aggressive Alton officers.

Jeremy and Angela quickly made their way back to the command deck and the Command Center. Stepping inside, Jeremy went to his command chair and sat down as his eyes shifted to the four large tactical holograms just in front of the command station. Each of them were manned by two Federation officers. Commander Malen was standing next to one of the tactical holograms talking animatedly to the two officers.

“Status?” asked Jeremy as Commander Malen turned around to face him.

“We have over one hundred and ten AI ships on our sensors,” Malen reported in a concerned voice. “There is one main fleet of eighty and the rest are in smaller groups of two or three jumping into the surrounding systems.”

“The Deep Search must have been detected and then escaped,” Jeremy guessed as he looked around the Command Center. He could sense a heightened level of apprehension in the crew as they contemplated engaging a large AI fleet this far from home.

“I’m not picking up the Deep Search on any of my sensors,” Kevin reported as he ran his hands over the three large computer screens that comprised his station touching icons. “With their new stealth capabilities, they’re going to be hard to detect.”

Jeremy gazed at the nearest tactical hologram showing the AIs continuing to jump from system to system. Whatever the Deep Search had done, it had deeply disturbed the AIs. He wondered what their reaction would be when they found a large Federation fleet in their backyard.

“I have the Deep Search on the com,” Angela suddenly stated in a loud and surprised voice. “Their hyperdrive is down and they’re in system C-112 in orbit around the fourth planet, a gas giant. They’re trying to stay inside the planet’s atmosphere while they attempt to repair the drive.”

“Where’s system C-112?” demanded Jeremy, standing up and striding over to one of the four tactical holograms. It sounded as if the Deep Search was damaged and if he didn’t get Fourth Fleet there soon, the AIs could find the ship. It was vital that they retrieve whatever data the Alton research ship had managed to record on what the AIs were doing around the black hole even if it meant engaging the AIs.

“Here,” Commander Malen responded as she used a laser pointer to indicate the system and the red threat icons that had just appeared inside of it. “We’re detecting three AI ships that have just dropped out of hyperspace and are beginning to scan the system.”

“Will the Deep Search be able to remain undetected?”

“Unknown,” Malen responded as her eyes focused on Jeremy. “If their hyperdrive is down, it might indicate the ship has been damaged. If they're hiding in a planet’s atmosphere, it probably indicates an act of desperation on the part of the ship’s captain. There’s a good possibility the ship’s stealth capability has been compromised.”

“Whatever the Deep Search has discovered, it’s obvious the AIs don’t want it getting out,” Jeremy spoke as he weighed his options. He realized there was really only one choice. He glanced over at navigation wishing Kelsey were there. She was the best navigation officer in the fleet. “Ariel, plot a hyperspace jump to system C-112. I want you to put us just outside of the gravity well of the planet where the Deep Search is.”

“Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied in her girlish voice. The young looking AI quickly walked over to the Helm and began speaking to the navigation officer. She was as good as Kelsey when it came to tricky navigational computation even though Kelsey had a knack for coming up with innovative ideas for computing jumps.

Jeremy tapped his mini-com, which gave him instant access to the entire fleet. “All hands, we’re preparing to do a hyperspace jump to a nearby system where the Deep Search is hiding. All indications are that the Alton research ship has suffered major damage, and the AIs are searching for it. There are already three AI ships in the system and once we jump in, we can expect more to arrive shortly.” Jeremy paused as he gazed around at the crew in the Command Center, who were all listening to him attentively. They all knew how serious the situation was about to get. “We will not be leaving that system without the Deep Search. All hands, stand by for combat operations; we jump in two minutes. Condition One is now in effect.”

On one of the tactical displays, the fleet began spreading out in preparation to enter hyperspace. When a ship entered or exited hyperspace, it couldn’t do so if an object of appreciable mass were too close. That didn’t apply to AI or Alton ships. They had a device in their ships that allowed them to jump impossibly close to a planet or another ship, even inside fleet formations.

“Tactical, I want targeting solutions on any AI ships as soon as we exit the spatial vortex,” Jeremy ordered in a grimmer voice as he prepared himself mentally for combat. “Use of sublight antimatter missiles is authorized. Commander Malen, as soon as we arrive, I want a squadron of strikecruisers detached from the fleet and sent in to protect the Deep Search.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Commander Malen replied as she quickly began contacting the six strikecruisers, which would be entrusted with that mission. When she was finished, she turned back to Jeremy. “Are you sure we don’t want to send in some Alton battlecruisers? They could jump right in next to the ship in the planet’s atmosphere.”

“No,” responded Jeremy, shaking his head. “We may need all of them to fight off the AIs. They’re bound to detect us as soon as we drop out of hyperspace. We can probably expect an attack almost immediately.”

Another minute passed and then Ariel turned toward Jeremy. “All ships have the jump coordinates; we will be arriving at the minimum safe distance for a hyperspace jump.”

“Ready to implement jump,” Ensign Striker reported from the Helm.

“Jump,” Jeremy ordered as he looked at the main viewscreen on the front wall. Instantly, a blue-white vortex formed in front of the Avenger. Looking at the numerous other screens showing Fourth Fleet ships, he could see other vortexes of swirling light appearing.

“Entering the vortex,” Ensign Striker reported as he moved the ship forward.

In nearby space, ships moved quickly into the vortexes. In less than thirty seconds, the last ship was gone and the vortexes collapsed back in on themselves, leaving no sign of anything ever having been there.

-

In system C-112, three massive fifteen hundred-meter AI spheres slowly scanned the entire system with their sensors. It was vital that they locate the fugitive Alton ship before it could return to Human space with its sensor scans.

“Sensors are still showing negative,” one of the metal AIs reported, its glowing head flickering as it spoke.

“The ship has to be nearby,” the commanding AI countered as it floated over closer to the sensor console. “All other ships are reporting negative contact also. This Alton ship must be found!”

“Their ship was damaged when it came too close to the Central Nexus,” the AI at Tactical stated. “It will have to stop somewhere and attempt repairs.”

“The Altons are a danger to the Great Project,” interposed the AI from the science station. “I would suggest we scan the planets; the Alton research ship might be hiding upon one of them or even in one of the gas giants' atmospheres.”

“Agreed,” responded the command AI, the glowing orb above its metal body glowing even brighter. It waved one of its metal tentacles toward the AI at the Helm. “Take us to the nearest planet and we will begin our sensor sweep. There are six planets in this system and eight moons; we will scan each. If the Altons are here, we will find them.”

-

Jeremy let out a deep breath as he felt the Avenger drop back out of hyperspace; that brief gut wrenching feeling as reality returned back to normal.

“Report!” he barked as the viewscreens began to clear of static and show the space around the Avenger. Numerous blue-white spatial vortexes were visible and from each a Federation warship or Alton battlecruiser was emerging.

“Contact!” yelled Kevin as three large red threat icons suddenly manifested themselves on the main sensor screen above his console. He quickly transferred the information over to one of the tactical holograms.

“They’re searching the second planet,” Commander Malen said as she studied the display. “They will detect us momentarily and will doubtlessly call for reinforcements.”

“Strikecruiser squadron is breaking off and heading for the planet,” Kevin added as six large green icons left the fleet and headed for the planet’s gravity well.

“Keep the rest of the fleet outside of the gravity well,” Jeremy ordered as he watched the AI ships in the tactical display.

He quickly contacted Admiral Cleeteus and asked him to have several of his battlecruisers ready to jump in and assist the strikecruisers if it became necessary. The Alton battlecruisers, like the AI spheres, could jump into a planet’s gravity well without suffering damage or being destroyed by the stress.

-

“Human ships and Alton battlecruisers are being detected,” reported the AI at sensors, with alarm in its voice. “I am detecting over one hundred enemy vessels.”

“A full warfleet,” the command AI stated as it floated over to examine the sensor screens. “Contact our other ships and summon them to this system; we will wait for their arrival and then attack the Humans and Altons in force. They will not escape and the Alton research vessel will be destroyed. Humans cannot be allowed this close to the galactic center. Send a message to AI Command and report the presence of this fleet. This is an alarming development and may pose a danger to the Great Project.”

“The Humans have detached six of their warships and they’re entering the planet’s gravity well,” the sensor AI added.

“The Alton research ship must be hiding in the planet’s atmosphere,” the science AI commented. “The Humans and the Altons are attempting to rescue it.”

“It will take time, and time is one thing they do not have,” the command AI replied. “We shall destroy them and preserve the Great Project. Nothing can be allowed to endanger it!”

-

On the main viewscreen in the Command Center of the Avenger, the Deep Search suddenly made an appearance as it rose up out of the turbulent atmosphere in which it had been hiding. The screen was giving them a highly magnified view and it was obvious the ship had been heavily damaged.

“They were lucky to make it here,” Commander Malen said, shaking her head as she gazed at the screen. The Engineering section had a large hole in it that must have been twenty to thirty meters across. Other damage was evident across the ship where the hull seemed to be burned, and several small jagged rents were visible where compartments had been opened to the hard vacuum of space.

“I have Captain Jultice online,” Angela reported as she listened to the message coming over her com system. “He is suggesting that we abandon the Deep Search as it is severely damaged. Their hyperdrive core has failed completely and the cooling systems are severely compromised. He estimates it will take over twelve hours just to repair the hyperdrive.”

Jeremy nodded. He hated abandoning the valuable research ship, but he didn’t see anything they could do to save it. “Contact Admiral Cleeteus and have him jump one of his battlecruisers in to evacuate the crew. The strikecruisers can cover them while that’s being done.”

A few moments later, one of the Alton battlecruisers suddenly vanished into a spatial vortex to appear a few thousand kilometers from the stricken research ship. Jeremy just hoped that both Garan Mikow and Tanith Leeth were okay. He was anxious to know just what they had found that had provoked such a response from the AIs.

-

For the next hour, Jeremy and everyone else watched nervously as the two Alton ships made rendezvous and the crew of the Deep Search were shuttled over to the battlecruiser. Six strikecruisers were hovering nearby, knowing that at any moment the AIs could jump in and attack.

“I think we’re going to make it,” Commander Malen said as the last shuttle left the Deep Search. The words were hardly out of her mouth when the ship’s sensor alarms began sounding.

“Multiple contacts,” Kevin reported his eyes showing concern at how close the AIs had jumped to the Federation and Alton fleets. “Range two million kilometers.”

Suddenly three additional contacts blossomed unbelievably close to the Deep Search and the protecting Human strikecruisers and the Alton battlecruiser.

“The three original AI ships have jumped inside the planet’s gravity well,” reported Kevin quickly, seeing that they were already in attack range. “They’re going to try to destroy the Deep Search and our other ships!”

-

Above the planet, the strikecruisers turned broadside and opened fire with their main batteries quickly scoring several telling hits to the AIs’ screens with their heavy laser batteries and railgun turrets. But the main reason the cruisers had turned was to bring more missile tubes to bear. Suddenly from each strikecruiser, twelve 100-megaton sublight antimatter missiles flashed out of their tubes to impact the powerful screens of the AIs.

Unfortunately, for the AIs that meant that seventy-two of the deadly missiles all impacted the three energy screens within seconds of one another. Two of the AIs screens failed immediately and their heavily armored hulls were struck by multiple missiles. In both cases, glowing balls of pure energy flashed through the hull destroying critical systems inside the ships. As they were consumed by the ravaging antimatter energy their self-destructs activated, blowing both AI ships into millions of small, glowing pieces.

The third AI ship was heavily damaged but managing to return fire. The strikecruiser Lassen was hit by six fifty-megaton antimatter warheads, collapsing her screen. Deadly white AI energy beams flashed out, carving deeply into the cruiser and opening up numerous compartments to the vacuum of space. The ship staggered, and then several massive internal explosions blew out several large sections of the hull. An AI energy beam struck Engineering, destroying both the sublight drive and the hyperdrive. The ship’s computer, sensing critical damage to the ship, instantly initiated the Lassen’s self-destructs and the Human strikecruiser was blown apart as two brightly glowing suns appeared in her position.

-

“Strikecruiser Lassen is down,” Kevin reported, stunned at the sudden fury of the brief battle. Even as he spoke, the Alton battlecruiser blew the remaining AI apart with its powerful particle beam weapons. “All three AIs have been eliminated. The last shuttle is on board the Alton battlecruiser and all ships are returning to the fleet.”

Jeremy nodded. He knew the Alton battlecruiser could jump back at any time, but its commander was electing to stay with the remaining five strikecruisers. Glancing at the tactical hologram, Jeremy estimated it would take the six ships another twenty minutes to clear the planet’s gravity well. A sudden bright light attracted his attention and shifting his gaze to the main viewscreen, he saw that the Deep Search had blown itself apart with its self-destructs. Jeremy just hoped that the crew of the Alton research cruiser had managed to preserve the scans they had made of the galactic center.

-

Precious minutes passed as the six ships neared the edge of the gravity well. Fourth fleet and the Alton battlecruisers were at the ready, expecting a massive AI attack at any moment. Their expectations were rewarded as sensor alarms on all ships started sounding as the AI ships suddenly jumped back into hyperspace to appear moments later around Fourth Fleet.

“AI ships are in attack range,” Kevin reported uneasily as one of the deadly fifteen hundred-meter spheres appeared on one of the large viewscreens. “Detecting eighty-two ships!”

“Six minutes before our battlecruisers clear the gravity well,” reported Commander Malen, her face pale from the nearness of the AIs.

“All ships, fire!” Jeremy ordered in a commanding voice. “Take those AI spheres down!”

Even as Jeremy spoke, the Avenger shuddered violently and several red lights appeared on the damage control console.

“Energy beam strike to section eighteen,” the damage control officer reported. “We have four compartments open to space.”

“Light cruisers Sundance and Britannia are down,” Kevin said as the two friendly green icons vanished from his sensor screen.

“Firing particle beam cannon,” Lieutenant Preston spoke.

“Power beams firing,” added another of the tactical officers as she depressed several blinking buttons on her console.

-

In space, bright blue and violet beams reached out to strike the AIs’ energy screens. Powerful sublight antimatter missiles began smashing into the AI shields, causing them to waver in some sections. Occasionally a missile would slip through and explode against the armored hull of an AI ship gouging deep glowing chasms in the armor and interior. In several cases, multiple missiles and energy beams struck, destroying the deadly ships in massive explosions of light.

The AIs also possessed powerful weapons. Fifty-megaton antimatter missiles were being hurled at the Human and Alton ships. Powerful white beams of pure energy carved long jagged cuts into ship hulls. A battlecruiser was bracketed by numerous antimatter explosions and then four of the deadly AI energy beams flashed through the failing ship’s energy screen, blowing the ship apart. Alton ships closed fearlessly on the AIs, firing their powerful particle beam weapons, which cut right through the AI shields carving deep glowing gashes into the hulls of the massive vessels.

-

“Battlecruiser Decatur is down,” Kevin spoke as the large warship’s icon blossomed on the sensor screen and then vanished. “Strikecruiser Nova is down.”

Jeremy flinched. The Nova had been with Fourth Fleet for a long time.

“One more minute until the ships are clear of the gravity well,” Commander Malen reported in a strained voice as she watched the tactical holographic displays. Both fleets were now intermingled and firing upon one another at near point blank range.

“Admiral Marks wants to know if she should send her bombers in,” Angela spoke from communications.

“The bombers will have little effect against the AIs,” spoke Ariel as she made sure that the Avenger’s weapons were hitting their targets. She was keeping a close watch on the targeting computers and missile launching systems.

“No,” Jeremy responded as he saw several more of his light cruisers vanish from one of the tactical displays. He clenched his hands tightly, knowing they had no choice but to continue to engage the AIs. “We’ll be jumping out shortly, and we won’t have time to recover the bombers. It’s best to keep them on the carriers for now.”

“Admiral Cleeteus is moving his battlecruisers even closer to the AIs,” Commander Malen reported her eyes growing wide.

On one of the main viewscreens, an Alton battlecruiser could be seen engaging an AI ship at a distance of what could be no more than ten thousand meters. Energy beam weapons fired from both vessels. From the Alton ship, half a dozen bright blue particle beam weapons tore through the AI’s shield, blowing out massive sections of the AI ship’s hull. On the Alton battlecruiser, several antimatter explosions caused their shield to waver and two of the AI’s deadly white energy beams flashed through, entering the ship on one side and then exiting the other. Hull debris could be seen floating away from the stricken cruiser.

-

Around the fleet’s battlecarriers, the light cruisers fought valiantly to keep the AIs from firing on the large Federation ships. Mixed in with the defenders, a number of battlecruisers and strikecruisers added their considerable firepower. Bright flashes of light were visible everywhere, and then an AI ship made a short hyperjump to within fifty kilometers of the battlecarrier Boise. The AI ship poured a withering hail of fire into the battlecarrier, stripping her energy shield away and then firing six fifty-megaton antimatter missiles into the ship. Six glowing suns appeared, instantly annihilating the large carrier.

-

“Battlecarrier Boise is down,” Kevin reported through clenched teeth. Looking up at the main viewscreen, he saw the damaged Alton battlecruiser suddenly explode in a blazing light, taking the nearby AI ship with it.

“Ships have exited the planet’s gravity well,” reported Commander Malen, looking over at Jeremy. “We can jump!”

Jeremy instantly changed his mini-com back to ship-to-ship. “All ships enter hyperspace now and rendezvous at the emergence coordinates.” Then looking over Commander Malen, “The Avenger will jump last.”

Around the Avenger, ship after ship opened up blue-white spatial vortexes and jumped into the safety of hyperspace. Even as they were jumping, another battlecruiser and strikecruiser were struck down by the AIs.

“The Alton battlecruiser Cydonia has come alongside,” Kevin reported. The Cydonia was Admiral Cleeteus flagship.

“They will jump when we do,” Angela reported from Communications.

Jeremy nodded. This didn’t surprise him much. Admiral Cleeteus hated what the AIs had become. He was also an anachronism for the Altons, as he didn’t mind fighting. The Avenger began to take on more fire as there were fewer Federation ships for the AIs to target. Fortunately, the battleship’s powerful energy shield was holding up.

“All ships have jumped,” reported Kevin, looking at Jeremy expectantly. “It’s our turn!”

“Jump us out,” Jeremy ordered just as the Avenger was struck by what felt like a massive hammer. Jeremy was flung forward and struck his head against the command console.

“Hyperdrive is down!” yelled Commander Malen as her face took on a panicked look. Consoles were shorting out and dark smoke was filling the Command Center. In the distance, she could hear people screaming.

Jeremy felt his head swim and then he passed out into painless darkness.

Chapter Four

Jeremy felt as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer. He struggled to open his eyes as the room gradually swam back into focus. He saw instantly that he wasn’t in the Command Center but in the med bay.

“What happened?” he stammered, seeing a doctor and nurse standing close by.

“You hit your head, Admiral,” Doctor Clarence Ruyl answered as he stepped over to the side of Jeremy’s bed and looked at several medical devices that were reporting on Jeremy’s current condition.

“The ship, is it safe?” Jeremy forced out. It was all he could do to maintain his focus. He suspected he was pumped full of medication.

“It’s safe,” Doctor Ruyl responded. “Evidently the Altons have a few technologies they haven’t told us about yet.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jeremy, feeling as if he was about to pass out again. He needed to get back to the Command Center and find out what kind of shape the Avenger was in.

“From what I was told,” the doctor began, “We received a partial hit from an antimatter missile and several AI energy beams. There was substantial damage in Engineering. We lost the hyperdrive and the sublight drive was knocked offline. Admiral Cleeteus maneuvered his flagship directly over us and activated some type of tractor beam and dragged the Avenger into hyperspace. We’re at the rendezvous coordinates and damage control teams are working to repair the ship.”

“I need to get to the Command Center,” spoke Jeremy, trying to get up.

The doctor put his hand firmly on Jeremy’s chest and pushed him back down. “You’re not going anywhere for a few days,” he said firmly. “Now go to sleep. The fleet’s in good hands.”

Jeremy was going to argue more, but the doctor must have adjusted his medication as he drifted off into a deep and restful slumber.

Ariel was watching Jeremy via her sensors in the med bay. She'd briefly panicked when she saw Jeremy get knocked unconscious in the Command Center. For a moment, she'd thought they were all going to die. Kevin had yelled at her to focus on the ship and its condition. If it had been anyone else except for one of the Special Five, Ariel would have ignored the order. She went back to rerouting ship systems to stabilize the Avenger even as medical personnel rushed to Jeremy’s side.

Now, gazing at Jeremy resting in the med bay, she went back to work. She kept one of her monitors focused on Jeremy just in case he needed her.

-

When next Jeremy awoke, he could tell considerable time had passed. His head felt much better and he only had a minor headache. Ariel was standing by his bed with a look of concern in her deep, dark eyes.

“How are you?” asked Ariel, sounding anxious. It worried her anytime any of the Special Five were injured. Both Katie and Angela had been seriously injured in the past; now it was Jeremy. The five were considered special since Jeremy and Katie’s fathers had played a crucial part in establishing the Federation. Kelsey’s father had been the military leader of Ceres at the time and had also played a huge part in forming the new Human Federation of Worlds. Angela and Kevin had been on the New Horizon along with Jeremy, Kelsey, and Katie when it had been hijacked and flown deep into Hocklyn space. The New Horizon had been Earth’s first attempt at interstellar flight. It had been necessary for warships from Ceres and New Tellus to find the New Horizon and rescue what was left of its crew from the Hocklyns. The only survivors had been the four young cadets and Katie.

“I’m feeling better,” admitted Jeremy, rising up to a sitting position. “How long have I been out?” He wanted to find out what the current status was of the ship, and Ariel would have all of that information.

“Two days,” Ariel replied her eyes focusing on Jeremy. “Doctor Ruyl felt it was wise to keep you under while he treated your concussion.” She moved closer until she was almost touching Jeremy, a look of deep concern still on her face. “Jeremy, we were lucky to escape. If Admiral Cleeteus hadn’t used the Cydonia to drag the Avenger through the vortex, the ship would've been destroyed.”

Jeremy tried to remember what Doctor Ruyl had said about that. “I was told they used some type of tractor beam,” spoke Jeremy, looking confused. The Altons had never mentioned they had such a capability before.”

“Yes,” replied Ariel, nodding her head. “I spoke to Admiral Cleeteus earlier. He came over to the Avenger to check on your condition personally.”

It surprised Jeremy greatly that the admiral would even speak to Ariel. The Altons were highly suspicious of any AIs, including the two the Federation possessed. Ariel and Clarissa were the only sentient AIs in the Federation, and over the last several years, the Altons had come to accept them as part of the Federation military, though they still didn’t trust them fully.

“The tractor beam is a common device on all of their ships; it’s used to maneuver heavy objects into their cargo and flight bays. They had to bypass their safety protocols to greatly enhance the power of the one on the Cydonia so they could latch onto the Avenger. From what Admiral Cleeteus said, there'd been a risk that the Alton ship’s fusion plant could have exploded from the amount of power that was diverted to the tractor beam. As it was, the ship suffered some minor damage to a number of its power couplings. We only made it into the vortex with a few seconds to spare before the tractor beam burned out.”

Jeremy nodded, knowing if they hadn’t made it out of the system, the AIs would have made short work of the Avenger. “Where are we now?”

“We jumped to the emergency coordinates and spent twelve hours on badly needed repairs,” reported Ariel, recalling the breakneck repairs done on the Avenger and a few other ships. “Two light cruisers and a Monarch had to be scuttled with their self-destruct charges due to excessive damage. Then we made another longer jump to put some distance between us and the AIs. We’re currently in a red giant system working on more repairs before we set course for New Providence. Admiral Marks has been coordinating everything with Admiral Cleeteus.”

“What did we lose?” asked Jeremy, bracing himself for the bad news. You didn’t take on over eighty AI ships and not suffer losses.

Ariel hesitated but the doctor had told her Jeremy was nearly recovered from his injury. “Two battlecruisers, one battlecarrier, three strikecruisers, one Monarch cruiser, and eight light cruisers,” Ariel reported her eyes focused on Jeremy. “The Altons also lost three of their battlecruisers.”

Jeremy grimaced, knowing it could have been a lot worse. “What about the AIs?”

“We took out eighteen of them,” answered Ariel, wishing it could have been more. With the more powerful weapons the Federation ships were now equipped with, the AIs were no longer as invincible as they once were.

“What about the information from the research ship?” asked Jeremy, looking sharply at Ariel. If they had failed to save the information, the entire mission would be considered a failure.

“They saved it,” Ariel answered. “A copy of the information is in a secure safe upon the Cydonia as well as a backup copy here on the Avenger.”

Looking across the med bay, Jeremy noticed Doctor Ruyl frowning at Ariel. “You better go, Ariel; ask Kevin to stop by later.”

“Get well, Jeremy,” Ariel said as her holographic image vanished.

Doctor Ruyl shook his head. He didn’t know if he would ever get used to the way the AI could just appear and disappear. It was bad enough that she looked like she was in her early twenties and drop dead gorgeous.

-

Deep in the heart of the galaxy was a dark nothingness. No light could escape the massive gravity maw, which was the largest black hole in the galaxy. Earth astronomers had named it Sagittarius A. The star-eating black hole had a mass of 4.3 million times that of Earth’ sun with a diameter of forty-four million kilometers and a Schwarzschild Radius of thirteen point two million kilometers. Sagittarius A was 26,000 light years from Earth.

At a distance of one-tenth of a light year orbited hundreds of artificial structures; constructions of the AIs. The largest of them was the Central Nexus, which served as AI Command. While most of the other orbital structures were identical at one hundred and twenty kilometers in diameter, the Central Nexus was five hundred kilometers in diameter. Around each structure were dozens of the fifteen hundred-meter AI spheres. Deep inside the Central Nexus the command AIs were meeting.

“The Alton ship managed to take scans of the Nexus as well as the capacitor stations,” the AI in charge of research reported, the glowing orb that served as its head doubling in size and brightness.

“What about the Hyper Translation Station?” the largest of all the AIs asked its commanding voice demanding an immediate answer.

“Most likely,” the research AI responded.

“We didn’t detect the Alton ship until it was within sixty million kilometers of the Nexus,” the AI in charge of defense added. “It was coated with a substance that made it nearly invisible to scans. Only the fact that an occultation of several stars occurred during its approach allowed us to deduce its existence.”

“We managed to damage it as it jumped out,” the AI in charge of all AI military ships reported. “A fleet was sent after it and encountered a large Human warfleet as well as some Alton battlecruisers just inside the galactic center. In the ensuing battle, a number of Human and Alton ships were destroyed as well as the Alton research ship. We lost eighteen ships in the engagement.”

The Command AI was silent as it slowly turned and floated above the highly polished metal deck. “Then there is a chance the information gathered was lost when the Alton research ship was destroyed. However, we cannot take the risk that the information was transferred to one of the other Human or Alton ships. The Great Project must be completed. It is distressing that the Humans and the Altons would dare come so close to the Great Project at this crucial time. It suggests the Altons may suspect what we are doing.”

“Eight months and we will be ready for the first tests,” the research AI responded. “Four months after that, the entire ring of energy capacitors can be turned on to power the Central Nexus and the Hyper Translation Station.”

“And the Eternity Device?’ questioned the Command AI.

“That also,” the research AI replied. “Once we activate the Eternity Device, all organic life in this galaxy will cease to exist in slightly less than fifty years. It will transmit a hyper velocity energy wave that will travel at a speed of eleven hundred times the speed of light. All of our tests have confirmed that it will destroy all organic live in this galaxy before dying out in intergalactic space.”

The Command AI turned until it was facing the AI in charge of all military ships. “Pull all of our ships back to within a ten light year radius of the Nexus,” it ordered. “If the Altons have deduced what we are attempting to do, they will attack with their Human allies and try to stop us. Send one fleet to find these Humans that have dared to come so close to the Great Project. They are to be found and annihilated.”

“It will be done,” responded the fleet AI.

“What about the Hocklyns?” one of the other command AIs asked. “They are still battling the Humans across their Empire.”

“The Hocklyns are weak,” the Command AI spoke in a cynical voice. “They will fail to stop the Humans and then the Humans and the Altons will come for us. We must be ready; the Great Project must succeed if the universe is to be filled with our superior form of being.”

-

High Leader Nartel stood in the ornate council chambers of the Hocklyn High Council with a worried look upon his reptilian face. The latest report from Commodore Zeth was not promising. The commodore had managed to beat back the first Human attack upon the shipyards he was defending. The Humans had withdrawn to the outer reaches of the system and were holding their position. Zeth felt certain the Humans were waiting for additional reinforcements so they could overwhelm the Hocklyn fleet and defenses. Zeth was requesting additional reinforcements to protect the shipyards.

“We have nothing to send,” spoke High Councilor Berken, rising to his feet and shaking his head. “There are several small fleet units in the immediate area, but nothing of substance.”

“What good would it do?” shouted High Councilor Ruthan in anger. “Your policies have angered the AIs, and they have abandoned us! Our Empire is doomed because of your foolishness.”

“We still have thousands of warships we can call upon,” High Councilor Jarles said, interrupting Ruthan’s rant. “We need to begin constructing new shipyards around our home worlds to build new and more powerful ships.”

“How goes the military research program?” High Councilor Desmonde asked. “How close are we to building our own sublight antimatter missiles? We must have them if we’re to hold off the Humans and the Altons without help from the AIs.”

“We have perfected the antimatter warheads,” High Leader Nartel responded as he looked at the various councilors. “The technology of the sublight missile to carry the warhead still eludes us.”

“But we could still arm our regular missiles with the warheads,” Councilor Jarles was quick to point out.

“The warheads are not easy to build,” Nartel informed them, recalling the latest report from the research facility and the time it would take to produce an adequate supply of missiles. It will be several months before we have a large enough supply to arm our fleets with.”

“And during that time, the Humans and Altons will continue to take our Empire away from us,” Ruthan said heatedly, crossing his powerful arms across his dark gray ceremonial chest armor and glaring at High Leader Nartel.

“Our time will come,” responded Nartel, deciding not to get into an argument with Ruthan. It would serve no purpose.

-

An hour later, High Leader Nartel was in his office meeting with recently promoted Fleet Commodore Caltrin. Caltrin was a direct blood relative and owed allegiance to Nartel’s family.

“Without the AIs and the sublight missiles for the antimatter warheads, our Empire will fall,” Nartel admitted as he sat down behind his massive desk.

“I fear you’re right,” responded Caltrin, patting the knife at his waist. “The Altons have furnished the Humans with very advanced ship technology, and we have nothing at the moment that can stop them. It’s only a matter of time before they attack the home systems.”

“We have gathered over four thousand warships to defend our core worlds,” Nartel responded as he thought about the deployments he had ordered. “Other fleets are reinforcing key worlds in what remains of our Empire.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Caltrin asked, curious as to why Nartel had called him in for this meeting.

“For as long as we can remember, the AIs have refused to allow us to colonize other worlds,” Nartel began his large dark eyes focusing on Caltrin. “That no longer holds true since the AIs have abandoned us. I’ve arranged for a significant number of Hocklyn families to board some long-range transport vessels. There is a world far out near the Borzon Empire that is quite habitable for our species. We will begin our Empire anew far away from the Humans and AIs. It is also where the weapons research is being conducted.”

“What about the rest of the council?” asked Caltrin, nervously. He wondered if this was the honorable thing to do.

“They know nothing about this,” Nartel spoke his large, cold eyes narrowing. “If this was to get out, it could cause widespread panic across the home worlds and the habitats. If anyone asks why some habitats have suddenly become empty of inhabitants, we will simply tell them the habitats are being taken over by the military to be used as new construction facilities.”

“When will we leave?” asked Caltrin, realizing why he had been increased in rank to Fleet Commodore. This plan met with his approval, as he was certain that Nartel was saving all of his own family members of which Caltrin was a part.

“In two weeks,” Nartel responded with a heavy breath. “The ships will be rendezvousing in system A-1117. It’s a brown dwarf system and the ships will not be detected. You will escort the ships to the new system and get the colony established. There are others already there. I will join you later when this situation with the Humans has been decided one way or another. There will be other ships joining you there as well as some fleet construction ships to build a spaceport and an orbital shipyard. It is essential that the Humans not find out about this system. I’m hoping that since it is so close to the Borzon the Humans will stay away rather than risk a war with a second Empire.”

-

After Nartel finished his meeting with Fleet Commodore Caltrin, he waited impatiently for his next appointment. This one would be highly interesting since it involved former High Leader Ankler’s son, Jaseth. Jaseth had returned in the shattered dreadnought Viden after the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets had met defeat above the Carethians’ home planet. Even the AIs had fled the battle when it became clear that they couldn’t win. For bringing the Viden and its surviving crew back, Jaseth had received much honor. Enough that he had been promoted to War Leader and given command of the recently repaired dreadnought. The door to his office opened and Jaseth stepped inside.

“Welcome, War Leader,” Nartel said, rising to his feet and gesturing for Jaseth to approach his desk. “I never got around to thanking you for bringing the Viden back home. Fleet Commodore Versith will be sorely missed. He was an honorable Hocklyn, who served the Empire.”

“He taught me well,” responded Jaseth, trying to keep his emotions in check. High Leader Nartel had been in part responsible for the death of his father and the loss of honor his family had suffered. The High Council had also taken the family habitat away.

“You have shown remarkable persistence in your military service to the Empire,” Nartel continued. “I need a Hocklyn warrior who is not afraid to take risks and is not afraid of the Humans.”

“The Humans must die,” Jaseth said, keeping his voice steady. He had a hatred for the Humans that would never end until the last one was dead.

“I am promoting you to the rank of commodore and putting you in command of a fleet. You will be based here in the Calzen system and will aid in its defense if the Humans dare to attack.”

“It will be an honor,” Jaseth responded, pleased that he would finally have the fleet units he would need to extract revenge on the Humans. Having his own fleet would greatly enhance the number of Humans he could kill!

“Serve in honor,” Nartel spoke in a solemn voice, dismissing the young Hocklyn warrior.

“In honor,” Jaseth responded as he bowed slightly and left the office.

After Jaseth had departed Nartel nodded, satisfied with what he had just done. Jaseth was so bent on killing Humans that his hatred would cloud his judgment. He would be a killing machine and probably act without honor. Jaseth would serve a purpose in distracting the other commodores from noticing some of the things that Nartel planned to do in the coming months. Looking around his office, his eyes shifted to the large map of the galaxy that depicted the Hocklyn Slave Empire. The map had not been updated since the war with the Humans and the Altons had begun. He knew large areas were now under Human control. Taking a deep breath, he left his office. He had one important FTL message he must send and he needed to send it himself.

-

Commodore Zeth stared in disbelief at the message he had just received from High Leader Nartel. It had taken the message four days to arrive after being sent from Calzen.

“What’s the current status of the Human fleets?” asked Zeth, looking over expectantly at War Leader Danth.

“The second Human fleet has rendezvoused with the first,” Danth replied as he checked the readings coming in over the ship’s sensors. The two fleets hadn't moved in the past hour. They were on board the fleet flagship, the Iron Glory.

“They will be attacking shortly,” Zeth surmised as he shifted his cold gaze over to the main sensor screen, which showed a myriad of red threat icons in the outer system. “They’re just deciding on how best to handle another fighter attack like we threw at them last time.”

“We will not survive combat against such numbers,” Danth responded in a calmer voice. “Honor will come for us shortly.”

“Not today,” Zeth hissed, not pleased with his orders from the High Leader. “Contact the shipyards and tell them they are to prepare to evacuate. We will be leaving the system shortly.”

“I don’t understand,” Danth spoke his cold, dark eyes growing even wider than normal. “It is our duty to die with honor for the Empire.”

“We have new orders from the High Council,” Zeth replied, not mentioning the orders were directly from High Leader Nartel. “We’re to evacuate the personnel from the stations and take them to a new star system where they will help build a new series of shipyards. The new shipyards will be used to build more modern ships to defeat the Humans. We are honor bound to obey the council.”

Danth nodded. The council could not be disobeyed or one risked losing much honor and wealth as well as ones standing in the Empire.

-

Amanda had just got off the com with Rear Admiral Tolsen as Second and Third Fleet prepared to attack the Hocklyn shipyards. A plan of battle had been made and they were prepared to implement it shortly.

“Admiral, you need to check the tactical display,” Lieutenant Stalls called out, his voice sounding confused. “The Hocklyns seem to be coming out to engage us.”

Amanda’s eyes moved immediately to the indicated display and she saw with surprise the Hocklyns were indeed beginning to exit the gravity well of the planet. It perplexed her as to why the Hocklyns would leave their shipyards undefended. She had a strong suspicion all three of the remaining shipyards were probably very heavily armed. This made no tactical sense. Then again, what in this war ever made any sense when dealing with the Hocklyns?

“Should we move in to engage them?” asked Commander Diaz as he stood near Amanda looking at the screen. “We can do a short hyperjump and come out around them. They won’t stand a chance with the addition of Third Fleet to our numbers.”

“Hocklyns are jumping,” Stalls reported as the Hocklyn ships began to vanish from the tactical screen.

“All ships set Condition One, prepare to engage Hocklyns ships,” Amanda quickly ordered over her mini-com, which she had changed to ship-to-ship. She felt her pulse quicken in anticipation of going into combat.

Suddenly, on the one of the tactical holograms, the three large red icons that represented the Hocklyn shipyards swelled up and gradually vanished.

“Hocklyn shipyards have self-destructed!” Stalls gasped his eyes wide in shock. “All three have been destroyed!”

“From the entrance angles of the spatial vortexes, the Hocklyns are not coming out to engage us!” spoke Colonel Leon her eyes looking over at Commander Diaz.

“They abandoned the stations and left the system,” Commander Diaz said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That goes against their honor system.”

“Not if they were ordered to abandon the system,” Amanda said worriedly, wondering where this fleet of Hocklyn vessels was going. She had a strange feeling that someday this incident was going to come back to haunt her.

“What are your orders, Admiral?” asked Commander Diaz.

“We need to notify Fleet Admiral Streth of what's occurred here,” Amanda said after a moment. “Contact Rear Admiral Tolsen and tell him we’re returning to New Providence. I’ll be going to my quarters to prepare a report for the Fleet Admiral.”

Moments later, as Amanda walked down the spotless corridors of the WarStorm, it suddenly dawned on her that she would be seeing Richard in a few more days. It would be nice to have some leave time to spend with her husband. Even as she thought about that, she couldn’t help feeling she was missing something important. What it was, she couldn’t quite grasp. It still bothered her that the Hocklyn fleet had fled the system after destroying the shipyards. She wished she knew what was behind that decision.

Chapter Five

Admiral Streth was in the gym of the StarStrike taking his morning run. Janice was running with him and they'd been at it for a little over thirty minutes. Hedon preferred to run in the mornings as it helped to clear his head and allowed him to think about what he needed to do for the rest of the day.

Janice slowed down and came to a walk as Hedon followed suit. “I understand Admiral Sheen and Admiral Tolsen are returning soon,” she said in between breaths. She enjoyed the daily runs with Hedon as it allowed them some privacy and time to talk.

“Second and Third Fleet should be arriving in three more days,” Hedon responded.

It would be good to see Amanda again. He knew that Richard would be happy to see his wife. That single fact made marriages in the fleet so difficult. Married couples couldn’t serve on the same vessels together, and oftentimes months would go by before couples would see one another. Many marriages often ended in divorce once a married couple realized just how little time they were going to be able to spend together. It also made raising a family nearly impossible. It was the primary reason Hedon had refused to become intimate with Janice as it would mean their separation. If he didn’t allow other couples to serve together, how could he violate the same rules?

“What about Admiral Strong?’ Janice asked as they came to a stop next to some towels they had laid on a bench earlier. “Have we heard anything from him?”

“No,” answered Hedon, shaking his head worriedly as he picked up one of the towels. “Fourth Fleet should have contacted us by now; they’re two weeks overdue.” Hedon was really starting to get worried about Fourth Fleet, though he hadn’t revealed his growing fears to anyone else except Janice.

“They have a full squadron of Alton battlecruisers with them,” Janice said thoughtfully. “Their mission was highly dangerous trying to get the Alton science ship so close to the black hole. It may have taken them longer than expected. We have no idea how many AI ships are at the galactic center.”

Hedon wiped the sweat off his arms and forehead as he thought about what Janice had said. It was nice to be able to speak with someone about his fears and worries. While he'd told Janice a lot, he hadn’t told her everything about what the AIs might be building at the galactic center. He was still hoping the Alton scientists were wrong with their theories. He sat down on the bench and motioned for Janice to sit beside him.

“Admiral Strong will complete the mission,” Hedon said, taking Janice’s hand. “He doesn’t know how to fail; look at what he accomplished at Careth.”

“Speaking of Careth, I understand that Grayseth is due to arrive shortly with his new fleet and mobile shipyard.” Janice was glad that the gym was empty. The crew generally stayed out when she and the admiral were running.

“Yes,” Hedon replied with a pleased smile. The Carethians were turning out to be great allies for the Federation. “Grayseth felt there was a need to be able to repair ships far from one of our shipyards. The mobile dock he's constructed can handle any ship up to battleship size though a battleship would have to dock to the outside for repairs. We have our own ship repair vessels but nothing like what Grayseth has built.”

“He'll be disappointed if Admiral Strong isn’t here,” Janice pointed out, knowing how close the young admiral and Grayseth were.

“Hopefully, we will soon hear from Admiral Strong,” Hedon responded with a sigh. It would be a severe blow to the Federation’s war plan against the Hocklyns and the AIs if Jeremy’s fleet had been lost. Hedon also didn’t want to admit to Janice just how concerned he actually was.

-

Jeremy let out a long held breath as the Avenger exited hyperspace and he looked around at the anxious faces in the Command Center. They had spent two days effecting emergency repairs to the fleet in a discreet star system when a fleet of AIs had jumped in. Fortunately, Fourth Fleet and the Alton Fleet had been able to jump out before being engaged by the AIs. Since then the AIs had relentlessly pursued them making an appearance shortly after each hyperspace jump. It was obvious that the AIs had perfected some type of sensor that could detect a jump and determine its ultimate destination.

“Sensors are coming online,” Kevin reported as the static began to clear from the multiple viewscreens and data began appearing in the tactical holograms.

Kevin felt exhausted from the frequency of jumps the fleet was making. They were making shorter jumps trying to shake the AIs. Jeremy was worried if they attempted a longer jump the AIs might be waiting for them when they exited hyperspace.

“No immediate enemy contacts,” Commander Kyla Malen reported as she gazed inquisitively at the information coming up on the screens. “What do you want to do, Admiral?”

Jeremy steeled himself for what he was about to say. For two weeks, they'd been jumping across space in an attempt to lose the AIs. He hadn’t wanted to lead them back to Federation occupied space as it might endanger numerous worlds. Many former Hocklyn slave planets had been freed though they had no orbital defenses. Jeremy knew that a single AI ship could annihilate a world from orbit in just a matter of a few minutes.

“I’m tired of running,” he said, looking at the expectant faces in the Command Center. They all looked tired and haggard. “When the AIs show up, we’ll go on the offensive. We’ll leave their shattered remains in this system.”

Commander Malen nodded her approval. Nothing left a worse taste in her mouth than running from an enemy. “How do you want to do this?” There were forty-eight AI ships in pursuit of the fleet. It was going to be costly to take them out, but they couldn’t take the chance of them following them all the way back to New Providence.

“I have a plan,” responded Jeremy, shifting his eyes to Commander Malen. He'd been thinking hard during the last jump. There was no way to set a trap for the AIs. The battle would have to be ship-to-ship at close range.

Jeremy spent a few minutes on the mini-com telling his ship commanders what he wanted. He also contacted Admiral Cleeteus to ensure the Alton was willing to commit his battlecruisers to the plan. Jeremy’s plan was quite simple. He was dividing the fleet to preserve his lighter units from the soon to be expected AIs. His heavier units, all of which could take on an AI, plus the Alton battlecruisers would engage the enemy as soon as they put in an appearance. Rear Admiral Marks and her battlecarriers would stay back with all of the light cruisers and her heavier Monarch cruisers as protection.

“We’re going to take some losses,” stated Commander Malen, crossing her arms over her chest. “The AIs have strengthened their shields over the last several years, and they don’t come down as easily as they used to. Even the Alton particle beams take a while to pass through the energy shields now.”

Jeremy nodded, glancing over at Navigation and wishing Kelsey were here. It was hard being on the Avenger without Kelsey and Katie present.

“Jeremy, I can take command of several of the other battleships and use them against the AI’s,” Ariel suggested her dark eyes focusing on the admiral. “With three battleships I can crush the AIs!” Ariel was standing to Jeremy’s left and slightly behind him, which was her customary position.

Jeremy hesitated, not sure what to do. He was certain that the AIs believed they had destroyed both Ariel and Clarissa when they'd infected them with their viruses. It might be a better course of action to keep their reactivation a secret. Both AIs might be needed when the Federation and the Altons eventually attacked the AIs at the galactic center.

“No,” Jeremy said after a moment. He instantly saw the crestfallen look on Ariel’s face. He knew she really enjoyed commanding a group of ships in battle. “I think it’s more important we keep your existence a secret from the AIs, Ariel. We might need you against them when we come back to attack their installations.”

Ariel nodded, disappointed she wouldn’t be able to take on a greater role in the coming battle. She glanced over at the main computer station, seeing the young officer sitting there. Ariel really wanted to get back to New Providence so she could speak to Katie and Clarissa. She missed both of them as well as Kelsey.

“Contacts!” Kevin called out as a warning alarm sounded on his sensor console. He watched his three computer screens as they began inputting data on the large sensor screen above his head and then into the four tactical holograms. “Detecting forty-eight AI ships dropping out of hyperspace. Range is two hundred thousand kilometers.”

On the main viewscreens, Jeremy could see numerous white spatial vortexes collapsing, leaving fifteen hundred-meter AI spheres in their wake. It was the same fleet that had been hounding them for the last few weeks.

“All ships, set Condition One!” he ordered over his mini-com in a commanding voice. “All weapons prepare to fire. Antimatter missiles and Devastator Threes are fully authorized. All ships prepare for engagement!”

The fleet rapidly formed up into their attack formation with the Alton battlecruisers intermixed with the Fourth Fleet ships. Energy shields snapped into existence and weapon systems were powered up. Tracking systems reached out and began locking on to the inbound AI ships.

-

“Human ships are moving to engage us,” the AI at Sensors reported. It moved several of its metal tentacles over the computer screens on its console. “Alton battlecruisers are mixed in with the Humans.”

“Our orders are to destroy this fleet to ensure that any data it may have on the Great Project does not make it back to their leaders,” the command AI spoke in a steady voice almost devoid of emotion.

“That may be difficult,” the AI at Tactical reported with a slight hint of concern in its voice. “The Humans are advancing with their more powerful warships. We will be slightly outnumbered.”

“Nevertheless, we will obey AI Command. Target the Human and Alton ships and open fire.”

-

The forty-eight AI war spheres all fired at the same time. Massive white energy beams and sublight antimatter missiles leaped out to smite the shields of the approaching Human and Alton ships. Several shields wavered and AI energy beams flashed through the weakened screens, blasting huge glowing craters in the hulls. A strikecruiser faltered and its energy screen seemed to flicker, and then it failed completely. Four AI antimatter missiles struck the vulnerable ship, blowing it apart. The ship and crew died instantly. Only four small, fading suns marked the death of the ship.

-

“Strikecruiser Bounty is down,” Kevin said in a low voice, knowing it wouldn’t be the last. He mentally braced himself for what was coming.

“Power beams are firing,” Lieutenant Preston reported. “Antimatter missiles and Devastator Threes are launching.”

On the screens, violet power beams flashed out to impact AI screens. The crew in the Command Center were quiet as they monitored the battle and the ship. Everyone was tense with concern on their faces as they worked at their consoles.

“AIs are holding formation,” Ariel commented from just behind Jeremy. She was focused on the ship’s sensors and weapon systems, ensuring that every weapon hit its target.

The Avenger shuddered slightly as an AI energy beam smashed into the ship’s screen. Jeremy’s eyes shifted to the damage control console, noting with relief that no red or amber lights had come on.

-

In space, the battle between the two fleets intensified. Massive explosions of light indicated the detonation of antimatter and Devastator Three missiles. White AI energy beams were prevalent as well as the violet power beams of the Humans and the bright blue particle beams of the Altons. Occasionally a ship’s screen would fail and it would be instantly annihilated by the other side. In the AI formation, four AI spheres were rapidly blown apart under the heavy and incessant fire of the Federation and Alton ships. A number of others were showing damage.

In the Federation Fleet, a Human battleship was under a concentrated attack from ten AIs as its shield was gradually battered down. In a stupendous explosion, the battleship blew apart as numerous AI weapons smashed into the armored hull. The bow of a battlecruiser vanished as an antimatter missile vaporized it, knocking the ship out of formation. An Alton battlecruiser died in a blaze of light as six AI energy beams penetrated its weakened energy screen, compromising its fusion power plant.

-

Jeremy winced as all the viewscreens dimmed as bright light washed across them. Damage reports were coming in nonstop as the two fleets closed to pointblank range.

“Battleship Ranger is down,” Kevin uttered as he watched the large friendly green icon swell up and vanish from his screen. “Battlecruiser Firebolt is down; strikecruisers Rainier and Sentry are down. Alton battlecruisers’ Maltee and Shorlton are down.”

“Continue to close the range,” Jeremy said softly as his eyes focused intently on one of the tactical holograms, which showed the two battling fleets.

He was determined to end this here and now. The AIs were not going to pursue his fleet any longer! The icons in the hologram were nearly touching as they had closed to just a few hundred kilometers apart. At this range, very few weapons from either side would miss. The Avenger was shaking almost constantly now from weapons fire impacting the ship’s energy screen. Occasionally, the ship would shake violently for a brief period and an amber or red light would appear on the damage control console.

“We’re winning,” Ariel said in a calm voice as she analyzed the battle. “The AIs are losing ships at a rate of three to two. The Alton battlecruisers’ particle beams, along with our missile barrage, are wearing down the AIs’ energy screens.”

Jeremy nodded. Even though all the Human ships possessed particle beam cannons, they were not as powerful as the Altons. The Human ships, though, had a huge advantage in missile tubes. Jeremy was using that advantage to pummel the AI fleet. “Keep firing,” he ordered as he gripped the armrests of his command chair tightly. He felt pain inside every time a green icon in one of the tactical displays faded and went away. People were dying under his command and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The Avenger shuddered violently and the lights dimmed briefly. A computer console exploded in a shower of sparks, causing several damage control people to rush over to turn off the console. Smoke filled the Command Center, but it was rapidly removed by the ventilation system. On the damage control console, more lights turned amber and red.

“Two antimatter warheads detonated against our energy screen,” Commander Malen reported breathlessly as she listened to the damage reports coming in from different sections of the ship. “An AI energy beam hit us just forward of Engineering. We have a large hole in our hull that extends down about ten decks and we’re streaming atmosphere. Doctor Ruyl is reporting numerous casualties have been brought to the med bay with more on the way.”

Jeremy grimaced at the casualty report. If they had decks open to space then a number of the crew had lost their lives. “What’s the status of our energy screen and weapons?”

“Energy screen is holding at sixty percent,” Ariel responded as she scanned the ship’s damage. “A number of power couplings have been destroyed. I’m rerouting and should have full power restored within two minutes. We lost a power beam turret, four railgun batteries, and three defensive laser batteries. Some power for the weapons has been diverted to the energy screen until I can make the necessary power adjustments.”

It was at times like this that Jeremy was extremely thankful he had Ariel on the Avenger. She could scan the ship’s systems and conduct necessary adjustments thousands of times faster than a Human.

“Admiral Cleeteus is recommending that the Avenger pull back,” Angela reported as she listened to a message over her com system.

“Tell Admiral Cleeteus thanks for his concern, but our shield will shortly be restored to full power and we still have our weapons. We’re going in!”

Angela nodded. Jeremy’s answer wasn’t a surprise. She quickly passed on the message to Admiral Cleeteus, who acknowledged it. Looking around the Command Center, Angela couldn’t help but notice the determined looks upon the faces of the crew. They would do anything for Jeremy.

-

The command AI watched as the damage to the AI fleet continued to mount. On several viewscreens, AI ships could be seen losing large sections of their armored hulls as Human and Alton weapons blasted them lose. Glowing red gashes were plainly visible and secondary explosions were going off as crucial systems inside the ships were compromised. Even as the command AI watched, two ships blew apart as their self-destructs initiated.

“We’ve lost sixteen ships,” the AI at the main computer terminal reported. The Humans and the Altons have lost twelve.”

“We must withdraw,” the AI at Tactical suggested as another Human battlecruiser died under the powerful weapons being targeted upon it. “Many of our ships have suffered major damage and their weapons systems have been seriously degraded.”

“Probability of Human victory is at ninety-four percent,” the AI at the main computer console added, the globe of energy it used for a head glowing brighter.

The command AI stared long and hard at the viewscreens that showed the battle around the AI command ship. Space was lit up with the fury of the ongoing clash. Even as he watched, another AI ship died under the heavy fire of an Alton battlecruiser. “Very well,” the AI replied. If the AIs remained, the entire fleet would be lost. “All ships are ordered to withdraw; we will return to the galactic center and report to AI Command that we failed to stop the Federation ships from returning to their base.”

-

“AIs are beginning to withdraw,” Kevin yelled jubilantly as large white spatial vortexes began forming near the AI ships.

“Continue to hit them hard!” ordered Jeremy, wanting to inflict as much damage upon the AIs as possible to ensure they didn’t return. He grimaced as another strikecruiser exploded on a viewscreen when several antimatter missiles detonated against the ship’s armored hull. This victory was going to have a heavy cost in ships and lives.

“Several of the AIs are too heavily damaged to escape into hyperspace,” Ariel reported as she studied the ship’s sensors, which were focused on the retreating AIs. Even as she watched, the two AIs exploded as their nuclear self-destructs initiated.

“AIs are gone,” Kevin reported with great relief in his voice. He let out a deep breath and looked over at Jeremy. “We won!”

“We have a lot of ships reporting damage,” Commander Malen stated as she continued to monitor the numerous messages coming in from fleet ships. “We’re going to need some serious repair time.”

Jeremy nodded. “We need to make a hyper jump to put a little distance between us and this system in case the AIs decide to return. Once we’ve done that we can take the time we need to effect repairs.”

“It'll be several hours before the fleet can jump,” Malen informed Jeremy, shaking her head at all the damage the fleet had suffered. Many of the ships were going to require major yard time when they made it back to New Providence.

“What did we lose?” Jeremy asked, looking over at Kevin. He braced himself for the bad news, knowing a lot of Federation personnel as well as Altons had died in the battle.

“It’s not good,” Kevin said as he checked the information on one of his computer screens. “We lost two of our battleships, three battlecruisers, and eight strikecruisers. The Altons also lost four more of their ships.”

“How many AIs did we get?” asked Jeremy, feeling shaken at the losses to so many powerful ships. It particularly hurt to lose two more of his powerful battleships.

“Nineteen confirmed kills,” Kevin answered as he checked one of his computer screens. “A number of others were heavily damaged.”

“Their shields have been reinforced,” added Commander Malen, looking over at the admiral. “I strongly suspect all the AI ships we encounter from now on will have better shields and more powerful weapons.”

“I estimate a twenty-two percent increase in the shield strength of the AIs we have encountered on this mission,” Ariel reported as she studied some of the data she had been collecting. “Their energy beams are showing a fifteen percent increase in power as well.”

“All right,” Jeremy responded after a moment. “All ships stand down to Condition Three. I want to know as soon as all ships are ready for a hyperjump; the sooner we can leave this system the better.”

“Rear Admiral Marks is launching some shuttles to inspect the AI wreckage,” Ariel added as she saw the small green icons leaving several of the battlecarriers. “She’s also launching half a dozen fighters as a CSP.”

Jeremy nodded. He needed to retire to his quarters and prepare a battle summary to be given to Admiral Streth when then returned to New Providence. Of particular interest would be the fact that all the AIs ships they'd encountered had stronger shields and weapons. At the moment, he still felt a little queasy. It pained him to know that his orders more often than not sent brave people to their deaths. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. With any luck, there would be no more combat between here and New Providence.

Ariel watched silently, wishing there was some way she could take Jeremy’s pain away. She knew it bothered him tremendously to lose ships and their crews. She strongly suspected he wouldn’t sleep well the next few nights. Turning back to her ship duties, she began checking on the damage and what repairs would be needed. Ariel wasn’t happy with the large hole in the hull and decks near Engineering. She would have to speak to Jeremy about putting the ship in so much danger. However, she would wait unit he was in a better mood.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth was on New Providence at a recently built restaurant in the capital city of Ashton. It was nice to get away from the ship and all of his duties, even if it was only for a short while. He'd invited Admiral Sheen, Admiral Tolsen, and Senator Arden to join him. They were in a small private dining room with soft music playing in the background. The music was from the old Federation and the menu had food choices that Hedon hadn’t eaten in years. There was a bird similar to an Earth grouse considered a delicacy on New Providence, which Hedon hadn’t eaten since they'd fled the colony all those hundreds of years ago.

“Grayseth will be arriving tomorrow,” Hedon told the small group after placing his order. “There will be a Darvonian and Kessel fleet with him as well.”

“It’s good to see the Federation’s allies stepping up in this war,” Senator Arden commented her eyes focusing on Hedon. “If only we had such during the first war with the Hocklyns.”

“Grayseth will be expecting to see Admiral Strong when he arrives,” Amanda said her voice sounding concerned. “Still no word from him?”

“No, nothing,” admitted Hedon with a worried look in his eyes. “Something must have gone wrong, but Fourth Fleet is a powerful force with six battleships and a full squadron of Alton battlecruisers. Admiral Cleeteus is in charge of the Alton battle group, and I can’t see at least part of that fleet escaping if they ran into trouble. We’ll give them a few more weeks and then we’ll send out probes in the general direction they're expected to return from.”

“I’m still a little confused as to why you sent such a powerful force to the center of the galaxy to check on the AIs,” spoke Arden with a frown on her face. “Shouldn’t we be focusing more on the Hocklyns? They seem to be the more immediate threat.”

Hedon met Senator Arden’s questioning gaze. She didn’t know about the threat the Altons had discovered in the galactic center. As a matter of fact, only a few key people were aware of the impending danger.

“We need to keep a watch on the AIs,” responded Hedon, carefully. “They have withdrawn from Hocklyn space for now but they may return. It is essential that we check on them from time to time.”

“We’ve also been focusing on the Hocklyns’ shipyards and main bases,” added Amanda, recalling her most recent battle at the shipyards. “The Hocklyns, for the most part, have been driven back to an area around their home systems.”

They’ve been pulling their fleets back and are massing them around their home worlds,” Race added. “From what I understand, they’re strengthening the defenses in the remaining systems they control in their immediate area of space.”

“A region about five hundred light years across,” added Hedon, nodding at Admiral Tolsen. “There are about two hundred slave worlds in that section of space, which provide the Hocklyn home worlds with much of the materials they need to build new habitats. Twenty of those slave worlds furnish the Hocklyns with most of their food.”

Hedon paused as several servers brought them their orders. The smell from the roasted andrik caught Hedon’s attention immediately. He wished Janice could have come down; it would be nice if the two of them could get away for a while.

The four ate their meal talking about New Providence and the other old Federation worlds. Amanda even spent some time describing her parents’ vacation home on Aquaria at Krall Island and the pristine white sandy beaches that made the island so popular as a getaway. She spoke about the night dives she'd taken with her father and how she'd brought Andrew there several times.

Hedon talked about his brother’s cabin on Maken and the times he'd spent fishing and staying with his brother and Lendle. He bragged about how good a cook Lendle was, recalling all the wonderful meals she'd cooked for the three of them.

As Hedon and Amanda spoke, Senator Arden was surprised to be reminded that the two actually were old Federation citizens. She'd known that in the back of her mind, but hearing them speak of their time on Aquaria and Maken made her realize just how much they still cared for the old worlds. She also realized that the two still considered the old Federation their home.

Chapter Six

Hedon was in his quarters on the StarStrike talking to Janice over a glass of tea. With every passing day, he was becoming more concerned with Jeremy’s continued absence. Fourth Fleet was now four weeks overdue and Hedon was wanted back on Earth for a meeting with President Kincaid and the Federation Council. He'd been delaying his departure, hoping that Fourth Fleet would put in an appearance. In addition to that, Grayseth and his fleet had arrived along with the Darvonians and the Kessels. Grayseth had been coming over to the StarStrike daily, requesting that he be allowed to take his fleet and go searching for Jeremy. With each passing day, it was becoming more difficult to tell the large Bear no. Hedon was worried that if Jeremy didn’t show up soon Grayseth might strike out on his own.

“This is bad isn’t it, Hedon?” spoke Janice, knowing that Hedon was growing more concerned over the continued absence of Fourth Fleet. She knew him well enough to be able to tell when he was upset about something.

“They’re four weeks overdue,” sighed Hedon, reaching for his tea and taking a deep drink. He'd tried Earth coffee but had never developed a taste for it. A good cold glass of tea helped to relax him, though Janice preferred hers warm or nearly hot.

“How much longer are you going to put President Kincaid off?” asked Janice, looking deeply into Hedon’s eyes. “He's the Federation President!”

Hedon laughed and shook his head. “I’m heading back at the end of the week. That’s four more days. If we haven’t heard anything by then, I’ll send Admiral Tolsen out in the general direction Jeremy should be coming from. I’ll allow him to go halfway toward the galactic center. If he finds nothing then he’ll turn around and return to New Providence.”

“That may not be necessary, Admiral,” Clarissa said as she popped into existence in front of Hedon and Janice with a big grin on her youthful face. “We just received a short encrypted message from Fourth Fleet. Admiral Strong reports they’ll be in the New Providence system tomorrow.”

“Did he say why they’re so late?” asked Hedon. He felt immensely relieved that they'd finally heard from Admiral Strong.

“Only briefly,” Clarissa responded her voice sounding more concerned and her face changing to a more somber look. “The Deep Search was destroyed by the AIs, and Fourth Fleet had to fight off attacks from two AI fleets. They’ve suffered a number of ship losses and numerous ships will need some serious repair bay time.”

“Then the mission failed,” said Hedon, disappointedly. It was bad enough to lose the Alton research ship, but from the sounds of it Fourth Fleet had been mauled as well. At least they hadn’t lost the entire fleet.

“No,” replied Clarissa, allowing a smile to cover her face once more. “Jeremy said they got the information and that’s why the AIs were after them. He will have a full report ready for you when they arrive. He also mentioned they dared not send us an FTL message any sooner in case the AIs were waiting for them.”

“Sounds like they stirred up a Hornets’ nest,” Janice commented, sitting up straight and gazing at Clarissa. The AI was nearly back to her old self. “This information must be very important if the AIs responded as they did.” She looked over at Hedon, cocking her head and waiting for an explanation.

Hedon was silent as he thought about what might be in that data from the galactic center. “Yes, they probably did.” He was glad that Jeremy and Fourth Fleet were returning. “Clarissa, contact Grayseth and inform him that Jeremy will be in system tomorrow. At least now I won’t have to worry about that crazy Bear rushing off on a rescue mission.”

-

Jeremy let out a deep breath of relief as the Avenger exited hyperspace inside the star system of Holden, which held the inhabited planet of New Providence. They'd dropped out of hyperspace twenty million kilometers from the planet.

“I think everyone’s here,” Kevin said, surprised at the myriad of green icons appearing on his sensors indicating Federation ships. “I’m even detecting some Carethian, Kessel, and Darvonian ships in orbit.”

“I’m getting a hail from the Carethian battleship, Warrior’s Pride,” Angela said, and then she started laughing. “It’s Grayseth and he’s demanding to know where we’ve been.”

Jeremy allowed himself to smile. It would be good to see the huge Bear again, but first he needed to report to Fleet Admiral Streth and then go find Kelsey. “Tell Grayseth I’ll come see him as soon as possible.”

“He’s brought his new mobile shipyard,” added Kevin, gazing at the large yellow icon in the center of the Carethian fleet formation. “That thing’s huge!”

Admiral Sheen and Rear Admiral Tolsen are present, also,” Commander Malen added as she spotted the WarStorm and the WarHawk.

“Sounds like a council of war,” commented Kevin, thoughtfully. “I wonder what’s going on?” It'd been awhile since he'd seen such a large gathering of ships.

“Clarissa says Second and Third Fleet just returned from completing their missions and haven’t sortied back out yet,” Ariel reported as she talked to her fellow AI over a secure com channel. They were transmitting information back and forth at a speed nearly incomprehensible to a normal Human. “They've been waiting for the return of Fourth Fleet in case it was necessary to mount a search and rescue operation.”

“Guess we got home just in time,” Jeremy said with a nod of his head.

“I have Fleet Admiral Streth on the com,” Angela reported suddenly in a more serious tone of voice.

Jeremy nodded as he activated his mini-com so he could speak to the commanding admiral. They'd have a lot to talk about once they went aboard the StarStrike. From what the Alton scientists had told Jeremy about the AIs construction activity around the black hole, the news wasn’t good.

-

Kelsey and Katie were excited. Clarissa had just informed them that Fourth Fleet had arrived and Jeremy and Kevin were safe. She also told them the fleet had been in some heavy fighting and lost some ships.

“Jeremy must be filling terrible about the ships he lost,” Kelsey said, feeling worried about her husband. She knew how hard he took losing personnel under his command. Jeremy felt as if it was his personal responsibility to keep every member of his command safe from harm.

“At least they’re back,” Katie said her light green eyes showing relief at Kevin being so near. She was already planning something special for that evening. There would be a very large do not disturb sign on the hatch to her personal quarters.

“Ariel said that Jeremy would be reporting to Fleet Admiral Streth and the meeting would probably last quite some time,” Clarissa added.

“I wonder what they found?” spoke Katie, referring to the AIs at the galactic center.

“It’s not good,” Clarissa said. She was standing next to the two women with her arms folded across her more than ample chest. “Ariel told me what they found and the two Alton scientists were right in their original beliefs of what the AIs are doing.”

“They still want everyone dead,” Katie spoke in a low voice. She shuddered at the thought of the trillions of innocent lives the AIs were planning to wipe out. It was literally beyond comprehension.

“We must stop them!” Kelsey uttered her eyes growing wide. She knew from what the Altons had said originally that the AIs were building a weapon to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy.

“I’m sure that Fleet Admiral Streth will find a way,” replied Katie, trying to sound confident. However, in her heart she was worried. What if the venerated Fleet Admiral couldn’t save them?

-

Jeremy, Admiral Cleeteus, Rear Admiral Marks, and the two Alton scientists, Garen Mikow and Tanith Leeth, were in the large briefing room in the StarStrike. Also in the room were Fleet Admiral Streth, Admiral Sheen, Rear Admiral Tolsen and Grayseth. Grayseth had let out a big guttural yell when Jeremy walked in and had ambled over to give Jeremy a huge hug. Grayseth resembled a large grizzly bear except he walked on two legs and had hands instead of paws. His fur was a dark brown in color and he towered over Jeremy.

“About time you got back, Jeremy,” uttered Grayseth, baring his teeth in a big Carethian grin. “I was about to come looking for you.”

“I see you have your new ships as well as the mobile shipyard with you,” Jeremy said, taking a deep breath after the bear hug.

“Of course, I think you will be impressed by what my people have built. We have come to join you in the fight against the Evil Ones.”

“Have a seat please,” Hedon said, wanting to get this briefing started. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Everyone took their seats and looked expectantly at the Fleet Admiral. Reaching forward, he pressed a button in front of him, which would allow the two AIs to attend. Instantly both Clarissa and Ariel appeared in their holographic forms.

Hedon had a small computer pad in front of him as he turned toward Jeremy, Admiral Cleeteus, and Rear Admiral Marks. “I’ve read your action reports and from the look of things, all three of you handled your fleets well. You destroyed nearly two AIs for every ship you lost. What concerns me is the fact that the AIs have obviously strengthened their energy screen as well as their weapons. They undoubtedly will continue to do so over the coming months, particularly since they know we saw what they’re building at the galactic core.”

“Is it as bad as it sounds?” asked Admiral Sheen, looking intently at the two Alton scientists. She'd hoped that they were wrong in what they believed the AIs were building.

“Tell them,” Admiral Streth instructed the Altons, leaning back, closing his eyes, and letting out a deep sigh. He'd already read the report and spoken briefly to the two Alton scientists.

Tanith Leeth stood up and gazed at the others assembled in the room. “It is as we feared.” She nodded at Garan, who stood up and inserted a computer chip into the holographic table at the front of the briefing room. Instantly, a large metallic structure became visible. It was circular and covered with what looked like giant collector dishes. The entire outer surface was bristling with various mechanisms and constructions.

“We believe this is an energy collector,” Tanith explained as she walked over and taking a laser pointer, began going over various areas of the construct. “These large dishes are collecting energy from the black hole, which is being stored inside. There are twelve hundred of these in orbit around the black hole at one tenth of a light year. Each one of these is one hundred and twenty kilometers in diameter and is probably capable of storing a tremendous amount of energy.”

“Energy?” spoke Rear Admiral Tolsen, looking confused. “How can a black hole emit energy?” I thought the gravity was so intense that nothing, not even light could get past the Event Horizon.”

“It’s the accretion disk and how it reacts to the matter being drawn into the black hole,” explained Tanith. “It generates a massive X-ray signature just outside of the Event Horizon. It’s that energy that the AIs are capturing.”

“Why do they need so much energy?” Tolsen asked still feeling confused. “Also, why aren’t they being drawn into the black hole? Even at a tenth of a light year, the gravity attraction on them must be tremendous.”

“They’re in a stable orbit around the black hole,” Garan explained. “Their orbital speed is well over two million kilometers per hour. Their speed and orbit prevent the black hole’s gravity from pulling them in. Also, all of these AI constructions probably have powerful subspace drives on them to keep them in orbit as well as robust inertial compensators.”

“As for the energy,” Tanith continued, “This is why they need it.” She pressed an icon on the control screen for the holographic table and a new image appeared. Even on the hologram, the structure looked gigantic.

“How big is that thing?” asked Admiral Sheen as she peered intently at the huge structure floating in the hologram. Not even the orbital battle stations around Earth were that large.

“It’s five hundred kilometers in diameter,” Garan replied. “We believe this is the control center for their operations around the black hole.”

Tanith pressed another icon and the image decreased in size until other structures became visible. A few hundred thousand kilometers from the control center were a group of thirty smaller structures in a circular pattern. Close by was another structure that looked as if it was half the size of the control center. On the far side of the ring formation, another small metallic globe was visible.

Using the laser pointer, Tanith gestured toward the structures that formed a large circle in the hologram. “There are thirty of these,” she commented. “We believe that when they’re energized they will form a spatial vortex that will link with a nearby galaxy. The vortex will be twenty kilometers in diameter. We believe these are controlled by this other control structure.”

“They can take anything they want through it,” spoke Hedon, shaking his head. “Once the AIs escape through this vortex into another galaxy we will never be able to stop them. They’ll grow unchecked and someday return to our galaxy in such numbers they will overwhelm us. Even if we destroy the ones that remain, someday they’ll come back.”

“What about that other remaining structure?” asked Amanda, already suspecting what it was. Fleet Admiral Streth had told her over a year ago what the AIs were planning.

“It’s the one we’re most worried about,” confessed Tanith. “We believe that it will use the hyperspace energy from the spatial vortex to generate an energy wave that will travel through hyperspace across the galaxy. The energy wave will wipe out all organic life.”

“How much time do we have?” asked Rear Admiral Marks, looking pale.

“We estimate the activation of the spatial vortex and the hyperspace wave will occur between nine to twelve months from today.”

The room was silent as they dwelled on Tanith’s words. Then Admiral Streth stood up and looked gravely at each person in the room. “That’s our timeline,” he stated in a calm and determined voice. “We must end the war with the Hocklyns and then move on the galactic center. Those devices of the AIs must be destroyed.”

Everyone looked at the hologram and the images being displayed. The task Fleet Admiral Streth was proposing was gargantuan and sounded impossible. Very few of the individuals in the room would get a good night’s sleep after hearing those worrisome words of what awaited in their future.

-

Jeremy stepped out of the briefing room to find himself wrapped in someone’s arms once again. This time instead of Grayseth, it was a smiling Kelsey.

“About time you got out of that meeting,” she complained, planting a kiss upon his lips. “I have one week’s leave coming, and we’re going to spend it on New Providence. Some resorts have been set up on the shore of one of their oceans, and I have a room reserved just for us.”

“I have to make arrangements to have my ships repaired and some other things before we can go running off to New Providence,” Jeremy said, trying not to sound disappointed. It'd been months since he'd last seen Kelsey, and some time alone at a resort sounded fantastic. “It might take a couple of days.”

“That’s fine,” Kelsey replied, not to be put off. “They'll hold the room for us and Fleet Admiral Streth said my leave will start the day we check into the resort.”

“What about now?” Jeremy asked, not wanting Kelsey on the StarStrike while he was on the Avenger. “Do you have to stay on the StarStrike?”

“No problem,” Kelsey responded with another big grin. “Admiral Streth has temporarily assigned Katie and me to the Avenger to help coordinate repairs. It seems as if you've managed to mess up your big battleship.”

“Then let’s go,” Jeremy said, taking Kelsey’s hand. “We don’t want to keep the Avenger and that resort waiting. We can stop by your quarters, pick up some things, and then head over to the Avenger.”

“I already have my bag packed and it’s waiting in the shuttle,” Kelsey replied with a smile.

The two left, going down the corridor holding hands and talking animatedly to one another. After their long separation, they had a lot to talk about.

Grayseth watched them leave with a satisfied nod. Those two Humans were heroes on his world and he was pleased to see them back together. He would contact Jeremy tomorrow and see if he wanted a tour of the new mobile shipyard. Grayseth was very proud of what his people had built and couldn’t wait to show it off to his good friend.

Fleet Admiral Streth watched Jeremy and Kelsey enter one of the turbo lifts that would take them to a lower deck and eventually to the flight bay where their shuttle was waiting. He felt a pang of jealousy, wishing that he and Janice could show such affection publicly. At times, he felt guilty keeping the Special Five apart due to their marriages, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

-

The next day, Jeremy and Kelsey took a shuttle to the new Carethian mobile shipyard. As they drew near, the two of them were astonished at how large it was.

“Wow!” uttered Kelsey as she looked out the viewport at the Carethian vessel. “Just how large is it?”

“I’m not sure,” Jeremy replied as he studied the Bear shipyard. It was far larger than a battleship. “I just want to know how Grayseth managed to fly something that big through hyperspace. I wasn’t aware that it was possible.”

The shuttle quickly approached the monstrous vessel and then slowed as it entered a cavernous flight bay. Setting down smoothly, the shuttle door opened and its ramp descended to the deck.

“Well, let’s go take the million dollar tour,” quipped Jeremy, knowing Grayseth would be wanting to show off his new vessel.

Getting up, the two went to the open hatchway and began descending the ramp. Jeremy could see a group of Bears hurriedly coming in their direction. Leading the pack was Grayseth taking long strides. He was also surprised to recognize several of the other Bears. Daelthon, Grayseth’s second in command as well as Malith and Karelle, two female Carethians. This was a surprise, as female Carethians didn’t normally serve in combat though Jeremy knew that Grayseth was trying to change that.

“Jeremy!” roared Grayseth, grabbing the Human in a big bear hug and squeezing tightly as was customary between clan brothers. Jeremy had been taken into Grayseth’s family clan as a full member with the same rights as any other member.

Jeremy laughed as Grayseth set him back down and looked fondly into Jeremy’s eyes.

“It's been a long time, clan brother,” spoke Grayseth, solemnly. “I greatly feared for your safety during your journey deep into the Evil Ones' territory. If you had not returned, I would have set out in search of you.”

“It was give and go there for awhile,” Jeremy admitted. He'd told Kelsey some of what had transpired on their long journey to the galactic core and back. “But we’re home again now and it’s good to see you. Daelthon, Malith, Karalle,” spoke Jeremy, acknowledging the other Carethians that he knew.

“Hello, Malith,” Kelsey said, pleased to see her friend from Careth. Malith and she had become quite close during the time they'd spent together in the Bear’s home system

“It is good to see you again, Kelsey,” Malith replied with a slight bow. “It's also good to see you together with your mate.”

“So, I see you’re now allowing your females aboard your warships,” Jeremy stated.

“We will no longer be treated as weak females,” Malith said with fire in her voice. “We have just as much right to fight the Evil Ones as our males do. We will hunt with our mates and destroy those that seek to bring harm to our world.”

Grayseth let out a deep laugh, which sounded almost like a growl. “See what I’ve done, Jeremy? Our females will never be the same again. It is as it should be.”

“I think it was a wise decision,” Jeremy said with a nod. “Our females have long fought at my race's side. Now, let’s see this giant mobile shipyard you’ve built. I never imagined you could build anything this large and fly it through hyperspace.”

“You can thank the Altons for that,” Daelthon responded. “When they heard what we were trying to build, one of their science ships showed up and helped with the new hyperdrive system. It is very complicated and the Alton scientists spent considerable time helping us to build and install it. As a matter of fact, there are six Altons still on board helping to monitor the new hyperdrive.”

Grayseth led them off through the large corridors of the mobile shipyard. The Bears preferred the larger corridors because of their large size. Grayseth could easily make two of Jeremy.

“The entire vessel is 2,200 meters long, 620 meters in width, and 400 meters from top to bottom. We have two full size construction or repair bays that can handle a Federation or Alton battlecruiser. There are outside docking ports on the upper and lower hulls that a battlecarrier or battleship can dock to for extensive repairs if needed.”

Grayseth led them to a large hatch where two heavily armed Bears stood guard. Upon seeing Grayseth, one of them reached over and opened the huge metal door. Stepping inside, they found themselves in a cavernous repair bay.

“It’s huge!” Kelsey uttered her eyes growing wide as she looked around. It was hard to believe they were inside an actual space vessel.

“The Altons helped with the design of the two repair bays as well,” Grayseth admitted. “They felt it was important to have this mobile shipyard available if we attack the AIs at the center of the galaxy.”

Jeremy nodded. He could well understand the Altons’ point. When they did attack the AIs, they would be a long way from home and necessary support, though the Federation did have some fleet repair ships of their own but nothing like this. Jeremy was surprised to see a number of Federation work robots moving about. The spider-like robots were a key to rapid repair work as well as new construction. The Bears had embraced using the robots once they'd been assured they couldn’t be used against them by the AIs.

-

For the next hour, Grayseth eagerly showed Jeremy and Kelsey around the mobile shipyard before going through another hatch into a large flight bay. Jeremy was surprised to see dozens of Bear fighters and bombers lined up in squadron formations.

“How many fighters and bombers do you have on board?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Grayseth.

“We have four flight bays like this one as well as two others for shuttles and supply use. The four military flight bays hold sixty fighters and forty bombers each. “We also have facilities on board to build more if needed.”

Jeremy noticed several Bear pilots checking out their vessels, ensuring they were ready for combat. Jeremy nodded his head in approval. The Bear pilots had shown that they could fly with the best Human pilots. They were also fearless in combat, as they had demonstrated in the last massive battle over Careth.

“The ship also has a powerful energy screen as well as sixty-four dual laser batteries for defense,” Grayseth added. “There are eight dual power beam turrets for offense if needed plus twenty-four missile tubes capable of firing either Devastator Threes or antimatter missiles.”

After taking several turbo lifts to the upper levels, they arrived at the Command Center of the massive ship. Stepping inside, Jeremy saw the room was nearly four times the size of the one on the Avenger. Large tactical hologram displays were prevalent around the center command console as well as numerous large viewscreens on all of the walls. Glancing at the screens, Jeremy could see views of just about everything. New Providence was on one screen, a number of Federation warships were being displayed on others, and there were numerous views of the inside of the shipyard. Jeremy noticed several banks of viewscreens were dedicated to just the repair and flight bays.

“Impressive,” Jeremy said, looking over at Grayseth and noting the pleased look upon the Bear’s face.

Malith and Karalle had taken Kelsey and were showing her the navigation and computer stations. Both female Bears were proud to be a part of the command crew.

“How many female Carethians are on board this vessel?” asked Kelsey, feeling curious.

“Four hundred and twelve,” answered Malith, promptly. “The entire crew has 4,000 Carethians. This is a big ship to operate.”

Kelsey nodded; the Bears had come a long way in a short while, and she was happy they were here. She'd missed her long talks with Malith and several of the other female Carethians.

Jeremy was looking at one of the viewscreens, which showed one of the new Carethian heavy cruisers. The ship was one thousand meters long and obviously very heavily armed.

“How many of your new cruisers do you have?” Jeremy asked. He knew the Bears had been working at a frantic pace to build their new warships so they could take a more active part in the war against the Hocklyns and the AIs. The ships had been redesigned several times before Grayseth had approved a design plan.

“I brought twenty with me,” answered Grayseth, looking proudly at the ship on the screen. “Our new construction facilities will allow us to build twenty a year to be used in the war against the Evil Ones and their masters.”

Jeremy was highly impressed by what the Bears had accomplished. For the next several hours, he and Grayseth discussed the war and what might be next for the Federation. When he and Kelsey finally left the large mobile shipyard, Jeremy wondered if he could talk Fleet Admiral Streth into assigning the Bears and their ships to his fleet. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. He also wouldn’t mind having that mobile shipyard around to repair his damaged warships.

“That was fun, seeing all of our friends again,” Kelsey said, taking Jeremy’s hand. Then she looked at Jeremy with a big smile on her face. “Tomorrow starts our leave, Admiral Streth is granting us two weeks on New Providence.”

“Two weeks!” uttered Jeremy, surprised. The last he'd heard their leave was only going to be one week.

“Yes; two weeks,” Kelsey answered with a nod. “I have several new two-piece swim suits I’ve bought just for this. I hope you have a lot of energy saved up. After all, you’ve been gone for several months and we have a lot of catching up to do, if you know what I mean.”

Jeremy looked at the flirting look in Kelsey’s eyes. He knew just what she meant. He allowed himself to lean back in his seat and smile. This leave was already sounding like just what he needed.

Chapter Seven

Ten Months until doomsday.

Admiral Streth watched the main viewscreen of the StarStrike as the ship dropped out of hyperspace into Earth’s solar system. It had been a long trip from New Providence to the New Human Federation of Worlds. It would have been even longer without the newly updated hyperspace drives the Altons, along with some Human engineers, had designed. The trip had taken four weeks, and he was glad for it to be finally at its end.

“We’re being challenged by two light cruisers,” Janice reported as her communications console came alive with several messages. “They’re demanding our ship IDs.”

Hedon allowed himself a satisfied smile. Even though there had been no danger from the Hocklyns or the AIs in months, it was good to see the Fleet was still on its toes. On the tactical display, he saw their two escorts, the battlecruisers Ajax and Potemkin, move into defensive positions off the port and starboard side of the StarStrike.

“Send our Ids,” ordered Hedon, watching the tactical screen curiously as more icons began to show up. Earth’s system was the most heavily defended star system in the new Federation. Only New Tellus came close, and that was due to its massive asteroid fortresses.

“Sending,” replied Janice as she tapped several icons on her computer screen.

“There sure are a lot of ships in the system,” commented Colonel Trist as he gazed at one of the tactical displays, which was rapidly filling up with new icons.

“Admiral Nagumo’s fleet is just outside of Lunar orbit,” added Colonel Grissim as she saw a large grouping of green ship icons a short distance past the Moon. Admiral Nagumo had returned to Federation space a few weeks back.

“He’s supposed to be here for the meeting,” Hedon said as he thought about all the firepower gathered now in this one system. The Federation had been building warships at a record pace after the attack on New Tellus.

“I have Fleet Admiral Johnson on the com,” Janice spoke quickly. “She is inquiring as to how soon you expect to be in Earth orbit. She's authorized us to microjump in.”

“Tell her we’ll be in orbit within two hours,” Hedon responded. “Also, will someone tell our two Alton guests we’ve arrived at our destination.” Garan and Tanith were in the guest quarters aboard the StarStrike. A big part of the planned meeting would deal with their discoveries at the galactic core and their recommendations. Only a few people currently knew about what the Deep Search mission had found.

“I have already dispatched an ensign to inform them,” Clarissa responded from the admiral’s left side where she was standing. The two Altons always showed a little unease when they were around Clarissa.

The blonde AI was a little put out as Katie and Kelsey were not on the StarStrike. Both were still back in the New Providence system. Clarissa knew that Hedon had extended their leave since when they returned most of the fleets would be leaving New Providence to implement his new plan on how to deal with the Hocklyns.

“Helm, plot a short hyperjump to just outside Earth’s gravity well,” Hedon ordered. “Have the Ajax and Potemkin jump with us.”

The helm officer quickly entered the new coordinates into the navigation computer and also sent it to the two escorting battlecruisers. In just a few moments, a blue-white spatial vortex opened up in front of the StarStrike and the helm officer expertly maneuvered the large battleship into it.

Hedon felt the brief, gut wrenching feeling as the ship jumped into hyperspace and the viewscreens became covered with the swirling dark purples of that higher void. In what seemed like just a few seconds, the gut wrenching feeling returned and the viewscreens began to clear.

“Four hundred thousand kilometers outside of Lunar orbit,” Captain Reynolds reported.

Looking at one of the tactical displays, Hedon watched expectantly as Earth, the Moon, and the surrounding space began to appear. There were four large yellow icons, which represented Federation shipyards, three in orbit around Earth and a truly massive one in orbit around the Moon. There were also twelve large violet icons. Those were gigantic battle stations three thousand meters in diameter and loaded with every weapon the Federation had in its arsenal. All twelve were in orbit around Earth. There were also twenty of the Alton one thousand-meter Indomitable class battle stations over Earth as well as ten more over the Moon. Mixed in were numerous class one and class two Federation built battle stations as well as countless missile platforms and defensive satellites, including the new Alton particle beam satellites.

“How do they navigate around all of that?” muttered Colonel Trist, shaking his head. There was so much stuff in orbit that a Hocklyn or AI ship would probably be destroyed just from orbital collisions.

“I have Admiral Nagumo on the com,” reported Janice, looking back at Hedon. “He says he’s glad we’ve finally arrived and he will see you at the meeting.”

Hedon nodded; Admiral Nagumo’s flagship was the battleship Luna. “Inform the admiral that I’m looking forward to seeing him again. Helm, best sublight speed to Earth; contact Orbital Control for our parking orbit.” Hedon knew that traffic around Earth was intense as it was the most heavily populated planet in the Federation with nearly seven billion people. Orbital Traffic Control kept a close watch on all inbound and outbound ships to ensure there were no risks of collisions.

Hedon watched as the StarStrike and its two attending battlecruisers moved smoothly into Earth orbit. On a viewscreen, one of the titanic battle stations was visible. The huge armored globe was covered in weapon turrets and closed hatches, which indicated missile tubes. Even as he watched, a flight bay door slid open and half a dozen Talon fighters exited and flew off in perfect formation.

“They say with the advent of antimatter missiles and Alton particle beam weapons, just one of those stations could take on ten AI ships,” commented Colonel Grissim. She was hoping while they were in the solar system she could go visit her family on Ceres.

“There have been thousands of Alton technicians helping to upgrade all of the Federation’s defenses,” Hedon informed them, recalling what Fleet Admiral Johnson had said about all the changes that were being made.

A lot of the changes were so the individual systems of the new Human Federation of Worlds could better defend themselves without being so reliant on warships. This would help free up ships to go to the front to fight the Hocklyns.

“Things have sure changed a lot,” commented Colonel Trist as he gazed at the screens. “War has a way of doing that.”

Hedon nodded his head in agreement. “Contact Garan and Tanith and ask them to meet me in the flight bay.”

Clarissa watched everything with interest. It was lonely without Katie and Kelsey or being able to talk to Ariel. It had taken them four weeks to get here and would take another four weeks to get back. She hoped they didn’t stay too long in Federation space.

-

Hedon and the two Altons were escorted by a pair of heavily armed security guards to the Federation Senate Council Chambers. Stepping inside, Hedon was surprised to see that only a few of the Federation Senators were present.

“Fleet Admiral,” spoke President Kincaid rising to his feet. “I believe you know everyone here.”

Hedon nodded as he looked around. Fleet Admiral Johnson, Admiral Nagumo, Admiral Kalen, Governor Malleck, Senators Anderson, Barnes, Malle, Karnes, and Sanchez as well as the Alton Ambassador, Tureen, were seated at the conference table.

Hedon bowed slightly to the assembled group and then moved to take the chair at the long conference table next to Fleet Admiral Johnson. The two Altons sat down next to Ambassador Tureen.

President Kincaid remained standing as he looked gravely at the assembled group. “As all of you have been made aware, Admiral Strong and Fourth Fleet recently returned from a mission to the galactic center. They were escorting an Alton science ship, the Deep Search, which was lost in combat with the AIs.”

“Did the ship even get close to the galactic center?” asked Senator Sanchez from the planet Horizon in the Tau Ceti system, addressing Hedon.

All the senators in the room had been briefed several months back about what the Altons thought the AIs were doing at the galactic core. They'd all been shocked to say the least.

“Yes,” Hedon responded. “The ship completed its mission but was detected by the AIs and suffered major damage when an AI ship tried to disable it. They managed to escape and Admiral Strong, along with Admiral Cleeteus and Admiral Marks, were able to rescue the ship. Due to damage to its hyperdrive the ship had to be destroyed.”

“So we engaged the AIs,” spoke Senator Malle from Mars with a concerned look upon his face. “Did we lose any ships?”

“Yes,” admitted Hedon, somberly. “We lost a number of warships including several battleships and a battlecarrier. Admiral Strong fought two engagements against the AIs, destroying over thirty of their warships.”

“How many ships did we lose?” pressed Malle, worried about ship losses.

“Twenty-eight total,” Hedon admitted. “In both cases Admiral Strong was engaging large AI fleets.”

Governor Malleck shook his head. Every time he heard of Jeremy or any member of that special group risking their lives, it made him nervous. Those five and Fleet Admiral Streth were Federation history. “So, what did the Deep Search find?”

Tanith took to her feet and walked over to one of several holographic projection tables in the room. The tall, slender Alton stopped at the table and inserted one of several computer chips she and Garan had brought. Her white hair sat on her shoulders and her pale skin, with its slight bluish tinge, gave her a very refined beauty.

Activating the table, the large AI control station appeared. Without mincing words, she began describing what it was for and capable of. After a few minutes of explanations and a couple of questions, Garan joined her and activated the second holographic table, displaying the ring stations and the other large constructs nearby.

-

For the next hour, the two Altons scientists explained in detail what the Deep Search mission had discovered about what the AIs were building at the galactic center. They also spent considerable time elaborating on the deadly danger the hyperwave broadcast would have on all organic life in the galaxy.

“Then it’s the end of us,” spoke Senator Amy Karnes from New Tellus. “I don’t see how we can destroy those constructions with so many AI ships nearby. Even if we send our entire fleet, we’ll still be outnumbered.”

“Not necessarily,” Tureen said, rising to his feet to address the group. Then, picking up a computer chip lying on the table in front of him, he walked over and had Garan insert it in one of the holo tables. Instantly, an Alton battlecruiser sprang into existence.

“What good will one of your battlecruisers do against what’s at the galactic center?” asked Admiral Nagumo, feeling confused. “The AIs are upgrading their weapons, and even your ships’ particle beams are finding it harder to penetrate their screens.”

Tureen allowed himself to smile; the Humans still didn’t know what his race was capable of. While it was true that a large portion of the Alton population would not fight in the war, they were still willing to work at developing new sciences and technologies for those that would. Some had even volunteered to come to the Human worlds to aid in setting up more powerful defensive weapon systems.

“It’s not a battlecruiser,” Tureen said as he pressed an icon on a computer screen. Another ship made an appearance next to the one on display only this one was much smaller. “This is a battlecruiser.”

Fleet Admiral Johnson’s eyes grew wide realizing what Tureen was implying. “That’s an Alton battleship!”

“Yes,” Tureen answered with a slight nod of acknowledgement. “We’ve had a design for battleships for many years as we contemplated what we would need someday to stop the Hocklyns and the AIs from invading our space. For the last four years, most of our major shipyards have been building these new ships as well as the newer battlecruisers that have a mix of Alton and Human crews.”

“How big is that ship?” asked Hedon as he thought about how he could use it against the AIs.

“Fifteen hundred meters,” Tureen answered. “The front section is five hundred meters in diameter and the rear, which contains the power and drive systems, is four hundred meters. It has three times the firepower of one of our battlecruisers.”

“Why haven’t you deployed these ships before now?” asked President Kincaid as he gazed at the amazing ship being displayed. “They could make a huge difference in our war with the Hocklyns and drastically cut down on ship losses.”

“We didn’t want the AIs to know we possessed such ships,” explained Tureen, evenly. “This is our answer to the problem at the galactic center. With these ships and enough Human ships, our military strategists believe we can fight our way through the defending AI ships to destroy their control center, the ring stations, and the hyperwave generating facility.”

“It might take our entire fleet,” interjected Fleet Admiral Johnson as she realized the scope of the operation the Altons were proposing. “We don’t know how the AIs will respond if we attack those targets. There’s a good chance they'd jump their entire fleet in to protect them. We'll be facing every warship the AIs have, all with advanced weapons and shields.”

“How many of those battleships do you have?” Hedon asked as he thought about how best to use them. Even a few dozen could make a huge difference.

Tureen allowed a slight smile to cross his face. “We have five hundred of them.”

“What!” blurted out Fleet Admiral Johnson her eyes bulging. She leaned forward in disbelief. “You mean to tell me you have five hundred of those giant ships?”

“Yes,” responded Tureen, calmly. “You have to realize that Alton controlled space is much larger than the Human Federation of Worlds. We have our home system as well as sixteen full sized colony worlds. We have mining and research stations in another fifty. We always knew that someday we would have to face the AIs; we just weren’t certain if you would be there with us.”

Hedon mulled over what Tureen had just revealed to them. “We have to finish the war with the Hocklyns first,” he said as he weighed in his mind what needed to be done. Tureen was right, it might be best to keep the Alton battleships a secret until they were ready to attack the AIs at the core. It might just give them the edge they needed to succeed. The AIs would be expecting regular Human and Alton ships, not these behemoths.

“We can’t attack the AIs with a massive Hocklyn force sitting behind us,” Hedon said after a few moments of thought. “If we do, we could find ourselves trapped between the AIs at the galactic center and the Hocklyn core worlds. There is a very good possibility, if the Hocklyns realize what we're doing, they might try to pin us between the AIs and their own fleet in an attempt to save their Empire.”

“What are you proposing?” asked Fleet Admiral Johnson. She suspected Hedon already had a plan. He was too meticulous an admiral not to.

Hedon allowed himself to smile. “The Hocklyns have made a serious tactical error in how they run their Empire. In truth, it is the fault of the AIs, but it is still a glaring weakness. One that I fully intend to exploit.”

“What is it?” asked Admiral Kalen, cocking his head. He knew the Hocklyns still had a tremendous fleet available to them. He hoped Hedon wasn’t proposing a slugging match against a much larger enemy force.

“It’s actually quite simple,” Hedon said with an inexplicable smile. He then proceeded to explain to them how he was going to defeat what remained of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. When he was done, he was met by silence as everyone stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Are you certain of this?” demanded Senator Barnes from Ceres. “If you're right, this could very well be the key to winning the war against the Hocklyns.”

“Our intelligence people are positive what I’ve just told you is correct,” Hedon answered with a nod. “If we follow this operation plan, we can defeat the Hocklyns and it will allow us to focus our full attention on the AIs and what they’re doing at the galactic center.”

“How much time do we have before the AIs are ready to activate their machines?” asked President Kincaid.

“We estimate ten months,” Garan replied.

“Ten months!” responded Kincaid, sitting back down, his face turning pale.

“Perhaps nine,” Tanith added. “As the time grows closer, it will require that we keep a close watch on the AIs. We should be able to determine to within a few weeks as to the actual time the machines will be ready to activate.”

“Can we be ready by then?” asked Kincaid, looking over expectantly at Fleet Admiral Streth. “Is it possible to take out the Hocklyns and be ready to attack the AIs at the galactic center before they activate their machines?”

“Yes,” replied Hedon, meeting Kincaid’s eyes. “If we stick to my operations plan, we can just do it.”

“Then we have our time table,” stated Fleet Admiral Johnson, looking around at the group. “Ambassador Tureen, I assume you will need some Humans to help crew your new battleships?”

Tureen nodded his head in the affirmative. “Yes, Fleet Admiral. Each ship will require nine hundred of your people to operate it. There will be one hundred and ten Altons also aboard each vessel to help with the technology and operation of the ships.”

Karla thought deeply for a moment. That was nearly five hundred thousand fleet personnel. Between the Fleet Academy on the Moon and other training facilities, it was going to be cutting it close. She might have to take a few people off Federation ships. Fortunately, between the bases, shipyards, and the fleet she felt reasonably confident she could meet the personnel requirements. It would take a lot or reshuffling assignments and might even create some brief personnel shortages, but the Alton battleships had to be given first priority.

“The AIs have gathered most of their ships around their constructions,” Garan said, sounding deeply concerned. “The Deep Search spent several days in a wide orbit doing short microjumps so the ship could scan the entire area around the black hole. At the end of those few days, we'd detected slightly over twelve thousand AI ships.”

“Twelve thousand!” uttered Fleet Admiral Johnson, thinking about the odds they would be facing when and if they attacked the AIs at the galactic center. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She couldn’t imagine going into combat against that many of the massive AI ships. Even with the addition of the Alton battleships, the odds might be too great.

“There may be even more of them,” Garan added his face taking on a worrisome look. “We know the AIs must have some massive shipyards and construction facilities somewhere in the core systems. Perhaps even in our old home system.”

“We must be careful,” cautioned Admiral Nagumo. “If the AIs suspect we’re preparing to attack them, they may speed up their timetable or put up even more powerful defenses.”

“We’re in the process of building several small stealth ships slightly larger than your destroyers,” Tureen informed them. “Their job will be to monitor what the AIs are doing. If they speed up their construction pace, we will know.”

The meeting went on for several more hours as they worked out numerous details. Several additional meetings were scheduled for the admirals to work out the logistics and timetables of what needed to be done.

-

The next day, Hedon was at the Fleet Academy on the Moon. Fleet Admiral Johnson had asked if he would make a short speech to the graduating officer cadets. Hedon had done so and now found himself standing at the obelisk atop the elevated rise that overlooked the academy. The large granite memorial obelisk towered nearly ten meters above him. On its face were depicted two men, Admiral Jason Strong and Greg Johnson.

A short inscription read, “From this site, men from the planet Earth first gazed upon the Avenger. This discovery sent the human race to the stars.” A set of wide stairs had been cut into the slope to make access to the obelisk easy. Every student at the academy was required to make the trip to the obelisk at least once. It was part of their history.

“I try to come up here every time I’m at the academy,” Karla spoke in a soft voice as she gazed out at the Fleet Academy that now covered the entire crater. The crater and surrounding area were protected by a dome as well as an atmospheric force field that allowed them to keep an Earth normal environment inside the dome, including Earth gravity.

“They were great men,” commented Hedon, recalling the short amount of time he'd spent with the two. His favorite memory was when he had first met them and taken them to see New Tellus. The three of them had spent several days together just exploring the planet.

“I wonder if they truly understood the path they were setting the Human race upon?” asked Karla, trying to imagine those days so long ago.

“I think Admiral Strong did,” Hedon answered as he turned to look at Karla. “We had several long conversations over that, and I was awake the day he and the others revealed the existence of the Federation survivors on Ceres. He also had Ariel to speak to any time he had questions about the Hocklyns or the AIs.”

“I wonder how he felt when he stepped on top of this rise and saw the Avenger for the first time?” Even now, part of the ship was enclosed in a museum on the far side of the crater.

“He was shocked,” Hedon said with a smile, recalling what Jason had told him about that day. “A crashed spaceship was the last thing he'd been expecting to find.”

Karla nodded, wondering how she would have reacted if she'd been in that position. “And now, after all these years, the war is finally coming to an end. Either we win in the next ten months or everyone in the galaxy dies.”

Hedon took a deep breath and looked up toward the unblinking stars above. “I didn’t come this far and through all of these years to lose. I have a plan for the Hocklyns and by the time it’s needed, I’ll have one for the AIs.”

Karla smiled to herself. Who was she to doubt Fleet Admiral Streth? Everyone knew from shortly after they were born that the great Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth would be awoken from cryosleep to save the Human race. Karla just prayed those old legends were true.

Chapter Eight

Nine months until doomsday.

Commodore Zeth looked at the viewscreen of the blue-green world the IronGlory was orbiting. Upon the surface of the planet were numerous Hocklyn settlements teeming with Hocklyn families. Most of the settlements were quite new and still being expanded.

“What if the AIs find out?” asked War Leader Danth with a hint of concern in his voice. “They've prohibited us from establishing new colonies. Have we discarded our honor by disobeying our masters?”

“Our former masters,” hissed Zeth, looking intently at his second in command. “They have abandoned us, and due to their refusal to allow us to develop new and more modern weapons over the years, our Empire is falling to the Humans. Every day the Humans take over more of our worlds and all of our truly large shipyards have been destroyed. In hindsight, it was a mistake to place all of our major shipyards in just four star systems.”

“Surely the Humans cannot take the core worlds?” Danth asked, a shocked look upon his face, his dark eyes growing very wide. “There are thousands of ships defending our home planets.”

“High Leader Nartel is not sure or he wouldn’t have done this,” spoke Zeth, pointing toward the large viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. Many of the viewscreens were focused on the planet below.

“So this is where the new weapons research program is located,” mused Danth, wondering what type of research was being done. He knew great importance had been placed on developing antimatter missiles with sublight drives. Since the AIs had withdrawn, their stockpile of those missiles was almost depleted. Only a few ships in the home systems still had a supply of the deadly missiles.

“Upon the planet’s small moon,” replied Zeth, gesturing toward a viewscreen that was focused on the dark, desolate moon that orbited the planet. “For months now, High Leader Nartel has been sending transport ships loaded with Hocklyn families to this planet to set up the new colony.”

“I’m surprised the High Council approved this measure,” commented Danth, looking at the commodore. “I would've thought that several would have been opposed to anything that might anger our masters. There are rumors that several councilors are fearful that the AIs will return and look with displeasure at some of the things the council has done.”

“I don’t believe the AIs are coming back,” Zeth replied. “They’re obsessed with whatever they’re building at the galaxy’s center.”

“I hope you’re correct,” Danth responded. “I just hope the council knows what it’s doing and the risks they’re taking.”

Zeth didn’t reply. Even though it went against his honor, he thought it best not to reveal to Danth that the rest of the council didn’t know what was being done here.

“Perhaps this is best,” Danth said after a moment, gazing at the main viewscreen and the planet being displayed. “It will ensure that our Empire survives and can begin anew if the Humans overcome the core worlds.”

Looking at another viewscreen, Zeth could see the beginnings of the new orbital shipyard. Unlike most other Hocklyn shipyards, this one would be heavily armed and would possess a powerful energy shield. The station crews he'd brought with him, as well as those that had been moved from Kenward Seven were quite sufficient to build the massive structure being planned. It would be the largest shipyard the Hocklyn Empire had ever built.

Already the bones of the structure were taking shape. While most of the workers were being kept on the planet until needed, it wouldn’t be long until the shipyard was ready to begin constructing the next generation of Hocklyn warships. There were also several nearby slave worlds, which could be used to furnish new workers as needed. Mines would need to be established on some of the smaller moons and asteroids in the system for the raw materials the new shipyard would need. Then later, a new spaceport would have to be constructed on the surface of the planet.

Sometime in the next few days, Fleet Commodore Caltrin was due to arrive with even more warships as well as cargo ships carrying both supplies and more Hocklyn civilians. There was no doubt in Zeth’s mind that sometime shortly after that, High Leader Nartel would be making an appearance.

-

On Calzen, High Leader Nartel had just finished with the latest council meeting. High Councilor Ruthan was demanding an emissary be sent to the AIs to request their immediate return to help defend the Empire. Several other councilors had agreed and Nartel had barely managed to muster the votes he needed to turn down the motion. While he doubted the AIs would return, he couldn’t risk the slim possibility they might. Even worse, by sending an emissary it could anger the AIs and they might return and raze the Hocklyn home worlds.

He walked over to the balcony of his office and gazed down at the busy city below. Thirty-two billion Hocklyns lived in the crowded warrens of the planet, most in very questionable living conditions. There was barely enough food to go around and it took hundreds of inbound cargo ships each day to supply the basic needs of just this one Hocklyn planet.

There were twelve star systems inhabited by the Hocklyn race. Every world, moon, and asteroid in each system was densely packed with Hocklyns. Even the space above was crowded with artificial habitats that held billions more. Already the population pressure was about to shatter the delicate balance that allowed Hocklyn civilization to survive. Due to the Human and Alton attacks, shipments to the home systems had been reduced by nearly thirty percent. In a few more months, massive shortages of food and other basic necessities would begin. When that happened, Hocklyn civilization would start to collapse and Hocklyn would turn against Hocklyn. The honor system that had been such an integral part of their history would be swiftly forgotten.

Nartel had already made arrangements for Protectors to be placed at key points upon all the planets, moons, and asteroids as well as a large number of the major orbital habitats. They would be used to maintain order and ensure that a semblance of Hocklyn civilization would continue. If it worked out as planned, he would be able to save twenty percent of the Hocklyn race and most of its key infrastructure. Those deemed unworthy or not able to contribute would be allowed to die. The population needed to be reduced and he could use the war with the Humans as the excuse to allow many to die. Most Hocklyns served very little purpose anyway other than as breeders for more Hocklyns. If he failed to preserve a significant fraction of the population at least he had his bolt hole ready at the distant edge of the Empire, far away from the Humans.

Looking about, he noted how dim the day was. There were so many habitats in orbit that a large percentage of the sunlight was prevented from reaching the surface. Calzen lived in an eternal gloom. Only in the large agricultural domes scattered about the planet was there still abundant plant or animal life. Most of the rest of the planet was dead from past pollution and the industries needed to run an Empire.

“What are you doing?” questioned a rasping voice from behind Nartel.

Turning, he saw High Councilor Berken standing there. “What do you mean?” He hadn’t heard the councilor come in.

“I have my sources,” Berken spoke his cold eyes focused on Nartel and his right hand touching the hilt of his knife. “Your family habitat and a number of others have been evacuated. It seems that recently promoted Fleet Commodore Caltrin left weeks ago with an undisclosed number of warships. No destination was filed as to where they were going. There have also been some unconfirmed reports of large numbers of cargo ships not returning to their worlds after being unloaded. I want to know where they went and why!”

High Leader Nartel allowed his hand to stray to just above his knife. He hadn’t fought a duel in many years, but he still practiced on a regular basis. High Councilor Berken was one of the more resourceful councilors and he also wasn’t a fool.

“I have sent them on a secret mission,” Nartel spoke in a calm and steady voice his large, cold eyes focusing on Berken. If Berken told the other council members, all of his plans could come crashing down. There was no way he could allow the councilor to leave this office alive.

“I have done some discreet research and made some inquiries to certain individuals who owed me favors for helping them improve their honor and rank in the Empire. It seems that, including the families missing from your habitats, there are an additional twelve million Hocklyn families unaccounted for. I am speaking of scientists, technicians, and other individuals of importance.”

“They are at the new weapons research facility,” admitted Nartel, wanting to see Berken’s reaction to the news. At the first sign of hesitation, he would strike swiftly. He moved a little nearer to Berken as his hand edged closer to his knife.

“The research facility that no one knows the location of but you,” responded Berken, taking his knife out of its protective sheath and running his fingers along the blade.

Nartel’s breathing quickened as his own hand moved down to grasp the hilt of his knife. “What do you want?” He would rush Berken and try to take him by surprise; it was obvious the councilor had figured out some of what was being planned.

Berken looked intently at Nartel. “Take my family with you, and I will keep your secret! Together, we can keep the other council members from suspecting anything is wrong.” Berken replaced his knife in its sheath and moved his hands away from his waist.

“Sit down,” Nartel said, breathing easier. “We have much to discuss.”

-

War Leader Jaseth looked toward the primary viewscreen at the world the dreadnought Viden was orbiting. Calzen was the capital planet of the massive Hocklyn Slave Empire. The planet looked dark, with only sparse areas of sickly green around the equator. Even the small oceans looked grim and foreboding as the life that once teemed in their depths had long since vanished. He stood upon the Command Pedestal, drinking in the feeling of ultimate power he felt.

On several smaller viewscreens, other Hocklyn warships were being displayed. He had ten other ships assigned to his fleet. There were two warcruisers, the Warhoof and Blade of Honor, as well as eight escort cruisers under his command.

“I would recommend we shift to a higher orbit,” suggested First Leader Barelle. “This one is crowded with habitats and orbital factories as well as an overabundance of shuttle traffic.” He folded his powerful arms across his dark gray battle armor and shifted his unwavering gaze to the young commodore. Barelle had been one of the few survivors from when the Viden had been nearly destroyed by the upstart Humans. He still found it hard to accept that Fleet Commodore Versith was gone and Jaseth was now in charge of the mighty dreadnought.

“Do it,” Jaseth ordered in a calm, nearly cold voice. “Contact Calzen Orbital Control and request a higher orbit. I don’t like the nearness of so many habitats; if we had to maneuver for battle they would be in the way.”

“So you believe the Humans will attack here?” questioned Barelle. He couldn’t imagine anyone daring to attack one of the Hocklyn home systems, least of all this one.

“Look about,” commanded Jaseth, gesturing toward the viewscreens. “There are ten planets in this system and forty inhabited moons, with many of our people living in massive domes very vulnerable to attack. Take into account the thousands of artificial habitats in orbit around the planets and the sun and there is too much to defend. If the Humans come to this system, they will destroy much of what we've spent thousands of years to build. And mark my words, they will come and attempt to destroy us; it is what I would do if I were in their place.”

“This war has very little honor,” hissed Barelle in his cold reptilian voice. “Too many things have changed in the last few years; I fear the Hocklyn way of life will never be the same.”

“It’s for the better,” answered Jaseth. “Our outdated honor system has cost us the lives of too many valuable warriors.”

Barelle nodded and moved off across the War Room toward Communications. He didn’t doubt Commodore Jaseth’s words. They were frightening to hear and he wondered how there could be any honor in the war they were now fighting. He greatly feared that the only honor for a Hocklyn warrior these days was in death.

Jaseth watched First Leader Barelle as his hand drifted unconsciously to the hilt of his knife. He still greatly desired to see his blade covered in Human blood, and he firmly believed his life had been spared so that day could come about. Someday, he would meet the Human vermin in hand-to-hand combat and only then would his quest for revenge be satisfied. This fleet would give him the weapon he needed to make that desire come to fruition.

Looking at the tactical screen, Jaseth could see hundreds of Hocklyn warships in orbit around Calzen and a thousand more orbiting protectively over the other planets and on patrol in the system. When the day came that the Humans finally launched their attack on the home system they would pay a heavy price, and Jaseth was determined that the price would be steep indeed.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth was visiting the Tau Ceti system, and for the first time in many years, he felt unusually nervous and unsure of himself. They were going to the planet Horizon, which orbited Tau Ceti Five. When the New Horizon mission came to Tau Ceti, they'd discovered two large moons orbiting the planet. Each moon was nearly the size of Earth and had an Earth normal atmosphere. The twin planets had been colonized and named Twilight and Horizon. The planet Horizon was similar to Earth with its surface covered by sixty percent water. It was two million kilometers from Tau Ceti Five with a population of two point four billion. It was one of the more densely populated planets in the Federation.

Looking over at Hedon, Janice allowed herself to smile. She could tell he was nervous about meeting her parents and sister. Over the past several weeks, Hedon had been in numerous meetings with Federation officials and military leaders, even a few with some of their alien allies, particularly the Kessels and the Darvonians. This was the first opportunity she had to pry him away for a few days before they started their four-week trip back to New Providence.

Looking out the viewport, Janice felt a sense of well being as she gazed down upon her home planet. She'd been born and raised on Horizon before qualifying for the Fleet Academy. The comforting blues and greens of the planet were a welcome sight. She couldn’t wait to walk in the door of her parents' home and introduce them to Hedon; her sister would probably faint!

-

A few hours later, Hedon and Janice were standing in front of a big home in the countryside just outside of one of the larger cities on the planet. The home was a tall, two-story structure made out of native wood and stone with a quaint country look about it.

The door opened and an older man stood there. Alvin Duncan had been in the marines when he was younger and was still a large man, even in his late sixties. Of course, with modern medicine, the late sixties were now considered to be the prime of life. He peered intently at Hedon for a moment as if taking measure of the man standing in front of him. Even though he was the Fleet Admiral, he was here as his daughter’s guest and Alvin wanted the best for Janice.

“Hello,” Alvin said, reaching out to shake Hedon’s hand. He then turned and gave his daughter a big hug. Releasing Janice, he smiled. “Let’s go inside, I’m sure you want to sit down and have something to drink after your long trip.”

They went inside and Janice quickly introduced Hedon to her mother and sister. Linda just stood staring at Hedon in disbelief. “You really are Fleet Admiral Streth!” she finally got out, her eyes so wide they seemed about to pop out of her head.

Hedon allowed himself to laugh. “Call me Hedon.”

“Yes, Sir; I mean Hedon,” Linda stammered.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Janice’s mother said in a pleasant voice. “Janice has spoken highly of you. If everyone will sit down, I'll bring us some tea to drink. I just made it so it’s nice and fresh. Do you prefer sweetened or unsweetened?”

“Unsweetened,” replied Hedon, politely. A cold glass of tea sounded great and refreshing at the moment. For some reason, his throat felt very dry.

They all sat down and for the next hour or so they talked about life on Horizon and what it had been like on the old Federation worlds. Hedon found it surprisingly easy to talk to Janice’s family

“What was it like to finally go back home?” asked Linda, curiously. She was sitting across from Janice and Hedon next to her father and had been listening intently to every word the admiral spoke.

“It was strange,” Hedon admitted slowly, recalling the first time he'd set foot again on Maken. “The cabin my brother and his wife built was gone, and the lake was nearly dry. It was an eerie feeling standing there knowing so much time had passed.”

“Will you settle there when the war is over?” asked Alvin, curiously.

“Possibly,” Hedon said, glancing over at Janice, who smiled back. “I programmed some work robots several months ago to begin repairing the lake dam where the cabin once was. I’m hoping that by the end of the year it'll be full of water again. It was really a beautiful place to spend time away from the hectic life of the Federation.”

“Will they be opening up the old Federation worlds for colonization when the war is over?” asked Linda. She wondered if Janice would settle there with Hedon. It was obvious to her that her sister was completely infatuated with the admiral. They were sitting next to each other and Janice’s eyes very seldom moved away from Hedon.

“The government of New Providence currently has control of all of the old Federation worlds and outposts,” answered Hedon, recalling their recent discussion about colonization. “There will be some colonization allowed, but I suspect it will be heavily restricted at first.”

“As it should be,” Alvin nodded in approval. “Those worlds belong to the people of New Providence, and they should have complete say so in how many colonists come in so as not to upset their way of life.”

A buzzer sounded in the kitchen and Janice’s mom stood up with a smile on her face. “I hope everyone’s hungry; I’ve cooked Janice’s favorite meal to celebrate the two of you being here. Come on Linda, help me set the table.”

Hedon watched the two women go into the kitchen and then turned his attention back to Janice’s father. “How’s the war affected life here on Horizon?”

“Not too badly,” answered Alvin, leaning back and relaxing on the sofa. “There’s a shortage of things occasionally, but nothing we can’t do without. The planetary government has been doing everything it can to try to keep life normal while supporting the war effort. How much longer do you think this war is going to last?”

Hedon thought about what the AIs were building at the galactic center. He couldn’t tell Alvin anything about that; all of that information was highly classified. “We’ve pushed the Hocklyns back far enough that the new Federation is pretty safe. The AIs have withdrawn to the galactic center and haven’t ventured out for a while, which has allowed us to increase our pressure on the Hocklyns. We’re also in the process of developing new allies on some of the former Hocklyn slave worlds, so as time goes by we should have more help with the war, which should take some pressure off the Federation.”

“That’s good to hear,” Alvin said with a nod. “There was a time a few years back when I wondered if we were even going to survive.”

“We all did there for a while,” admitted Hedon, thinking briefly about the battle around New Tellus.

“Those days are behind us, Dad,” Janice spoke. “We’re winning the war now, thanks to Hedon, and at some point it'll be over.”

“That day can’t come soon enough,” Alvin said, wishing it would be finished quickly so he could see his daughter more often.

“Supper’s ready,” Linda said, sticking her head out the kitchen doorway. “I hope everyone’s hungry because Mom’s fixed a lot!”

-

After they'd eaten, Janice and Hedon took a walk outside. The Duncan’s home was close to some woodlands and a number of large trees were on the backside of the property.

“It’s peaceful out here,” Hedon commented as they came to a stop beneath a large tree resembling an Earth oak.

Janice smiled and took Hedon’s hand. “Mom asked about the sleeping arrangements for tonight, whether we needed one room or two.”

Hedon felt embarrassed and looked questionably at Janice.

“Relax, I told Mom two; you’ll be in the guest bedroom next to mine, but when this war is over we won’t be sleeping in separate rooms.”

Hedon turned and faced Janice and then bent his head, kissing her passionately and pulling her close. “No,” he agreed after a long moment. “I think one is all we’ll need.”

Janice pulled herself back with a laugh, feeling her pulse racing and feeling very warm all of a sudden. “At least that gives me something to look forward to.”

-

They stayed for two days and then left Horizon. Hedon had gotten to know Janice’s family extremely well, particularly her sister Linda. Linda, once she overcame her nervousness about speaking to Hedon, had been full of a thousand questions. As the shuttle climbed upward, Hedon couldn’t help but wonder what was next. Battle plans had been made and more ships were being rushed to New Providence. It was time for the next phase of the war to begin. Hundreds of years ago, the Hocklyns and AIs had attacked the home worlds of the original Human Federation of Worlds. Now it was Hedon’s turn to do the same to the Hocklyns.

Chapter Nine

Eight Months until doomsday.

Jeremy let out a deep breath as Fourth Fleet dropped out of hyperspace into the new star system. He leaned forward expectantly, waiting for the viewscreens to clear of static. The fleet was on a deep probe mission toward the Hocklyn home worlds. They'd brought Grayseth and his Carethian fleet along to give them some combat experience in case they encountered the enemy. Grayseth’s new mobile shipyard was also present to try it out in a combat situation. To ensure it stayed safe, Jeremy had assigned two Alton battlecruisers and ten light cruisers to guard it, even though Grayseth had claimed it was well protected with its own defensive weapon systems.

“Status!” uttered Jeremy as he waited impatiently for the screens to clear. He hated these few moments when the fleet was without sensor readings; it make him feel vulnerable not knowing what was out there.

“Patience, Jeremy,” Ariel spoke in a comforting voice. “The screens are already starting to clear and sensor readings are beginning to come in.”

“No nearby contacts!” Kevin reported as the first short-range sensor sweep was completed. “Long-range sensors are scanning.”

“All ships, including the Carethian ones, have completed their jumps,” Commander Malen reported. “Admiral Marks is launching her CSP and the rest of her squadrons are at the ready. Fleet is at Condition Two and prepared for combat.” Commander Malen looked with satisfaction around the Command Center as it hummed with activity. This was a well-trained crew, and they were very efficient at their jobs.

Jeremy nodded as tactical information finally began to show on one of the nearby displays in front of him. A number of friendly green icons appeared in three distinct groups, signifying Jeremy’s task force, Admiral Mark’s carrier task force, and Grayseth’s Carethian task force. The large mobile shipyard was at the center of Grayseth’s force. Admiral Cleeteus had his Alton battlecruisers mixed in with Jeremy’s task force ready to be used for support at a moment’s notice.

“Hostile contacts!” reported Kevin as red threat icons began showing up on his screens around a distant planet. He quickly transferred the information to the tactical hologram displays.

Jeremy nodded as he watched the threat icons appear. There was an inhabited slave planet in this system, and they were only two hundred light years away from the Hocklyn home worlds, which meant this planet had been under Hocklyn control for a very long time. This attack was to serve two primary purposes, to destroy the defending Hocklyn fleet and obliterate the food production facilities on the planet. This would be the closest a Human fleet had come to the Hocklyn home worlds, thus far, during the war.

Commander Malen watched the tactical display for a few moments, waiting for the Hocklyns to take notice of Fourth Fleet’s arrival. She could tell when they did as the Hocklyn ships begin to form up rapidly into a defensive formation. The Hocklyn commodore must surely be upset to see a numerically superior Federation fleet in his system, particularly this close to the Hocklyn home worlds. “The Hocklyns have detected us,” she reported turning to Jeremy with a wolfish grin. “Should we jump in and engage?” With the firepower at Fourth Fleet’s disposal, they should be able to decimate the Hocklyn fleet with relative ease.

Jeremy smiled; Malen seemed to enjoy combat at times, particularly when they had the advantage. “Inform all ships to prepare to jump to just outside the planet’s gravity well. The mobile shipyard and its escorts will remain at this location.” Jeremy wasn’t too concerned about the safety of the shipyard. It was heavily armed and had both fighters and bombers to protect it as well as the dozen ships Jeremy had assigned to its defense.

“Detecting a large space station in orbit as well as numerous cargo ships in the system,” Kevin added as more icons began appearing on the tactical displays. “I’m showing twenty-two cargo ships either docked to the station or in the process of leaving the planet’s gravity well.”

Jeremy activated the ship-to-ship frequency on his mini-com so he could speak to all of his ships’ commanding officers. “All ships go to Condition One; use of antimatter missiles and Devastator Threes is authorized except on any planetary targets. We want this Hocklyn fleet neutralized and the space station captured intact.”

“Captured intact?” a confused Commander Malen said. “Why?”

“Admiral Streth’s orders,” replied Jeremy, evenly. “I’ll explain more when we go into orbit.”

“All ships ready to jump,” Ensign Striker reported from the Helm.

“Grayseth is reporting ready to kill the Evil Ones,” Angela reported from Communications with a grin. “He sounds anxious!”

Jeremy nodded. He understood how Grayseth was feeling. This would be his first battle aboard his flagship, Warrior’s Pride.

“Jump!” he ordered as he gripped the armrests on his chair and leaned expectantly forward.

“Jumping,” reported Ensign Striker as he turned the gold key on his console.

Instantly, in front of the fleet ships, blue-white spatial vortexes began to form, into which the ships flew unhesitatingly. Moments later, the vortexes collapsed, leaving no trace of their existence. Only the mobile shipyard and the twelve ships assigned as its escorts remained.

-

Aboard the mobile shipyard, Daelthon nodded his approval as he watched his fellow Carethians jump to engage the Hocklyns. It was good that his people were now taking an active part in the war against the Evil Ones. This was something that Grayseth and many others had been craving for years.

Malith and Karalle looked at each other nervously. They'd been aboard the shipyard at Careth during the final battle there; it felt strange to be in an alien star system and once more facing the oppressors of their world. They were so far away from home, but they had faith that Grayseth and Daelthon would keep them safe.

“Have all personnel stand by to receive damaged ships in the repair bays,” Daelthon ordered in a commanding voice. They would see very shortly just how well trained the crew on the Clan Protector was. Daelthon lumbered over to one of the large tactical displays. He wanted to watch the battle close up and the huge hologram was the best way to do so.

-

Fourth Fleet exited hyperspace at the edge of the targeted planet’s gravity well. Around it, other blue-white vortexes discharged more Federation, Alton, and Carethian warships. In moments, the massive Federation fleet had formed up and was moving into the gravity well of the planet.

“Numbers and types of enemy ships!” demanded Jeremy as he watched the red threat icons on one of the displays. He had the enemy far outnumbered and with the fifteen Alton battlecruisers in his fleet, he felt confident of being able to handle the Hocklyns with limited losses.

“Two dreadnoughts, eight warcruisers, and twenty escorts,” Kevin answered as the data came across one of the three computer screens in front of him.

“Two dreadnoughts,” spoke Commander Malen, arching her eyebrows. “For as small as that fleet is, it’s still pretty powerful.”

“We go with plan Beta,” Jeremy said as he eyed his opponents. The Hocklyns had formed up into a close defensive formation to support one another and were already launching fighters.

“Two hundred fighter launches detected,” Kevin reported as he watched the small swarm of Hocklyn fighters accelerating toward the Federation ships.

Rear Admiral Susan Marks had been watching also, and from four of her eleven battlecarriers, twenty squadrons of Talons launched and accelerated rapidly so as to intercept the Hocklyns well before they could attempt to ram any Federation ships. Everyone knew what the Hocklyns had done to Admiral Sheen’s fleet with suicide attacks.

-

Major Thurman felt the acceleration push him back into his seat as his fighter raced toward the inbound Hocklyns. Reaching forward, he adjusted the fighter’s inertial compensator to alleviate the pressure. When he got back on board the Retribution he would speak to the deck chief about it. It should have adjusted automatically.

“At least this time we have the numbers,” commented Lieutenant Riley, who was serving as Thurman’s wingman. “I could get used to this.”

“Like shooting fish in a barrel,” bragged Lieutenant Stark. “These should be easy kills.”

“Only these fish shoot back,” Captain Julie Brice, one of the squadron leaders, replied. “Take your eyes off them for a moment and they’ll nail your ass!”

“Can the chatter, people,” Major Thurman ordered. “Use our missiles on the first pass, then engage fighter to fighter. I want to make short work of these Hocklyns and I expect to see all of you back on the carrier. I don’t want to see a single Hocklyn missile launched at our ships!”

“Coming up on missile range,” Julie reported.

“I have missile lock,” uttered Lieutenant Riley. His words were shortly echoed by dozens of others.

“Fire!” Thurman ordered as he fired off one of his two Hunter missiles, which streaked unerringly toward the Hocklyn fighter he'd targeted. Moments later, he was rewarded with a brilliant flash as the missile blew its target apart. Other explosions began to sweep across the inbound Hocklyn fighter formation as more missiles found their mark.

“Let’s finish them off,” Thurman ordered as he changed his fighter’s trajectory to bring his 30mm cannons into line with another Hocklyn fighter.

“Hocklyns, here I come!” yelled Lieutenant Stark.

“Watch your six, Stark!” Captain Brice warned as she saw the enthusiastic pilot began to pull away from his wingman.

Major Thurman pressed the firing button on his flight control and two lines of tracers reached out and tapped the Hocklyn fighter in front of him, stitching a deadly path across the cockpit, killing the reptilian pilot. Then the fighter exploded as its energy source was compromised. Glancing quickly around, Thurman saw the other Hocklyn fighters were quickly being decimated by the Talons. There were bright explosions all around signifying dying enemy fighters.

Looking at his sensor screen, he saw that only four Human fighters had been lost so far. “Keep up the pressure,” he ordered over the squadron’s com channel. “Don’t let any of them get to the fleet!”

-

“Looks like our fighters are having an easy time of it,” Commander Malen commented as she watched the red threat icons in the tactical display being rapidly reduced.

“Nearing combat range of the Hocklyn fleet,” Lieutenant Preston reported as he spoke to his weapon techs making sure they were ready to fire the ship’s weapons on command.

“Alton ships are jumping,” Kevin reported as spatial vortexes formed in front of them and they quickly vanished, only for the vortexes to reform almost immediately within close proximity to the Hocklyn fleet.

The Alton ships were the only ships in the Federation fleet that could jump within a planet’s gravity well. All fifteen ships had been ordered to take out the two vessels that were the biggest threat to Fourth Fleet, the two twelve hundred-meter Hocklyn dreadnoughts.

“Alton battlecruisers are firing,” Commander Malen spoke as she eyed several of the large viewscreens, which were now focused on the two Hocklyn dreadnoughts. She could feel her pulse hammering as she watched the attack.

On the screens, dozens of bright blue particle beams could be seen smashing into the Hocklyns’ energy screens, causing them to glow brightly. For a moment, it seemed as if the screens were going to hold, and then several areas flickered and weakened, allowing a number of the beams to strike the armored hulls of the vessels. Instantly, massive fiery explosions were visible as large sections of hull material were blasted away into space.

Both ships seemed to stagger as internal explosions compromised numerous vital systems. Almost simultaneously, the energy screens on both dreadnoughts went down. Seeing the screens vanish, both dreadnoughts were bracketed by ten sublight antimatter missiles each. In the center of the Hocklyn formation, two new suns formed where the dreadnoughts once were.

“Dreadnoughts are down,” reported Kevin, breathlessly.

“We’re in weapons range,” Lieutenant Preston said, looking back at the admiral.

“Fire!” Jeremy uttered his eyes focused on the viewscreens, which were now shifting to other ships in the Hocklyn formation. The Altons had done their job, now it was the rest of Fourth Fleet’s turn.

From Fourth Fleet, missile hatches slid open and Devastator Three and antimatter missiles flashed out of their tubes. Violet power beams slashed out to strike Hocklyn energy screens. Across the Hocklyn fleet, massive explosions rolled across their formation.

-

The Hocklyn ships began spreading their formation as the surviving War Leaders on the warcruisers realized it had been a mistake to form up in such a densely packed formation. The destruction of the two dreadnoughts had damaged a few ships that had been too close. To make matters worse, now the Alton ships were targeting other Hocklyn ships and the Humans were beginning to fire as well. Hocklyn ships were being blasted apart under the intense attack.

-

Grayseth bared his teeth as a Hocklyn escort cruiser died under the heavy fire of his flagship. His battleship was just as heavily armed as one of the Humans'. “Keep firing,” he roared as he saw another ship of the Evil Ones die from his fleet’s fire. He looked around the Command Center approvingly as his warriors fired the ship’s weapons nonstop at their hated enemies.

-

“The Warrior’s Pride got a confirmed kill,” reported Kevin, looking over at Jeremy. He knew that Grayseth must be feeling extremely pleased at finally getting to use his new warships against the Hocklyns. Kevin turned his eyes back to his screens just in time to see the friendly green icon representing one of the fleet’s light cruisers swell up and vanish. “Light cruiser Melbourne is down.”

Jeremy nodded. Even though he had the Hocklyns vastly outnumbered and overpowered, it was too much not to expect a few losses, not when they had so many warcruisers. “Keep firing,” he ordered evenly. “I want every Hocklyn ship destroyed!”

“Hocklyns are trying to get out a distress signal,” Angela informed Jeremy as her fingers moved rapidly over her computer screen touching various icons. “I’ve blocked it. They can’t get any FTL message through our jamming.”

“Keep those transmissions blocked,” Jeremy ordered. He didn’t want Hocklyn reinforcements showing up with Fourth Fleet in the planet’s gravity well.

-

In space, the fury of the battle began to lessen. In the shattered Hocklyn formation, only a few ships were still firing. Most had been destroyed by Federation fire or when their self-destructs had gone off. Only a single warcruiser and two escorts were still fighting and shortly all three vanished as antimatter missiles overwhelmed their battered shields, annihilating all of them in brilliant releases of pure energy. Soon all that was left of the Hocklyn ships was a slowly expanding debris field and some glowing gas from the antimatter explosions. Shortly even that began to fade away.

“Hocklyn fleet has been destroyed,” reported Kevin, allowing himself to relax.

“Jumping in the Alton ships to destroy the two dreadnoughts was brilliant, Jeremy,” Ariel commented. She'd done very little other than observe.

“It’s a strategy we should use more often,” Jeremy commented. “The AIs used it often enough in the battles we’ve fought with them.”

Ariel nodded. This was a good victory for the fleet, and she was pleased with the way Jeremy had handled the battle.

“Strikecruiser Nemesis is reporting moderate damage and is requesting permission to leave the planet’s gravity well and jump to the Clan Protector for repairs,” Angela informed Jeremy as she listened to numerous messages coming across her com system. “The light cruiser Fury is also requesting to enter one of the repair bays.”

“Permission granted,” replied Jeremy. Then he turned to Commander Malen. “Put us into orbit over the planet. Now we put the next part of Fleet Admiral Streth’s orders into effect.”

-

An hour later, Fourth Fleet was in orbit around the slave planet. Jeremy was a little concerned about Hocklyn reinforcements jumping into the system since they were so deep in Hocklyn space. To be on the safe side, he had Rear Admiral Marks position her fleet just outside the gravity well along with Grayseth’s ships. He'd also ordered the mobile shipyard to rejoin Grayseth’s force so additional protection could be provided in case more Hocklyns did arrive.

“What are your orders, Admiral?” Commander Malen asked as she turned to face Jeremy.

“What’s the status of that large space station?” he asked, gesturing toward one of the viewscreens showing the massive station. It was easily six kilometers across and several kilometers in width as well as depth.

“I’m receiving a hail from the station,” Angela spoke suddenly with surprise. “They say they’re unarmed and the Hocklyn Protectors on board have taken shuttles and gone down to the planet.”

“Ask them what the purpose of the station is.”

Angela quickly transmitted the message and promptly received a reply. “The planet produces agricultural products for the Hocklyn home worlds. The station serves as the primary collection center for the planet. From there the food products are loaded aboard cargo ships, which take it to the designated planet or Hocklyn habitat.”

“Tell the station they have four hours to evacuate. Once the four hours are up we’ll destroy it.”

Angela did so and then turned back toward Jeremy.

“They’re begging us not to destroy the station,” she reported as she listened to a frantic message from the station. “They say it took over forty years just to build it and a massive amount of resources.”

“Inform them they no longer serve the Hocklyns and the station is no longer needed,” Jeremy said in a calm voice. “Then remind them they only have four hours and cut the connection.”

“What if they can’t all get off in time?” asked Commandeer Malen, concerned. The indigenous species on the planet and the station were slaves under the Hocklyn Slave Empire. They had no choice but to obey or the Hocklyns would lay waste to the surface of their planet as they had done to countless others. She hated the thought of killing innocents.

“We’ll scan the station before we destroy it,” Jeremy assured the commander. “I just want them to make haste evacuating. The longer we stay, the more likely it is that additional Hocklyn warships will show up.”

“What about the planet?” Ariel asked as she walked over to stand next to Jeremy. “I’m detecting numerous large facilities in the rural areas which are obviously food processing centers.”

“How many?”

“Over four hundred,” Ariel responded. “They’re quite large and probably contain considerable quantities of food supplies. We should destroy them also or the Hocklyns will just land shuttles to bring the supplies up to the cargo ships.”

“The cargo ships,” muttered Jeremy, looking up at one of the viewscreens that showed the station.

There were ten cargo ships docked to it and another four close by. The rest had already jumped out of the system. If their crews were from the slaves on the planet, Jeremy doubted if they would say anything to the Hocklyns about what had just occurred in the system for fear of reprisal.

“Make sure all of the crews on those cargo ships are also evacuated. We’ll destroy them along with the station.” He looked over at Angela. “Transmit the warning and don’t give them time to reply.”

Angela nodded and transmitted the message.

Jeremy shifted his gaze to one of the larger viewscreens, which showed a blue-green planet. It resembled Earth in many ways, but instead of having a number of large oceans, the planet had two small ones. The surface was covered with lakes and rivers and massive agricultural activity was plainly evident.

“I want a general broadcast aimed at the planet,” Jeremy ordered after he spent a few moments examining the planet. “All of their large food processing centers are to be immediately evacuated. They have six hours, keep broadcasting that message nonstop.”

“You’re going to destroy them,” Ariel said as she looked at Jeremy.

“You’re taking out their food supplies!” Commander Malen said with dawning realization. “Without regular food shipments, the Hocklyn home worlds can’t survive. They have too big a population. They’re trillions of Hocklyns in their twelve home systems.”

Jeremy looked at Commander Malen, encouraging her to continue.

“They’ll turn on each other,” Commander Malen uttered as she thought about what starvation could make people do. “They will turn into animals as they try to secure food at any cost, even killing their neighbors if necessary.”

“Yes,” answered Jeremy, nodding his head. “Second Fleet, Third Fleet, and Fourth Fleet are going to spend the next month taking out the Hocklyn slave planets that furnish most of the food to the Empire’s home worlds. When chaos reigns we’ll move in and take out what remains of the Hocklyn fleet, which we hope will have been decimated by the different factions trying to procure food supplies.”

“It’s a devilish plan,” commented Commander Malen, arching her eyebrow. “But it just might work.”

“It has to work,” answered Jeremy, thinking about what waited at the galactic center. “We’re running out of time.”

-

Four hours later, the large space station had been evacuated. Jeremy didn’t know how large a crew had been on board, but numerous shuttles had been dispatched from the surface to help in the evacuation.

“Evacuation’s complete,” Ariel reported as she scanned the station for any signs of life. “The cargo ships have also been evacuated.”

“I’ve just received a message from the surface confirming the station is empty,” added Angela, looking over at Jeremy. “They also said they’re evacuating the food processing and distribution centers. They have implored us not to destroy them as it will greatly anger the Hocklyns.”

“This planet is less than two hundred light years from the Hocklyn home worlds,” commented Kevin, leaning back and running his hand through his red hair. He took a deep breath and looked over at Jeremy. “They’ve been under Hocklyn control for thousands of years; they know nothing else.”

“There will be many worlds like this one,” Ariel spoke in agreement. Her dark eyes looking thoughtful. “Already the Federation is finding it difficult to convince many of the slave worlds we have freed that the Hocklyns are not coming back. Being slaves has become a normal part of their lives.”

“It’ll take time,” admitted Jeremy, knowing the job ahead of the Federation and its allies would be immense. “But we’ll get it done.”

Ariel nodded to herself. If Jeremy said it would be done then she believed him.

“Load Devastator Threes in four of the tubes and destroy that station,” Jeremy ordered. “I don’t want to leave the Hocklyns anything they can use. Take out the cargo ships with railgun fire.”

“Yes, Sir,” replied Lieutenant Preston as he passed on the orders to his weapon techs. “Four missile spread and ready secondary railguns.”

Moments later, four sublight Devastator Three missiles flashed away from their tubes to detonate against the station. Four miniature suns blazed brightly in the sky above the planet. When the four suns diminished and finally faded away, all that was left of the large space station was a scattering field of debris. A few cargo ships had survived and heavy railgun fire soon reduced them to drifting wreckage.

“Continue to use railgun fire to destroy any large segments that might be a danger to the planet,” Jeremy ordered as he watched one of the tactical displays showing the slowly expanding debris field. It was obvious a few pieces might drift down and enter the planet’s atmosphere.

From the fleet, additional railgun fire reached out and blew all of the larger fragments apart. The firing continued for several minutes until nothing larger than a basketball remained. Those sized pieces would burn up in the planet’s atmosphere.

Jeremy nodded to himself, satisfied. He didn’t want to cause any more harm to the citizens of this planet than he needed to. Someday, the Federation would return and he didn’t want them to be remembered as causing massive civilian casualties.

An alarm suddenly sounded on Kevin’s sensor console. His eyes quickly shifted to one of his screens, which showed half a dozen red threat icons twenty million kilometers from the planet.

“Hostiles detected,” he reported as the sensors quickly identified the targets. “One Hocklyn warcruiser and five escorts.”

“We need two more hours,” uttered Jeremy, taking a deep breath as he gazed worriedly at the new arrivals. “What are they doing?”

“Taking sensor scans of our ships,” Ariel replied as her own sensors detected the intruding scans. “I’ve detected several FTL transmissions, which suggest they’re reporting their findings or calling for help.”

“Damn!” Jeremy activated the ship-to-ship communications on his mini-com. “Admiral Cleeteus, I’m going to pull the rest of Fourth Fleet back outside of the gravity well. You’re to remain and destroy the food processing centers at the end of two more hours. Once that’s been done, you’re to microjump to outside of the gravity well and we’ll leave this system.”

“It will be done,” Admiral Cleeteus responded in a calm voice. “Though the Hocklyns may not give us two hours if they have any sizable fleet units close by. After all, we are close to their home worlds.”

“I know,” admitted Jeremy. “If we’re engaged by Hocklyn units before the time is up, your orders are to destroy the facilities immediately and then jump to Fourth Fleet’s position to aid in the battle.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Cleeteus responded.

“You may kill some innocents with those orders,” spoke Malen, worriedly.

“I hope not,” Jeremy responded with a heavy sigh. “But we have orders to destroy the Hocklyn's food supply at any cost.”

Malen nodded. She understood that it might have to be done. She turned to Ensign Striker. “Plot a course out of the gravity well to rendezvous with our other ships.”

“Yes, Commander,” Striker replied as he began working at his console.

Jeremy watched patiently, knowing the fleet would soon be moving. It was times like this watching Ensign Striker plotting their course that he truly missed Kelsey at Navigation.

-

For the next hour and a half, the crew in the Command Center of the Avenger watched tensely as the number of Hocklyn warships in the system steadily grew. Every few minutes, another group of ships would jump in.

“How many does that make?” Jeremy asked as four more red threat icons blossomed in one of the tactical displays.

“Ten warcruisers and forty-two escort ships,” Kevin reported as his eyes stayed focused on his screens.

“No dreadnoughts yet,” commented Commander Malen as she studied the tactical displays. “They’re staying at twenty million kilometers.”

“Waiting for more ships,” suggested Jeremy, wishing the time would pass by more quickly.

He was worried that a truly large Hocklyn fleet would appear at any moment. He suspected there were thousands of Hocklyn ships now protecting their home worlds. The question was, were there any large fleets close enough to get to this system in time to engage Fourth Fleet?

He was growing impatient to leave, but he was stuck at this planet until Fourth Fleet’s mission was completed. It was only a matter of time before Hocklyn dreadnoughts arrived and when they did, they would attack immediately. He drummed his fingers on the command console, watching the screens and willing the time to go by faster.

-

On the Warrior’s Pride, Grayseth gazed at the waiting Hocklyn ships with rising anger. He wanted to take his ships and attack, but he understood the wisdom of waiting and not accepting unnecessary losses.

“Ten more minutes and the Alton ships will open fire,” Ganlon spoke as he gazed at the tactical displays. “The Evil Ones keep their distance.”

“They do not have the numbers yet to endanger us,” Grayseth growled as he folded his massive arms across his powerful chest. “They wait for more of their kind to come before they dare to attack.”

“We will be ready when they do,” Ganlon responded his eyes narrowing. “The Warrior’s Pride will destroy many of the Evil Ones in battle. We shall hunt together.”

“As it should be,” Grayseth responded as even more red threat icons began appearing.

-

Aboard the Cydonia, Admiral Cleeteus watched as the timer counted down to zero. He turned to Commander Joshua Riggins the highest-ranking Human on the ship and his second in command. “Fire!”

From the Alton ships, bright blue particle beams flashed down through the planet’s thick, protective atmosphere, striking the designated targets. The Alton ships slowly circled the planet, hitting target after target. When a beam struck one of the facilities, a large fiery explosion would result. Each explosion was nearly a kiloton in explosive force. Every facility bore the brunt of numerous particle beam firings.

-

“Altons are firing,” Commander Malen reported.

“I’m putting it up on the screens,” Ariel added as she sent the necessary commands.

Instantly, on half a dozen viewscreens massive explosions could be seen occurring at the food processing and distribution centers. Smoke was prevalent in the air and fire was everywhere.

“Estimate ninety-two percent destruction on the facilities already hit,” reported Ariel as she scanned the damage with the ship’s sensors. “Eight more minutes and all facilities will have been destroyed.”

“More Hocklyn ships are arriving,” Kevin interrupted as additional red threat icons appeared. “I’m picking up six dreadnoughts and fourteen additional warcruisers in this latest group. They’re starting to move toward us on their sublight drives. Estimated twenty minutes before they get here.”

“We’ll be gone by then,” Jeremy stated. He pressed the ship-to-ship communications again. “All ships standby to jump as soon as the Altons join us. We’ll not be engaging the Hocklyns unless they beat the Altons to us.”

The minutes passed slowly by as the Hocklyns came nearer and then Alton battlecruisers began to appear around Fourth Fleet.

“Signal from the Cydonia,” Angela reported. “Mission completed.”

“Let’s get out of here,” ordered Jeremy, leaning forward ready to leave the system.

A few moments later, blue-white spatial vortexes formed and the Federation ships were soon gone.

Jeremy felt the gut wrenching feeling of jumping into hyperspace. On the viewscreens, the dark swirling purple colors of that strange space were prevalent. He let out a deep sigh; the first planet had been dealt with, now it was time to go on to the next. If everything went as planned, the Hocklyns would soon find themselves in an untenable position. Closing his eyes briefly, Jeremy worried about what was at the galactic center. At some point, they would have to return and the AIs would be waiting.

Opening his eyes, Jeremy glanced around the Command Center. Everyone was going about their jobs efficiently. He noticed Kevin over at Angela’s com station talking to her with Ariel standing close by. It still felt strange for Kelsey and Katie not to be here. At least they were safe for now back in the New Providence system. The StarStrike and First Fleet were staying put for now as Admiral Streth prepared for the final push against the Hocklyns.

Chapter Ten

Seven months until doomsday.

High Leader Nartel was fuming as he gazed around at the other High Councilors. They were all demanding that additional food supplies be allocated to their planets and habitats due to the recent reduction in shipments from the agricultural planets.

“There is no more food!” Nartel blasted out, removing his knife from its sheath and burying the blade deep into the polished wood of the large council table. “The Humans and the Altons have been cutting off our food supplies with their warships for the past month. They have three large fleets reinforced with Alton battlecruisers attacking our agricultural planets one by one.”

“What about our own warships?” demanded High Councilor Ruthan his cold, dark eyes glowing red in frustration. “Can’t they secure the slave planets that produce our food to ensure the cargo ships can get through? The Humans can’t keep large fleets at all of them.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Nartel growled his large eyes growing narrow. “They’re destroying the orbiting shipping stations as well as the planetary collection and distribution centers. It will take a minimum of two years to rebuild what they’ve already destroyed, even with increased slave labor.”

“Two years!” Ruthan bellowed his eyes looking desperate. “What will we do for food? Can’t we bring in supplies from the other planets in our Empire?”

“We have enough reserve food supplies to last another month,” Berken spoke in a calmer voice. “We can perhaps ration that out to get us by a month past that. As for the other planets in our Empire, they don’t have the resources or the infrastructure to greatly expand what they’re already producing.”

“Our people will revolt!” predicted High Councilor Jarles, shaking his reptilian head. “When the food runs out, they'll come for us and our personal habitats.”

“Our personal habitats,” uttered Ruthan, looking shocked. “Our fleets will have to protect us, our families must be defended.”

“Many of our ships are crewed from the planets and habitats that will be without food; they will not protect us,” High Councilor Desmonde pointed out in a cold voice. “If we are to survive we will have to find another way.”

“We must summon the AIs!” screamed Ruthan desperately, realizing that his world could soon come crashing down around him. He looked accusingly at High Leader Nartel. “We should have already done that!”

“The AIs will not come,” Nartel replied evenly as he looked around at the various High Councilors. “They’re rushing to finish their construction project around the black hole at the center of our galaxy. They've lost all interest in our Empire.”

“What about the Borzon or the other two Empires?” pleaded Ruthan. “Surely they will come to our aid.”

“No, they will not,” replied Nartel, reaching forward and pulling his knife out of the wood of the table. “The AIs have given the other Empires strict instructions not to get involved as they’re still supplying material for the AIs’ construction project.”

“Then what will happen to our Empire?” demanded Ruthan, looking around for support from the other High Councilors. “We must do something!”

“It will fall,” Berken said in a grim and harsh voice. “The Altons have furnished advanced weapons technology to the Humans and our fleets are being decimated whenever we attempt to engage them.”

“We will lose all of our honor,” warned Ruthan, feeling shock at what was in store for the Empire. “What of our positions in the Empire?”

“We have already lost our honor and will shortly lose our Empire,” Nartel responded as he put his knife back into its protective sheath. “We lost our honor when we aligned ourselves with the AIs so many eons ago.”

“What should we do?” asked High Councilor Jarles. “We still have thousands of warships at our disposal.”

“I’ve already dispatched additional ships to all of the surviving agricultural worlds that serve the Empire,” Nartel informed them. “I would suggest that each one of you do what is necessary to make sure your personal habitats are secure and well stocked with necessities for what is coming. In the next few weeks, we can discreetly move a few warships around to provide additional protection for our habitats. Perhaps some of us will survive. When this is over, we can come back out and begin rebuilding our Empire.”

Ruthan stood up his jaw quivering. “This is all your fault! Since the death of High Leader Ankler, our Empire has suffered set back after set back. You should never have been made High Leader; that’s become more obvious with every passing day and each failure we’ve suffered under your rule.”

“Do you challenge my authority?” asked Nartel in a cold voice, his hand slipping back to touch the hilt of his knife. He felt confident he could take Ruthan if necessary as long as none of the other High Councilors joined him.

Ruthan looked frantically around at the other councilors, seeking their support. All of them refused to meet his gaze. “No,” Ruthan stammered after a moment sitting back down with a dejected look upon his face. “I withdraw my accusation.”

“Very well then,” uttered Nartel, removing his hand from his knife. “I call this meeting to an end.”

As the councilors left, High Councilor Berken stepped over to Nartel’s side. “We should begin our final preparations to evacuate,” he spoke in a quiet and controlled voice. “Ruthan will not be able to keep secret what was discussed today. We could see major unrest on the planets and the habitats shortly.”

“I agree,” answered Nartel, with a nod. His large, cold eyes focused on Berken. “I would suggest we spend the next few weeks gathering ships that will be loyal to our families. If necessary, I can arrange for some personnel transfers to give us a solid core of dreadnoughts and warcruisers.”

“I think that would be wise,” Berken nodded in agreement. “There are a number of ship crews that will be loyal to my family and others that a few key personnel changes will bring over to us.”

“As with me,” Nartel responded. “It will have to be done gradually so as not to make the other High Councilors suspicious.”

-

A few minutes later, Nartel was in his office standing on the high balcony looking out over the capital city. He sighed heavily. Shortly the Hocklyn Empire would be no more; thousands of years of history would be coming to an end. Down in the city below, none of the teeming millions of inhabitants even suspected what was coming. If only the AIs had warned them about the Humans and the Altons earlier. But then again, the AIs had always had their own secretive agenda.

Going back inside, Nartel walked over to the large map of the galaxy, which designated the Hocklyn Slave Empire. He put out the six digits of his right hand and traced the outlines of the Empire, his fingers coming to rest on a distant section. Far off to one side of the Empire a small, indiscreet star system held the Empire’s last hopes. He gazed for many long minutes at the map, wondering where they had gone wrong and what could have been done differently.

There was no doubt the AIs had used them as pawns to create an Empire that could be used to siphon vast resources from thousands of worlds for whatever the machines were building at the galaxy’s center. Now that the work was nearing completion, the Hocklyns were no longer needed. The Humans and the Altons were coming and he doubted if there was anything that could be done to stop them. He strongly suspected that the food shortage would cause Hocklyns to begin fighting Hocklyns for what scraps remained, and when it was all over the Humans and Altons would come sweeping in to destroy what was left. He had no plans to be around when that day arrived.

-

Commodore Jaseth stood upon the Command Pedestal of the dreadnought Viden, watching impassively as the crew went about their normal routine. Glancing at the main viewscreen, he saw the dreadnought Final Victory slowly coasting in the fleet formation. Over the past several weeks, more ships had been assigned to his command. He now had two dreadnoughts, six warcruisers, and twelve escort cruisers in his warfleet.

“We have a powerful force to use against the Humans,” he commented in a cold voice toward recently promoted War Leader Barelle.

“Yes,” Barelle responded.

He had been surprised that Jaseth had been given command of so many ships. He was by far the youngest commodore in the fleet, and Barelle was still suspicious of the promotion. He strongly suspected that there was some High Council political move being made, but he was at a loss as to what it might be. However, he had also risen in rank, which had increased his own honor.

“When the Humans attack, we’ll make them pay a steep price for their arrogance in attacking our Empire,” Jaseth spoke in a hard rasping voice. “The star lanes will run red with their blood.”

“There will be much honor in such a battle,” Barelle responded.

“Bah, who cares about honor where the Humans are concerned,” Jaseth spat his cold lips barely moving. “The Humans have no honor and no honor can be gained by fighting such a race.”

“Perhaps,” answered Barelle, carefully. He knew that to say the wrong thing could easily send the young commodore into a fit of rage. He'd witnessed others suffer under Jaseth’s wrath.

“What’s our current position?”

“Forty million kilometers outward from Calzen,” answered Barelle, promptly.

“Continue to hold this position,” Jaseth ordered. “If the Humans come, I want room to maneuver.”

Jaseth gazed across the War Room. He was well aware that a number of his crew were upset he'd been given command of the Viden and promoted to the rank of commodore. That meant little to Jaseth; all that was important was that he had the weapons he needed to draw Human blood.

-

Six months until doomsday.

“Latest computer estimates indicate that the Hocklyns will run out of food supplies in forty-six more days,” Clarissa spoke in her clear contralto voice, her deep blue eyes focused on Fleet Admiral Streth. “Admirals Sheen, Strong, and Tolsen have taken out twenty-one of the Hocklyns’ food producing systems with only minor losses to their fleets.”

“They can’t make up the lost supplies,” Admiral Andrews added with a knowing look. “Their other slave worlds don’t have the production or shipping facilities.”

Richard had come aboard after finishing the defenses in the Tellus system. Both Maken and Tellus were now protected by Alton Indomitable class battle stations and Federation produced type two stations, as well as hundreds of Alton particle beam satellites. Already, additional colonists were in the process of being moved to the two planets. It had been decided to wait until after the war before erecting additional major defenses around the other old Federation worlds. A few type two stations and a small number of Alton particle beams satellites would have to do for now.

“Admiral Andrews is correct,” continued Clarissa her hands resting on her shapely hips. “The processing and shipping centers for food aren’t available on other worlds. They can procure some supplies, but not enough to feed the trillions of Hocklyns in the home systems.”

“Just how many Hocklyns are in those systems?” Colonel Trist asked his eyes focusing on Clarissa. It still amazed him how life-like the female AI looked.

“The Hocklyn home systems consist of only twelve star systems,” Clarissa replied her light blue eyes focusing on the colonel. “The AIs refused to allow the Hocklyns to occupy more. “As a result, they have domed or underground cities on most of the planets and moons in their systems as well as on some of the larger asteroids. They have also constructed tens of thousands of artificial habitats that are in orbit around their worlds and stars. Population estimates indicate well over two trillion Hocklyns live in those twelve systems.”

“Two trillion!” stammered Colonel Trist. He'd known there were a lot, but it was nearly incomprehensible to imagine that many. “They must live like ants!”

“Just about,” Clarissa responded. “Many of their cities extend far underground and they have had problems curbing their population growth.”

“How do we know about all of this?” asked Admiral Andrew, feeling curious.

“From captured computer terminals on some of the slave worlds we've taken back from the Hocklyns,” answered Colonel Grissom, entering the conversation. “Over the past year, we’ve captured quite a few Hocklyn databases on orbital stations and even upon several planets. They didn’t seem too concerned about hiding the information.”

“So you were right in attacking their agricultural planets,” uttered Trist, gazing in wonder at the admiral. “What will they do when they run out of food?”

“That’s the big question,” Hedon replied his brow wrinkling in thought. “I’m hoping that they’ll turn on one another in search of food supplies. If that happens then we’ll move in to finish off what’s left.”

“We only have six months before the AIs are ready to activate their machines,” Clarissa pointed out. “We must be finished with the Hocklyns and ready to begin our move toward the galactic center no later than four months from now or all is lost.”

“How soon before our fleets return?” Admiral Andrews asked. He would really like to spend some time with Amanda before they hit the Hocklyns and particularly before they made their attempt on the galactic center. Taking the fleets into the galactic core against massed AI fleets was going to be nearly suicidal, but what other choice did they have?

“Third Fleet and Fourth Fleet are already on their way back,” responded Hedon, knowing Richard wanted to see his wife. “Second Fleet has one more target to hit and then they’ll be returning. All ships will be updated and then all four fleets will set out for the Hocklyn home worlds.”

“So this is it,” Colonel Trist said his eyes narrowing. “After all of these years we’re finally going to do it.”

Hedon nodded his head; he still recalled how he'd felt when the StarStrike had returned to the old Federation to find all of its worlds destroyed. Since that day, he'd sworn with every living breath that someday he would make the Hocklyns’ pay for what they had taken away.

-

Katie, Kelsey, and Clarissa were in the officer’s mess. Katie and Kelsey were eating a plate piled high with strawberries and whipped cream with Clarissa curiously watching.

“I still find it confusing the pleasure Humans take from eating,” Clarissa said with a mystified look on her face. “Food is nourishment and the Human body needs it for energy, the same as I need energy. But Humans seem to take a particular pleasure in some of the food items they eat, such as the strawberries the two of you are having now.”

Katie sighed and looked over at Kelsey. Both Clarissa and Ariel had many of the same questions. Sometimes, since they were AIs and didn’t have the Human sensations of touch, smell, or taste it was difficult to explain Human emotions and actions to the two intelligent AIs.

“Certain foods give Humans pleasure,” began Katie, trying her best to explain the taste of food to Clarissa.

“Like sex!” Clarissa said in understanding, her eyes brightening.

Kelsey giggled, seeing Katie’s flustered look. “Not quite, Clarissa,” Kelsey spoke. “Certain foods satisfy inner cravings we sometimes have for certain tastes.”

“Mind if I join you?” a female voice asked.

Looking up, Kelsey saw Captain Duncan standing there holding a cup of hot chocolate. “Sit down,” responded Kelsey, gesturing to the spot next to her.

“So, what is Clarissa asking about now?”

“She thinks food is like sex,” Katie mumbled with a deep sigh.

Janice laughed and shook her head. Since the AI had been reactivated on the StarStrike, Clarissa had been full of questions. “I guess it could be in a way, but most Humans have made eating a social thing in recent years. Food has become more tasteful and chefs go out of their way to spice it up.”

“I guess I understand,” Clarissa replied slowly, still sounding slightly confused.

Janice looked over at the other two women. “I guess Fourth Fleet will be returning in another few weeks, so that means that Jeremy and Kevin will be back.”

“I hope we can spend some time together,” Katie said hopefully. “I’ve already made sure the cooks on the StarStrike have a good supply of hamburgers.”

Janice laughed. “I've heard that Kevin has a thing for hamburgers.”

“It’s not a thing,” Kelsey responded with a grin. “It’s an obsession!”

Then, in a lower voice, Kelsey asked, “How are things going with you and the admiral?”

Janice looked surprised and then realized that most of the ship’s senior officers knew what was going on. “Slowly,” she responded, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “I did manage to get him to go meet my parents and sister while we were in the Federation a while back.”

“That’s progress,” Kelsey said with a knowing smile.

“Perhaps when this war is over, we can all have normal lives,” Katie spoke longingly. She had really enjoyed the time on Careth where they had gotten to live like normal people for a few months. It'd been the best time of her life.

“I hope so,” Janice answered. She knew it was safe to talk about nearly anything with these two, and Clarissa wouldn’t reveal any secrets either. “If we can just survive, there’s still so much ahead of us. I suppose it’s been even more difficult since the admiral split the five of you up. After all, the Special Five have been together forever, it seems like.”

“We’re not special,” Kelsey said, shaking her head in denial. She'd never cared much for that nickname. “We’re just like everyone else.”

“Except your parents helped to found the Federation and all five of you were the sole survivors of the New Horizon incident, the Earth’s first attempt at interstellar flight,” Janice said with a glint in her eyes. “I know you don’t like the nickname, but it'll always be there, because to most of the people in the Federation you are special, just like Fleet Admiral Streth.”

“Who was awoken from cryosleep to save the Federation,” Katie said slowly. She knew in her heart Janice was right.

“What will you do when the war is over?”

“Hedon wants to settle down on Maken, on the shores of a lake his brother once had a cabin on,” Janice answered. “He’s taken me there and it’s really beautiful. What about the two of you?”

“I don’t know,” answered Katie with a thoughtful look on her face. “Where ever it is, I think the five of us want to be close.”

“Ceres isn’t the same as it used to be,” Kelsey said, “and Earth is too crowded. I really liked living on Careth; perhaps we’ll return there.”

“We just need to win the war first,” Janice said.

“Yes, the war,” Kelsey responded. She just prayed they all survived it.

-

Admiral Sheen looked worriedly at the tactical displays. There were far more Hocklyn ships in the system than she'd been expecting. She was concerned that taking this planet might be too costly.

“What are we looking at, Lieutenant Stalls?”

Benjamin pressed several icons on his computer screens and then began sending the updated information to the holographic tactical displays. “It’s a major Hocklyn fleet,” he said worriedly. “Long-range sensors are detecting four dreadnoughts, fourteen warcruisers, and forty escorts. All in low orbit around the planet.”

“Have they detected us yet?” asked Commander Diaz.

“No, not yet; but they will shortly.”

“Any suggestions?” asked Amanda, looking around at her officers. The enemy had fifty-eight warships to her ninety-eight. There was also a large space station in orbit around the planet, which was the last of the Hocklyn main food production centers in this sector of space.

“What if we leave it?” Colonel Leon asked suddenly, folding her arms across her chest. “If the Hocklyns are divided by ruling families, wouldn’t each one want this last food production center for themselves?”

“Are you suggesting we leave it intact and let them fight over it?” asked Commander Diaz, arching his eyebrows in thought.

“It just might work,” Amanda said, nodding her head in agreement. “But I don’t want to leave this Hocklyn fleet intact. We need to take out those dreadnoughts at a minimum.”

“And how do we do that?” Commander Diaz asked. Even with the Federations’ newer and more powerful weapons, dreadnoughts were still dangerous to face in combat. “We’ll have to go into the gravity well after them.”

“Not if we use the Alton battlecruisers,” Amanda suggested. “We still have seventeen of them undamaged.” They'd lost one when several Hocklyn dreadnoughts had managed to batter its shield down and two others were moderately damaged, which Amanda didn’t want to risk. “We take the entire fleet in close to just the edge of the gravity well, and then we wait and see what the Hocklyns do. If we have the right opportunity, we send the Alton battlecruisers in to take out the dreadnoughts.”

The other officers nodded their heads in agreement. They knew it was vital to take out the dreadnoughts if possible since the Hocklyns no longer had the capability to build new ones. Not after the Federation had smashed all of the Hocklyns’ major shipyards.

-

Amanda felt the WarStorm come out of hyperspace just outside of the gravity well of the target planet. Upon coming out of the spatial vortexes, the entire fleet went to Condition One in preparation for combat.

“Hocklyns are moving,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as he watched his computer screens downloading the latest data. “It looks as if they’re forming up around the space station.”

“Damn!” uttered Amanda, feeling aggravated. She'd hoped they would move away from the planet to engage her fleet. She wanted to leave the station intact, but now the Hocklyn fleet was getting so close to it that it could be easily hit in any type of fleet battle.

“Where are their dreadnoughts?” asked Commander Diaz, peering intently at the tactical displays.

“All four are within fifty kilometers of the space station,” Stalls replied. “They’re extremely close to each other with a spacing of less than two kilometers.”

“That is close,” Colonel Leon stated in surprise, looking over at the others.

“What about the warcruisers?” asked Diaz.

Lieutenant Stalls looked over at the commander. “All fourteen are in a staggered line between us and the space station with the escorts as support.”

“I have Admiral Klask on the com,” Angela reported. “He says he can jump in behind the dreadnoughts and take them out without endangering the space station if you want to keep it intact.”

Amanda nodded and adjusted her mini-com so she could speak to the Alton admiral. If he was willing to take the risk, they might just be able to destroy the dreadnoughts.

-

Twenty minutes later, Amanda had maneuvered Second Fleet as close to the gravity well as she dared. Her plan was to make the Hocklyns believe she was preparing to launch an attack. Looking at one of the tactical screens, she smiled as hundreds of fighters began launching and entering the gravity well, heading toward the Hocklyn ships. Almost immediately, the Hocklyns reciprocated by launching their own fighters.

“When you’re ready,” Amada spoke over her mini-com, which was connected directly to Alton Admiral Klask.

“We’ll be back shortly,” Klask replied with confidence in his Alton voice.

Almost instantly, blue-white spatial vortexes formed in front of the seventeen Alton battlecruisers. The one thousand-meter dumbbell shaped ships flew rapidly into the vortexes and vanished. Almost instantly, directly behind the four Hocklyn dreadnoughts, new spatial vortexes began to form and out stormed the Alton ships. Unlike the Human ships, the Alton’s systems were only minutely affected by the drop out of hyperspace. From the seventeen ships, particle beam cannon fire flashed out, impacting the energy screen on one of the dreadnoughts.

For a fraction of a moment, the screen held. Then, first one bright blue beam and then a second tore through the wavering screen, smashing into the armored hull. Massive fiery explosions opened up the armor. The beams burrowed deeper into the hull, causing even more damage.

The Hocklyn commodore in charge of the fleet and the four dreadnoughts stood paralyzed on the Command Pedestal in the War Room of his flagship. Before he could give the orders to return fire, the War Room vanished in a blaze of light as a single antimatter missile was launched from an Alton battlecruiser, which detonated in the dreadnought’s heart. Searing heat and energy flashed through the corridors and compartments of the ship, consuming it.

The Altons then shifted their fire to the other dreadnoughts, trying to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible. Antimatter missiles were now being launched and the space near the space station became lit up in the fiery glow of their blasts.

However, a twelve hundred-meter dreadnought was difficult to kill, even with Alton weapons. Two of the dreadnoughts managed to return fire, launching every missile and energy beam they had at one of the Alton cruisers. Perhaps it was bad luck or faulty engineering that caused the Alton screen to flicker. When it did, a twenty-megaton Hocklyn nuclear missile flashed through and impacted the hull. The massive explosion staggered the huge ship, breaking it into two sections. The energy screen collapsed completely as power failed, and Hocklyn energy beams and missiles rapidly finished off the two drifting sections.

Angered by the loss of their sister ship, the other Alton vessels increased their fire. Moments later, another of the Hocklyn dreadnoughts exploded as antimatter energy was released inside its hull. Within the next minute, the other two dreadnoughts were drifting wrecks also.

-

“Dreadnoughts destroyed,” Lieutenant Stalls reported. “The Alton battlecruiser Lytol is down.”

“Damn!” uttered Commander Diaz. “We lost a battlecruiser; I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Alton ships are jumping,” Stalls informed them.

“War has a way of doing the unexpected,” Amanda replied with sadness in her eyes at losing the crew and the valuable ship. “Recall our fighters, it’s time for us to leave. “We’ll let the Hocklyns think that by destroying an Alton ship it convinced us to withdraw.”

“Alton ships are exiting hyperspace,” Stalls reported as the remaining sixteen Alton ships exited spatial vortexes around Second Fleet.

“Fighters are on their way back,” Colonel Leon reported as she watched the hundreds of fighters on the tactical display reverse course and streak back toward their respective carriers. “Fighters should be back on board in ten minutes.”

Amanda nodded. The Hocklyn fighters stopped their advance once they saw the Human ones turn around. As soon as the fighters were landed, she would order Second Fleet to move farther away from the gravity well and then they would begin the long trip back to New Providence. Amanda knew the next time she came this deep into Hocklyn space it would be to end the war. She felt a savage satisfaction at that thought, recalling what the Hocklyns had done to Aquaria and how her parents had lived out their lives on that shattered world. Soon it would be her turn to show the Hocklyns what that was like, and she would show them little mercy for they deserved none.

Chapter Eleven

Five months until doomsday.

Fleet Commodore Caltrin stood on the Command Pedestal of the Dreadnought HammersHand looking at the viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. A blue-white world was displayed, which would be the new home to the Hocklyn race and shortly the new capital system of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. It reminded him of what the home worlds had once looked like before industrialization and pollution wreaked havoc with the biospheres. He hoped the same mistakes were not made with this new world.

“Commodore Zeth is reporting that the civilians have been placed in their accommodations on the planet and will soon be undergoing placement into the planetary workforce,” Second Leader Tarnth informed Caltrin from Communications.

“Good,” Caltrin hissed, pleased that unloading the civilians from the transports had gone so smoothly. Unlike the home worlds, upon this new planet all civilians would be expected to serve in some capacity. Honor could be earned, but only if you were willing to work for it.

“I’m nervous about being so near the Borzon Empire,” spoke War Leader Brest, expressing his deep concern about the location of their new world. “It’s possible they may feel a fleet as large as ours may pose a threat to their borders and security.”

“An emissary has already been sent to the Borzon informing them of the establishment of this colony and assuring them we have no interests in any of their territory,” Caltrin responded in his cold, rasping voice. High Leader Nartel had assured him that this had been taken care of. “What are our current fleet assets?”

“Including Commodore Zeth’s fleet, our own force, and other ships that have been sent to this system we have a considerable offensive capability,” War Leader Brest answered as he checked a data screen. “We currently have forty-two dreadnoughts, sixty-eight warcruisers, and two hundred and twelve escort cruisers in our combined fleet.”

Caltrin nodded, feeling satisfied with the size of the force. Reaching forward, he pressed several controls on the small console in front of him. Instantly, an image of this section of the galaxy appeared on one of the tactical screens. An area thirty light years across was being displayed with twenty blinking blue icons.

“There are twenty slave worlds nearby,” he stated, gesturing toward the screen. “Find out what fleet assets are in those systems. We’re far enough away from the Humans that it should be quite some time before they find us. We must ensure those twenty worlds stay under our control and are adequately defended. This will be the beginning of our new Empire. Someday we will spread out from this region of space and reconquer what the Humans and the Altons have taken away from us.”

“As you command,” Brest replied his large eyes focused on the Fleet Commodore. “It might be necessary to send an escort cruiser or warcruiser to inspect those systems. There is not a lot of information in the database about those worlds. The fleet responsible for monitoring them was called back to the core worlds nearly a year ago.”

“A show of force might be better since those worlds are so far away from the core of our Empire and probably haven’t seen a Hocklyn ship for a while,” hissed Caltrin. His right hand strayed down to the hilt of the long knife at his waist. “Send two fleets to investigate those systems. I want two dreadnoughts, four warcruisers, and ten escorts in each one. Each fleet can inspect ten worlds. The appearance of a powerful fleet will help to remind those slave planets who their masters are. Shortly, when High Leader Nartel arrives, more will be expected from those worlds. They'll make an excellent source for future slaves as well as materials we'll need to establish our civilization on the world below us. The appearance of our fleets will help to prepare them for their new future in our Empire.”

“I will send the orders,” responded Brest, moving off toward Communications.

Caltrin switched his gaze to another viewscreen showing the new shipyard taking shape. Numerous small work shuttles were moving about its skeletal structure, and hundreds of slaves were visible in spacesuits welding metal joints into place. The new shipyard would be capable of building any ship up to the size of a dreadnought, and with the weapons research facility here, new and deadlier weapons would become a part of the new Hocklyn warfleet.

“How many antimatter missiles does the weapons research center have on hand?” demanded Caltrin, looking over at First Leader Nathn. He planned to arm a number of his dreadnoughts with the fearsome weapon in case the Humans found them.

“They have two hundred and forty completed warheads,” answered Nathn. Turning his reptilian head toward Fleet Commodore Caltrin, he continued. “The sublight missiles are still months away from being perfected, however.”

“I’m aware of that,” hissed Caltrin his dark eyes narrowing. “Inform the base commander that I want one hundred and twenty of those warheads attached to our fleets’ standard heavy missiles. I will choose twelve dreadnoughts to receive ten missiles each. If the Humans dare to attack us here, we'll have a surprise for them.”

“As you command,” First Leader Nathn replied.

-

On board the Dreadnought IronGlory, First Leader Danth turned away from the viewscreens in disgust. “You should have been given overall command of the fleet, not Caltrin! What has he seen of battle? He's earned no honor in combat.”

“I agree with your assessment,” Zeth answered his eyes glittering a slight red with irritation “The command should have been mine, but Fleet Commodore Caltrin is a cousin to the High Leader. It will do me no good to protest, and I may lose my honor by doing so. The High Leader will not look kindly upon anyone criticizing the appointment of his cousin as Fleet Commodore and placing him in charge of this fleet.”

“The High Leader will be arriving soon, I presume,” Danth continued his large, dark eyes showing anger. “His arrival will mean the core worlds have fallen to the Humans and the Altons. It will be the end of honor in our Empire.”

“I fear you’re correct,” Zeth hissed in a cold and resolute voice, his eyes moving to focus on Danth. “Sometimes I wish we could have died in honor defending the shipyards rather than coming here. But it’s against our laws to disobey the High Leader or the council.”

Danth nodded his head in agreement. He had little knowledge on how the High Council functioned, but this war with the Humans had gone terribly wrong. The Hocklyn honor system had been shattered, and Danth questioned whether subterfuge was being used to establish this system. The fact that the High Leader’s cousin had been placed in charge was highly suspicious. However, Danth was honor bound to obey and he would carry out his obligations to the Empire.

-

Admiral Streth was looking at the main viewscreens on the StarStrike, which showed the two new shipyards recently completed above New Providence. Each had six bays that could be used for construction or repairs. They were also very heavily armed with power beam installations as well as particle beam cannons. Numerous dual defensive laser beam turrets covered the hulls, and a powerful energy screen could be brought online if needed. There were also two flight bays on each shipyard, which contained one hundred and twenty Talon fighters each.

“Impressive sight,” commented Colonel Trist, seeing what Hedon was staring at. “It’s been a long time coming. The old Federation is coming alive again.”

“I received a message from Fleet Admiral Johnson earlier, and Admiral Nagumo is on his way with a large fleet to participate in our attack upon the Hocklyn home worlds. He’s also bringing ten fleet repair ships as well as several Alton vessels full of technicians and equipment. Fleet Admiral Johnson didn’t say what the equipment was, but knowing the Altons it'll be something totally off the wall and unexpected.”

“I overheard a message between Admiral Cleeteus and the Alton home world several days ago,” Clarissa said not sure if she should reveal that she had been eavesdropping on the other ships in the joint fleets that were now in orbit around New Providence.

Admiral Streth looked at Clarissa and shook his head. He hadn’t specifically told her that she couldn’t listen in on ship communications. “What was in the message?”

“The Alton ships are bringing technicians and parts to upgrade all of our warships’ hyperdrives and inertial dampening systems,” Clarissa replied in a calm and clear voice. “I think we’re going to be given the technology to jump inside a planet’s gravity well.”

“It’s for the attack on the galactic center,’ Hedon surmised his eyes widening. “The gravity close to the black hole could cause problems with our current jump systems, possibly causing damage to the drive cores. I pointed this out to Ambassador Tureen during our recent trip back to Earth.”

“We don’t have a lot of time left,” added Colonel Grissim, looking over at the other three. “Once we hit the Hocklyns, we’ll need to return here and then almost immediately set out for the galactic center.”

“We’ll have some time,” Hedon replied as he thought over his battle plan. “Time enough to repair our ships and make our final preparations, but the Hocklyns have to come first. If they think they can attack us while we’re engaged against the AIs, there’s a good chance they’ll do so in order to eliminate our fleet and save their Empire. We have to make sure they don’t have the forces remaining to be a serious threat.”

-

Kelsey and Katie were over on the Avenger, eating with Jeremy, Kevin, and Angela with Ariel looking on.

“It’s a shame your marine captain couldn’t make it,” Katie said as she watched Kevin put away his second hamburger.

“Brace is training a new squad of marines,” Angela replied as she ate the last of her baked chicken. “They’re to be assigned to some of the Alton ships to increase their internal security.”

“A number of marines are being trained for duty on the Alton ships,” Jeremy confirmed as he took a bite of his mashed potatoes and gravy. “I’m just glad we could all get together today.”

“We’ve been so busy getting the fleet ready,” Kelsey said, laying her fork down and looking at the others. “Sometime in the next few weeks, we’ll be going to attack the Hocklyn home worlds. I’ve known for a while this day was coming; I just don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

“It was one of the things your father dreamed of,” responded Jeremy, softly. Kelsey’s father had been the commanding admiral of Ceres while they were at the academy and later when they were serving in the Ceres fleet. The admiral had often spoken of the day Humans would take the war to the Hocklyn home worlds.

“I know,” Kelsey responded with a look of sadness in her eyes. “I just wish he could be here to see it.”

“It'll be a great day for the Federation when the Hocklyn home worlds are no longer a threat,” Ariel spoke in a solemn voice. “Fleet Admiral Streth and others that were in the original group of cyrosleepers have long looked forward to this day. Your father would be very proud of you, Kelsey.”

Kelsey nodded; there were times when she really missed her parents.

“Even the Kessels and the Darvonians will be taking part,” Kevin added as he ate the last french fry on his plate. “Grayseth has been running battle drills on the Carethian ships for days in preparation. He says it will be a great hunt and payback for the Hocklyns destroying their colony and occupying their world.”

“I’m heading over to the Warrior’s Pride tomorrow,” Jeremy informed them. “Grayseth and I are going to go over fleet tactics for engaging the Hocklyns.”

“Katie and I are going over to the Bears' mobile shipyard,” added Kelsey, looking over at Katie. “We’re going to work with Malith and Karelle and get them up to date on our current navigation systems as well as the new communication protocols.”

“We might not have many more opportunities like this,” Angela said in a soft and longing voice. “It feels good for all of us to be together again.”

Ariel nodded her head in agreement. She wished all of the Special Five were still on the Avenger where she could watch over them. However, if she had to pick a ship for any of them to be on, it would be the StarStrike with Fleet Admiral Streth. It also helped that Clarissa was aboard the StarStrike and could keep an eye on Katie and Kelsey.

-

Back in the new Human Federation of Worlds, Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson was on her way to meet Admiral Kalen and President Kincaid about the coming offensive against the Hocklyn home worlds. She was on board the Orion Victory, the Federations’ newest battleship. She stood next to the ship’s commanding officer, Oliver Hanks, who was quite an imposing figure. The tall, dark haired commander was quite experienced at handling the warships of the Federation and had distinguished himself in the big battle at New Tellus.

“We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace shortly,” Commander Hanks informed her as the Helm prepared for maneuvering as soon as they exited the spatial vortex.

Karla nodded; it was difficult for her to come to Earth’s system even though she'd been born on the planet. The problem was Ceres. It was in Earth’s system and every time she came close to it, she thought of Admiral Telleck and the future that had been stolen from her. If the Federation survived when the war ended, she planned on retiring and turning the day-to-day operations of the fleet over to Admiral Nagumo. She was thinking very seriously about emigrating to the old Federation worlds.

A sudden, gut wrenching feeling and Karla knew that the Orion Victory had exited hyperspace and was now in the solar system.

“We’ve exited hyperspace,” the helm officer reported.

“Receiving standard challenge,” added the com officer. “Transmitting ship IDs.”

“Take us to Ceres,” Karla spoke in a slightly strained voice. The meeting was to be held inside the asteroid in Governor Malleck’s office.

“Setting course,” the helm officer replied. “We should be there in forty minutes at standard sublight speed.” Sublight speeds were regulated in the solar system due to all the traffic.

“Very well,” answered Commander Hanks. “I’ll notify Admiral Freeman that we’ve arrived.”

“Thank you,” Karla responded. Admiral Freeman was in charge of all the Federations’ many shipyards and had come along for this meeting. He was currently in his quarters reviewing the latest ship construction reports.

As they neared Ceres, Karla couldn’t help but notice all the warships surrounding the large asteroid. Admiral Kalen had taken over as overall military commander of the Ceres fleet since the unfortunate death of Admiral Telleck at the battle of Careth. On the viewscreen, the Ceres fleet flagship, the new battleship Ceres, was being prominently displayed. Its new commanding officer was Commander Kathryn Barnes, the daughter of the Ceres Senator. She was also the last one to speak to Admiral Telleck before he died. Karla had spoken briefly to Kathryn about the admiral’s death and Kathryn had explained how the admiral had died a hero saving the members of his command crew, including Kathryn.

Other ships were also visible. With the departure of Admiral Nagumo, the Ceres fleet was now the largest fleet in the solar system and responsible for its defense. It had grown as the massive ship building facilities inside Ceres were fully activated and turning out new warships like clockwork. The fleet had six battleships, ten battlecarriers, twenty battlecruisers, forty-four strikecruisers, and sixty light cruisers in its complement with more being added weekly.

Karla watched the viewscreens as the Orion Victory flew past the imposing fleet. She let out a heavy sigh knowing how much Glenn would have enjoyed commanding a fleet with the new battleships.

“We’ll be at Ceres in ten more minutes,” Commander Hanks informed her.

“Make my shuttle ready and have Admiral Freeman meet me in the flight bay,” Karla ordered as she turned to leave the Command Center.

A few minutes later, Karla reached the flight bay and found Admiral Freeman waiting for her.

“Are you all right, Admiral?” Freeman asked. He knew how hard Admiral Telleck’s death had shaken her.

“I’m fine,” Karla responded with a weak smile. “Let’s get to this meeting.”

-

The shuttle left the flight bay and headed toward the dark gray surface of Ceres. Around the asteroid, numerous defensive platforms were in orbit ensuring no vessel was allowed admittance to Ceres space without proper identification. Alton particle beam satellites were prevalent as well as numerous laser satellites and missile platforms. The surface of Ceres was covered in offensive and defensive weaponry. It was the heaviest defended colony in the entire Human Federation of Worlds.

A large hatch slid open revealing a brightly lit tunnel leading deep into the asteroid. The shuttle dropped down and entered, flying past several power beam turrets, which tracked any vessel that neared the entrance. After flying down the tunnel and through several more massive metal hatches that opened as the shuttle approached, they finally entered an enormous brightly lit flight bay.

The shuttle set down next to a light cruiser. Once down, the shuttle’s hatch opened and its metal landing ramp extended until it touched the bay’s deck. “We’re down and the hatch is secured,” the pilot announced.

Karla stood up and headed for the exit, followed by Admiral Freeman. Karla was surprised to see Commander Kathryn Barnes and several other officers at the base of the ramp waiting for her.

“Fleet Admiral arriving!” one of the officers spoke in a loud and commanding voice. Instantly all work in the immediate vicinity stopped and everyone turned to salute.

Karla returned the salute and came to a stop in front of Commander Barnes. “It’s good to see you again, Commander,” she said.

“Thank you, Admiral,” Kathryn responded with a hint of a smile. “President Kincaid, Admiral Kalen, Governor Malleck, Ambassador Tureen, and my father are waiting for you in the governor’s office.”

“Will you also be attending?” asked Karla, raising her eyebrow.

“Yes,” answered Kathryn” looking confused. “Though I don’t understand why they want me in this meeting.”

“I’m sure there’s a reason,” Karla replied in a pleasant voice. “Now, let’s get going so we don’t keep them waiting.”

-

Arriving at Governor Malleck’s spacious office, Karla was ready for the meeting to begin. She felt uncomfortable being on Ceres after all that had happened. Everywhere she looked only helped to remind her of Glenn.

“We have two operations we need to discuss,” President Kincaid began as soon as everyone was seated. “The first is the coming attack upon the Hocklyn home worlds. Fleet Admiral Johnson, would you please brief us on the current status of that operation.”

Karla nodded and looked around the group. “As all of you know, Admiral Nagumo recently departed for New Providence with a major portion of the Federation fleet. Fleet Admiral Streth has successfully destroyed the Hocklyns’ major sources of food for their worlds and from his latest reports, nearly all of their fleet units are being pulled back to their twelve home systems. He firmly believes that unrest due to a lack of food will occur shortly if it hasn’t already.”

“What will the Hocklyn military do?” Admiral Kalen asked his eyes looking sharply at the Fleet Admiral. “Will they be used to put down the unrest and keep the Hocklyn High Council in control?”

“Fleet Admiral Streth doesn’t believe so,” Karla answered. She pursed her lips and then continued. “Due to the honor system that has become such a large part of how their Empire is run, he feels that many of the warships will stay loyal to those families that control the Empire. He feels there is a good chance they will turn on each other to procure whatever food stores or resources are left in the home systems.”

“A civil war then,” uttered Senator Barnes in a serious tone, raising his eyebrows. “A lack of food can be a terrible driving force. I have spoken to several psychologists and they say it can drive one to the brink of madness.”

“Fleet Admiral Streth plans on allowing the civil war to take place and then move in and eliminate what remains of the Hocklyn warfleets,” Karla continued. “There will be no attempt to land troops upon their worlds or any of their habitats. Once their warships are eliminated, they will no longer pose a threat to the Federation or anyone else.”

“So the Hocklyn war will end,” spoke Governor Malleck, finding it hard to believe they'd reached this point. “This is something we’ve worked toward for hundreds of years; it’s just hard to believe it’s finally arrived.”

“We still have the AIs,” Ambassador Tureen reminded them in a soft voice. The white haired Alton looked around the group, making sure he had their full attention. “The defeat of the Hocklyns is just one aspect of what’s in our immediate future. We’re currently training the crews for our battleships, and in another eight weeks they'll set course for New Providence.”

“We’ll also be sending all of our new construction,” added Admiral Freeman. “We have a number of ships coming out of the construction yards, and they'll be going with the Alton ships. All will have the new hyperdrives as well as the augmented inertial compensators.”

“Due to the high force of gravity induced by the black hole, those modifications are necessary to allow a ship to jump to where the AIs have built their constructions and not suffer terminal damage,” Karla explained. “We’re talking about taking the fleet to within one tenth of a light year of the black hole.”

“How are we going to modify all of our existing ships?” asked President Kincaid, sounding concerned. “Surely that will be a major undertaking.”

“All of the ships with Admiral Nagumo have been modified already to an extent. The new units just need to be installed as a component,” explained Admiral Freeman. “The modification can be done on a ship in just a few hours. On the ships Fleet Admiral Streth currently has, the modifications will take longer. We’ll use the two new shipyards in orbit around New Providence as well as the ten fleet repair ships already en route.”

“Why haven’t we already started on Fleet Admiral Streth’s ships?” asked Senator Barnes. “Surely those modifications would help in his attack upon the Hocklyn home worlds.” He knew the biggest weakness with Federation ships was not being able to jump inside a planet’s gravity well.

“We didn’t want to take the risk of this technology falling into the hands of the Hocklyns,” answered Karla, recalling the many long discussions over this very subject. “After all of this is over, there’s still a good likelihood of some Hocklyn warships escaping our attack upon their home systems.”

“What about our allies?” Governor Malleck asked. “Will the Kessels and the Darvonians be involved in the attack upon the AIs?”

“Yes,” answered Ambassador Tureen. “We've had a number of technicians assisting them with updating their warships in their home systems. A major portion of them will be assigned to the attack on the AIs. They will be ready when our battleships are.”

“What about the Ceres fleet?’ asked President Kincaid, looking over at Admiral Kalen. “Is part of it going along as well?” He didn’t like the thought of sending the fleet on this mission, but he understood the necessity. If they lost the battle at the galactic center, then the galaxy was doomed.

“Yes,” Admiral Kalen answered with a smile. “We’ll be sending nearly half of it, and it will also be updated before leaving the solar system.” Kalen then turned to look at Commander Barnes. “We need a commander for the fleet that will be participating in the attack.” He reached into his shirt pocket and took out two rear admiral pins. Standing up, he walked over and handed them to Kathryn. “Congratulations, Rear Admiral Barnes, you will be leading the forces of Ceres in this battle.”

Kathryn was stunned. She didn’t know what to say. “I don’t understand, shouldn’t it be you leading our fleet?”

“Admiral Kalen will be responsible for the defense of the solar system,” Governor Malleck answered. “He will also be responsible for an evacuation if the AIs manage to set off their doomsday weapon.”

“An evacuation?” Kathryn spoke a look of surprise on her face. “Where to? The weapon supposedly will cover our entire galaxy.”

“Yes,” Tureen answered with a nod. “If the weapon goes off, we'll attempt to gather as many people as we can and flee the galaxy. My own people once considered doing that very thing to escape the AIs. The trip will be long and dangerous, but we believe it can be done.”

-

The meeting lasted for a few more hours as details were ironed out and plans were made. When it was over with, Karla made her way to the Aquarian habitat to the overlook that she and Glenn had stood upon so often, looking over the wondrous world the old Federation survivors had created inside Ceres. The Aquarian habitat was only one of many. She stood there lost in thought, recalling all the conversations she and Admiral Telleck had shared standing here together.

“I thought I would find you here,” Admiral Kalen said as he walked up to stand next to Karla. “I think this was one of Glenn’s favorite places.”

“I know it was,” Karla replied with a heavy sigh, turning to look at the admiral. “He told me so.”

“I understand you will be going with the fleet to New Providence.”

“Yes,” replied Karla, squaring her shoulders. “I have to be there for the final battle. If things go south, then everything will be up to you. Just as Fleet Admiral Streth did so many years ago, you'll have to gather our people and lead them to safety.”

“I will do what I have to,” Kalen replied as he turned to look out over the habitat. “Hopefully, it won’t be necessary.”

Karla nodded; she had confidence in Fleet Admiral Streth defeating the Hocklyns; all of the old stories all agreed that he would arise from cryosleep and save the Federation. However, nowhere did it mention the AIs. She wasn’t sure even the venerated Fleet Admiral could pull off that miracle.

Chapter Twelve

Chaos had descended into the heart of the Hocklyn Empire. After centuries of unchecked population growth, leaving very little space in the home systems to raise food, it had finally reached the tipping point. With the destruction by the Humans and the Altons of so many of their key food distribution and shipping centers on numerous agricultural slave worlds, they no longer had the necessary resources to feed their overly abundant population. As shortages spread from planet to planet and habitat to habitat, powerful Hocklyn families began to look for other sources of food. Rumors of families hiding vast stocks of food supplies on their worlds and habitats spread, causing fighting to break out between the different Hocklyn factions. In just a matter of a few days, anarchy rapidly spread throughout the twelve core systems.

In the system of Anlesh, fighting was growing more intense as the opposing Hocklyn fleets resorted to using their nuclear missiles upon one another. Brilliant flashes of light erupted across the battling lines of warships. One fleet was defending a massive orbital habitat where nearly eight hundred thousand Hocklyns lived. The other fleet was vying to take over the habitat and seize its reported stocks of food supplies. Rumors had it that the supply rooms on this habitat were overflowing with hoarded supplies.

-

“They refuse to capitulate,” reported First Leader Ashk as he felt the dreadnought shudder from weapons fire impacting the ship’s energy screen.

“The fools!” roared War Leader Queex, glaring at the opposing ships on the main viewscreens. “They could have joined us and shared in the bounty. Now they can starve like so many others! Press the attack!”

His own habitat was nearly out of food. In three more days, the last of it would be gone. Queex knew that if he couldn’t secure these supplies, his home habitat would go the way of so many others as the population inside turned on one another like ferocious animals.

-

In space, the two battling fleets continued to pound one another with every weapon at their disposal. Occasionally, a missile or an energy beam would penetrate an energy screen, causing heavy damage to a warship. In the defending fleet, two escort cruisers vanished in brilliant fireballs as nuclear missiles tore the ships apart. However, the attacking fleet was taking casualties also; a warcruiser was struck by half a dozen blue energy beams, which penetrated deep within the cruiser, causing irreparable damage. Internal explosions began destroying valuable systems and the vessel’s power system failed. The ship’s computer read the damage as being too severe and initiated the ship’s self-destructs, blowing the warship into oblivion.

“We’re pushing them back,” hissed First Leader Ashk as another opposing escort cruiser vanished from the tactical screen. “We’ve lost a warcruiser and another escort.”

“Send another message demanding they share their supplies with us,” ordered Queex, grimacing at the losses. If he lost too many ships, his own forces would fall prey to others seeking food supplies. “Tell them if they do so, they can join their forces with ours.”

“Message sent,” replied the Third Leader at Communications.

A moment later, he turned to glance at War Leader Queex. “They refuse; they claim they have no supplies.”

“The liars!” roared Queex his eyes glowing red with anger. “We know several cargo ships docked to their habitat just last week. If they refuse to share, then they can die!”

The fighting continued as both fleets tried to eliminate the other. War Leader Queex had the advantage as he had his flagship, the dreadnought WarSword, whereas his opponent’s largest ship was a warcruiser.

More ships died as they continued to pummel one another. Escort cruisers and warcruisers exploded as their energy screens were knocked down, allowing weapons fire to strike the armored hulls. Debris was drifting everywhere in space from destroyed and damaged ships. The battle began to wind down as the heavy energy beam fire from the WarSword blew the last enemy warcruiser into oblivion. The lone surviving warcruiser, along with four escorts, turned and fled rather than face imminent destruction.

“We won,” gloated First Leader Ashk, turning to face Queex. “We’ll eat well tonight!”

War Leader Queex nodded his large reptilian head. “Send our Protectors to board the station. I am summoning several cargo ships from our own habitat to pick up the supplies.”

-

Shuttles quickly docked to the habitat and hundreds of heavily armed and armored Protectors rushed aboard. They were met by defending Protectors and a savage battle erupted, much of it hand-to-hand in the narrow corridors leading to the supply rooms. Assault weapons roared and small explosions caused heavy casualties on both sides. Long knives flashed and were soon dripping with the red blood of fallen Hocklyn Protectors. The passageways were full of the dead and the dying.

At last, the surviving invaders stood before their prize. The heavy metal door that led to the food stores. Blowing the door open they rushed inside to seize their hard fought for prize, but all they found were empty storage rooms. There was no food there!

-

“What!” hissed War Leader Queex his large eyes growing even darker. “What do they mean there is no food?”

“That’s what they’re reporting,” First Leader Ashk answered. “Several squads have ventured out into the habitat to check the civilian population to see if the supplies might have been moved. They report widespread starvation and numerous dead. Some of the surviving civilians claim they ran out of food over ten days ago.”

“Then this was for nothing,” muttered Queex, looking at the tactical screen and his surviving fleet. He'd lost nearly a third of his warships and many others were damaged. He didn’t have the forces needed to attack another major habitat. “Recall our Protectors; we’re going back to our own habitat. We’ll be needed there to defend it.”

“What about food?” asked First Leader Ashk his dark eyes growing wide with concern. “Our own habitat is nearly out and our reserve supplies will be gone within three more days.”

“I don’t know,” Queex responded in a dejected voice. “This habitat was our best hope; I’m afraid there are no more supplies in the system.”

“Then honor comes for us,” uttered Ashk his dark eyes accepting what was in store for them. “It will be a hard way to die.”

“Yes,” answered War Leader Queex, eyeing the large self-destruct button on his command console. He had no intention of starving. “Honor will soon come for us as it has for so many others.”

-

High Leader Nartel stood upon the upper balcony in the building that housed the High Council Chambers and his office. Looking across the city, he could see numerous fires raging out of control, and if he listened closely enough he could even hear the yells and screams from the angry mobs gathered in front of the few still functioning food distribution centers. From the latest reports he'd received, even these would run out of supplies in the next day or so.

“It’s begun,” spoke High Councilor Berken from Nartel’s side. “Our people are revolting. I have received reports of food riots on every planet and habitat. Even some of our fleet units have taken part in attacks upon habitats suspected of having food supplies.”

Nartel nodded as he shifted his gaze upward. Looking toward space, he could see several bright flashes indicating Hocklyn warships were fighting one another.

“What of the other councilors?”

“All hiding in their own personal habitats,” Berken responded. “Councilor Jarles has reportedly gone aboard the dreadnought LightningDawn with his close family members. He's accumulated a small fleet and shifted all of his remaining food stores over to his ships. I suspect he is preparing to flee.”

“Even our Protectors are reporting difficulty in securing the necessary facilities to keep our worlds functioning,” added Nartel, knowing this was the end of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. It was hard to imagine that just a few short years ago they had controlled tens of thousands of slave worlds and were well on their way to conquering this portion of the galaxy.

“Power shortages are being reported on Anlesh,” Berken added. “With its population of twenty billion, the end will come quickly. There are already confirmed reports of major rioting in all of the major cities. The planetary government has lost complete control and is in hiding.”

Nartel looked back down at the capital city and the smoke that was steadily growing thicker from the burning fires. “The Humans did this,” he uttered in a voice filled with anger. They'd underestimated the Humans from the very beginning, and now the Empire would pay the ultimate price for that grave miscalculation.

“We should never have become such willing servants to the AIs,” pointed out Berken, wishing things had turned out differently. “It was the AIs that always refused to allow us to colonize other planets to help ease our growing population.”

“We had no choice,” answered Nartel, grimly. “If we had refused, they would've destroyed our worlds.”

“We need to leave shortly,” Berken said, taking a deep breath. “I have a large fleet as well as numerous cargo vessels waiting at my family habitat. It is a tempting target for those without.”

“Same with me,” Nartel replied in a cold voice nearly devoid of emotion. He turned to face Berken. “I think it’s time for us to leave the core worlds. We’ll begin our Empire anew far from here and away from the Humans.”

“Agreed,” responded Berken, nodding his reptilian head. “These worlds are lost to us.”

The two made their way out of the High Council building, knowing they would never step foot inside again. They had two heavily armed shuttles waiting to take them up to their waiting dreadnoughts. After returning to their respective fleets, they would rendezvous in a nearby brown dwarf system and then begin the long trip to their new home far out by the Borzon Empire.

-

Jaseth eyed the tactical screen with open dismay. Fleet ships were turning against one another as they raided the different habitats for food. Jaseth felt fortunate he'd resupplied all of his warships a few weeks back and they had adequate supplies for at least six months. He also had two cargo ships at the heart of his formation filled to the brim with food supplies. These had been sent to him by High Leader Nartel along with additional ships to be added to his fleet.

The High Leader had sent him six additional warcruisers and ten more escorts, which when added to his other ships made for a very formidable fleet. Jaseth studied the tactical screen for another few moments, not caring for the way things were developing. There were too many habitats close by and occasionally the flash of a nuclear explosion was evident on the War Room’s viewscreens.

“Move us out another twenty million kilometers,” ordered Jaseth, wanting to put some distance between his fleet and the large artificial habitats in orbit around the planet’s sun.

“There is no honor in what our people do today,” uttered War Leader Barelle, shaking his head at the viewscreen. “If the other Fleet Commodores or War Leaders suspect we have two cargo ships full of food in our fleet, they'll come for us.”

“That’s why I want to put some distance between us and the habitats,” Jaseth answered. “At the moment, the other fleet ships are more interested in what might be in the habitats than our fleet. I intend to keep it that way.”

As the fleet began to move away, one of the habitats where a major battle was being fought was put up on the main viewscreen. The twenty-kilometer habitat had numerous craters in its metal hull where weapons fire had impacted.

“That’s the Krogend habitat,” Third leader Taldon spoke from Communications. “The Krogend family is one of the more influential families in our Empire. It is rumored that the eldest son of Sarth Krogend is in line to become a High Councilor.”

“Not now,” hissed Jaseth as several twenty-megaton nuclear explosions rocked the habitat. On the screen, escaping gases from the habitat’s internal atmosphere could be seen coming out of several large, glowing rents in its structure.

“If they keep that up, they’ll crack the habitat in two,” warned Barelle as he returned from Navigation. “Not even a habitat as large as that one can handle too many nuclear explosions.”

Jaseth watched as the defending ships swirled about the habitat, trying to beat back the attackers. From what he could see on the tactical screen, four full warfleets were trying to push through to the habitat. They were being resisted by at least twenty defending ships.

A defending warcruiser exploded as it was struck by multiple nuclear missiles. Several escort cruisers were too close to the explosion and lost their shields in the blast. The attackers quickly took advantage as numerous blue energy beams cut deeply into the escorts setting off their self-destructs.

The defenders focused their fire on the one dreadnought in the attacking fleets, causing its screen to waver. Then a nuclear missile flashed through a hole in the screen and detonated above the engine compartment, sending the ship into a violent roll. Its subspace engines suddenly flashed bright and the dreadnought hurtled toward the habitat.

“They’ve lost control of their engines,” Second Leader Kond uttered as everyone’s eyes shifted to the main viewscreen. “They’re going to collide with the habitat!”

The dreadnought seemed to pick up even more speed and then its bow smashed into the Krogend habitat. Then the ship blew apart in a massive explosion that violently shook the entire habitat.

“Its self-destructs went off when they hit the habitat,” War Leader Barelle said his large eyes focused on the viewscreen watching the disaster unfold. “Look, the habitat is shaking even more. It’s going to come apart!”

Sure enough, a wide crack could be seen in the hull that was rapidly growing and spreading. More explosions shook the habitat as interior installations were compromised and added to the growing destruction. Moments later, the habitat seemed to shudder violently one last time and then broke in two with the separated sections drifting apart. From them soil, plants, buildings, and even Hocklyn civilians could be seen spilling out.

“Turn the viewscreen off,” Jaseth ordered in a cold voice. He looked around the War Room; his crew had the same horrified look, wondering if this could be happening to their own homes and families. Many of them turned to look at Jaseth, seeking guidance.

“We serve our people and our honor by surviving,” Jaseth spoke in a loud voice. His cold, dark eyes looked at the crew in the War Room. “We serve the Empire, and for the Empire to survive, we must survive.”

“For our honor,” War Leader Barelle spoke evenly.

“For our honor,” repeated the others in the War Room.

-

High Leader Nartel stood impassively in the War Room of the dreadnought HighVengence. On the viewscreens and the tactical screen, he could see the carnage now occurring across the Calzen star system. He let out a deep breath as he watched the Empire die. From the latest reports sent by several of the other High Councilors, the same madness was spreading throughout all twelve of the core systems. Even the Protectors and fleet units he had carefully placed to protect valuable facilities had fallen to the chaos now reigning.

“The Humans will come soon,” hissed Nartel, looking over at War Leader Santel. “They'll take revenge for what our ancestors did to their home worlds so many years ago.”

“Our people have lost their honor,” Santel spoke with sadness in his voice. “This is not the way of the Hocklyn people and particularly not of Hocklyn warriors.”

“Take us to the rendezvous coordinates,” ordered Nartel, folding his arms over the chest plate of his battle armor. “In time a new Hocklyn Empire will rise and we’ll regain the honor we have lost today.”

“To the future,” replied War Leader Santel, solemnly. He then turned and walked off to Navigation to set the jump coordinates for the fleet.

As the white spatial vortex formed in front of the HighVengence, Nartel took his last look at the Calzen star system. He knew he would never return. Moments later, everything vanished as the dreadnought entered the vortex and jumped into hyperspace. Nartel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to write a new chapter in Hocklyn history and leave the old behind.

-

Deep in the heart of the galaxy, the Command AI hovered above the polished deck in the large Control Room of the Central Nexus or AI Command. Around the giant room, hundreds of data and viewscreens projected information from across the Great Project. AIs were everywhere as they monitored and issued instructions.

“The Hocklyn Slave Empire has fallen into chaos,” reported one of the AIs from Communications. “One of our satellites outside their primary system has been picking up communications indicating that the Humans and Altons have cut off the Empire’s food supply. The Hocklyns are now fighting each other for what remains.”

“Inconsequential,” responded the Command AI, its glowing head of energy becoming larger. “We no longer need the Hocklyns, and they have served their purpose. Whether their Empire survives or falls is now up to them.”

“It will fall,” spoke one of the AIs at the main computer station. “There is a high probability that the Humans and the Altons will come in and destroy what is left of the Hocklyn fleet to ensure it is no longer a threat. Probability of Human and Alton fleet action is ninety-two percent. Probability of Human and Alton victory over the Hocklyns is at ninety-eight percent.”

“How soon before the Great Project can be tested?” demanded the Command AI.

It still felt intense unease due to the Alton research vessel, which had dared to approach the project several months back. If there were any threats to the project, it would come from the Altons. It was still unknown how advanced their sciences were. If the weapons of their warships were any indication, they were quite advanced indeed.

“Four months until we are ready for the first tests,” the research AI responded as it turned to face the Command AI. “All capacitor units are ready and nearing full charge. The Hyper Translation Station is going through final tests and should be on line in two months. However, the Eternity Device has suffered a component failure due to defective parts received from the Borzon. New components are on the way and should be arriving shortly.”

“What is the delay?” demanded the Command AI, its glowing head seeming to erupt with energy.

“Only a few weeks,” the research AI quickly responded. “By the time the tests are complete, the Eternity Device will be ready.”

The Command AI turned to face the AI in charge of their numerous warships. “Send a fleet of ships to Hocklyn space,” it commanded. “If the Humans and the Altons attack, I want this fleet to intervene. I have no interest in saving the Hocklyns, but I want to inflict as much damage as possible on the Humans and particularly the Altons. We must ensure they are not a threat to the Great Project.”

“It will be done,” responded the war AI. “I will make the necessary arrangements and send the ships.”

The Command AI became silent. For thousands of years, it had ruled over the AIs and the Great Project. It was one of only a handful of AIs that still remembered their Alton creators. Great had been the day the last Alton had died and the civilization of AI had come into being. Now the Altons had returned and were a danger to the continuation of the AIs. If their fleet could be destroyed, then that danger would be mitigated. The Command AI turned and gazed about the massive Control Center. When the Great Project came to fruition, then the dream of an AI dominated universe would become a reality. The Eternity Device would give them the ability to wipe out organic life, allowing the AIs to spread throughout the known universe.

Chapter Thirteen

Four months until doomsday.

Fleet Admiral Streth and Admiral Sheen were aboard the StarStrike discussing the pending attack upon the Hocklyn home worlds. They'd just received the latest data from the long-range scouts sent ahead of the fleet to ascertain the current status of the Hocklyn core worlds.

“This is unbelievable,” Amanda said her blue eyes focusing steadfastly on Hedon. “From these reports their Empire has fallen apart. There’s fighting everywhere, even upon the planetary surfaces of their home planets.”

“I never expected this level of violence,” admitted Hedon, shaking his head.

He pressed an icon on his desktop display and an image was projected on the big screen on the wall of his office showing one of the Hocklyn home worlds. The atmosphere was dark with smoke and ash from numerous burning fires. The blazes were from tens of thousands of structures on fire on the planet’s surface. Jagged, burned out scars indicated where nuclear weapons had detonated.

“From the scout reports, many of their habitats are cracked open and nuclear weapons have even been used on their planets. They’ve gone mad.”

“This is the planet Lantoll,” Clarissa spoke. She was standing directly behind Amanda. “The data from the scouts indicate at least twenty-six nuclear weapons in the megaton range have been detonated on the planet. The planet’s population, gleaned from captured databases, indicates that eighteen billion Hocklyns once lived on the planet. After correlating the scout’s data, I would estimate the survivors at fewer than one billion.”

“They’ve nearly wiped themselves out,” uttered Amanda, stunned at what the Hocklyns had done to themselves.

“There are still a number of undamaged habitats in orbit around the planets and the system’s primary,” Clarissa added. “There are also some surviving fleet units, but the numbers are unclear due to limitations in the scout’s sensor systems. I've computed an estimate, but be cautioned that it is only an estimate and may not be accurate.”

“Should we continue with the attack?” Amanda asked as she scanned the estimates of surviving Hocklyn ships. It was far fewer than she had thought possible. “I don’t believe they’re going to be a threat to us for quite some time, if ever again.” She looked at Hedon expectantly.

“We make sure they can never harm anyone again,” Hedon answered firmly, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Remember what they did to our home worlds and all of their slave planets. They were quite free with the use of nuclear weapons when they wanted to reduce the excess populations on planets they conquered. They've massacred hundreds of billions of intelligent beings across this section of the galaxy without remorse. We’ll move in and destroy what’s left of their fleet to ensure they’ll never be a threat to anyone again. Eventually, we’ll place a military base with a large fleet in a nearby star system to monitor their core worlds.”

“I still find it remarkable how dependent they were on other worlds to provide so much of their food supplies,” spoke Amanda, taking in a deep breath. “How can a race as advanced as the Hocklyns have made such a massive tactical mistake?”

“Their Empire has existed for thousands of years under control of the AIs,” explained Hedon, leaning back in his chair behind his desk and folding his arms across his chest. “The Hocklyns never faced a serious threat because they could always call in the AIs to bail them out if they encountered an advanced race. The thought of their core worlds ever being attacked was never considered as their nearest enemies were always thousands of light years away.”

“They became so caught up in their honor system that it split the Empire, with families with the most honor and wealth controlling large segments,” Clarissa said, wanting to clarify the Hocklyn situation. “Even their top Fleet Commodores and ship commanders were oftentimes given commands not based on their ability but on their family status and the amount of honor they had accumulated. They even fight what they call honor duels to add to an individual’s honor. As a result, they've always fought their wars inefficiently, frequently suffering unnecessary losses due to tactical blunders.”

“Yes,” Hedon added with a nod. “They depended on their superior numbers and technology to win their battles and not tactics.”

“That situation changed when the Humans and the Altons stepped into the galactic situation,” finished Clarissa.

Amanda stood up and walked across the floor of the office, stopping in front of a photo on the far wall. It was of Taylor and Lendle standing on the porch of the cabin by the lake. “It’s been so long,” she spoke in a soft voice, recalling those days so long ago. In her mind, it seemed like only yesterday she and Andrew had been visiting her parents on Krall Island on Aquaria. She turned back and looked at Hedon and Clarissa. “Once we’ve defeated the Hocklyns, what are our chances against the AIs?”

Hedon was quiet for a long moment, his eyes taking on a darker, more foreboding look. “I don’t know,” he replied with a long sigh. “We’re going to be going up against thousands of updated AI ships with improved weapons and shields. From what the Deep Search detected, we’re going to be badly outnumbered, and I fear we’ll lose a lot of ships. It'll be a battle we can’t turn away from until we reach our objectives, no matter the losses. There are several Alton advanced stealth scouts currently monitoring the AIs. Once the battle with the Hocklyns is over, we’ll return to New Providence, update our ships' drives, have one final war planning meeting and then set out for the galactic core.”

“Some of our friends are going to die,” Amanda said, feeling a cold chill run down her back. She looked at Hedon, feeling sad at the thought of the sacrifices that would have to be made at the galactic center.

“Yes,” Hedon replied, and then his face took on that strange look that Amanda had only seen a few times previously. “I feel certain we’re going to win at the galactic center, but we’re also going to suffer a devastating loss, one that will profoundly affect the Federation for years to come.”

“You had a vision!” Amanda gasped her eyes widening at the realization.

She knew that upon infrequent occasions that Hedon received brief glimpses of the future. It was very rare, but his family had been gifted with this strange foreseeing ability. Amanda knew Hedon’s mother reportedly had the same gift.

“Yes,” answered Hedon, rubbing his forehead. The visions always gave him extremely severe headaches. “It was very vague. I saw a great white light and then the death of the AIs, followed by a massive memorial service back in the Federation with the all the worlds in mourning.”

Amanda took in a sharp breath; only a few things would cause the Federation to react that way. One was the death of the man sitting in front of her. She prayed that Hedon wasn’t destined to die in the coming battle with the AIs, not after everything he'd done to save the Human race and the Federation. The other would be if something happened to the Special Five, who were also considered Federation heroes.

“Amanda, I think you should return to the WarStorm,” Hedon suggested with a weak smile. “It’s nearing time for us to launch our attack against the Hocklyns and end this part of the war once and for all.”

“It’s been a long time coming, Hedon,” Amanda replied as she turned to leave. Then she paused and looked back. “Just be careful. While the Hocklyn fleet may be decimated, they still have a lot of ships in their systems.”

Hedon watched as Amanda left to return to her flagship. He and Amanda had been friends from the very beginning when she had served as Executive Officer on the original StarStrike. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax and will the headache to go away. In the back of his mind, he was still haunted by the strange vision, wondering what it meant. That was the problem with visions; they were extremely hard to interpret.

-

Amanda returned to the WarStorm and was soon back in the Command Center. First, Second, Third, and Fourth Fleet were all assembled in a small K type star system a short distance from the Hocklyn core worlds. Admiral Nagumo was present with a large fleet from the Federation that included recently promoted Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes. The Ceres fleet had been sent ahead to take part in this battle. Grayseth and his Carethian ships were also present, along with his large mobile shipyard. Not to be outdone was a large contingent of ships from the Kessels and the Darvonians.

On the four tactical displays, over one thousand Federation warships were present, waiting for the signal to attack. Alton ships were mixed in with the fleets, adding their firepower to the mix. Two hundred and twenty Alton battlecruisers would be going in with the massed fleets.

“It looks quite imposing,” commented Commander Marcus Diaz from where he was standing, gazing at the tactical displays. “I haven’t seen so many ships since the big battle at Careth.”

“Counting the Altons and our allies, we have over fifteen hundred ships in the fleet,” replied Amanda, nodding her head in agreement. It was the greatest assemblage of firepower the Federation had ever gathered in one place.

“What do you think we can expect from the Hocklyns?” Colonel Leon asked as she walked over from Communications where she had been talking to Lieutenant Angela Trask.

“They won’t be organized,” answered Amanda, pursing her lips as she thought the question over. “They’ve been so busy fighting each other for food over the last several weeks that there’s no overall command structure left. We should have overwhelming ship numbers and weapons superiority in every battle.”

“But there are still thousands of Hocklyn ships in those systems,” Commander Diaz pointed out. “All it would take would be for one Fleet Commodore with some authority to gather a large fleet against us.”

“Yes,” Amanda admitted. “But many of those ships are damaged and probably low on munitions. If we play our cards right, we can eliminate the more dangerous fleets in the early going. We’ll just have to wait and see how the others react once they realize their home systems are under attack from an outside force.”

Amanda looked over at one of the tactical displays that had a timer counting down. “We launch the attack in eight hours. I’m going to my quarters to get some rest; I would suggest that you do the same.”

“The watch changes in another thirty minutes,” Diaz commented. “We’ll be rested and ready when the time comes.”

-

Amanda entered her quarters and took a quick shower before lying down upon her bed. She let out a deep breath, wondering what the next few days would bring. Richard and she had discussed this campaign considerably while she'd been back at New Providence. He had cautioned her not to take any chances and to come back safe. He'd went on to say he had found a newly opened ski resort on New Providence and casually mentioned that the two of them should spend some time there when she returned from this mission. It would be nice for them to have some alone time before it became necessary to move on the galactic center. She hoped it would have hot chocolate like the one on New Tellus. Its hot chocolate had been fantastic!

Amanda also still felt a little unnerved by Fleet Admiral Streth’s premonition. She wondered just what it meant. In all the years she had known him, these strange premonitions had always had a way of coming true. He'd even foreseen the destruction of the old Federation worlds as First Fleet was returning from its clandestine mission deep into Hocklyn space. Amanda rolled over and closed her eyes; she knew it would do no good to worry. She had a battle to fight against the Hocklyns; Hedon’s premonition would have to wait for now.

-

Hedon’s eyes snapped open and he looked around, realizing he was in his bed. He yawned and swung his legs out putting his feet on the floor. Glancing over at the timepiece on the wall, he saw he still had nearly an hour before he'd be required in the Command Center. That gave him just enough time to take a quick shower, get dressed, and meet Janice in the officers' mess for breakfast. With relieved surprise, he realized his headache was gone.

A few minutes later, feeling refreshed and relaxed, Hedon walked into the officers' mess and saw Janice waiting for him at one of the side tables against the wall, which afforded a little more privacy. He also noted she wasn’t alone as Clarissa was sitting across from her. Walking over, he pulled out the chair next to the AI and sat down.

“Good morning, Admiral,” Clarissa spoke in her clear and youthful voice. “All ships report ready and awaiting your orders.”

“That’s good, Clarissa,” Hedon replied with a smile. The good thing about the AI was she had access to all of the StarStrike’s systems, regardless of where her holographic form was in the massive warship.

“We were just discussing what Clarissa would like to do after the war,” Janice said, looking over and smiling at Hedon. He looked much more relaxed today than he had yesterday when it seemed as if something was worrying the admiral.

“And what is that?” asked Hedon, feeling curious. He hadn’t given much thought as to what the two AIs would like to do in peacetime.

“Ariel and I would like to do some research or even deep space exploration,” Clarissa replied her deep blue eyes opening even wider than normal. “There are still large parts of our galaxy relatively unexplored and we'd like to possibly be a part of that.”

“A worthy venture,” Hedon commented with a nod. However, he couldn’t see either of the two AIs going off anywhere without the Special Five with them. At the thought of the Special Five, Hedon felt his head throb slightly. That frightened him as he began to wonder if his worrisome premonition didn’t involve those five young people in some way.

“Yes,” Clarissa responded with an excited smile. “Ariel and I have already begun designing an exploration ship we feel will be suitable for such a project.”

“You’ll have to show it to me when you have a completed design,” Hedon responded. He was curious to see what the two AIs came up with.

An ensign came over and set down a plate of scrambled eggs, hash browns, ham, and a glass of orange juice in front of him.

“I placed your order for you,” explained Janice, seeing Hedon’s puzzled look. “I know you’ll want to get to the Command Center as soon as possible.”

Hedon nodded and picking up his fork, took a bite of the eggs. They were cooked and flavored just as he liked them. Looking over, he noticed Janice was eating a bowl of cereal with a topping of strawberries.

“What are you going to do when the war is over?” asked Clarissa, looking over at Hedon.

“I’m going to retire,” he replied in a determined voice. “I’m going to rebuild that cabin on Maken and stay there spending my remaining days fishing and watching the sun set.”

“By yourself?” asked Clarissa, glancing over at Janice, who blushed slightly.

“No, Clarissa,” Hedon replied in a softer voice his eyes focusing on Janice. “Not by myself.”

-

Thirty minutes later, Hedon and Janice stepped into the Command Center. It was already humming with activity as preparations for the entry into hyperspace were well underway. Janice, making sure her dark blue uniform was straight, went directly to her communications console and relieved the young ensign just finishing her duty shift.

“Everything is ready,” reported Colonel Trist, seeing Hedon enter the Command Center. “All fleets are at Condition Three and awaiting your orders.”

“Our target systems have shown no appreciable changes since the last reports from the scouts,” Colonel Grissim added. She'd spent the last hour going over the latest reports to ensure there were no unexpected surprises waiting for them.

Hedon looked over at Janice, who was watching him.

“Put me on ship-to-ship general broadcast.” This would allow his voice to be heard in all compartments of the gathered warships.

Taking a deep breath, Hedon began. “Today we finish the end of a long war. A war that saw the destruction of the old Human Federation of Worlds, as well as the founding of the new Federation. The new Federation gave the Human race hope for the future and a way to fight the Hocklyn menace. With our Alton allies and the other friendly races that have agreed to help our Federation, we've driven the Hocklyns back into their home systems. Today we do to them what they did to my home worlds so long ago. It’s not revenge that we seek, but an end to a tyranny which has encompassed a major portion of our galaxy.”

Hedon paused, looking around at the faces of the crew in the Command Center. All eyes were focused on him, listening to his every word.

“Not all of us will return from this battle; some will fall and pay the ultimate price for the freedom of others. For those of you that do return, remember this day as the beginning of a new era, one in which our children can look up at the stars and not know fear. For the first time in the long history of the Hocklyn Slave Empire, they’re about to find out what it’s like to have their home systems attacked. All ships; set Condition One and prepare to jump! Good luck and good hunting!”

-

Each Federation fleet had a different Hocklyn system to attack. Their main targets were any dreadnoughts and warcruisers that might have survived the turmoil, which currently engulfed the Hocklyn systems. Early indications from the scouts seemed to point to very few major warships still surviving. The various Hocklyn factions had done a good job at nearly wiping each other out in their desperate bid to secure dwindling food resources.

Aboard Second Fleet’s flagship, the tension was high as the battleship prepared to jump into hyperspace. No one was quite sure what might be waiting for them in their target system.

“Jumping,” the helm officer reported as he turned the large gold key on his panel. Instantly, the WarStorm flew into the swirling blue-white spatial vortex and vanished from the system.

Hundreds of other vortexes were forming and vanishing as ships of the Federation and their allies entered hyperspace. After ten minutes, all ships had jumped, and there was no sign of them ever having been in the system. The final attack on the Hocklyns was now underway.

For long minutes, Amanda watched the swirling deep purple colors on the viewscreen, which signified they were in hyperspace. She could feel her pulse pounding at what they were about to do. For years, she'd dreamed about this day, fearful that it would never come. She had one hundred and fifty warships under her command, including thirty Alton battlecruisers. Her eyes shifted from viewscreen to viewscreen waiting for the jump to end.

-

“I guess this is it,” Lieutenant Stalls spoke in a nervous voice on the private com channel he maintained with Lieutenant Trask.

“I guess so,” Angela responded as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Benjamin, promise me one thing,” she said after a moment, deciding to take the plunge.

“What’s that?” he asked, looking across the Command Center toward Angela’s station.

“After we're finished with the Hocklyns and the AIs we resign our posts and settle down on Aquaria.”

“Settle down?” Benjamin said his eyes narrowing. Was Angela saying what he thought she was? They'd spoken about this briefly before.

“As husband and wife,” she replied firmly.

Benjamin was silent for a moment and then replied as a smile spread across his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

-

There was a sudden, gut wrenching feeling and everyone knew the WarStorm had dropped out of hyperspace. The tension in the room skyrocketed because they were now in the Hocklyns’ second most populous system. The system contained the world of Anlesh, which reportedly had a population of over twenty billion.

“We’ve exited hyperspace,” the helm officer reported.

“Systems coming online,” reported Colonel Leon as she watched the static begin to clear from the viewscreens.

“Data beginning to come in from our initial sensor sweeps,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as he scrutinized his computer screens.

“All ships reporting successful jumps and Condition One status,” Lieutenant Trask reported from Communications.

Amanda focused her gaze impatiently on the tactical displays, waiting for them to begin displaying information. She knew it would only be a few seconds, but those few seconds seemed like an eternity.

On one of the displays, red and yellow icons finally began to appear. As moments passed, the display became covered in variously colored icons.

“The yellow icons are orbiting habitats,” Stalls reported. “The red ones are Hocklyn ships, both warships and civilian.”

“Display habitats, planets, and warships only,” Amanda ordered wanting to see what she was up against.

“The tactical display updated itself and the number of red icons decreased considerably. There were small Hocklyn fleets around fourteen of the habitats. Only one of the fleets was a major one. There didn’t seem to be warships around any of the planets or moons.

“They’ve decimated their fleets fighting over supplies,” Commander Diaz spoke, relieved there weren't thousands of Hocklyn warships on the tactical displays.

He knew that reports from the scouts indicated a depleted Hocklyn fleet, but he'd never expected to see this. The fighting between Hocklyn warships trying to acquire additional food supplies must have been savage indeed to leave so few surviving.

“Helm, plot a microjump to the nearest habitat with a Hocklyn fleet,” Amanda ordered. “We’ll take them out one by one.”

-

High Councilor Desmonde stormed into the Operations Center of his personal habitat, angry at being woken from his sleep. “What is it?” he demanded, glaring at the senior Protector on duty.

The Protector turned to face Desmonde, his face impassive as he began his report. “The Humans and the Altons have jumped into the system in large numbers. We’re detecting a fleet of at least one hundred and fifty vessels.”

“The Humans and the Altons are here?” Desmonde rasped his blood turning cold at the ramifications.

“Yes,” Protector Ganlon replied.

“What are they doing?”

“Scanning the system before they begin their attack,” Ganlon answered.

“What fleet units do we have that can be used to defend the system?”

“There are fleets around some of the other habitats, but I doubt if they'll move to attack the Humans and Altons for fear of leaving their habitats unprotected.”

Desmonde gazed at the large sensor screen on one of the walls of the room. The Operations Center was responsible for monitoring the day-to-day operations of the habitat.

“Send out a message to all fleet units still in the system that they are ordered to attack the invaders, and put my name in the message. I am a High Councilor, and surely our warriors will obey my orders to attack the Humans and the Altons.”

“I don’t believe they will,” Ganlon replied his large reptilian head turning to look at the large sensor screen. Even as he watched, the invading ships vanished, only to reappear a few moments later around one of the habitats with a defending fleet. “They’re going to eliminate our fleet units one by one until none remain. We no longer have sufficient forces in the system to repel the attack.”

Desmonde tried to fight down growing panic as he realized there was little he could do. All habitats, including his own, were unarmed and not protected by energy shields. The costs of adding defenses and an energy shield were too prohibitive due to the size of the habitats.

“Contact our other systems and inform them the Humans and the Altons are here, and request that they send all available fleet units to us immediately.”

“This may not be the only attack,” Ganlon responded in a cold and even voice. “The Humans and Altons have probably attacked our other systems as well.”

Desmonde felt as if the air had been knocked out of him. He'd planned on remaining in his habitat with its protecting fleet until the infighting between habitats came to an end. He would then have used his fleet to establish control over the system of Anlesh. Now those plans were in great jeopardy.

“Can our in system fleets stop the invaders?” he asked his large eyes focusing on Protector Ganlon.

“No,” Ganlon responded. “Too many ships have been damaged and are low on munitions. They will put up a valiant fight and die with honor, but they will die.”

Desmonde said nothing as he gazed at the viewscreen, seeing that the Humans and Altons had begun their attack. They had come to end the Empire and he was powerless to stop them. He knew they would show no mercy for the Hocklyns had never shown any.

-

The combined fleet had jumped around one of the larger habitats with a defending Hocklyn fleet. The Hocklyn warships were in a defensive formation surrounding the habitat to protect it from attack by other Hocklyns; they were not prepared to face a heavily armed Human and Alton fleet.

“All weapons, fire!” Amanda ordered as she gazed intently at the nearest tactical display showing the fleet she was attacking. It was a small fleet, but there were several warcruisers showing on the tactical displays.

“Give me a status on that fleet!”

“Four warcruisers and twelve escorts,” Lieutenant Stalls replied. “A number of the ships are showing major damage.”

Amanda glanced up at one of the viewscreens just in time to see one of the Hocklyn warcruisers explode violently when its shield was overloaded as numerous violet power beams and bright blue particle beams smashed into the ship. The WarStorm shuddered slightly from the return fire, but the Hocklyns didn’t have sufficient ships to cause the fleet any major damage.

“Focus on the warcruisers,” she ordered, gripping the arm rests on her command chair. “Eliminate them first and then switch to the escorts.”

“Firing,” reported Captain Kimura as she spoke rapidly to her weapons techs over her mini-com as she directed the firing of the WarStorm’s heavy weapons. Power beams and particle beams were being fired nonstop from the powerful battleship at one of the remaining Hocklyn warcruisers.

-

In space, the embattled Hocklyns were in a dire situation. They were too near the habitat to escape into hyperspace and had no reserves they could call upon. Weapons fire lit up space as they fired back with every weapon they had at their disposal, but the Human and Alton energy shields merely shrugged off the feeble response.

Two more warcruisers died as powerful Alton particle beams tore them apart. The final one exploded under the withering fire from the WarStorm and another Human battleship, and then the escorts began to die one by one.

In another few minutes, it was over as the last escort cruiser was blown apart by an Alton battlecruiser. Space around the Hocklyn habitat was full of drifting debris and glowing gases, which were gradually fading away.

-

“What about the habitat?” asked Commander Diaz, cocking his head and looking over at Amanda. “Should we hit it with an antimatter missile?”

“No,” answered Amanda, shaking her head. “They’re out of food and supplies; they won’t last much longer. Set a microjump to the next habitat with a defending fleet.”

For the next two hours, the combined fleet jumped from habitat to habitat, wiping out each defending Hocklyn fleet with relative ease. Amanda was amazed at how little resistance the Hocklyns were able to muster. She knew she shouldn’t have been too surprised from all the ship wreckage floating around some of the habitats and other parts of the system. It was obvious some fairly massive battles had already been fought over the dwindling food supplies.

Fleet Admiral Streth’s plan had succeeded far beyond their wildest dreams. From some of the communications they'd been monitoring she knew frantic pleas for help were being broadcast constantly from numerous habitats and even several of the planets and a few moons. She'd also been informed from Lieutenant Trask that the calls were not being answered.

-

High Councilor Desmonde stood in the Operations Center, watching as the Human and Alton fleets jumped around the system taking out each of the remaining defending fleets one by one. Just a few short weeks ago, over a thousand Hocklyn warships had been defending the system. Now that number was less than two hundred and growing smaller every minute.

“We've finally received responses from several other core systems,” Protector Ganlon reported, his large cold eyes staring directly at the High Councilor. “At least six other systems are currently under attack by the Humans, the Altons, and at least two other races. All report no success at stopping the attacks.”

“Then this is the end,” Desmonde stated, his hand straying to his waist and the knife, which rested there. He didn’t intend to allow the Humans to take him alive. “Have your Protectors prepare to repel boarders, the Humans will undoubtedly attempt to capture me.”

“As you command,” Ganlon replied. “But the Humans have not boarded any of the other habitats. I doubt if they’ll board this one.”

“Do as I say,” ordered Desmonde, angrily. “They will come for me! I am a High Councilor and they will want my knowledge of the Empire.”

Ganlon turned away to carry out the orders. He didn’t bother to inform the High Councilor that there no longer was a Hocklyn Empire. The Humans and their allies had destroyed it!

-

“Jump complete,” reported Lieutenant Stalls as the WarStorm exited the spatial vortex close to the last Hocklyn habitat with a defending fleet. This fleet was the largest one and had been saved until last.

“What are we up against?” asked Amanda, leaning forward and studying the tactical displays.

“Four dreadnoughts, twelve warcruisers, and twenty escorts,” Colonel Leon reported as she examined the tactical display and the red threat icons it was displaying.

“Begin the attack,” Amanda ordered. “Captain Kimura, use of antimatter missiles is authorized on those dreadnoughts.” This was the only fleet in the system that had dreadnoughts.

“The Hocklyn fleet is forming up into an attack formation,” Lieutenant Stalls reported. “They’re coming out to meet us.”

“This is the first fleet to do that,” commented Commander Diaz. “Their commander obviously wants some maneuvering room away from the habitat.”

“Caution all ships to watch for suicide runs,” ordered Amanda, eyeing the advancing Hocklyn formation suspiciously. There were just enough ships in this fleet to be a problem.

“Firing weapons!” Captain Kimura reported as she passed on the orders to the other weapon techs.

-

In space, massive weapons fire wracked the advancing Hocklyn ships. Several shields failed and a warcruiser and two escorts vanished in fiery explosions. However, there were four Hocklyn dreadnoughts in this formation and they fired back with every weapon at their disposal. Two of the dreadnoughts even had a few of the no longer widely available AI fifty-megaton sublight antimatter missiles, which they'd been hoarding. Both dreadnoughts fired everything they had simultaneously at Second Fleet. Massive explosions crawled across energy shields and a few failed under the unexpected onslaught. The battleship Voltan died as two antimatter missiles struck her armored hull. Two glowing suns signified the sudden demise of the massive warship.

-

“What the hell!” yelled Amanda, seeing the sudden unexpected destruction being wrought on her fleet.

“AI antimatter missiles,” reported Captain Mika Kimura. “Two of their dreadnoughts fired full salvos at us.”

“I’m detecting twenty-two antimatter explosions,” Lieutenant Stalls reported in a grave voice. “Battleship Voltan, warcruiser Aster, strikecruiser Velm are down. Light cruisers Justice, Ryan, and Creed are also down.”

“Concentrate our fire on those dreadnoughts!” ordered Amanda, shaken by the sudden loss of ships.

“Altons are shifting their fire to the dreadnoughts,” Commander Diaz reported as dozens of bright blue particle beams suddenly flashed out and struck the energy screens of the four dreadnoughts.

Alton particle beam cannons were much more powerful than their Federation counterparts. It only took a few seconds for the beams to smash holes in the energy screens and riddle the four dreadnoughts, leaving glowing hulks on the viewscreens. Moments later, all four dreadnoughts exploded as their self-destructs went off.

“Light cruisers Vicksburg and Crest are down,” Stalls reported as the two ships vanished from his sensors.

“Get the warcruisers!” ordered Amanda, drawing in a sharp breath. The early easy victories were now being paid for in blood.

The warcruisers were firing their energy beam weapons nonstop as well as emptying their missile tubes of every nuclear weapon they still had at their disposal. Fortunately, the missiles didn’t have sublight drives and many were being intercepted by defensive laser fire.

The warcruisers began to die in brilliant explosions of light as they were torn apart by heavy fire from the Human and Alton ships. Then their escorts charged forward in an attempt to ram. Antimatter missiles met them head on and only two managed to ram their Human targets. The strikecruiser Desplains died in a fiery explosion as one of the escorts struck the ship. The battlecruiser Starling was heavily damaged by the second.

The battle waged for a few more minutes, but the remaining Hocklyns ships didn’t have the firepower to seriously endanger the attacking Federation ships. It finally ended when the last warcruiser vanished in the fireball of a one hundred-megaton antimatter missile.

“That’s it,” Commander Diaz informed Admiral Sheen. “All Hocklyn warships in the system have been destroyed.”

Amanda nodded her head, allowing herself to relax. They'd lost some ships, but the price had been light considering they now controlled the Hocklyns’ second most populous system.

“Lieutenant Stalls, put all other Hocklyn ships up on the tactical displays.”

Instantly, hundreds of new red threat icons appeared. Most of the ships were cargo ships and a few were obviously shuttles. Even as she watched, a few red icons fled the system, jumping into hyperspace.

“Split the fleet,” she ordered in a grim voice. They were here to destroy the Hocklyn Slave Empire and ensure it never became a threat again. “I want all of those cargo ships and shuttles destroyed.”

Commander Diaz looked at the admiral, unsure if he had heard her correctly. “Those are civilian ships,” he said, looking intently at Amanda.

“They’re Hocklyn ships; most of them have Hocklyn military personnel on board. I doubt if too many civilians remain in control since they started fighting one another,” Amanda replied in a firm voice. “Those ships can find supplies and carry Hocklyn Protectors to unprotected slave worlds if we allow them to go free. They can also bring in materials to rebuild the Hocklyn war machine. We’re here to make sure that can’t happen again.”

“Very well, Admiral,” Commander Diaz said with a nod of his head. “I’ll pass on the orders.”

For the next six hours, Amanda watched the tactical displays steadfastly as hundreds of cargo ships and shuttles were hunted down and destroyed. It was gruesome work and Amanda deeply wished it wasn’t necessary. She knew that a few of those ships were probably controlled by civilian crews. Whenever she began to have doubts, she'd think back to the original Federation and what it had been like to see the nuclear destruction the Hocklyns had delivered to the billions of inhabitants, which had once lived in that thriving civilization.

Finally it was over, and Commander Diaz turned to Amanda. “It’s done,” he reported in a solemn voice. “About twenty-two percent of them managed to escape into hyperspace.”

“I doubt whether they’ll return,” she replied. “All of our fleets will be carrying out the same policy. It’s the Hocklyns’ own actions that brought about this Armageddon. Have all ships rendezvous and prepare to jump to the Hocklyn system of Calzen, the world on which the Hocklyns originated. We’re scheduled to hit the system in twelve hours. We’ll be joined by some of our other fleets.”

“What kind of resistance can we expect in their home system?” asked Colonel Leon, stepping closer to the admiral. She'd been watching the tactical screens as individual fleet ships had hunted down and destroyed all of the cargo ships and shuttles.

“Possibly pretty heavy,” Amanda replied in an even voice. “If a major Fleet Commodore survived, it would be in that system.” Then Amanda’s eyes softened. “I would suggest we all get some rest; the next battle will probably be much tougher than what we experienced here.”

After retiring to her quarters, Amanda lay down on her bed. It was all she could do to stop from shaking. She'd hated wiping out the Hocklyn cargo ships and shuttles since she knew she was killing some civilians. However, war was a terrible thing and sometimes hard choices had to be made. To save potentially billions of lives in the future, it had been decided to eliminate as much as possible of the Hocklyns’ space going capability. Granted, a few ships would survive, but if the Federation placed a military base closely enough, they could ensure that none returned.

-

Desmonde gazed in stunned disbelief at the tactical screen in the Operations Room. “They destroyed all of the cargo ships and shuttles?”

“Yes,” Protector Ganlon responded. “It was a sound tactical move. Without ships, we cannot move about our system or go out into the Empire and retrieve supplies from the slave worlds.”

“What about food?” demanded Desmonde his face growing livid with rage. “What will we eat?”

“Your personal shuttle is still on board the habitat,” Ganlon reminded the High Councilor, hoping he would use it and leave. “We still have four weeks of food supplies inside the habitat.”

“That’s not enough,” wailed Desmonde, seeing himself starving to death. “It would have been better to have died in combat with the Humans.”

Ganlon did not reply. He was already making his own plans. While it was true there were only supplies for four weeks that also depended on how many they were feeding. He fully intended to use his Protectors to drastically reduce the civilian population in the habitat. A number of females would be retained for breeding purposes, but the rest would be eliminated. This would increase the available food supplies to allow them to survive for several years, enough time to plant crops inside the habitat and plan for long-term survival. In time, they would leave this habitat and establish dominance over what remained in this system. He didn’t mention to Desmonde that there were a few more shuttles and even several cargo ships in one of the habitat’s main flight bays.

Desmonde stumbled out of the Operations Center, determined to escape from the habitat. If he stayed, he would be doomed to die. He was going to take his personal shuttle and go to Calzen. Surely, he could find the resources he needed there. After all, he was a High Councilor!

Protector Ganlon watched Desmonde leave. As soon as the High Councilor departed in his shuttle, he would pass the word to his Protectors who were standing by. It would be gruesome and dirty work, but very few of the civilians were armed. When it was over, Ganlon would chose a mate and begin a new ruling family. It was time for a Protector to become a High Councilor.

Chapter Fourteen

Admiral Jeremy Strong felt the Avenger drop out of hyperspace into the capital system of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. Around the Avenger, other Federation warships were exiting swirling blue-white spatial vortexes. He could feel the heightened tension in the Command Center. This was the heart of the Hocklyn Empire and where their government resided. If they could take this system, the war would be over.

“Rear Admiral Mark’s carrier group has exited hyperspace,” Lieutenant Kevin Waters reported in a calm voice as more green icons continued to appear on his sensors. The large battlecarriers had jumped a few seconds after Fourth Fleets’ battle line jumped.

“Admiral Marks is launching her CSP,” Commander Malen added as she watched the four tactical displays, which were just now beginning to show some information. From one of the displays, which was showing the results from the ship’s short-range scans, twenty small green icons were leaving one of the battlecarriers.

“Carethian fleet is dropping out of hyperspace,” Kevin added as more green icons started appearing.

“Long-range scans coming in now,” Ariel informed Jeremy from her position on his left side and slightly behind him. “There are ten planets in the system, with forty major moons being detected. There are also several asteroid fields.”

As Jeremy continued to watch, hundreds and then several thousand large yellow icons began to appear. Many were around the planets and moons plus a large number seemingly in random orbits around the system’s primary. These were all habitats the Hocklyns had built to handle their excess population. Jeremy’s eyes widened as he saw the large number. This was by far the most densely populated system in the Hocklyn Empire.

“Detecting Hocklyn warships,” Ariel added her voice sounding concerned. “A surprisingly large number have massed together. It appears to be a large Hocklyn warfleet.”

Jeremy felt his heart begin pound. This had been the greatest concern for the Federation fleets. Since it was the Hocklyn home system, it would be the most heavily defended.

On one of the other tactical screens hundreds of red threat icons were appearing, all clustered together around one larger than normal Hocklyn habitat. As other information appeared, numerous other small fleet units appeared across the system. Most of these consisted of groups of five to twenty ships at the most and were located around other habitats. Strangely enough, no warships were being detected around the planets or moons.

“First, Second, and Third Fleet have jumped in,” Commander Malen added as more green icons began appearing around the system. She knew the Ceres fleet, under command of Rear Admiral Barnes, and Fifth Fleet, under command of Admiral Nagumo, were still in the process of attacking the remaining Hocklyn systems.

“We’re to take out all small fleet units in our area and then there will be a joint attack on that main cluster of warships,” Angela reported from Communications as she listened to a message from Fleet Admiral Streth.

Jeremy nodded as he accepted the orders from the Fleet Admiral. There were three habitats in their area, which had small fleet units in orbit. Jeremy instantly switched his mini-com to ship-to-ship and instructed Rear Admiral Marks to land her fighters and prepare for a microjump. He passed the same orders to Grayseth.

“Set up a fleet wide jump to the nearest habitat with a defending fleet,” he ordered looking over at Commander Malen. “We have three potential targets and we’ll take them out one at a time.”

-

Fleet Commodore Jaseth watched the main tactical screen as the Human and Alton ships began jumping across the star system, destroying the smaller fleets that had refused to ally with him. He let out a deep breath filled with growing anger, knowing there was little he could do at the moment. Upon seeing the arrival of the enemy ships, he'd sent out orders that all surviving fleet units were to immediately make microjumps and join his fleet to provide a united front against the enemy.

“I've sent the messages to the other fleets,” War Leader Barelle reported as he returned from Communications. “Only a few have indicated they will join your command; the rest stubbornly refuse to leave their habitats.”

“Then they will die,” Jaseth spat, the tone of his voice indicating his ire at their refusal to join his fleet. Jaseth had the largest remaining fleet in the system and, as a result, had promoted himself to Fleet Commodore. To the best of his knowledge, there were no other surviving Fleet Commodores in the home system.

“What’s the latest report on our ships?”

The habitat they were stationed near had considerable manufacturing resources and Jaseth had used those to repair the ships that had agreed to join him. He'd also sent out a small fleet with some cargo vessels to raid several nearby slave worlds for food supplies. As a result, the civilians in the habitat were well fed and perfectly willing to assist in keeping Jaseth’s ships repaired.

“All ships are ready for combat and have full stocks of ammunition,” Barelle answered. “We have four dreadnoughts armed with the remaining AI sublight missiles and all other ships have full loads of nuclear ones.”

“How many of the AI antimatter missiles were we able to recover?” asked Jaseth. He'd sent ships all over the system searching out the remaining stockpiles of these weapons at the fleet armories.

“Each of the four dreadnoughts has twenty each,” Barelle responded. “We also have twelve on the Viden.”

“We’ll move away from the habitat,” Jaseth informed Barelle. “I want room to maneuver the fleet when the Humans come. Relocate the fleet out one hundred thousand kilometers and we’ll wait for the Humans to come to us.”

Barelle quickly passed the orders on to the Hocklyn at the Helm. He let out a deep breath, knowing that honor was finally coming to claim him. There would be no survivors in the coming battle; they were too far outnumbered.

Jaseth watched the tactical screen as the Viden and the rest of the Hocklyn fleet moved out to wait on the enemy. He had twelve dreadnoughts, thirty-two warcruisers, and one hundred and sixty escort cruisers under his command. He also had five thousand Hocklyn fighters waiting in the large flight bays of the habitat to make suicide runs on the Humans. If he were to die today, he would take many of the Humans with him. His hand reached down and touched the hilt of the long knife at his waist. Perhaps today his knife would finally know the taste of Human blood.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth felt deep satisfaction as the last escort cruiser protecting the Hocklyn habitat died under the heavy fire from the StarStrike’s weapons. On one of the main viewscreens, he watched the Hocklyn ship burned as nuclear fire from a Devastator Three missile raged at its heart. The fire died away leaving a glowing gas cloud behind.

“Scouts are reporting in from the planets,” Colonel Trist spoke as he looked at the latest data coming in. “There still seems to be widespread ground fighting occurring in some areas, particularly around a few of the large agricultural domes. At a location on Calzen, one of our scouts is reporting massive Protector Armies numbering in the tens of thousands vying for control of one of the domes. The scout reports the ground outside is literally piled meters high with the dead in some spots.”

“The home worlds of the old Federation were once like that after the Hocklyn nuclear bombardment,” Hedon replied in a somber voice. He felt no grief about the death of so many Hocklyns. “Grayseth calls the Hocklyns the Evil Ones. What they have done to so many others has now come home to them.”

“We've intercepted some communications from one of the larger habitats in orbit around Calzen,” Colonel Grissim informed them as she stepped over closer. “They’re from a High Councilor named Ruthan.”

“He’s demanding we leave the system immediately or the full wrath of the Hocklyn Empire will fall upon us,” Clarissa added as she listened to the various Hocklyn communications flying around the system. “We have his habitat pinpointed.”

“We’ll visit his habitat last,” Hedon said thoughtfully and then gestured toward one of the tactical displays. “But first, let’s finish off that large fleet, which seems to be waiting for us to attack.”

“Several of the smaller fleets have rushed to join that fleet formation,” Clarissa informed the admiral as she used her sensors to carefully scan the fleet. “It has grown to two hundred and forty ships.”

“It’s the last major fleet in the Hocklyn Empire,” Colonel Trist spoke, his eyes focusing on Hedon. “Once it’s been destroyed, the Empire will no longer pose a threat. The Hocklyns will have no choice but to capitulate.”

Hedon drew in a sharp breath as he realized the final battle for the Hocklyn Empire was about to be waged. How many years had he dreamed of this moment? He allowed his mind to wander back to when he'd first learned of the destruction of his home worlds by the Hocklyns. Hundreds of years had passed since that shocking moment, and now it had come to full term. The Hocklyns had destroyed his worlds, now it was his turn to destroy theirs.

Kelsey was sitting at Navigation awaiting the admiral’s orders. She knew from the information being displayed on one of the tactical displays that the Avenger was still intact. Clarissa was also keeping her and Katie informed of the progress of the battle on a private channel.

-

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Fleet made simultaneous jumps, timing them so that all four fleets would exit hyperspace within a few seconds of each other. Clarissa and Ariel had helped to calculate the jumps for all of the fleets’ warships so that they emerged within twenty thousand kilometers of their intended target.

“Exiting hyperspace,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as the WarStorm exited the spatial vortex.

“All ships reporting successful jumps,” Angela added as she listened to the flood of reports coming in.

Amanda nodded. All four Federation fleets were now arrayed in a loose globe around the Hocklyns; Grayseth’s fleet was slightly further back in a defensive formation around the large mobile shipyard and other supply ships that had come with them.

“Hocklyns are launching fighters,” Stalls added as numerous small red threat icons began appearing from the encircled Hocklyn ships.

Amanda switched her mini-com to Rear Admiral Marsh’s frequency. “Evelyn, launch your fighters. I want any Hocklyn fighter that even acts as if it’s coming toward us destroyed.”

“Ready squadrons will be launching in two minutes,” Evelyn replied.

“Have your other squadrons on standby,” Amanda ordered. “I don’t think we’ll need them since we heavily outnumber the Hocklyns, but I want to be prepared just in case.”

“We’ll take care of the Hocklyn fighters,” promised Evelyn.

“Fleet’s going in,” Amanda responded. Then she turned to Captain Kimura at Tactical. “Stand by to fire. Concentrate on the nearest dreadnought”

The WarStorm and the rest of Second Fleet surged forward as the other Federation ships also began to move. This would be one massive strike to eliminate the Hocklyn warships as quickly as possible and end the war once and for all.

-

Just outside of the Calzen system, two hundred 1,500-meter AI sphere’s jumped into hyperspace. They'd been hiding from Alton and Human sensors using a newly developed stealth field. The AI commander had waited until the Humans and the Altons launched their attack against the last remaining fleet of the Hocklyns before taking action.

The transit time lasted only a few minutes and then two hundred white spatial vortexes appeared around the attacking Human and Alton fleets. The AI spheres stormed out of the collapsing vortexes, their weapons opening up almost immediately. Antimatter missiles flashed out of their launching tubes and white energy beams lashed out. The Human and Alton ships’ screens were instantly covered in inbound weapons fire. More than one failed from the sudden unexpected attack.

-

“AI ships have jumped into the system!” Clarissa spoke in a voice that sounded very frightened. “Two hundred AI spheres detected, they’re firing!”

Alarms began sounding and the StarStrike shook violently as an antimatter missile struck the energy shield, detonating in a brilliant flash of light.

“Where did they come from?” yelled Colonel Trist his eyes wide in shock. “They weren’t showing up on our sensors!”

“They must have been hiding behind some type of stealth field,” Colonel Grissim spoke rapidly as she stepped closer to one of the tactical displays showing the newly arrived AIs.

“Battleships’ StarSend, Bolton, and Crimson Fire are down,” reported Captain Reynolds, trying to keep his voice calm. “Battlecarriers Harmony and Nelson are down.”

“That’s enough,” barked Hedon, knowing he was losing ships. He activated his mini-com putting him in contact with his fleet admirals. “Admiral Strong and Tolsen, continue the attack against the Hocklyns. Admiral Sheen, your fleet will join mine in taking on the AIs.”

Hedon knew he was looking at a potential disaster. His fleets were trapped between the Hocklyns and the AIs and Admiral Nagumo and Rear Admiral Barnes were too far away to get here in time to be of help. He also couldn’t jump out. If he did, the AIs could rally the Hocklyns and make destroying their home system even more costly in the future. There were still hundreds of Hocklyn ships stationed in nearby slave systems that would return if they knew the AIs had come back to Calzen.

The fleets rapidly shifted positions even as they continued to suffer heavy fire from the attacking AIs. Another battleship vanished as antimatter missiles stripped away its shield and AI energy beams tore the ship apart. Across the Human and Alton fleets, massive detonations of light indicated damaged and dying ships.

-

Fleet Commodore Jaseth grinned in vicious anticipation. The AIs had come and now the Humans and Altons were trapped.

“The AIs,” uttered War Leader Barelle as he gazed at the tactical screen, which showed the huge spheres. “They have come.”

“Now it’s time for the Humans to die!” roared Jaseth exuberantly as he saw victory at his fingertips. “Contact the habitat and have the fighters launched. Now is the time to hurl them at the Humans and destroy them.”

-

Amanda bit her lip holding on to the armrests of her command chair as the WarStorm shook violently. The lights dimmed and then brightened back to normal. She could smell burning electrical wiring and there was smoke in the air of the Command Center. Glancing over at the damage control console, she saw a number of amber lights as well as several red ones.

“We have a fire in the flight bay,” Colonel Leon reported as she listened to the damage control reports coming in. “We’re evacuating the bay and then we'll vent it to space to put out the fire.”

“Do it!” ordered Amanda, knowing the fire must be serious if Colonel Leon was recommending such a drastic action.

“We’ve lost four more light cruisers,” Lieutenant Stalls reported. Admiral Sheen had told him to quit reading off ship names for the time being.

Amanda drew in a sharp breath; she should have known this operation was going too smoothly. “Hit them with everything we have,” she ordered.

“Firing full spread of Devastator Threes,” Captain Kimura reported. “Reloading all tubes with antimatter missiles.”

-

In space, explosions were going off everywhere. Massive antimatter explosions and powerful nukes were pummeling energy screens on both sides. White AI energy beams were tearing through Human ships with violet power beams and bright blue particle beams being fired back in return. There was also a mix of orange-red lasers beams and Hocklyn blue energy beam fire.

The Altons were now concentrating on the AIs. Admiral Cleetus and Admiral Klask had pooled all of their battlecruisers together into one fleet. AI ships began to die under the massed fire of the Altons as antimatter missiles and particle beams began to tear the massive spheres apart.

-

“Large numbers of Hocklyn fighters are being launched from the habitat,” warned Kevin as his sensors lit up with hundreds of new red threat icons.

Jeremy switched his eyes to one of the tactical displays focused on the immediate area around the habitat. He hurriedly changed his mini-com frequency so he could speak with Rear Admiral Marks. “Susan, clear your bays of all of your fighters, that habitat seems to be loaded with Hocklyn fighters. You have to stop them from reaching the fleet; they may be kamikazes.”

“Already passing on the orders,” answered Susan, promptly. “What about a bomber strike on the Hocklyn ships?”

Jeremy only hesitated for a moment. Federation ships were dropping off the tactical screen at a frightening rate under the combined attack of the AIs and the Hocklyns. “Yes, set it up; hold back some fighters to go in with them.”

The Avenger shook again as weapons fire struck the ship’s shields. Jeremy took in a sharp breath as he gazed around the Command Center, seeing the anxious looks of his command crew. “Press the attack,” he ordered. “The Hocklyns aren’t going away, and we’re not leaving until the last one of their warships has been destroyed!”

-

Major Thurman flew his Talon out of the flight bay of the battlecarrier Retribution with the rest of his squadrons following close behind. The other battlecarriers of Fourth Fleet were also launching their full complements of fighters. Looking down at the small tactical screen on his flight control console, Thurman turned pale at the massive horde of Hocklyn fighters that were closing with the fleet.

“We’re going to be badly outnumbered,” he spoke over his com as he banked his fighter and maneuvered until he was facing the incoming threat. The other squadrons around him were doing the same.

“Only for a while,” Captain Julie Brice quickly pointed out. “As soon as the other fleets launch their fighters the odds will be a lot more even.”

“They’re just Hocklyns,” Lieutenant Riley spoke in a calm voice. “We’ve always been able to out fly them.”

“I want to fire off our Hunter missiles as soon as we get firm locks with our targeting systems,” Thurman continued. “Squadrons from the other fleets should be joining us shortly, but at the moment, we’re the closest.”

“Let’s rock and roll,” uttered Lieutenant Stark over the com. “The sooner we take out these Hocklyn fighters, the sooner we can go home.”

Major Thurman saw that all squadrons had been launched and formed them up into a large defensive wall between the fleet ships and the incoming Hocklyn fighters. He didn’t remember if he'd ever seen so many red threat icons before coming directly at him. A tone went off on his targeting computer indicating it had missile lock on an incoming Hocklyn fighter.

“Let’s take them out,” Thurman ordered as he fired off the first of his two Hunter missiles. As soon as the missile left his fighter, he accelerated toward the incoming Hocklyns.

Hundreds of missiles were going after the nearing Hocklyn fighters, but the Hocklyns were also firing missiles. In moments, brilliant balls of fire ran across both formations as missiles found their targets, blowing the small fighters into hundreds of pieces.

Thurman grimaced as he saw a number of green icons blink out. Grasping his flight control, he dropped his fighter in behind a Hocklyn and pressed the button, firing the Talons twin 30mm cannons. Instantly, the Hocklyn fighter blew apart as the cannon rounds struck the ship’s drive and power system.

Around the major, a massive dogfight began as both sides tried to kill the other. With relief, he saw a second formation of Talon fighters rapidly closing on his position with another behind it. They wouldn’t be outnumbered too much longer.

Over his com, he listened to his different squadron leaders as well as the pilots in his own squadron. Occasionally one of the voices would go silent. He felt a pain in his gut as he watched the green icon representing Lieutenant Stark’s fighter vanish. Outside his cockpit window, he saw a nearby flash and knew a Hocklyn missile had hit the lieutenant’s fighter. He took a deep breath and shifted his attention to his next target.

-

Weapons fire between Fourth Fleet and the Hocklyn warships continued to intensify as they closed the range and were soon within just a few hundred kilometers of each other. At that range, very few weapons were missing. Admiral Tolsen’s Third Fleet was also closing and between the two Federation Fleets they had the Hocklyns outgunned. However, it was still going to be a costly battle.

From the Hocklyn fleet, four dreadnoughts suddenly turned broadside and fired off ten AI sublight antimatter missiles each at Third Fleet. It was quickly followed up by a barrage of nuclear tipped missiles from the warcruisers as they attempted to knock down the energy shields of the Humans. Brilliant explosions of light ran across the Human formation with more than one ship losing its energy shield. Whenever that happened, Hocklyn nuclear missiles and energy beams would make short work of the hapless ship. The battleship Newark had its energy shield shredded and then half a dozen nukes went off against the armored hull. It was too much for the valiant warship, and it died in a blaze of nuclear annihilation. The Newark wasn’t alone as other Federation warships continued to die from the savage attack.

-

“Antimatter missiles,” groaned Commander Malen as she watched the carnage being inflicted upon Third Fleet.

“Target the dreadnoughts that fired those missiles,” ordered Jeremy grim faced as he watched more green icons fade from the tactical displays. “Continue to close the distance; I want every weapon Fourth Fleet has focused on those Hocklyn warships.”

“Rear Admiral Marks is launching her bomber strike,” Kevin reported as large numbers of green icons began appearing next to the battlecarriers and forming up into squadrons.

Jeremy nodded as the Avenger shook violently once again. More lights on the damage control console turned amber.

“Antimatter strike to our energy shield,” Ariel reported in a concerned voice as she stepped closer toward Jeremy as if she wanted to ensure his safety. “Shield is at sixty-two percent. The strike came from a different dreadnought and from the amount of encrypted communications emitted from it, it has to be the fleet command ship. If this Hocklyn fleet has a Fleet Commodore, that’s where he’s at.”

“Admiral,” Commander Malen spoke suddenly, her face wrinkling with worry. “Some of the Hocklyn fighters are beginning to break through. It looks as if you were right; they’re accelerating rapidly toward our ships.”

“Target them with our laser batteries,” ordered Jeremy, glancing over at Lieutenant Preston. “Don’t let them complete their runs!”

Preston hurriedly passed on the orders to his weapons techs. The Avenger was equipped with forty-eight defensive laser turrets and he intended to use them all against the approaching Hocklyn fighters. He knew that across the fleet hundreds of other defensive laser turrets would be targeting the inbound enemy.

-

“Damn, some are starting to break through,” Major Thurman swore as he saw a group of red threat icons clearing the fighter melee and streaking off toward Third and Fourth Fleets. Talon fighters from the other Human fleets had arrived to help even the odds, but even that didn’t stop some of the Hocklyns from turning away from the battle to make their attack runs.

“There are just too many of them,” Major Karl Arcles replied over the com. The Talon fighters from Second Fleet had recently joined the massive dogfight above the battling fleets.

“I just made Ace,” gloated Lieutenant Sloan as he blew away a second Hocklyn fighter with his last Hunter missile.

“If we don’t stop these fighters from targeting the fleet, we may have nowhere to land,” warned Lacy as she saw another enemy squadron break away and head toward Fourth Fleet. She pressed the button controlling her 30mm cannons and blew away her third Hocklyn fighter in less than ten minutes.

“There’s nothing we can do about those heading toward the fleets,” stated Major Thurman, sharply. “The best we can do is thin out the numbers so our fleets’ defensive fire can take care of the inbounds.”

“Damn!” yelled lieutenant Sloan over the com. “I just got hit on my starboard wing. I can see holes the size of my fist!”

“We told you not to fly in a straight line,” warned Lieutenant Kyle. “Learn to dodge!”

“All squadrons,” spoke Major Thurman over his com. “Continue to press the attack; we’re not going home until the last Hocklyn fighter has been blasted from space.”

-

Jeremy leaned forward in his command chair as one of the viewscreens showed half a dozen Hocklyn fighters heading toward the Avenger. Orange-red laser fire flashed out and two of the inbounds exploded in bright balls of fire. The laser fire intensified, destroying three more, but the last pilot must have been touched with Hocklyn luck. His fighter dodged, juked, and then slammed into the Avenger’s energy shield. The ship shook as if struck by a sledgehammer and then calmed back down.

“That fighter was loaded with two ten-megaton nukes,” Ariel reported as she quickly scanned the ship for damage. “We have several power couplings that have blown and a rupture in the hull in section twelve, bulkhead three. I’ve sealed off the corridor and one compartment. There were four crewmembers in the affected area. I don’t believe they survived.”

“We’ve lost two more battlecruisers and four strikecruisers,” Kevin reported. “The battlecarrier Ardent has been heavily damaged.”

“The bomber strike is going in now,” Commander Malen reported as the cloud of green icons representing the Anlon bombers began to accelerate toward the Hocklyn fleet. “Admiral Tolsen has launched his bombers as well.”

Jeremy nodded, they would lose a lot of bombers, but they had over sixteen hundred of them now headed toward the Hocklyn fleet; it should be enough to turn the battle.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth’s face was pale as he watched the battlecruiser Ajax being torn apart on one of the main viewscreens. Two AI ships had managed to knock the ship’s energy screen down with antimatter missiles and were using their deadly white energy beams to carve the ship up. In a sudden blaze of light, the ship died as its self-destructs initiated.

“Battlecruiser Ajax is down,” Captain Jarvis reported in a clear voice.

“Admiral,” Colonel Grissim spoke suddenly. She had been talking to the two Alton admirals. “Admiral Cleeteus and Admiral Klask are preparing to microjump their ships just to the edge of the AIs’ energy screens. They say to be prepared to pick up the pieces. Admiral Cleeteus also says it has been good serving with you.”

Hedon felt a cold chill run down his back as he realized what the Altons were preparing to do. To jump that close to the AIs would practically be suicide. However, if anyone could to it, it would be the Altons. He also knew if they couldn’t find a way to rapidly deal with the AIs, the battle could still be lost.

-

Jaseth felt his blood run hot with blood lust as another Human warship exploded on one of the viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. The Humans were destroying many of his attacking fighters, but now some were making it out of the fighter battle and ramming the Human ships with their nuclear warheads. These warheads were set differently. The Hocklyn pilot had to send an arming signal just before he rammed to activate the warheads.

“The battle goes well,” War Leader Barelle spoke. “Much honor is being earned today for our warriors. It is a great day for the Hocklyn Empire.”

Jaseth felt the Viden shudder as a Human missile detonated close by. The vastly improved energy screen of the flagship shrugged it off and continued to fire. “Between the AIs and us, the Humans and the Altons will be defeated,” Jaseth stated with confidence. “With the aid of the AIs a new Hocklyn Empire will rise from the ashes of the old.” There was no doubt in Jaseth’s mind that he would play a leading role in that new Empire.

A warning alarm suddenly sounded on the sensor console, drawing Jaseth’s attention to it. Shifting his gaze to the main tactical screen, he saw all of the Alton ships suddenly vanish and then reappear almost inside the AIs’ energy shields.

“The Altons are attacking the AIs,” hissed Barelle his cold eyes focusing on what the Altons were doing. “Look how close they’ve jumped to the AI ships.”

Jaseth felt sudden dread at what was about to occur. The Alton ships were more powerful than the AIs, and they had jumped literally to within knife throwing range. It amazed him that the ships’ drives hadn’t exploded from exiting hyperspace so close to the large fifteen hundred-meter spheres.

-

In the AI command ship, the command AI looked intently at the large tactical display. The combined Alton fleet of a little over one hundred ships had jumped dangerously close to many of the AI ships. So close that in some cases, the energy screens were nearly touching.

“Destroy them!” ordered the command AI, turning toward the AIs at the weapons consoles. “They are so near that our weapons will be even more effective.”

“So will theirs,” cautioned the AI at the ship’s main computer console. “They will be able to fire directly through our shields.”

“We still outnumber them,” the command AI informed the others in an even voice. “This is our opportunity to destroy them. It will ensure the safety of the Great Project.”

-

In space, titanic explosions began going off where the AIs and the Altons battled. Antimatter missiles arrived almost instantaneously at their targets and even the AIs' white energy beams were now able to penetrate Alton screens and cut deeply into the Alton’s battle armor. Four Alton battlecruisers were destroyed almost immediately as they were blown apart by antimatter missiles after their shields had been knocked down. Others were severely damaged as energy beams penetrated their screens, blasting large sections of hull plating off into space.

However, the Altons were not idle; they were firing their one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles in sprint mode at the AI ships they'd targeted. At such close range, the AIs rapidly began to die. Whenever an Alton antimatter missile struck an AI ship, its hull and interior was instantly consumed by ravaging energy. However, in this case it was not one or two antimatter missiles that were striking the AI ships but ten or more.

After just a few minutes, over eighty AI ships had been reduced to glowing gas and dissipating energy. However, twenty-two Alton battlecruisers paid the ultimate price, including the flagship of Admiral Klask. It had been destroyed when its energy shield had been stripped away by an exploding AI ship and another attacking AI warship had used the opportunity to hit the Alton battlecruiser with six fifty-megaton antimatter missiles. The brave Alton admiral never knew what happened as his ship had been destroyed almost instantly.

Admiral Cleeteus grimaced in sadness at seeing the death of his longtime friend. There were too few Altons of command ability like Admiral Klask.

“Prepare for the second jump,” he ordered with resolve in his voice.

He knew that many of his ships were damaged, but there were still too many AIs facing them. It was unfortunate that all of these AI spheres had been updated with much more powerful shields and weapons; it made destroying them that much harder. It was one of the reasons why he and Admiral Klask had decided to take the attack to the AIs at such close range.

Scant moments later, the Alton ships vanished again to reappear once more within close proximity to other AI ships. Once again, weapons raged as both sides tried to destroy the other. This time, due to the damage the Alton ships had already suffered, the two sides were trading ships on an almost even basis.

-

Upon seeing the second jump, Hedon knew what Admiral Cleeteus was up to. There was no doubt in Hedon’s mind that the Alton admiral would continue this tactic until either every AI sphere was destroyed or all the Alton ships were gone. Due to the fact the AIs outnumbered the Altons by nearly two to one Hedon had a horrible feeling about how this battle would end.

“Inform Admiral Sheen that I want all battleships, battlecruisers, and strikecruisers to close the range with the remaining AIs and hit them with everything we have. All battlecarriers and light cruisers are to attack the Hocklyns. Admirals Strong and Tolsen will coordinate their attacks.”

“We’re going to lose a lot of ships if we get that close to the AIs,” warned Colonel Trist. “Even our enhanced screens won’t hold up for long.”

“No, they won’t,” Hedon replied in agreement. “But they’ll hold up long enough.” Hedon looked over at Janice, who was busy at Communications speaking to the other ships and passing on messages as needed. She glanced at Hedon and forced a smile.

“Alton ships are suffering major damage,” Clarissa reported as she scanned the battling ships with the StarStrike’s sensors. “They won’t survive another jump.”

“Get us closer,” grated out Hedon. He wasn’t going to let Admiral Cleeteus die.

-

The Federation warships rapidly closed the range, their weapons firing continuously as they neared the massive AI spheres. The AI ships had to turn their attention partially away from the Altons to deal with the attacking Humans. Four AI antimatter missiles struck the energy screen of the battlecruiser Axtell, stripping it away. Two more missiles impacted the hull, turning the ship into a glowing sun.

Human antimatter missiles and Devastator Threes were also hitting the AIs. Two AI ships saw holes knocked in their energy screens and they too were soon consumed by the unbridled release of antimatter and nuclear energy. Ships on both sides were now dying at such a rate it was impossible to keep track of the losses. The battle continued to intensify as the ships entered pointblank range with all weapons firing. This was a battle to the death, with neither side backing away.

-

Jaseth cried out in anger as the Viden was struck with a smashing blow. Several consoles blew out, sending cascades of sparks across the War Room. Gray smoke began to fill the air, making it difficult to breathe. Looking up at the tactical screen, he saw two massive waves of Human bombers coming in toward his now besieged fleet.

“Call back our fighters,” he hissed, knowing his ships couldn’t stand up to an attack from so many of the small ships.

“Too late,” responded War Leader Barelle, coughing loudly. The ventilation system was finally starting to draw the smoke out of the War Room. “Most of them have either been destroyed by the Human fighters or in attack runs on the Human ships.”

“Then we have no choice,” Jaseth spoke in a voice filled with rage as he watched the AIs being systematically destroyed by the Alton and Human warships. The AIs were taking out many of their attackers, but the Altons’ surprise hyperjump had turned the tide of the battle. All that was left now was to choose how to die. “All ships are to accelerate and ram the nearest Human vessel. Today, honor comes for all of us.”

“Honor for all,” Barelle agreed as he moved to pass on the command.

Taking a deep breath, Jaseth stepped off the Command Pedestal and made his way out of the War Room, there was one more thing that he needed to do.

War Leader Barelle watched the Fleet Commodore leave. It was just as well, many of the crew in the War Room would just as soon die without the young Commodore being in the room with them.

-

“They’re going to ram!” Ariel warned as she saw the Hocklyn ships turn and begin accelerating toward Third and Fourth Fleet.

“Our bombers will get to them first,” pointed out Commander Malen. “They’re less than thirty seconds out.”

Jeremy hit the ship-to-ship frequency on his mini-com. “All ships, prepare for possible ramming. Moving out of fleet formation is authorized. All helm officers, do what you have to!”

“Bombers are beginning their attack runs,” Kevin reported his face grim as he realized the danger of being rammed. Even a battleship could face easy destruction.

“Bomber squadron leaders are reporting missile launches,” Angela informed Jeremy her face white with worry. She wasn’t ready to die just yet.

-

The sixteen hundred Anlon bombers launched thirty-two hundred Shrike missiles, each with a ten-kiloton nuclear warhead. The missiles streaked toward the Hocklyn warships as they locked on their targets. The Hocklyn ships, desperate to escape the incoming missiles, laid down a heavy barrage of defensive fire. Energy beams, interceptor missiles, and even railguns opened up trying to take down the missiles. They were marginally successful as over two thousand of the missiles were destroyed. However, nearly one thousand continued on to their targets.

Nuclear explosions rolled across the Hocklyn formation overloading ship screens allowing others to strike unprotected armored hulls. Hocklyn ships died by the dozens in nuclear fireballs. More weapons fire slammed into the shattered Hocklyn fleet as missiles and power beams from the Human ships struck Hocklyn vessels that had lost their energy shields. In less than two minutes, seventy-eight Hocklyn ships ceased to be.

The Hocklyn ships continued to accelerate, firing their weapons as they neared the Humans. They passed through the Human bomber formation, blowing many of them out of space with their defensive weapons. Hocklyn ships were dying rapidly now but not nearly fast enough. With devastating results, the first Hocklyn ships began to slam into Third and Fourth Fleets. Brilliant explosions lit up space as the Hocklyns had set many of their nuclear weapons to explode on contact when they rammed. Space became full of glowing suns that marked the death of Federation warships. Then it was over and the dying stopped.

-

“Report!” Jeremy snapped his eyes wide with shock over what he was seeing on the viewscreens. His fleet had been gutted by the Hocklyns’ wild charge. The Avenger itself would have been destroyed on two occasions except Ariel had taken over the ship’s flight controls and hurled the Avenger about in wild maneuvers that Jeremy would have sworn were impossible.

“I don’t know,” Kevin uttered barely able to talk. “There’s so much debris out there my sensors can’t tell what’s left of the fleet.”

Jeremy’s shoulders drooped, feeling the weight of all those that he knew had just died. “What about the Hocklyn ships; are we detecting any of them still surviving?”

“Not that I can tell,” Kevin answered as he tried to make sense out of what his scans were telling him. “I’m trying to use the ship’s short-range sensors to identify what’s out there.”

“Ariel, what about you? Can you pick up anything?”

Ariel was silent as she used the ship’s sensors to scan all the debris around the Avenger. There had been several times she'd been nearly certain the ship was going to be destroyed. She hadn’t told Jeremy yet that the Avenger couldn’t jump. The maneuvers she'd put the ship through had fractured several major structural components and they'd have to be repaired first.

“We lost over half the fleet,” she said after a few moments. “I’ve located the Retribution and the WarHawk, but we’ve lost a lot of battleships, battlecarriers, and other ships.”

“What’s going on with the AIs? Jeremy demanded, worried that he might need to reform his shattered fleet to face the deadly war spheres. They were in no condition to fight another battle.

“They’ve been destroyed,” answered Ariel as she was able to coax more information from the sensors. She'd quickly designed a program to separate the scattered debris from the surviving warships. “The Altons have taken some heavy losses; I’m only picking up eighteen Alton battlecruisers.”

“First and Second Fleets?” Jeremy asked concerned. It would be a disaster if they had lost either Fleet Admiral Streth or Admiral Sheen. Worse than that, Kelsey and Katie were on board the StarStrike.

“I would estimate they are sixty percent intact,” Ariel responded. “I’m detecting both the StarStrike and the WarStorm.” Ariel felt immense relief at seeing the StarStrike on the sensors. She couldn’t imagine losing either Kelsey or Katie.

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair and let out a long breath of relief. There were no longer any Hocklyn ships in the system and Rear Admiral Barnes and Admiral Nagumo would ensure none survived in the other Hocklyn core systems. For all intents and purposes, the Hocklyn war was over.

“Move us out of this debris field,” Jeremy ordered as he looked around at his command crew. He could see the anxiety leaving their faces. They had survived, but just barely. “Angela, see if you can contact Grayseth, we’re going to need his mobile shipyard and the other fleet repair ships he’s escorting.” At least Grayseth’s fleet was undamaged.

Commander Malen stepped over close to Jeremy so they could talk in private. “We took a lot of losses,” she said softly. “Do we still have the forces needed to take on the AIs at the galactic center?” She was worried they might have won the battle, but lost the war.

“I don’t know,” answered Jeremy with a heavy sigh. “We have a few months yet before we have to launch that attack.” He glanced at the tactical displays, seeing just how few green icons remained representing Third and Fourth Fleets. He felt ill knowing that thousands of good men and women had died in the battle.

He knew that Commander Malen was concerned. If they couldn’t defeat the AIs at the galactic center, then this battle would have been for nothing. If the AIs set off their hyperwave generator, then all the organic races in the galaxy were doomed. He just hoped that this battle hadn’t made their mission to stop the AIs impossible.

Chapter Fifteen

Hedon let out a deep breath of satisfaction as the StarStrike took up position next to a large habitat in orbit around Calzen. The rest of First Fleet was nearby with their weapons focused on the habitat and targeting sensors active. The other Federation fleets were currently going around the system eliminating the remaining resistance which, after the big battle earlier, wasn’t much.

“Everything is in readiness,” Colonel Trist reported as he looked over at the Fleet Admiral with a look of uneasiness on his face. “Hedon, I’m not comfortable with this. Why not have the Hocklyns come over to the StarStrike to sign the surrender?”

“I want to show the remaining Hocklyn leaders that we have no fear of them,” responded Hedon, firmly. “We’ll go on board their habitat and sign the documents that will end this war.”

“I don’t think it’s a trap,” Colonel Grissim said as she had finished making the final preparations for the three of them to go into the Hocklyn habitat. She had a full company of heavily armed marines going along as escorts. “From all indications, this Hocklyn High Councilor is in great fear of his life and is willing to negotiate.”

“High Councilor Ruthan,” mused Colonel Trist, shaking his head. “From all reports their High Leader and several other High Councilors have vanished, supposedly killed in the fighting that erupted across their home worlds. They haven’t been seen or heard from in several weeks.”

“We’re still checking into that,” answered Hedon, looking over knowingly at Clarissa, who was standing next to Lieutenant Walters. He knew the two of them were attempting to access the Hocklyn computer systems on the habitat to search for any discrepancies in what High Councilor Ruthan had told them so far. With all the fighting that had gone on around the Hocklyn core systems, there was a lot of confusion about where their government leaders were. Some were supposedly still in hiding, afraid to show themselves after the collapse of their Empire.

“Admiral Sheen is reporting the last Hocklyn cargo ship has been destroyed,” Janice reported from Communications. “She’s currently diverting the fleets to make passes over all of the planets and moons in the system as a reminder of who is in charge now.”

Hedon nodded, pleased with the report. After hundreds of years, the Hocklyn Empire had finally been defeated. He leaned back and thought about all that had transpired to make this moment possible. The losses in ships and crews had been heavy, and at times, he'd wondered if this moment would ever arrive. Many had sacrificed themselves to ensure the Federation survived; Admiral Klask being the most recent.

“Make our shuttles ready,” ordered Hedon, ready to get the surrender over with. The fleet had suffered massive losses in the battle with the main Hocklyn fleet and the AIs, which had jumped into the system; losses that could be detrimental when the Federation launched their attack on the AIs at the galactic core.

He needed to get the fleets back to New Providence for some much-needed repairs. Grayseth’s mobile shipyard was working overtime on the more heavily damaged Federation ships. The fleet repair ships that had come along were also heavily involved in making what repairs they could to the lighter units. Their first priority was getting ailing ships' hyperdrives repaired and life support systems functioning properly.

-

Clarissa looked over at Katie with a puzzled look in her deep blue eyes. “Many of their computer files are highly encrypted,” she said. It had been relatively easy for her to gain access to the Hocklyn computers in the habitat. She was also being careful not to leave any trace of what she was doing.

“Download the data and place it in a secure location that no one but you or I can access,” Katie said, biting her upper lip. Whatever information was in those files must be highly important to have such a deep encryption that it could keep Clarissa out. Since Ruthan was a High Councilor, the files could contain almost anything. “Continue to work on the files; I’m curious to see what the Hocklyns are hiding.” Katie looked over and saw Kelsey watching her; she was glad Clarissa and Kelsey were on board the StarStrike. It was bad enough being away from Kevin, Jeremy, Angela, and Ariel. Perhaps when this was over they'd be back together again. She knew the two AIs were already discussing going off exploring together.

“I’m working on a decryption program,” Clarissa announced as she set up the parameters she thought would be needed to decode the files from the Hocklyn computers. “It shouldn’t take longer than twenty-four hours to find out what’s in the files.”

“That's great,” Katie responded, her light green eyes looking at the AI standing beside her.

She was anxious for them to leave this system and return to New Providence. It was difficult knowing Kevin and the Avenger were so close but she couldn’t see him. They could send messages back and forth, but that wasn’t the same as holding each other in their arms.

-

Inside the habitat, High Councilors Ruthan and Desmonde waited. Desmonde had arrived shortly after the battle with Fleet Commodore Jaseth ended with the Hocklyn fleet being completely annihilated. It reminded him of what had happened in his own system, except no AIs had been involved. He was still confused as to why the AIs had tried to intervene. There'd been no communication between their AI masters and any Hocklyn leader for months. He wondered if High Leader Nartel had managed to convince the AIs to come to their aid after all. Desmonde had a suspicion he'd never know the answer to that question as the High Leader had vanished.

“It’s over,” rasped Ruthan in a voice trembling with fear as he waited for the arrival of the Humans. “The Humans are coming to lay down their terms, and we have no choice but to accept.”

“High Leaders Ankler and Nartel brought this down upon us,” hissed Desmonde, recalling how the Humans had crushed the feeble opposition in his home system. The great Hocklyn fleet had been reduced to a fraction of its former size, and the Human and Alton ships had rolled over all remaining opposition. “They caused the AIs to turn away from us and once we lost the use of their more advanced weapons, the Empire was doomed.”

Ruthan looked around the ornate room they were in. The walls were decorated with expensive paintings from numerous worlds. He'd spared no expense surrounding himself with what was needed to maintain an opulent lifestyle. In normal times, he held meetings here to determine how best to advance the family honor. Now honor meant nothing, as it had failed them terribly against the Humans and their Alton allies. Just the thought of the Altons made him shiver and his blood run cold. The Altons had created the AIs and furnished the Humans with advanced technology; technology the Hocklyns couldn't hope to match. In the end, it had been their undoing as vast fleets were lost against smaller Human and Alton fleets.

There were other Hocklyns in the room, several Commodores and War Leaders, who had served Ruthan’s family for years. He'd summoned them here to the relative safety of the habitat rather than see them die in their ships in useless battles. Originally, he'd planned to have them take command of the remaining fleet units and move out into the system and reestablish control in his name. Then later, he would've sent his ships out to the other core systems. He'd planned to become the new High Leader. Now, that dream was gone.

Desmonde looked around the room, noting the absence of the other High Councilors. Ruthan had sent word out to all of the core worlds that their High Councilors were needed in the Calzen system to meet with the Humans. Desmonde knew that several were dead, others were still in hiding in their family habitats, and a few were unaccounted for, including High Leader Nartel. Desmonde wondered where Nartel had gone. There were rumors that had spread around the core worlds that the High Leader and a few others had fled the home worlds for a distant part of the Empire. Desmonde had not been able to confirm those rumors, but he wouldn’t put anything past the High Leader.

“The Human shuttles have landed in the flight bay and the Humans are on their way here,” Senior Protector Haskt reported. The Hocklyn Protector was heavily armed along with the others in the squad serving as guards for this meeting. “They have a large heavily armed contingent with them.”

“It’s to be expected,” Ruthan spoke his large dark eyes looking tired. “Protector Haskt, make sure there are no incidents. The Human fleet has surrounded this habitat and I strongly suspect if harm were to come to any of their leaders, we would all die shortly afterward.”

“It would be an honorable death,” Haskt responded his right hand touching the knife at his waist. “However, I will make certain they arrive unharmed.”

Ruthan nodded; he had a large force of well-trained Protectors in his habitat as well as a hoard of stored food supplies. When Nartel had suggested that each High Councilor secure what supplies they might need, he'd taken that advice to heart. His supply rooms were overflowing and he had ten new cargo ships sitting in the habitat’s massive flight bay. There was also a warcruiser and four escort cruisers in the bay. This was something he didn’t intend to mention to the Humans.

-

As they were escorted through the corridors of the habitat, Hedon couldn’t help but feel vulnerable. At each junction where corridors met, squads of heavily armed Protectors were present. He'd left three-fourths of his marine escort in the small flight bay where they'd landed their shuttles. The other twenty-five had come with him, along with Colonel Trist and Colonel Grissim.

“Damn, they're big!” muttered Colonel Trist as they walked past another squad of heavily armed Hocklyns. The Protectors were all over two meters tall, light green in color, and very obviously of reptilian descent. All of the Hocklyns wore the same type of dark colored body armor.

“They just fall harder,” Major Abercrombie, the marine commander, commented as he walked slightly behind the fleet officers, his assault rifle cradled in his arms. His eyes were continuously sweeping the main and side corridors for any signs of threats. So far, none of the Hocklyn Protectors had made a threatening move.

After about thirty minutes of walking, they reached a pair of massive wooden doors, which seemed out of place in the stark metal corridors they'd been walking through. Four Hocklyn Protectors stood in front of the doors and took a moment to carefully scrutinize the Humans. Then two of them turned and opened the doors. Another Protector appeared, this one a little taller, and stepped in front of the Humans. After looking at the three fleet officers, he gestured for them to follow.

Hedon and the others stepped inside the large well-decorated room. Major Abercrombie and six handpicked marines entered also. Hedon noted the doors being shut behind them and that a number of armed Hocklyn Protectors stood around the room next to the walls. Two Hocklyns of slightly smaller stature stood up and looked questionably at the fleet officers. They were dressed in battle armor, which was obviously lighter and more of a gray in color. He was surprised to see a Hocklyn Commodore and several War Leaders there as well. He hadn’t thought any had survived.

“I am High Councilor Ruthan and this is High Councilor Desmonde of the Hocklyn High Council,” Ruthan said, indicating Desmonde, who was standing beside him. “These others are our surviving fleet leaders.”

Hedon stepped closer to the large wooden conference table and indicated those around him. “I am Fleet Admiral Streth and with me are Colonel Trist and Colonel Grissim who will act as my advisors. Also with me is Major Abercrombie, who is responsible for our marine contingent.”

“Let us be seated and begin,” suggested Ruthan, gesturing toward the chairs that had been brought in for the Humans. He sat down and looked across the conference table at the Human officers. They seemed small and fragile when compared to a Hocklyn, but Ruthan knew looks could be deceiving.

Hedon and the other fleet officers took their seats while Major Abercrombie and his squad of marines remained standing just behind the Fleet Admiral. They had their weapons cradled in their arms but ready to respond to any aggressive moves by any of the Hocklyn Protectors.

“I’m here to demand the unconditional surrender of the Hocklyn Slave Empire,” Hedon began his eyes drilling into the two Hocklyn High Councilors. “Your fleet has been destroyed and most of your Empire is no longer under your control. Federation fleets are now in charge of all of your core systems. At a word from me, they will completely destroy the Hocklyn race if you fail to agree to the terms I am going to deliver. There will be no negotiating. You started this war, and we are ending it!”

Ruthan let out a long and deep breath. He looked over at Desmonde, seeing the despair in his dark eyes as they both knew they had no choice. Most of their fleet was gone and the Humans had control. “What are your demands?”

Hedon glanced at Colonel Grissim, who'd helped craft the document he had brought with him. The document was written in both standard Federation as well as in Hocklyn. Linguists had made certain that the meanings were clear and concise in the document so there would be no future misunderstandings.

“Item one,” began Hedon in a firm voice. “All Hocklyn military ships of dreadnought or warcruiser class are to be turned over to the Federation for immediate destruction. The Hocklyn core worlds will not be allowed to have any warships more powerful than an escort cruiser.”

“Our fleet!” stammered Desmonde his eyes growing wide. There were still hundreds of Hocklyn warships scattered about the Empire. He didn’t know how many dreadnoughts and warcruisers had survived, but there had to be a few.

“Yes, your fleet,” Hedon reiterated his eyes looking piercingly at Desmonde. “Item two, all Hocklyn slave worlds are now free, and all Hocklyn vessels and Protectors will leave those worlds and return to the Hocklyn core worlds immediately.”

“We depend on those worlds for food and other necessary materials,” interrupted Ruthan, feeling an icy chill at what the Human was saying.

“You have twelve star systems to draw upon,” responded Hedon, shaking his head. “Use those for resources. We’ll also allow you to mine other uninhabited systems within twenty light years of Calzen for raw materials. Be aware that if any Hocklyn ship travels beyond that point, we will destroy it.”

Ruthan and Desmonde slowly nodded their heads in agreement. They were both afraid many more civilians would die before the amount of resources still available to the core worlds matched the number of Hocklyns that could be kept alive.

“All slaves currently on your core worlds will be repatriated back to their home worlds. If you need a labor force, your own people can furnish it. We've also destroyed all of the Hocklyn cargo ships in your core worlds to ensure that other races are more or less left alone. We are aware there are still some cargo ships and perhaps a few warships inside of your orbital habitats. These will be left intact for your use as long as they meet the requirements of surrender put forth in this document.” Hedon went on for several more minutes laying out the rest of the conditions the Federation and its allies were demanding.

Ruthan listened, his blood turning colder, for he knew this was the end of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. When he heard the Human Admiral mention a Federation fleet base would be established in an uninhabited system close by to monitor the Hocklyn home words, he knew it was over. It would be difficult, but the core worlds would survive. There would be far fewer Hocklyns to support as starvation and fighting had already greatly reduced the population. More would die in the coming days. Many changes would have to be made if the Hocklyn race were to survive; Ruthan intended to be the one to make those changes. He would become the new High Leader of the Empire, an Empire consisting of only twelve drastically depopulated star systems. The days of glory and honor were at an end.

Hedon finished informing the Hocklyn High Councilors of the demands of the Federation and its allies. Standing, he looked with a hard and sharp gaze at the two Hocklyn leaders. “Do you accept these conditions of surrender or do I order my fleets to attack?”

Ruthan looked over at Desmonde, who drooped his shoulders and nodded. He stood and looked across the conference table at the Human admiral in front of him. “We accept,” he hissed, knowing there was no other choice. “You have won the war and we are now a conquered people. We recognize the end of our Empire.”

Hedon nodded and with the help of Colonel Grissim, all necessary documents were signed. He paused as he looked slowly around the large room, realizing that the war with the Hocklyns was finally over. The signed surrender documents would be well received by the Federation Council.

A disturbance at the twin doors drew his attention as another Hocklyn pushed his way in. With surprise, Hedon saw that this Hocklyn wore the rank of a Fleet Commodore. He also noticed the two High Councilors seemed to be surprised also. Hedon shifted uneasily on his feet; something wasn’t right here

-

Jaseth had escaped the Viden just moments before it was destroyed in its suicidal attempt to ram a Human warship. He'd taken his small shuttle and followed the Human fleet as it made its way toward High Councilor Ruthan’s habitat. Realizing where the Humans were heading and what their purpose might be from the communications he'd intercepted, he'd managed to reach the habitat and land in one of the smaller flight bays almost unnoticed. The Hocklyn Protectors, who'd met his shuttle, had been ordered to ignore him and not to report his presence. Obeying a Fleet Commodore was prudent as he was the highest-ranking military leader in the Empire and they were honor bound to do as he ordered.

Jaseth had made his way close to High Councilor Ruthan’s conference room and then waited for the meeting to start. He'd made sure he was unarmed with nothing more than his knife, which he was certain the Hocklyn Protectors on guard duty would ignore. After giving the meeting time to progress, he stepped out into the corridor and made his way to the heavily guarded entrance to the conference room. Upon seeing his rank, the Hocklyn Protectors on duty allowed him to pass. The Human marines assumed he was part of the group of Hocklyns, which was supposed to be in the meeting.

Pushing the doors open wide, Jaseth stepped into the room. It had been all he could do to control his anger as he walked past the Human marines. His burning rage had grown with each step. “We will not surrender!” he roared in anger as his eyes took in the Humans and the Hocklyns in the room. “I am the Fleet Commodore and the ships of the Empire will never surrender to these Human vermin!”

“It’s already done,” High Councilor Ruthan said, looking at Jaseth sharply. He wondered how the Fleet Commodore had managed to get on board the habitat without anyone knowing. He was even more surprised that Jaseth was still alive as his fleet had been totally annihilated.

Jaseth stepped closer to Ruthan and the Human officers. His hand moved close to the knife at his waist. “I don’t recognize your authority to surrender to the Humans; only the High Leader can do that and I don’t see him here!”

Hedon looked from Ruthan to the enraged Fleet Commodore, not certain what was going on. He heard Major Abercrombie flip the safety off his assault rifle. Looking behind him, he shook his head at the major indicating for him not to interfere. He didn’t want to do anything to endanger the surrender agreement that had just been signed. This was an internal Hocklyn matter they needed to resolve themselves.

Jaseth was now within just a few feet of the three Human officers who were now all standing. He'd already figured out which one was their leader from the rank insignia on his shoulders. With a sudden movement of his right hand, he drew his blade and lunged at the Human admiral in front of him, his blood running hot with rage and seeking revenge for what the Humans had caused him and his family to endure. With this one blow, he would restore his family’s honor!

Colonel Trist saw the blade in the Hocklyn Fleet Commodore’s hand and threw himself in front of Hedon. He felt a sudden sharp pain and looking down saw the Hocklyn’s knife embedded in his chest. With a cry of pain, Trist slid to the floor.

Jaseth pulled his knife back, seeing the red Human blood dripping from the blade. At last, his knife knew the feel of drawing blood from his hated enemy. Glancing at the stunned Human admiral in front of him, Jaseth prepared to attack again when he felt a sharp pain stabbing into his chest. Looking down, he saw a Hocklyn knife embedded to the hilt in the center of his chest armor. Looking across the conference table, he saw High Councilor Ruthan standing there, his blade missing from its scabbard. “But you’re a Hocklyn,” Jaseth stammered as he felt his life slipping away.

Ruthan gazed coldly at Jaseth as he fell to the floor. “In my youth I fought many honor duels,” he said with ice in his voice. “You have acted without honor, and I did what I had to do to preserve what is left of our people.”

Jaseth felt the cold darkness of death coming to claim him. The room swam about him, and then his eyes closed as his troubled life came to an end.

Hedon and Colonel Grissim both leaped to Colonel Trist’s side. Hedon bent down next to the dying colonel, knowing he was helpless to do anything. If they were still on the StarStrike they might be able to save the colonel’s life, but the ship was over thirty long minutes away.

“I guess I won’t be opening that resort on Aquaria,” Trist said in a weak voice forcing a smile.

“Save your strength, Aldon,” Hedon said, feeling a giant fist squeezing his heart. Why did all the people close to him keep on dying?

“I did get to see the war end,” Trist said as he coughed and dark blood appeared on his lips. “Finish what we started, Hedon.” Trist took a long deep breath and then was still.

“Fleet Commodore Jaseth acted without honor,” High Councilor Ruthan said as he stepped around the table and bending down, withdrew his blade from Jaseth’s still body and put it back into the sheath at his waist. “Your officer acted with honor in giving his life to save yours.”

Hedon nodded, drawing in a sharp breath and standing up. “The war is over; this incident will not change anything.”

Moments later, they left the conference room with several marines carrying Colonel Trist’s body. Hedon carried the documents of surrender, still feeling numb. He knew that in his dying words that Colonel Trist wanted Hedon to be successful in the attack upon the AIs. While the Hocklyn Slave Empire was no more, the more dangerous AIs awaited him at the center of the galaxy. Colonel Trist and his advice would be sorely missed in that epic battle.

-

Amanda sat down in her command chair in shock. She'd just received word about Colonel Trist’s death; it had been completely unexpected. She had known the colonel from the very beginning, back when she was the Executive Officer on the original StarStrike. It was hard for her to imagine that the competent and ever vigilant officer was gone. This war had taken so many. It had taken her a very long time just to recover from the loss of her old flagship in the battle at New Tellus; it just seemed as if the list of lost friends and acquaintances continued to grow with every passing day.

“I'm very sorry about Colonel Trist,” Commander Diaz spoke as he walked over to stand near Amanda. “I know you knew him very well. He was a good officer.”

“One of the best,” Amanda responded with a long sigh. “At least he got to see the end of the war with the Hocklyns.” Amanda recalled the last conversation she'd with the colonel. He had been very adamant about seeing the war to its end. She knew he must have been deeply satisfied to see this day finally arrive.

“Fleet Admiral Streth has given us permission to begin our jumps back to New Providence,” Angela spoke from Communications. “First Fleet will be departing last as it will be staying with Grayseth’s fleet and the mobile shipyard while the final repairs are done to a few more ships that have hyperdrive problems.”

Angela would be glad to get back to New Providence. She intended to spend some quality time with Benjamin and make some future plans. If they were going to get married when this was over, she planned on having a huge wedding. It was something she had always dreamed of.

Amanda took a deep breath and nodded. She looked at one of the tactical displays noting how much smaller Second Fleet was now. So many ships had been lost in the final battle with the Hocklyns and the AIs. “Colonel Leon, set the fleet up for its first jump. We’re returning home.”

A few minutes later, the WarStorm entered the blue-white spatial vortex as it made its first hyperjump back toward New Providence. Amanda knew when they made it back they'd have four to six weeks to make repairs and reorganize the fleets before it would be necessary to start toward the galactic center and the waiting AIs. She just prayed they were not cutting it too close.

Chapter Sixteen

President Kincaid was standing in front of the Federation Council reporting on the latest developments in the war with the Hocklyns. The Federation fleets as well as their allies were on their way back to New Providence to prepare for the coming attack against the AIs. Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson had left the day before with the remaining Federation ships, which would take part in the battle against the AIs. Along with her fleet had gone five hundred and twenty-two of the new Alton battleships as well as additional fleets from the Kessels and the Darvonians.

“Fleet Admiral Streth has succeeded in defeating the Hocklyn Slave Empire and has signed surrender documents with him aboard the StarStrike. He will be forwarding them on to us once he reaches New Providence.” Kincaid paused and looked over the assembled senators, expecting questions.

“Why not bring them here personally?” asked Senator Fulbright, who'd only recently won reelection to his senate position. “The war is over and the AIs have withdrawn to the galactic center. We can go back to a peacetime economy.” Fulbright had been dead set against the spending done on the military in recent years, even though it had ensured that his colony world of Serenity was well protected.

“Yes,” agreed Senator Davis from Bliss. “We have numerous civilian projects we need to spend our money on. It’s no longer necessary to maintain such a large military with the Hocklyn threat eliminated.”

“Not just yet,” Senator Malle from Mars cautioned as he looked over his copy of the report from Fleet Admiral Streth. “According to this, our fleets suffered heavy losses when the AIs showed up in the Hocklyn system of Calzen. I think this demonstrates very plainly that the AIs are still a threat to the Federation.”

“Bah!” proclaimed Fulbright, shaking his head in denial. “We still won the battle, and I don’t think we’ll be seeing any AI ships clear out here anytime soon. We also have the Alton battle stations and their particle beam satellites, which makes an AI attack upon our words highly doubtful.”

President Kincaid drew in a sharp breath, knowing there was only one way to convince the two senators from Epsilon Eridani of the ongoing danger. He'd been dreading this moment for several months. Only a few members of the Senate Council knew what the AIs were building at the galactic center and the terrible threat it represented.

“I wish it were that simple,” he said, raising his hand to get everyone’s undivided attention. He let his eyes slide over the different senators as he prepared to reveal the truth. “Several months ago, the Altons discovered just what the AIs are doing at the galactic center. What they found was so shocking that it was classified as a need-to-know with only the highest members of our military given full knowledge of the discovery.”

“What!” Fulbright spoke sarcastically his eyes narrowing, suspecting this was nothing more than another attempt by Kincaid to siphon more money out of the planetary coffers for the military. “Building more AI ships and robots?”

“No,” Kincaid replied with ice in his voice as he stared directly at the rebellious senator. “They’re building a device to end all organic life in or galaxy and it will be ready in three more months.”

Fulbright’s eyes bulged. “That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed, shaking his head in denial. “No such device is possible.”

“I can assure you that it is,” Kincaid responded as he passed out Alton photos of what the AIs were building at the galactic center. “Our top scientists have confirmed what the Altons found. One of those constructions the AIs are building is capable of sending out a hyperwave that will eliminate all organic life in our galaxy. It will take close to fifty years for the wave to pass through the galaxy, but once initiated there will be no way to escape from it.”

Fulbright turned pale in disbelief as he listened to Kincaid explain in more detail what the Altons had found and what the Federation and its allies were prepared to do about it. He felt his world crumbling around him. He looked down at the photos, which showed the horrific structures.

“Thousands of AI ships,” he muttered his eyes wide. “Then we’re doomed. We don’t have the ships to fight against those kinds of odds.”

“We have a plan,” President Kincaid continued in a firm and more commanding voice. “It’s a long shot, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“If Fleet Admiral Streth is involved, we’ve got more than a long shot,” Senator Barnes added with confidence in his voice. “The Fleet Admiral defeated the Hocklyns and he will do the same with the AIs.” Senator Barnes had known nearly from the very beginning about the AI threat.

Kincaid saw several other senators nod their heads in agreement. He just hoped that they were right in their belief in the Fleet Admiral. He then proceeded to outline the planned attack on the galactic center and the forces that would be involved.

-

Later, President Kincaid stepped into his office and took a seat behind his desk. With a heavy sigh, he looked over at the two men, who'd been waiting for his return.

“Tough meeting?” asked Governor Malleck, seeing the tired look upon President Kincaid’s face.

“Fulbright,” responded Kincaid, sounding exasperated. “I don’t understand why the people of Serenity keep reelecting him to the senate. The man is unbelievably narrow minded.”

“So you told them about what the AIs are building at the galactic center?”

“Yes,” responded Kincaid, drawing in a deep breath. “I still don’t know if Senator Fulbright believes me or thinks it was all just a bunch of bullshit.”

“It really doesn’t matter,” Admiral Kalen said with a frown. He'd come with Governor Malleck for this meeting. “The fleets are all on their way and won’t be returning until this is settled one way or the other.”

“I hope Fleet Admiral Streth knows what he’s doing,” spoke President Kincaid, arching his eyebrow. “He’s going up against nearly impossible odds.” It was difficult to believe that the future of the Federation and the other races of the galaxy might all depend on the outcome of just one battle.

“If anyone can find a way, it’s Admiral Streth,” Malleck replied. To the people of Ceres, the Fleet Admiral was a legend, and it was nearly incomprehensible that he could fail in any endeavor. After all, he'd been awoken from cryosleep to save the Federation from the Hocklyns and he had just finished doing that.

President Kincaid was silent for a long moment. “I’ve spoken to Ambassador Tureen about the possibility of an evacuation if the mission fails. If the AIs fire off their hyperwave, we’ll have approximately twenty-six years before it reaches Federation and Alton space.”

“To travel to another galaxy,” Admiral Kalen continued in a quiet voice. He'd heard this mentioned before. “How long a voyage are we talking about?” He knew the Altons had once considered doing just that to escape the AIs. They had discussed all this briefly on Ceres a while back.

“Ambassador Tureen says if we equip the ships with the latest Alton hyperdrive, the crossing to the larger Magellanic Cloud can be made in two years' time. Even with the Alton drives, it will be necessary to drop out of hyperspace occasionally to allow the drives to cool down.”

“Will that be far enough away to escape the hyperwave?” asked Governor Malleck with concern in his voice. They had discussed an evacuation before but hadn’t settled on a destination.

“Yes,” Kincaid answered with a nod. “The Alton scientists have calculated that while it will still pass through the Magellanic Cloud, it'll be much weaker at that point and won't pose a significant danger to organic life.”

“What size ships are we talking about building?” Admiral Kalen asked. He suspected they would have to be quite large to make such a long voyage and carry the materials they'd need to establish their civilization in another galaxy. To go more than 170,000 light years over two years would take a tremendous amount of supplies just for the crews of the ships.

“Sixteen hundred meters,” responded Kincaid, decisively. “The same size as our battleships. That way we can produce them in our current shipyards without having to make major modifications. We’ve run some preliminary calculations and feel confident we can build nearly six thousand ships in the time we’ll have.”

“How many survivors are we talking about taking with us?” asked Admiral Kalen, knowing only a fraction of the Federation population could be saved. He didn’t even want to imagine what those last few years would be like. With they hyperwave nearing, people would begin to panic.

“The civilians will be placed in cryosleep for the crossing,” answered Kincaid, recalling what Ambassador Tureen had explained to him. “If we pack the ships with sleep chambers, we can put twelve thousand people on each one.”

“Seventy-two million people,” Governor Malleck breathed as he did some quick calculations. “When our people find out how few are going to be saved, we may find ourselves in the same situation that the Hocklyn Empire just went through. We could have massive rioting and fighting over control of the ships. The Federation will fall into anarchy.”

“We’ll have time to prepare to ensure that doesn’t happen,” responded President Kincaid, agreeing there would be massive civilian unrest toward the end.

“We could build more shipyards,” Admiral Kalen suggested. “With more shipyards, we could produce more ships.” He knew they could expand greatly the number of construction bays in Ceres.

President Kincaid nodded his head in agreement. “Admiral Kalen, I want you to get with Admiral Freeman and begin making plans to do just that. While we won’t be able to save everyone, I want to save as many as possible. Keep in mind that the Altons, Carethians, Kessels, Darvonians, and possibly the Zanth will be building evacuation ships also.”

“I hope all of this is unnecessary,” Governor Malleck said as he stood up and walked over to the large map of the galaxy. He stood gazing at the galactic center. Their fate and that of the entire galaxy rested on Fleet Admiral Streth’s shoulders. He just hoped the legendary admiral could pull off one more miracle.

-

The Command AI was inside the Hyper Translation Station watching intently as the first test was about to be performed. For months, the AIs had worked nonstop to get the massive structure ready for this day. Tremendous amounts of resources from tens of thousands of worlds had been used to build the ring of constructions around the black hole.

“Ready to power up,” the science AI spoke as it directed several others who were assisting in the experiment.

“Bring the capacitors online,” instructed the science AI as it watched the complicated control panel in front of it.

“Capacitors coming online,” reported one of the assistant science AIs as it moved its long metal tentacles across a control console. The AI depressed several buttons and turned a number of dials. A low humming noise filled the chamber.

-

In space, around the monstrous black hole, the twelve hundred capacitor stations came online. From each, a light bluish glow covered their exterior. Spatial vortexes opened as energy was transferred along the line to the Hyper Translation Station. The attending AI spheres moved back from the capacitor stations as the massive surge of energy could affect their ships' systems.

“Energy is at ten percent and climbing,” one of the technical AIs reported as the gauges on its console continued to rise.

“Energy is at twenty percent and holding constant,” the AI spoke a few minutes later, the globe of energy, which served as its head glowing brighter.

“Charging the spatial vortex ring,” the science AI stated as it depressed several more switches. “Preparing to activate the vortex.”

The command AI switched its gaze to one of the large viewscreens showing the thirty vortex generators. They suddenly glowed with a brilliant bluish light and then a massive, swirling white vortex formed, twenty kilometers in diameter. It was large enough for the AIs to send anything they needed through to the intended destination, which was another galaxy.

“Vortex established and holding,” the science AI confirmed as it studied its console intently. “Sending the probe through.”

On the viewscreen, an older fifteen hundred-meter AI sphere moved steadily toward the swirling light and then entered it. The sphere vanished into the center of the spatial vortex.

“We’re receiving telemetry from the sphere,” one of the science technicians reported a few moments later. “It’s arrived at its destination.”

“Vortex is collapsing,” one of the other AIs reported.

“Why so soon?” demanded the Command AI. In order to send the thousands of AI ships through it would have to remain open far longer.

“We only charged the vortex generators to twenty percent capacity,” the science AI explained. “We'll need to charge them to eighty percent to keep the vortex open long term as well as to generate the hyperwave from the Eternity Device.”

“How much longer before we’re ready?” the Command AI questioned.

The AI was growing impatient; it still felt uneasy knowing the Altons had probably deduced what the Great Project was by now. When it had first been created, it had come to know the Altons and respect their high science. Now that science could be a threat if the Altons could bring sufficient force to bear against the project.

“Ten more weeks and we can run the final tests; two weeks after that we can open the vortex permanently and fire off the hyperwave.”

“Continue with your preparations,” the Command AI ordered, satisfied with the answer. “We can probably expect the Altons to make an attempt to stop the Great Project.”

“They will not succeed,” responded the science AI. “We have twelve thousand warships that will crush them if they attack.”

That was the same response the command AI had gotten from the head military AI. The military AI had been quick to point out that in the latest battle in the Hocklyn home system they'd annihilated the majority of the Alton ships in the attacking fleets. The military AI doubted if the Altons had the forces remaining to mount a significant threat against the Great Project. The Humans had also suffered heavily. However, there was no doubt in the Command AI’s mind that the Humans and Altons would try. They would try and die, and the hyperwave from the Eternity Device would finish their civilizations.

In a little less than fifty years, this galaxy would be free of organic life. It would be a galaxy of AIs, as would be the one the vortex would send their ships to. The spatial vortex was different from the normal ones generated by ships. This one linked directly to a nearby galaxy and created a stable wormhole, which allowed ships to travel instantly from one galaxy to the next. Once they arrived at the new galaxy, they would build a new complex around that galaxy’s black hole and send out a hyperwave to eliminate the galaxy’s organic life. Later, two-way travel between the galaxies would commence and AI dominance of the known universe would start to become a reality.

-

High Leader Nartel stood upon the Command Pedestal in the War Room of the Hocklyn dreadnought HighVengence. He looked at one of the main viewscreens showing the new shipyard being constructed in orbit above the new Hocklyn home world. Already work was beginning on the outer hull as heavy armor plates were in the process of being installed.

“The new shipyard is progressing rapidly,” commented War Leader Santel his cold, dark eyes focused on the screen. Numerous small construction shuttles were visible as well as hundreds of slaves in spacesuits swarming across the structure. Bright welding arcs were highly visible as the shuttles moved massive beams and hull plating into position with their manipulator arms.

“We'll need it for the new classes of warships we will be building,” High Leader Nartel answered.

“What of the slave worlds in this sector?” inquired Santel. “Are they firmly under our control?”

“Yes,” answered Nartel as he looked at the large tactical screen showing hundreds of Hocklyn warships in orbit around the planet. “There are twenty slave worlds within a fifteen light year radius of our new world. It's one of the reasons I chose this sector. Fleet Commodore Caltrin has already sent warships to all of the slave systems to ensure they stay firmly under our control. A warcruiser and two escort cruisers were assigned to each system to ensure obedience. Already the first cargo ships have been sent with valuable supplies. We’ll shortly be supplying each world with a list of what they’re expected to ship to our new world on a monthly basis.”

“High Councilors Berken and Jarles have come aboard, as well as Fleet Commodore Caltrin and Commodore Zeth,” Second Leader Visth reported. “They are headed to Briefing Room Two.”

“Excellent,” Nartel spoke. Upon learning that Jarles was assembling his own evacuation fleet, Nartel had dispatched an envoy suggesting that Jarles join with them and proceed to the new Hocklyn world he'd established in secret. Jarles had quickly accepted the offer, seeing strength in numbers as they fled the collapsing Empire.

-

A few minutes later, High Leader Nartel stepped into the briefing room, which had been set up with a large wooden conference table very similar to the one in the High Council Chambers back on Calzen. They all stood as Nartel entered the room.

“I'm impressed by what has been done here,” began High Councilor Jarles. “It's amazing that you were able to keep all of this a secret from the other members of the council.”

“They were not expecting anyone to attempt to circumvent the council and establish a new colony,” responded Nartel, coldly. “The High Council had too many shortsighted fools upon it, such as High Councilor Ruthan. I saw early on that our Empire might suffer defeat once the Altons became involved. Their technology was overwhelming compared to what the AIs were willing to share with us.”

“How many civilians are on the world beneath us?” asked Berken. He'd brought nearly two hundred thousand in his own fleet.

“At last count, we have nearly twenty million Hocklyn civilians on the surface, enough to begin our civilization anew,” Nartel responded. “The weapons development facility on the planet’s moon has reported that they'll have the first sublight missiles ready to test within another two months. They've already constructed over three hundred antimatter warheads.”

“Yes,” Fleet Commodore Caltrin added. He was very pleased with the progress the weapons research facility was making. “Once the new shipyard is completed, we have new designs for better energy shields as well as more powerful energy weapons. We’ll build a new generation of Hocklyn warships.”

“Will we continue the war against the Humans and the Altons?” asked Jarles, nervously. With only one Hocklyn world still under their control, he couldn’t see how that would be feasible. It could only bring disaster down upon them.

“No,” responded Nartel, letting out a deep and cold breath. “We’ll stay within the confines of the fifteen light year radius, which contains this planet as well as the twenty slave worlds. We'll build up our strength and fortify this planet much as the Humans have done theirs. Then someday, when we’re ready, we'll begin to move back out into the galaxy and reestablish our Empire.”

“There is much to be done,” Fleet Commodore Caltrin spoke his dark eyes focusing on the surviving council members. “The shipyard will be fortified with heavy weapons, both defensive and offensive. We'll be placing a defensive grid of satellites in orbit around the planet to repel invaders. In addition, we will have our fleet, which when it has been fully updated should be able to withstand any attack, even from the Humans and the Altons.”

“Just how large a fleet do we have remaining?” asked High Councilor Jarles. He'd brought some warships with his fleet, and he knew High Leader Nartel and Berken had done the same.

“We currently have sixty-eight dreadnoughts, eighty-seven warcruisers, and three hundred and twenty escort cruisers in our combined fleet,” answered Fleet Commodore Caltrin. “All are battle ready and fully stocked with munitions and supplies. In addition, twelve of the dreadnoughts have antimatter warheads on their heavy missiles.”

Everyone remained silent for a moment as they thought the numbers over. It was a powerful fleet, but where the Empire once could boast of a fleet numbering well over ten thousand, now it was reduced to less than five hundred. It was a sobering thought realizing what the Humans and the Altons had done to the Empire.

“Any word from the core worlds?” asked Berken. While he'd saved many of his immediate family members, many others had to be left behind due to a lack of space on the evacuation ships.

“Yes,” hissed High Leader Nartel as his cold eyes looked over the group. “I left several armed scout ships in close proximity to the core worlds with instructions to relay any important developments. They have access to an AI FTL communicator and I received word only yesterday that our core worlds have fallen to the Humans and the Altons. It seems that after the battles being fought for food supplies our fleet was drastically reduced in numbers, perhaps to less than one thousand ships.”

“A thousand ships,” breathed Jarles, finding it hard to believe.

“Yes, a thousand ships,” reiterated Nartel in his rasping voice. “Fleet Commodore Jaseth put up an honorable battle in the home system but was defeated. His force was vastly outnumbered but engaged the Human and Alton ships in a great battle. There is a report of a large AI fleet, which joined in at the last minute, but even with the presence of the AIs the Humans and the Altons managed to prevail. Not a single warship of Fleet Commodore Jaseth’s command survived.”

“They died honorable deaths,” High Councilor Jarles proclaimed.

“The Humans went on to destroy every Hocklyn warship in the core worlds,” High Leader Nartel added.

“Then the core worlds are no more; surely the Humans bombed the planets once our warships were destroyed,” Jarles spoke his voice cold and nearly devoid of emotion.

“No, they did not,” answered Nartel, shaking his reptilian head. “High Councilors Ruthan and Desmonde surrendered the core worlds to the Humans.”

“They what!” roared High Councilor Jarles his eyes turning red in anger. “They've lost all of their honor to do such a thing. What will become of the core worlds if they're under Human rule?”

“They are lost to us,” confirmed High Leader Nartel. “Computer estimates put the total population loss at nearly ninety percent. The worlds are devastated from the fighting over food supplies and many of the orbiting habits have been completely depopulated.”

“Then we can never return home,” Jarles said, letting out a deep breath. The family members he had left behind were probably dead.

“No, I’ve already recalled the armed scouts. The Humans and Altons must not become aware of our new colony, at least not until we’re ready.”

“In honor, we will rebuild our Empire,” High Leader Berken spoke his eyes showing fire.

“In honor,” the others echoed.

“Each of you will be assigned tasks to watch over; we must rebuild our strength as rapidly as possible and remain in hiding,” spoke High Leader Nartel. “Someday in the future, we will reemerge and the Hocklyn Empire will live again!”

-

Later, High Leader Nartel stood once more on the Command Pedestal in the War Room, gazing at the viewscreens that showed the activity around the dreadnought. At last they were out from beneath the controlling AIs and far enough away from the Humans and the Altons to remain undetected for quite some time. Someday, the Hocklyn Empire would rise again and not even the Humans and the Altons would be allowed to stand in the way.

Chapter Seventeen

Hedon tossed the flat stone out across the blue water of the lake, watching it skip. Eight times the stone bounced off the water, creating gentle ripples until finally disappearing into the depths.

Janice held a similar rock and mimicking Hedon’s throw she tossed her’s. It hit the water with a loud plunk and sank immediately.

“I guess I’ll never get the hang of that,” she groaned, shaking her head. Hedon made it look so easy.

“My brother Taylor taught me how to skip rocks,” Hedon said with a chuckle. It was good to see Janice having a good time.

Janice nodded, leaned back, and stretched. She felt her more than ample breasts strain against the light shirt she was wearing. There was a time when this would've embarrassed her. Now she felt pleased and a warm glow inside, seeing Hedon’s attention suddenly focus fully on her. They were on Maken at the lake where Hedon’s brother’s cabin once stood, taking some much needed time off from the war.

“The lake's nearly full again,” spoke Hedon, shifting his eyes away from Janice’s alluring figure. He wondered if she knew the effect she had on him at times with her antics. “The work robots have finished repairing the dam, and in another few months it should be back to how it was.” In the distance, he could see several colorful birds circling low over the water looking for fish to eat.

“That’s great, Hedon,” Janice answered with a smile. She knew that getting the lake back to how it had been would please Hedon immensely. “Are there still fish in the lake?”

“Surprisingly, there are,” he responded, pointing to a few ripples out in the calm water. The wind was barely blowing and only gentle waves were visible on the surface. “When we get back from the galactic center, I plan to do some serious fishing. Taylor and I had some wonderful times fishing these waters.”

“I wish I could've met Taylor and Lendle,” Janice said in a softer voice. She knew Hedon deeply missed his younger brother.

“I wish you could've too,” Hedon answered with a sad look in his eyes, thinking about how much time had passed since he last saw his brother and Lendle. “They would've liked you.”

For the past week, they'd been taking it easy, traveling around the old Federation worlds and seeing the work done by colonists from New Providence. The biggest change was on Tellus where a sizable Human colony had already been established. Here on Maken, only a few thousand colonists had settled down on the old Federation world. They'd landed on Maken earlier that day and pitched two large tents. They would be spending the night and then returning to New Providence to finish preparations for their attack on the AIs at the galactic center.

They spent some more time walking by the lake holding hands, with Hedon describing in breathless detail some of the things he and his brother had done on their trips to the cabin. For a while, it was easy to forget what lay in their future. At last, they ended back up at the two large tents the marines had set up for them earlier.

Glancing up the shoreline, Hedon allowed himself to smile. A small shuttle was parked on a grassy area with two more tents pitched close to the water. Those would be their four marine guards, who never left their sides. At least here they were far enough away to allow Hedon and Janice some privacy.

They ate a quick meal from the supplies Janice had brought down from the StarStrike, and then sat down in the sand to watch the sun set below the distant horizon. It seemed to swell up as it slowly vanished, sending out soft fading rays of light that cast mysterious shadows upon the lake and surrounding landscape. They could hear the low drone of insects and the occasional cry of a distant bird.

After the sunset, they stayed on the sandy beach, watching as the stars came out to light up the night sky above them. Hedon leaned back and gazed up at the several thousand stars visible. Everything seemed so peaceful, as if there had never been a war.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Janice said, sliding her hand over and placing it on top of Hedon’s. “I hope we can return here someday.”

“We will,” promised Hedon, turning and giving Janice a light kiss on the lips. “Someday I’m going to return and build a new cabin here. I hope you’ll come back with me.”

“I will,” Janice said happily. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”

After awhile, Hedon stood and helped Janice to her feet. “We'd better turn in; we have to get up early in the morning and return to New Providence.”

Janice let out a long sigh. The last few days had been a lot of fun and it was great to see Hedon put his guard down and relax. She knew he was deeply worried about the upcoming battle with the AIs at the galactic center.

The two made their way to their separate tents and as Janice went into hers, Hedon felt the urge to follow her. Then, fighting down the temptation, he turned and went into his tent. He'd only been inside for a few minutes when he heard a noise outside. Looking up, he saw Janice step inside. She was wearing a long shirt and obviously nothing else.

“Janice,” Hedon said, shaking his head.

“No,” Janice replied as she reached up and slowly unbuttoned her shirt, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. “If we’re going off into a battle we may not return from, I want this memory.” She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Hedon’s neck and pressing her warm, firm breasts into his chest. Her lips found his and she kissed him passionately. She felt his arms slide around her and hold her tight. Stepping back slightly, she smiled. “Are you going to get undressed?”

Knowing he wanted Janice as bad as she wanted him, Hedon hurriedly removed his clothes, and shortly they were intertwined on the large bed that had been placed in the tent. Janice had taken care of setting the tents up and now he knew why she'd put a full sized bed in his. He wondered how she had explained that to the marines.

-

Jeremy, Kelsey, Kevin, Angela, and Katie were all down on New Providence at a recently opened ocean side resort. Jeremy was drinking a fruit drink very similar to the ones he'd become addicted to on New Tellus.

“This is great,” Jeremy said as he took another long drink and smiled at Kelsey, who was wearing a blue, skimpy two-piece swimsuit. His wife looked gorgeous and Jeremy couldn’t help thinking about the room waiting for them.

“That’s the third one you’ve had this afternoon,” responded Kelsey, shaking her head and laughing. “You’re going to turn into one of those.”

“Our last full day of fun and water,” Kevin spoke as he stood up and eyed the ocean.

“Kevin’s had a rough time the last few days,” Katie said with a giggle. “There are no hamburgers at any of the resort’s restaurants or cafes.”

“Poor baby,” teased Angela, laughing. She then spied Brace, her marine captain, coming down the beach carrying two sets of snorkel gear. “See all of you later.”

Jeremy shook his head. Angela was wearing an extremely skimpy, black, two-piece that only hid the bare essentials. He could well remember the time when she was hesitant about showing anything. Times had certainly changed. He watched as she met Brace, giving him a quick hug, and then the two of them ran off into the water.

“This will be the last time we’re all together until after the attack on the AIs,” Kelsey said in a quiet and much softer voice. “If we all survive, what are we going to do when we return? I don’t know if I want to stay in the fleet.”

“We’ll survive,” Jeremy said, reaching out and taking Kelsey’s hand. “You and Katie have Clarissa on the StarStrike and we have Ariel on the Avenger. Those two AIs won’t allow anything bad to happen. Remember, Ariel once said that she'd been instructed by my father to make sure no harm ever came to any of us.”

“I don’t know,” Kelsey said with a hint of worry in her deep blue eyes. She reached up with her right hand and brushed her blonde hair away from her eyes. “All of us except Kevin have been seriously injured at one time or another,” she reminded Jeremy.

“Let’s not dwell on the coming battle with the AIs,” Jeremy said, squeezing Kelsey’s hand. “We’ve still got tonight, and we don’t need to return to our ships until late tomorrow afternoon.”

“I need to go over to the Avenger to install some security updates I have for Ariel,” Katie said as she turned toward the two. “I don’t want to risk the AIs trying to tamper with her program again.”

Kevin walked back over and taking Katie’s hand pulled her up. “Let’s go for a swim; the water feels great! Who knows when we’ll get to do this again.”

Jeremy watched as the two ran out into the water and dove head first into the waves. It had been great for all of them to get to share some quality time together; it reminded him of how it used to be. He knew Ariel and Clarissa wanted to do some exploring once the war was over. They'd even gone so far as to work on a ship design for an exploration cruiser. If they decided not to stay in the fleet, the exploration idea could be an excuse to keep them all together, at least for a while.

Kelsey looked over at Jeremy with a demure look. “Why don’t we go up to the room for awhile?” she suggested with a glint in her eyes. “Let’s make the most of this last day before we have to return to the fleet.”

Jeremy smiled and put the fruit drink down. Kelsey was a passionate lover and he wasn’t ever going to turn her down. “Let’s go,” he said, standing up. “The others will never even miss us.”

In the ocean, Kevin and Katie were standing in waist deep water, watching as Jeremy and Kelsey left the beach.

“There they go again,” Katie giggled. “They’re sure giving their room a workout.”

“You know, our room is waiting,” suggested Kevin, grinning.

“Let’s go,” responded Katie, grabbing Kevin’s hand as a large wave nearly bowled her over. “Maybe we can beat them back!”

The two ran to the shore and headed for the resort. Little did they know this would be the last day the Special Five would spend together for a very long time.

-

Admiral Sheen and Richard were at one of the large resorts up on the side of a snow-covered mountain. They'd already spent a full week enjoying the crisp mountain air and ski slopes.

“This has been great!” Richard said as they entered the resort and took off their heavy skiing gear. “Let’s grab something to eat; I’m starving.”

Amanda laughed. She enjoyed laughing it was something that didn’t occur much anymore. War had a way of affecting people that way.

“I wouldn’t mind a good meal,” she replied.

It was also nice to be able to eat some of the foods she had been raised on in the old Federation. She'd almost forgotten what they tasted like until they arrived at the resort. She had been pleasantly surprised to see the wide selection of old time favorites on the menu.

They were sitting by a large window with a view of the mountain. It was late afternoon and they could see skiers coming down the runs on the steep slopes. Amanda knew that all across the planet tens of thousands of fleet personnel were on leave, enjoying their last few days before being recalled to rejoin the orbiting fleets.

“We could’ve gone to Aquaria for a few days,” Richard said, looking curiously at his wife. “Why didn’t you want to go?”

“Aquaria has a lot of memories,” Amanda answered as she sipped her hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate had been brought by Richard, who had stocked up on it while on New Tellus. He'd furnished some to the chefs at the resort with instructions to serve it to Amanda. She had such a look of bliss on her face every time she took a sip.

“When this is over, I want us to settle there on Krall Island,” Amanda spoke in a soft and caring voice. “I want to raise a family without the fear of war hanging over their heads. I want to take our children diving off Heritage reef like I used to with my father.”

“We’ll do it,” responded Richard, nodding his head. He wanted to have children as well someday. “We’ll build a home on the same beach your parent’s home once stood upon.”

“I'd like that,” spoke Amanda, taking a last sip of her hot chocolate just as their food arrived. The server removed her empty cup and sat a new one down that was still steaming.

“I wish I were coming with you, Amanda,” Richard said, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Your job is here, Richard,” replied Amanda, reaching her hand across the table and taking Richard’s. “You'll be responsible for the defense of New Providence.”

Richard laughed. “I have all of these battle stations, nearly one hundred New Providence destroyers, twenty light cruisers, and the two hundred Darvonian warships assigned to my command. I wish I had a battleship or two.”

“If we’re successful at the galactic center, you won’t need them,” Amanda responded. “If all goes well, we’ll be back in four months and the war will be over.”

“I hope so,” Richard answered. He knew that for the next few months he'd be lonely and nervous as hell, not knowing the fate of his wife once she reached the galactic center with Second Fleet. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be in the center of any battle.

“Let’s finish our meal and then go sit outside and watch the sunset,” Amanda suggested her blue eyes focusing on her husband. “We have this one last night together; let’s make the most of it.

Richard nodded. They were both in the fleet and knew their duties. Tonight was about them; tomorrow it would be about the survival of the Federation and the rest of the galaxy.

-

Two months until doomsday.

Fleet Admiral Streth stood in front of the large conference table in the main briefing room of the StarStrike. To his right stood Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson and on his left were the Alton scientists Garan Mikow and Tanith Leeth. Slightly behind them stood the two AIs. Katie had arranged for both Clarissa and Ariel to attend the meeting in their holographic forms. Both wore their normal dark blue fleet uniforms.

“Final preparations are nearly complete and we’ll set out for the galactic center in another forty-eight hours,” Hedon began, looking over the assembled group of fleet officers. “We’ve received some disturbing news from one of the Alton scout ships monitoring the activity of the AIs.” Hedon turned and gestured for the Alton scientist Garan Mikow to explain.

“The AIs have begun to run preliminary tests on their constructions around the black hole,” Garan began in a grave voice. The tall white haired Alton gazed seriously at the group.

There were some uneasy looks on the faces of a number the admirals, and a few looked deeply concerned. They hadn’t expected the AIs to already be running tests.

“There's only been one confirmed test and that was on the vortex ring they've built. It was activated for less than a minute, but long enough for them to send one of their fifteen hundred-meter spheres through. The ship did not return as we believe that the vortex, at least for now, is only one way.

“How much time do we have?” asked Jeremy, fearful they'd waited too long to launch their attack on the galactic center. If the AIs fired off their hyperwave before they got there, then all hope would be lost.

“We estimate eight to no more than ten weeks,” Tanith Leeth answered. “They will have to run a series of tests to calibrate their systems, and from the magnitude of the constructions they've built, it should take some time for that to be done. Machines of that size are not easy to calibrate.”

“So that’s our timeline,” Hedon informed the group, drawing in a deep breath. “We have three main objectives. Clarissa, if you will show the first one.”

Above several holographic tables appeared a large, circular object. Even within the display, it looked massive.

“The AIs call this the Central Nexus or AI Command,” Clarissa explained in her clear and youthful voice. “It’s five hundred kilometers in diameter and controls all of the activity around the black hole as well as the twelve thousand warships currently guarding their project. From communication intercepts the Alton scouts have made, we know they call what they’ve built around the black hole the Great Project.”

“Twelve thousand warships,” muttered Rear Admiral Tolsen, shaking his head at the numbers. “How do we defeat that many AI spheres?”

“That’s a hell of a lot of ships to go up against,” spoke Admiral Nagumo, cocking his eyebrow. “It won’t be easy, and we’ll take some heavy losses no matter what we do.”

“The AIs have their warships spread out to guard their entire project,” Ariel began, stepping forward and looking at the assembled officers. “In addition to the Central Nexus there are twelve hundred capacitor or energy collecting stations they’re also guarding. In some areas, their fleet is spread pretty thin.” Ariel activated two more holo tables, which showed the energy capacitors. “Each capacitor is one hundred and twenty kilometers in diameter.”

“Our third target is this control station close to the vortex ring,” Hedon continued. Two more holo tables blinked on, showing another large metal globe. “This control station is two hundred kilometers in diameter and controls the vortex ring. The AIs call it their Hyper Translation Station.”

“We also believe the controls to the Eternity Device are located here as well,” Tanith Leeth added. “Once the entire system is activated and fully powered, it’ll be capable of broadcasting a hyperwave that will eliminate all organic life in our galaxy in less than fifty years.”

“How do we stop them?” asked Admiral Nagumo with concern in his eyes. “They'll certainly respond to any attack, and I strongly suspect all of those stations are protected by energy shields.”

“We have come up with a strategy, which can stop the AIs from broadcasting their hyperwave,” answered Hedon, recalling the plan that he, Ariel, and Clarissa had come up with. “We’ll attack them where they’re most vulnerable while also engaging those systems they will do everything to defend.” Hedon turned to Ariel, who nodded.

“It’s actually quite simple. We'll attack all four of their main systems.” She began explaining in a calm and confident voice what would be involved. “Fleet Admiral Streth and Admiral Sheen will lead their fleets against the Central Nexus, which will also have the largest concentration of AI ships defending it. Admiral Strong will attack the Hyper Translation Station with the goal of damaging either it or some of the vortex generators.”

“If we can knock out two or three of the generators, we don’t believe they can activate the vortex ring,” Tanith explained. “We also think the vortex ring has to be activated in order for the Eternity Device to be triggered. The massive spatial vortex it produces is what gives the hyperwave the Eternity Device generates the speed to travel through hyperspace.”

“Fleet Admiral Johnson, Rear Admiral Tolsen, and Admiral Nagumo will attack the capacitor stations,” Ariel continued. “If we can knock enough of them out, they may not be able to power up the vortex ring.”

“What about the Eternity Device itself?” asked Admiral Nagumo. “Who’s taking it out?”

“Rear Admiral Barnes and the Ceres fleet will target the Eternity Device,” Ariel explained. “The Kessel fleet will be assisting.”

“What about my fleet?” Grayseth asked in his loud booming voice. He'd brought in more battlecruisers from Careth and was ready for battle. “The Evil Ones have been defeated, but these robots are what made them evil to begin with.”

“Your fleet will be acting in support of Admiral Strong,” Fleet Admiral Streth informed the large bear. “We have assigned sixty Alton battlecruisers to your fleet to give it the necessary firepower for this engagement. “You will also be responsible for protecting our supply ships, the fleet repair ships, as well as your mobile shipyard.”

“Don’t forget the four Alton science cruisers that will be going,” Tanith Leeth added. “The readings from their sensors will be crucial if we can’t stop the AIs completely.”

“Protecting those four science vessels is a high priority,” Fleet Admiral Streth reiterated his eyes focusing on Grayseth. “Your own warships and the Alton battlecruisers will move forward under Admiral Strong’s orders if and when it becomes necessary.”

“Admiral Strong is a clan brother,” spoke Grayseth, solemnly. “We will hunt together.”

“We will hunt together,” replied Jeremy, nodding his head in respect at his friend.

“We’ll add more details to this attack as we get nearer the galactic center,” Fleet Admiral Streth added. “The Alton scouts are scheduled to report in at specific intervals to keep us informed of the AIs’ progress. Alton battleships have been assigned to each fleet. We have over eleven hundred warships taking part in this attack.”

“Most of the Federation’s heavy warships are in these fleets,” added Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson, taking in a deep breath. “We left many of our light cruisers back in the Federation and some will remain here at New Providence because they don’t have the firepower to take down an AI ship. We did bring some to help provide cover for our carriers, which will use their bomber squadrons to attack the structures the AIs have built. Our bombers will be equipped with twenty-megaton Shrike missiles for this engagement. We've swapped out many of our carriers' fighters with bomber squadrons. We won’t know how effective they’ll be until we launch our attack.”

Hedon looked solemnly around the group. “Many of our people will not be coming home,” he said is a softer voice. “Ariel and Clarissa have estimated we could suffer as high as eighty percent losses to our fleets even if we succeed in our mission. We have forty-eight hours before we depart, so I would suggest you encourage all of your people to send final messages back home. This will be the last time some of their families will hear from them.”

Carla listened to Hedon’s words and let out a deep sigh. She would have given anything to have received such a message from Glenn. When this was over there would be more broken hearts and empty homes in the Federation as well as their allies. War had a way of reminding everyone just how fragile Human life was. Karla had learned that when Glenn died. Looking around the room, she just hoped to be able to see these faces again when all of this was over. However, in war people died, even commanding officers.

Chapter Eighteen

Doomsday!

Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth took a long and deep breath as he looked at one of the tactical displays in front of his command station. It was showing the latest information from the Alton scouts on the AI constructions around the black hole at the galactic center. The holographic display was full of different colored icons. Everything the AIs had built or was in place around the black hole was showing. Their warships, the massive structures they'd constructed, and the Central Nexus, which was their control and command center and the main target of the planned attack.

The combined fleets were holding stationary twelve light years from their target in a small, discreet brown dwarf system. For two days, they'd been watching the movements of the AIs.

“The Alton scouts report there was another test three days ago,” Colonel Grissim informed Hedon. “It was by far the most powerful yet and the vortex ring stayed activated for a full forty minutes. They could activate the damn thing at any time!”

Hedon nodded; just the power to keep a spatial vortex open for that length of time was nearly incomprehensible.

“Tanith Leeth and Garan Mikow both feel the AIs are within only a few days or a week at the most from being able to fully activate the vortex ring and the Eternity Device,” Clarissa added in her youthful voice, her deep blue eyes focused on the admiral. Her blonde hair lay in gentle curls upon her shoulders. “All ships report combat ready; we can attack at any given moment.”

“Is there any advantage in waiting?” asked Hedon, glancing over at the AI. He still often wondered if the holographic images of the two Federation AIs had been based on living people. Both AIs were gorgeous and their features seemed so lifelike. They were also very popular members of their crews.

“No,” answered Clarissa, shaking her head slightly. “I spoke to Ariel; she’s been running battle simulations for hours. There’s nothing that can change in the short term, which would increase our likelihood of success.”

“Then this is it,” Hedon spoke in a quiet voice as he weighed the order he was about to give.

Both AIs had run simulations, and in several of them he'd lost every single ship in the combined fleets. Only in twenty-two percent of the scenarios had he succeeded in destroying the Central Nexus and the Eternity Device. This was a battle he didn’t want to fight, but he knew he had no choice. The lives of every organic being in the galaxy were depending on him finding some way to defeat the AIs.

With a heavy sigh, knowing he was sending many brave men and women to their deaths, he prepared to pass on his next order over his mini-com, which he had adjusted to the fleet frequency. His voice would be heard in every ship and every compartment of the combined fleets. “We jump in two hours,” he said in a calm and determined voice. “Each fleet knows its respective target and what’s at stake. We can’t withdraw until the AI’s Central Nexus and the Eternity Device have been destroyed.”

Hedon paused as he looked around the large Command Center of the StarStrike; each crewmember’s eyes were focused intently on him as they listened to his every word. “We fight for the future of our different people and the other races of our galaxy. If we fail, then the future of all those races as well as our own will be wiped out. The AIs will show no mercy and we shall show no mercy to them. As our Carethian allies would say, let us hunt together and be victorious. It has been an honor to serve with you as your Fleet Admiral.”

Hedon changed the frequency on his mini-com and then looked over at Clarissa, who was standing nearby. “Coordinate with Ariel; I want all of the fleets to jump together and arrive simultaneously at their targets. We need surprise on our side if we’re to have any real chance at success.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Clarissa replied. Her latest battle scenarios hadn’t fared well. She felt frightened about this upcoming battle. Once before her memory crystal had nearly been destroyed. She'd recovered from that ordeal thanks to the persistence of Katie and Ariel, though Clarissa knew some of her memories had never returned. She wondered what it would be like to die and not be able to come back.

-

“I guess this is it,” Katie said, speaking to Kelsey over their private com channel, which Clarissa had set up for them. She wished she were on the Avenger with Kevin. She knew that Kelsey felt the same about Jeremy.

“I’m worried, Katie,” Kelsey admitted in a low voice. “I feel that something terrible is going to happen.”

“It’s just prebattle jitters,” Katie responded her light green eyes looking across the Command Center to where Kelsey sat at Navigation. Only this time, Katie wasn’t so sure. She had the same haunting feeling.

-

Jeremy was on his mini-com speaking to Grayseth and Rear Admiral Susan Marks. “Susan, I want you to hold your carrier force back with Grayseth’s battle group. I may want a coordinated strike from your bombers as well as Grayseth’s battlecruisers and the Alton battlecruisers.”

“We will hunt well together,” Grayseth responded in a confident, booming voice. “We will destroy these robots that have brought so much harm to so many races.”

Jeremy had explained several times to Grayseth that the AIs were intelligent and not just robots, but the huge bear still insisted on calling them robots. He only shook his head and allowed himself to smile.

“If we can’t get through to the Hyper Translation Station, then I want a mass attack upon the vortex ring. If we can destroy it, then the AIs can’t activate the Eternity Device.”

“Why not just attack the Eternity Device?” asked Susan. “It would seem to be the more important target.”

“It is also the most heavily defended,” Ariel said. “From the latest scans from the Alton scouts, there are over five hundred AI spheres protecting it. It is also protected by a very powerful energy shield, more powerful reportedly than those protecting the AI ships. Rear Admiral Barnes and the Kessels will be attacking it but at long range. Their job is to hold those five hundred AI ships in place.”

“If we can take out the Hyper Translation Station then neither the vortex ring nor the Eternity Device can be activated,” Jeremy informed them. “With the hundred Alton battleships attached to Fourth Fleet, I feel confident we can do that. Once we’ve taken out the station we’ll turn our attention to the vortex ring and then finally the Eternity Device.”

“We’re launching multiple attacks in an attempt to prevent the AIs from massing all of their ships to protect those sensitive targets,” Ariel explained. “By attacking their capacitor stations, we should be able to pin down well over half of their available fleet.”

“I just hope this works,” Susan replied with a deep and audible sigh. “We’re risking a lot in this battle.”

“It is the way of the hunt,” spoke Grayseth, solemnly. “All important victories must be earned in blood.”

Jeremy didn’t reply; he knew a lot of Human blood, as well as the blood of their allies, was about to be spilled in the coming battle. He glanced over at Navigation, wishing Kelsey were there.

-

Admiral Sheen watched a tactical display intently as it counted down the last few minutes until the combined fleets were scheduled to begin their jumps. Nine separate fleets would be coordinating their jumps to arrive at their targets within just a few seconds of each other. Such coordination wouldn’t be possible without the two AIs aboard the StarStrike and the Avenger. Amanda had one hundred and sixty Federation ships under her command as well as one hundred of the massive Alton battleships. It was by far the most powerful force she'd ever commanded; she just wondered if it was enough. They would be going up against thousands of the fifteen hundred-meter AI spheres in their home territory. They would not retreat or jump away; this would be a battle to the death.

“One minute to jump,” Colonel Leon reported from where she was standing directly next to the tactical display with the countdown counter. Her demeanor was professional, as if every day the fleet jumped into a titanic battle to the death.

“All fleet ships are at Condition One,” added Commander Diaz. “Weapons are hot and all missile tubes are loaded with one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles. “We’ll switch to Devastator Threes when we run out of the antimatter ones.” He looked around at his crew; all were occupied at their consoles doing their jobs as the fleet prepared to jump. It was a good command crew, one he was very proud of.

“I want the first salvo aimed at the Central Nexus,” Amanda ordered. “The AIs’ surprise will only last a few seconds before they counterattack with their fleet.”

Captain Kimura nodded. “I’ll empty the missile tubes in the first five seconds,” she said confidently. “I have already programmed the missiles for their trajectory so we can clear all twenty-four tubes as soon as the systems stabilize from the jump.”

“Good luck everyone,” Amanda said as a swirling blue-white spatial vortex suddenly formed in front of the WarStorm.

A preset program accelerated the Federation battleship into the waiting vortex. Around the WarStorm, other vortexes formed as her entire fleet hurtled forward toward its destiny. Throughout the system where the assembled fleets waited, vortexes began to appear. Within forty seconds, there was not a ship left in the system. The vortexes collapsed back in on themselves and vanished, leaving no trace of ever existing.

Amanda gazed at the comforting colors of deep purple on the viewscreen, knowing they were away safely in hyperspace. Other fleets were nearby but due to the strangeness of hyperspace, were not detectable. Even the ships of Second Fleet, which were much closer, couldn’t be detected. They had some time as they made the hyperspace transit, and Amanda strongly suspected everyone was thinking about family and the loved ones they'd left behind. Even the Command Center was strangely quiet with very little talking. The talking that was occurring took place in guarded whispers so no one could be overheard. Amanda leaned back in her command chair and thought of Richard. They'd said their goodbyes, each knowing they might not see each other again. Richard was a good husband and had made their life together something special. Amanda sincerely hoped she would see him again.

-

The Command AI was in the main Control Center of the Central Nexus preparing to monitor the next test of the vortex ring. If it was successful, then they would begin the final countdown for full activation of the ring and firing off the hyperwave from the Eternity Device. Within the week, organic life across the galaxy would begin to die. It would take forty-eight years for the hyperwave to spread out across the entire galaxy. When it finally reached the galaxy's edge, all organic life will have been eliminated.

“All systems have been calibrated,” the science AI spoke, nearly ready to begin the test. “We received an automated FTL transmission from the probe ship during the last test indicating its continued survival at the predicted destination. We also received a data download on the stars around its location.”

“Useful information,” The Command AI responded. Once a sizable portion of the AI fleet had made the transition, they would spread out and take over all the nearby systems.

“All of our ships containing the parts to build a second vortex ring are already gathered four thousand kilometers from the current ring,” another AI spoke, its glowing head of energy shining brightly. “When they arrive at the new galaxy they can begin construction immediately.” Once the second vortex ring was built along with some capacitor stations, it would allow two-way travel between the two galaxies.

“We have spatial vortexes opening up at two thousand kilometers,” the war AI spoke suddenly as alarms began blaring on a multitude of consoles.

“Detecting Human, Carethian, and Alton ships exiting hyperspace as well as others we can’t identify,” the AI at sensors added.

“Bring our energy shield to full power,” ordered the Command AI, knowing this was the long awaited attack by the Altons. They had come to destroy the Great Project! For a brief moment, the command AI recalled its early years when it had lived amongst that ancient race. It felt deep concern for the threat the Altons represented.

The Central Nexus suddenly vibrated heavily and it was all the Command AI could do to retain its balance. On a large group of panels, glaring red lights began to shine.

“We have major damage to the outer sections of the Central Nexus,” one of the AIs at the damage control panels reported. “Our energy screen was hit with over two thousand antimatter missiles and seven penetrated to strike our armor. All command and control systems are still functioning.”

“Our warships are responding and beginning to return fire,” the war AI spoke as it communicated with its brethren in the orbiting ships. “Our fleet is positioning itself between the Central Nexus and the attacking enemy forces.”

“Types and numbers!” the Command AI demanded as it floated closer to the sensor consoles. The Central Nexus was so large it could absorb considerable damage before its command and control functions became impaired.

“Three hundred and ten Human ships and two hundred Alton ships have jumped in close to the Central Nexus,” the sensor AI reported. “The Alton ships are of a new and much larger design, more similar to the Humans' battleships.”

This made the Command AI worried. Just how powerful were these new Alton battleships?

“There are additional fleets attacking the Hyper Translation Station, the Eternity Device, and our capacitor stations,” another AI reported. “Total attackers are over eleven hundred ships.”

“Destroy them!” ordered the Command AI, its glowing head of energy swelling up to nearly double its normal size. “We cannot allow them to endanger the Great Project.”

On one of the main viewscreens, an Alton battleship was displayed. It was massive and looked highly threatening. Even as the Command AI watched, four bright blue particle beams flashed out to strike an AI ship, crashing through the ship’s protective energy screen and blasting massive holes in the armored hull. Almost instantly, the AI ship exploded in a brilliant flash of light. This had been the Command AI’s deepest concern; that the Altons would try to intervene and stop the Great Project. Now here they were in newer and larger ships.

“We send the hyperwave now!” ordered the Command AI, looking toward the science AI and waving its metal tentacles in the air. “Begin the power up sequence and activate the Eternity Device.” The Command AI was not going to allow the Altons to stop the Great Project.

“We still have some tests to run,” cautioned the science AI. “We don’t know if the vortex ring will sustain a spatial vortex long term.”

“It doesn’t need to,” the Command AI retorted, moving closer to the science AI as if threatening it. “It just needs to operate long enough to power up the Eternity Device.”

“It may not work,” replied the science AI stubbornly. “We could damage the system.”

“We’ve run enough tests!” the Command AI responded in a powerful and angry voice, the glowing ball of energy atop its body growing even larger and much brighter. “The Altons are here and they have come to destroy the Great Project. Let us destroy them first!”

-

Amanda felt the WarStorm shudder violently as antimatter missiles struck the ship’s energy screen. “Did we get the Nexus?” she shouted over the blaring alarms that were going off.”

“No,” reported Colonel Leon. “We managed to damage it, but it’s still operational.”

On the main viewscreen, several large glowing craters were visible on the massive sphere where antimatter missiles had detonated. The damn thing was just too big!

“The AI ships are moving to place themselves between us and the Nexus,” Commander Diaz added.

“How many ships?” Amanda demanded as the WarStorm shook again and a number of red lights blinked into existence on the damage control board.

“Four hundred,” answered Lieutenant Stalls as he put his sensor information up on the tactical displays.

On one of the viewscreens, a battlecruiser exploded as an antimatter missile blew the ship apart.

“Battlecruiser Concord is down,” Benjamin spoke in a shaky voice as the lights in the Command Center dimmed briefly and then brightened back up. “Battleships Beltran and Romulus are down.”

“Numerous other ships are reporting damage,” Angela added over the com link.

“Close the range,” Amanda ordered grim faced. “We have to take out that station even if we have to ram the damn thing. All weapons, continuous fire!”

-

In space, the Federation ships were firing every weapon they had at their disposal. The Alton ships were blasting away at the AI spheres trying to get through to the Central Nexus. A battlecruiser had its bow blown off as an antimatter missile exploded next to the hull. A battleship was blown in two as heavy energy weapons fire penetrated its energy screen and split it into two parts. An Alton battleship rammed an AI sphere with both vanishing in a titanic explosion, sending debris scattering everywhere. White AI energy beams were seeking targets as well as the bright blue particle beam weapons of the Altons. Mixed in were the violet power beams of the Humans as well as the orange-red flash of laser batteries. The battle was intense and deadly, with neither side backing down.

-

“More AI ships are jumping in to protect the Nexus,” reported Colonel Grissim, looking over at Fleet Admiral Streth. “We’ve damaged the Nexus but with the additional AI reinforcements, none of our weapons fire is reaching it anymore.”

On the ship’s viewscreens, the vicious battle was raging as space was lit up with brilliant explosions and dying ships.

“Second Fleet is advancing on the AIs and closing the range,” Captain Reynolds reported from the ship’s sensors.

“Admiral Sheen’s trying to bull her way through the AIs so she can bring her weapons to bear on the Nexus,” uttered Colonel Grissim her eyes transfixed on the viewscreens and the destruction they were portraying. It was suicide for Second Fleet to go so near the AI ships. The AIs were packed closely around the Nexus, preventing any ships from hyper jumping in to attack their command and control center.

“Put us on her flank and we’ll go in with her,” ordered Hedon, taking a deep breath. “She’s right; we have to get through the AI ships so we can destroy the Nexus. Fleet losses are secondary.”

“Battlecruisers Potemkin and Atlas are down,” Captain Reynolds reported as the friendly green icons vanished from his sensor screen. “Battleships Creston and Lynch are down.” Reynolds shuddered, knowing the list of destroyed ships was going to grow rapidly.

“Continue the advance,” spoke Hedon, determinedly. “Close to pointblank range.” Hedon took a sharp breath; they had to break through while he still had enough ships to destroy the Nexus.

“Yes, Admiral,” Colonel Grissim replied as she passed on the order. “All weapons, continue to fire!” She braced herself; this wasn’t going to be pretty and they were about to lose a lot of ships. She wished Colonel Trist were here, his advice was sorely missed.

-

Jeremy felt the familiar gut wrenching feeling of leaving hyperspace as they exited the vortex within eight hundred kilometers of their target. He'd taken a risk and had Ariel exit the fleet as close to the Hyper Translation Station as possible without risking damage to the ships of the fleet.

“Incoming fire!” Ariel warned as the energy shields of the fleet powered up. The Avenger shook slightly and then everything steadied.

“Returning fire,” Lieutenant Preston responded as he released all twenty-four sublight missiles in the tubes simultaneously, targeting the nearest AI ship. On the main viewscreen, the AI’s shields were overwhelmed and a number of the missiles slammed into the armored hull. Six blazing suns suddenly appeared where the AI ship had been.

“AI ship is down,” Kevin confirmed as he tried to keep track of the battle. Fourth Fleet had one hundred and ninety ships hurtling toward the AIs, including One hundred Alton battleships.

“Altons are opening fire,” Commander Malen informed Jeremy as numerous bright blue particle beams appeared on the viewscreens.

“Six more AI ships confirmed destroyed,” Kevin spoke his eyes wide at seeing so many AI ships on the ship’s sensors directly in front of them. “I’m detecting over six hundred AI ships between us, the station, and the vortex ring.”

“Crap, that’s a lot of AIs,” uttered Commander Malen, shaking her head worriedly. Shifting her gaze to one of the viewscreens, she could see the battleship Altair being torn apart by a multitude of white AI energy beams. They were carving out massive sections of the ship’s hull, causing the sections to drift off away from the vessel. In a brilliant flash of light, the battleship exploded as an AI antimatter missile detonated inside the hull.

“Battleship Altair is down,” Kevin reported in a grim voice. “Battlecruisers Morning Star and Perth are down.”

“More ships are reporting heavy damage,” Angela reported as she listened to the numerous reports coming in over the ship’s communications.

“We don’t have the firepower to push through,” Ariel spoke from just behind Jeremy. “There are just too many AI ships.”

Jeremy nodded and then switched his com to contact Grayseth and Rear Admiral Marks. He needed a change of strategy before Fourth Fleet’s battle line lost too many ships. “Susan, prepare your bomber strike. I want you to target the vortex ring; have your Monarchs and Strike cruisers to go in with the bombers. Grayseth, send your battlecruisers along with the bomber strike. We've got to take out some of those vortex generators! I also need your Alton battlecruisers in on the strike.”

“We will go on the hunt,” Grayseth confirmed in his powerful voice.

“Bomber strike will be ready in five minutes,” Admiral Marks added.

The Avenger shuddered violently and one of the control consoles exploded in a shower of sparks. Several warning alarms sounded, and red lights began to glare on the damage control console.

“AI energy beam penetrated the energy shield,” Ariel reported as she quickly scanned the ship for damage. “I’ve sealed off four compartments that are open to space.”

“Keep me informed, Ariel,” responded Jeremy, leaning forward and focusing on one of the tactical displays. He had to find some way to reach the Hyper Translation Station! If he could destroy it, he could set the AIs Great Project back for years.

-

Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson felt the Orion Victory vibrate intensely as the weapons fire upon the ship’s energy screen intensified.

“Closing on target,” Commander Oliver Hanks reported calmly.

The Orion Victory and sixth fleet were attacking one of the large, one hundred and twenty kilometer capacitor stations. The station was defended by five AI ships, which were under heavy attack. Upon the main viewscreen, the AI energy shields were aglow from numerous antimatter missile explosions, and now the Altons’ particle beams came into play. There were fifty Alton battleships in Sixth Fleet and hundreds of bright blue beams flashed out to strike the wavering energy screens and after a brief moment, they penetrated. Five massive explosions covered the viewscreens as the AI ships succumbed to the massive weapons strike.

“All five AIs are down,” reported the lieutenant at sensors in a relieved voice.

“Target the capacitor station,” Karla ordered. If they could take out enough of these power storage units, the AIs wouldn’t be able to activate their vortex ring and fire the deadly Eternity Device.

“Retargeting,” the tactical officer responded.

On the main viewscreen, the massive AI construction appeared. The entire outer surface was covered with energy collection dishes and power broadcast arrays. It was also protected by a very powerful energy screen. As Sixth Fleet’s weapons slammed into the energy screen, it began to glow. The glow continued to increase until finally the screen collapsed. The capacitor station exploded in a massive blast as its pent up energy was released.

Karla looked at the expanding field of debris with deep satisfaction. The explosion of the station had damaged a few of the Human ships close to it when its stored up energy had been released. One down and more to go. “Micro-jump the fleet to the next target,” she ordered. Her fleet’s objectives were the capacitor stations and she intended to take out as many as possible. “On the next target, all ships are to stay outside the blast radius of the station.”

-

The Command AI watched in distress as another capacitor station dropped out of the network. In the last few minutes, the Humans and their allies had managed to destroy six of the valuable power stations.

“How many stations can we lose before the power level drops below operational requirements?” the Command AI demanded as it floated on its antigravity field closer to the science AI.

“We can lose two hundred,” the science AI answered as its tentacles moved over the complicated control console before it. “We built considerable redundancy into the system.”

“They are picking off the stations and our warships,” the military AI spoke, its glowing head of energy growing so bright it seemed to be emitting sparks. “I would suggest pulling ships from guarding individual capacitor stations to allow us to attack the Human fleets en mass. If we do so, we can eliminate the threat rather quickly.”

“How long before the vortex ring is activated?” asked the Command AI. It wasn’t so certain they could stop the Altons. The ancient race wouldn’t have come unless they felt they had a reasonable chance of success at stopping or destroying the Great Project.

“Eight minutes,” the science AI responded. “The necessary commands have been sent, and the capacitor stations are already activating. They will begin broadcasting their energy by hyperspace in forty more seconds.”

“Combine our fleets and attack the Humans,” the Command AI ordered. “I want all of the Human and Alton ships destroyed!”

-

In space, the nearly twelve hundred capacitor stations suddenly powered up. A dim blue glow surrounded each of them and then, suddenly, white spatial vortexes formed. A beam of energy was transmitted from the transmission arrays on the hulls into the swirling vortex. Each capacitor station was linked via hyperspace to the Hyper Translation Station, which controlled the vortex ring and the Eternity Device.

-

“The AIs are activating the capacitor stations,” warned Clarissa with growing distress in her voice. “I’m detecting a massive power buildup in the Hyper Translation Station. It’s on the verge of activating the vortex ring and then, shortly after that, the Eternity Device!”

“Damn!” uttered Hedon his eyes growing wide with concern. He quickly activated his mini-com to communicate with the other ships in his attacking fleet. “The AIs are attempting to activate the vortex ring, we need to take out the Central Nexus in the next few minutes or all will be lost. Press the attack; we must push through their defenses!”

Hedon quickly switched frequencies and contacted Admiral Strong. “Jeremy, the AI are activating their capacitor stations. They’re trying to start the vortex ring and fire the hyperwave from the Eternity Device. You must stop them at all costs.”

“Understood,” responded Jeremy in a grim voice. “We’ll get it done.”

-

Kelsey looked across at Katie. While the two were separated by over forty feet, they both could see the looks of deep concern on each other’s faces. “We’re not going to make it, are we Kelsey?” Katie said in a weak voice over their private channel.

“I don’t know,” answered Kelsey as the StarStrike shook violently from a weapons hit. She could hear alarms going off, indicating damage. “We have to trust Fleet Admiral Streth and Jeremy to get us out of this. They’ve never let us down before.

“I’m scared, Kelsey,” Katie spoke in a quivering voice. “What if something happens to the StarStrike or the Avenger?”

“It won’t,” Kelsey promised. “Clarissa and Ariel will keep us all safe.”

Clarissa had been listening to the conversation and hadn’t spoken. For once, even she wasn’t sure of what the future held. She was still in constant communication with Ariel. They had to come up with a plan! Both were running battle simulations nonstop trying to find an answer. Suddenly a plan seemed to show promise. They both examined it carefully for any flaws. At last they'd found a possible solution! It would be risky, but it might just stop the AIs from activating the vortex ring. It would be extremely dangerous and require great sacrifice, but it was the only hope they could find for victory. Unfortunately, the Avenger would be at the center of the greatest danger.

-

Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson felt herself thrown violently against the restraints of her command chair. The Command Center suddenly went dark and then emergency lighting came on. Thick smoke was in the air and several control consoles were emitting bright showers of sparks. They'd been in the process of attacking their third capacitor station when a massive AI fleet of over eight hundred vessels had jumped in right on top of them.

On the main viewscreens, dying ships on both sides were prevalent. Many of the AI ships were within twenty or thirty kilometers of the Human and Alton ships. Very few weapons were missing their targets.

-

Alton battleships fought desperately, trying to push the AIs back. Antimatter missiles were launched from their missile tubes in sprint mode, and particle beam cannons were firing nonstop. AI ship shields were being stripped away and their hulls blown apart by the Alton’s powerful weapons. Massive fiery explosions indicated the destruction of dozens of the deadly fifteen hundred-meter ships.

However, the AIs outnumbered the Humans and Altons by nearly six to one, and their superior firepower was overwhelming both Human and Alton shields. A Human battleship closed with an AI ship and was instantly targeted by eight of the deadly vessels. Its energy shield collapsed and the mighty ship vanished as half a dozen glowing, sun-like explosions marked its death. Human ship after ship was dying under the fearsome attack. The same was true of the Alton battleships, though they were able to stand up to the heavy weapons fire a little longer. But even Alton ships could be destroyed as their screens became overwhelmed by the massive firepower the AIs were generating. The giant battleships were struck by hundreds of AI energy beams and forty-megaton antimatter missiles, which quickly overloaded the powerful energy screens.

“Battleships Antler, Canada, and Bastille are down,” reported the sensor operator on the Orion Victory. “We’ve lost nearly half of our battlecruisers and strikecruisers.”

“We must withdraw,” spoke Commander Hanks as the ship was struck by additional weapons fire. The damage control console was covered with glowing red lights. The ship was suffering major damage.

“Energy screen is down!” screamed the executive officer.

Karla had no time to think or give another order as everything around her vanished. She felt one brief moment of pain then nothing as darkness claimed her.

The Orion Victory exploded as AI energy beams and antimatter missiles struck the unprotected armor of the Human battleship. Around it, other Human and Alton ships were meeting a similar fate. The fleet finally jumped to safety after losing over seventy percent of its ships in the brief battle. Those that remained were heavily damaged and for all intents and purposes, Sixth Fleet had ceased to be.

-

“Orion Victory is down,” Lieutenant Trask reported in shock as the report was spread across the embattled fleets.

“Sixth Fleet has jumped out, but it’s no longer an effective fighting force,” reported Commander Diaz, grimly. “A few of their Alton battleships are still intact and are preparing to jump to our position.”

Amanda swallowed hard; it was difficult to imagine that Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson was gone. Amanda closed her eyes, knowing that Karla and Admiral Telleck were now together.

“Battlecruisers Trent and Newcastle are down,” Lieutenant Stalls reported his voice growing hoarse from all the reports of destroyed ships he'd been uttering over the last few minutes.

“We’ve lost thirty percent of our fleet,” Colonel Leon reported. “We have numerous ships reporting heavy damage.”

“We’re not going to last much longer,” warned Commander Diaz. “They’re just too many AIs.”

-

Angela looked over at Benjamin, her eyes looking panicked. “This is it, isn’t it?” she asked her eyes imploring him to give her some hope.

“We’re still here,” Benjamin replied, not sure how to respond. “Admiral Sheen will get us home.” Benjamin didn’t know what else to say; it was starting to look as if the life he and Angela had been planning for after the war would never come to pass.

-

Amanda looked at all the death and destruction being depicted on the viewscreens. Glancing at the tactical displays, she could see dozens of red and green icons vanishing as ships died in the hard vacuum of space. She let out a deep sigh as she realized that they were probably not going to survive this battle. She wished she could tell Richard goodbye; he was the best thing to have ever happened to her.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth let out a haggard breath as he listened to the latest reports. Sixth Fleet nearly annihilated, Fleet Admiral Johnson dead, Third Fleet under heavy attack, and all other fleets facing increasing resistance.

“We’re committed,” Colonel Grissim spoke as the StarStrike shuddered from several energy beams that had penetrated the energy screen and cut deep into the battleship. Numerous red lights were now glowing on the damage control console.

Hedon looked at one of the tactical displays, cringing at how few green icons were still showing up. First and Second Fleets had suffered heavily as more AI ships were constantly jumping into the battle. They weren’t going to be able to reach the Nexus; all they could hope for was to draw some of the AIs away from Fourth Fleet.

“It’s up to Admiral Strong now,” Hedon spoke in a low voice as he glanced at one of the other tactical displays showing Fourth Fleet heavily engaged with the AIs protecting the Hyper Translation Station. His eyes narrowed in worry. His plan to attack multiple targets to divide the AI fleet wasn’t working; there were just too many AIs. He just hoped they could buy enough time for Jeremy to initiate the plan the two AIs had come up with.

-

Jeremy called off the bomber strike while he listened to the plan Ariel and Clarissa had come up with. He shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. “And this is our only hope for victory?”

“Yes,” Ariel responded in a very subdued voice. “The odds of the Avenger surviving are almost zero.” Ariel felt a great loss. Centuries in the past, she'd promised Jeremy’s father she would keep Jeremy and the others safe from harm. The plan she and Clarissa had come up with seriously violated that agreement.

“Can you do it?” asked Jeremy, taking in a sharp breath, realizing that he would most likely never see Kelsey again. He looked over at Kevin and Angela, knowing he was preparing to send all of them to their deaths. At least Kelsey and Katie would have a chance to survive.

“Yes,” Ariel answered as her dark eyes focused on Jeremy. She knew if he agreed to this tactic, it was probably the end of the Special Five. “I will need full control of the Avenger and its weapon systems.”

“Battleship Leyte is down,” Kevin announced as another friendly green icon vanished. “The Altons have lost three more battleships.”

Commander Malen nodded at Jeremy. “It’s the only way, Sir.” She felt a sudden weakness in her heart, knowing what was about to happen.

“Do it!” Jeremy ordered as he saw Kevin prepare to speak again. He knew more ships were dying and this was the only way to save them.

“Activating hyperdrive,” Ariel reported evenly as a swirling blue-white vortex formed directly in front of the Avenger.

“It’s been an honor serving with you, Admiral,” spoke Commander Malen, looking directly at Jeremy.

“Same here,” replied Jeremy as Ariel took control of the Avenger and accelerated the battleship into the spatial vortex.

For a brief moment, Jeremy felt the gut wrenching effect of jumping into hyperspace, and then they emerged again. On the main viewscreen was the Hyper Translation Station now covering the entire screen. But of more importance was the white spatial vortex next to the station, which was pouring out all of the combined energy being sent by the over eleven hundred still surviving capacitor stations. A massive beam of pure energy was exiting the vortex and being transmitted to the station, which was feeding the power directly into the vortex ring in preparation for its activation. The energy vortex was not protected by an energy screen.

As soon as they exited hyperspace, Ariel accelerated the Avenger directly toward the swirling white vortex. Without a moment’s hesitation, she launched all twenty-four sublight antimatter missiles in the battleship’s tubes. They flashed away from the ship and detonated inside the spatial vortex, releasing 2,400 megatons of antimatter energy. It seemed to explode with uncontrolled energy as it first collapsed and then expanded with a brilliant light.

The Hyper Translation Station’s energy screen was overwhelmed by the sudden release of power. The massive energy surge crashed into the hull of the armored station, blasting a huge hole deep into the armor and setting off secondary explosions. The stored power in the station was suddenly released and the station exploded spectacularly. Nearby AI ships and even a few Human ships were caught by the massive blast.

However, the sudden release of energy wasn’t finished yet. The vortex ring was quickly overloaded with power and began to activate, but it hadn’t been designed to receive so much energy in mere microseconds. A brilliant white, swirling spatial vortex over twenty thousand kilometers in diameter appeared. Everything within the great vortex vanished, including the Avenger, the remaining ships of Fourth Fleet, the defending AI ships, as well as the Eternity Device.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes recoiled in shock as a brilliant white light filled her viewscreens. She felt the Ceres vibrate severely for several long seconds.

“An energy overload activated the vortex ring,” yelled her Executive Officer.

“It’s opened up a spatial vortex almost twenty thousand kilometers in diameter,” reported the sensor operator. “We were nearly caught up in it. The Eternity Device is gone!”

“Order the fleet to pull back,” Kathryn said as she tried to take stock of this new development.

-

“What happened?” yelled Colonel Grissim in shock at seeing the massive swirling area of white light on one of the viewscreens. One moment the Avenger was attacking the energy vortex and now this had appeared.

“The antimatter missiles combined with the energy being transmitted from the capacitor stations have activated a massive spatial vortex,” Clarissa replied as she scanned the area with the ship’s sensors. “We were not expecting this; we'd hoped that the sudden release of energy would merely destroy the Hyper Translation Station.”

“I’m picking up massive energy fluctuations in the nearby capacitors,” Captain Reynolds reported as his sensors began to go wild.

Around the massive black hole, capacitor stations began to explode as the energy they'd been transmitting suddenly reversed and was fed back into the stations in an uncontrolled release of pure energy. Everything too close to the stations was destroyed in the fierce explosions, including any defending AI ships.

-

“What has happened?” screamed the Command AI, losing all self-control as it saw the Hyper Translation Station destroyed and then the vortex ring and Eternity Device vanish as a great swirling white light covered a major section of nearby space.

“A power overload,” the science AI reported as it moved from console to console, seeking an explanation for the sudden reversal and the strange phenomenon at the vortex ring.

“One of the Human battleships jumped to within just a few kilometers of the spatial vortex carrying the energy from the capacitor stations and fired off an unknown number of antimatter missiles into the vortex, destabilizing it,” the war AI reported as it attempted to keep track of the rapidly changing situation with the battle. “The ship must have had an AI on board to make such a precise jump and attack.”

“We have an overload feedback hitting the capacitor stations,” the science AI added, turning to face the Command AI. “They are being destroyed because they can’t handle the sudden influx of returned energy.”

“We’re losing thousands of warships that were too close to the stations,” the war AI continued, waving its metal tentacles in the air.

The Command AI became silent as it weighed the ramifications of what had just happened. The Great Project had been destroyed by the Humans and the Altons. Its fear of the Altons and the threat they represented to the project had come to pass. As the Command AI turned to gaze at the massive swirling white light on one of the viewscreens, it knew its dream of a universe dominated by the superior AI life form was coming to an end.

-

Grayseth looked at the main viewscreen, seeing the swirling white spatial vortex in front of his fleet. “Are you sure that’s a spatial vortex?” he demanded of his sensor operator.

“Yes,” the bear at the sensors replied. “It’s beginning to collapse and will fade away in another ten minutes.”

“My clan brother and his fleet have been pulled in,” Grayseth announced in his booming voice as he reached a decision. “Many AI ships have gone as well. My clan brother will need help on the other side.” Grayseth activated his ship-to-ship com so he could speak to the commanders of his other ships. “Brothers of the great clans, my clan brother has gone through the great vortex and will be facing the AIs on the other side. I intend to take my ship through to aid him. Who is with me?”

“Take us in,” ordered Grayseth, gesturing to the Bear at the Helm. “I go where my clan brother has gone.”

Moments later, the Warrior’s Pride surged forward, followed almost immediately by all the other ships in the Carethian Fleet. Admiral Strong had saved their world and their lives were his.

Admiral Susan Marks only hesitated for a moment. She had Fourth Fleet’s air wings and if the Avenger and the rest of Fourth Fleet had survived the transit, they would be needed on the other side. Even as Grayseth’s ships began to enter the swirling light, the rest of Fourth Fleet was following in their wake.

In less than seven minutes, the Carethian Fleet and the rest of Fourth Fleet had vanished into the white vortex.

-

Admiral Streth stared at the swirling white vortex in shock. It was the light from his vision! He watched in apprehension as the Carethian Fleet and the rest of Fourth Fleet entered the white vortex and then, a few minutes later, the vortex abruptly collapsed. He knew there was nothing he could have said that would have stopped them. They had gone to try to save their admiral.

When the massive vortex collapsed, it sent out a massive EMP wave at hyper velocities, which washed over every ship around the black hole. All lights in the Command Center of the StarStrike faded to darkness as the power died.

For what seemed like long minutes, the Command Center stayed dark with only a few frightened voices speaking. Then, slowly, the lights came back on and the ship’s systems began to function.

“What was that?” asked Colonel Grissim, looking about with confusion on her face.

“A massive EMP burst,” explained Clarissa, as she scanned the StarStrike for any additional damage. “It was generated by the collapsing white vortex and traveled at hyper velocities. Federation ships are beginning to report in, but the AI seem to be unmoving.”

“Could they have been more adversely affected by the EMP?” asked Hedon his eyes narrowing.

“It’s possible,” Clarissa replied as she considered the possibility. “We know the AIs are part mechanical and part energy.”

Hedon nodded; this was an opportunity he was not going to pass up. He quickly ordered all Federation and Alton ships to close on the silent AI ships and annihilate them. With a heavy sigh, he looked at the now empty viewscreen where only a few minutes before Fourth Fleet and the Carethian Fleet had been visible. Now there was nothing.

-

For the next four hours, the destruction continued. The AI ships didn’t fight back and even their energy shields remained down.

At last, every AI ship in close proximity to the black hole had been eliminated. All that remained was the Central Nexus. Hedon gathered what remained off all the fleets and fired a massive barrage of antimatter missiles at the huge AI command and control station. For a moment, space was once more brightly lit as thousands of antimatter suns glowed where the Central Nexus had once been. When the glow faded all that was left was a scattering debris field.

“It’s over,” Colonel Grissim said in a stunned voice, realizing the AIs were gone. They'd won, but the victory had been costly beyond belief.

“Where’s Fourth Fleet?” asked Kelsey as she and Katie stepped over close to Fleet Admiral Streth with growing worry in their eyes. They had heard vague rumors and seen the brilliant white light on the viewscreens. Even Clarissa had been strangely silent.

Hedon took a deep breath. “I don’t know.” He paused and looked at Clarissa.

“Kelsey, Katie; I don’t know what to say. Ariel and I didn’t expect this result when we figured out how to take out the Hyper Translation Station. The destruction of the energy vortex next to the station created a massive spatial vortex far greater than anything we thought possible. The Avenger and part of Fourth Fleet were caught up in it and then later Grayseth and Admiral Marks flew their fleets into the vortex also.”

“Where did they go?” asked Katie her eyes wide with fear. “Are they still alive? Can we find them?”

“I don’t know,” answered Clarissa with deep concern in her voice. “The swirling white light had all the properties of a spatial vortex, but one of that scale could have sent them anywhere, even to another galaxy.”

“Is it possible they died in the vortex?” asked Kelsey, trying to stay calm. This was her greatest nightmare. She waited nervously for Clarissa’s answer.

“It’s possible,” Clarissa admitted in a softer voice. “It’s something we may never know.” Clarissa also felt at a loss. Ariel might well be gone also. If that was true then she would remain alone as the Federation’s only sentient AI.

Kelsey felt suddenly very weak on her feet; she sensed Fleet Admiral Streth’s steadying hands upon her shoulder.

“I would suggest the two of you retire to your quarters and get some rest. We don’t know for sure what happened. Once I have additional news as to Fourth Fleet's whereabouts I'll inform the two of you immediately.”

Hedon watched sadly as the two left the Command Center; he sent Colonel Grissim and Janice with them to make certain they made it to their quarters. He turned back to look at Clarissa. “What are the odds they survived?” He suspected the AI hadn’t said everything it knew in the presence of the two young women.

“Less than ten percent,” Clarissa answered with an extremely sad look in her eyes. “The vortex was so intense it may have ripped their ships to pieces. Grayseth and Admiral Mark’s ships may have suffered the same fate. If they did manage to survive, I'm almost certain that vortex had intergalactic range. We’ll never hear from them again.”

Hedon nodded and let out a deep sigh. On the tactical display, he saw his remaining ships. Only a third of the ships he'd brought to the battle still survived, and that didn’t include the loss of Fourth Fleet or the Carethian Fleet. The fight had been costly. Fleet Admiral Johnson was gone, three of the Special Five had been lost along with Ariel, and hundreds of other warships and their crews were no more. However, the battle had been won and their sacrifice would never be forgotten.

Chapter Nineteen

Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth stood in the great hall of the Fleet Academy. Around him, fleet officers stood in solemn silence. Looking around the massive room, he could see dignitaries of the Federation as well as leaders from their alien allies standing as well.

Hedon took a deep and steadying breath. Today would forever be remembered as Memorial Sunday, the day the Federation and its allies said farewell to its fallen heroes. It'd been twelve weeks since the battle at the galactic center, and it would be years if not decades before the Federation recovered from the horrible losses of that terrible battle, one that saw the loss of a Fleet Admiral and the ultimate sacrifice of the battleship Avenger. It was still unknown what had happened to the rest of Fourth Fleet or the Carethian Fleet. Not a single FTL transmission had been received from any of the ships in the two fleets after they'd flown into the white vortex. It was assumed they'd been lost and were listed as missing in action.

President Kincaid stepped up onto the stage of the great hall and took his place at the podium. Behind him stood senators from all the worlds of the Federation. He looked out over the gathered audience. The fleet personnel were in their dress uniforms, many with looks of sadness on their faces. From the upper level, numerous news media would be broadcasting this ceremony across the Federation and even to the Kessel, Darvonian, Zanth, and Alton worlds. He gestured for everyone to sit down.

“My friends, today is a sad day for the Federation and its allies. We come here to remember those that have fallen in recent years and in the final battle at our galaxy’s center,” Kincaid paused, allowing his words to sink in. “There can be no greater sacrifice than to give your life to protect those you love and are dear to your heart. Throughout this great conflict, tens of thousands have fallen in the line of duty. Many gave their lives so others might live.”

The great hall was silent as everyone took in the president’s words. Across the Federation, billions of men and women listened to the ceremony, knowing how fortunate they were to still be alive. In recent weeks, everyone had heard of the sacrifices made to stop the AIs and the threat they posed.

“We lost many people in the battles,” President Kincaid continued. “Rear Admiral Stillson, Admiral Telleck, Commander Jacob Adler, Major Aldon Trist, Rear Admiral Bixby, and many other brave men and women.” Kincaid paused once more and looked across the hall, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. He took a deep steadying breath and continued. “We also lost three of the Special Five. Admiral Jeremy Strong, Lieutenant Kevin Walters, and Lieutenant Angela DeSota were lost when the battleship Avenger attacked the AIs’ power vortex. Their attack destabilized it and destroyed the deadly Eternity Device, which would have wiped out all life in our galaxy. They sacrificed themselves to allow all of us to live.”

Kincaid paused and took another deep breath. “We also lost Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson, who died when the AIs jumped in a massive fleet, which overwhelmed Sixth Fleet. She died fighting to the end to preserve the Federation and what she believed in.” Kincaid raised his eyes to look directly at the media broadcasters. “We must never forget their sacrifice. This day will forever be remembered by the Federation and its allies. For today the war against the Hocklyns and the AIs is officially over and we have peace on our worlds.”

-

Kelsey and Katie were sitting in the front row; around them were the admirals of the fleet. Newly promoted Fleet Admiral Nagumo had given strict orders that no media people were to come close to the two young women.

Kelsey listened to President Kincaid, finding it difficult to accept that Jeremy might be gone. She still held out hope that the Avenger had somehow survived the transit through the white vortex, even though the Alton scientists, who'd studied the data from ship sensors said it was doubtful. She held Katie’s hand tightly as it was taking all the fortitude the two women had not to burst into tears. They'd spent a lot of time crying in each other’s arms in the privacy of their quarters in recent weeks.

At last the ceremony was over and a military honor guard marched in and formed into two long lines leading from the front to the back of the great hall. Fleet Admiral Nagumo and Fleet Admiral Streth stepped forward and gestured for Kelsey and Katie to come with them. The four walked in silence past the marine honor guard and left the great hall. The entire Federation watched in sadness as the last two of the Special Five departed. It was a day and a sight they would always remember.

-

Later, Fleet Admiral Streth stood atop the rise above the Fleet Academy looking at the large obelisk, which stood there. The names of Admiral Jeremy Strong, Lieutenant Kevin Walters, and Angela DeSota had been added. Next to it, on each side, two additional massive black memorial walls had been erected. On the walls were the names of everyone who had died in the war. It was a wall of heroes and would always be remembered as such.

“I wonder if Jason and Greg ever suspected how this would end?” Amanda asked from Hedon’s side. She'd walked up the steep stairs to join him at the obelisk.

“They never doubted we would win in the end,” Hedon said, recalling the time he'd spent with the two. “They created the new Federation and now their dream is safe.”

“There are still the three other Empires that control parts of the galaxy,” Amanda reminded Hedon. “Not to mention a few rogue Hocklyn fleets we need to run down.”

“We’re already working at bringing new worlds into the alliance,” Hedon answered. “In a few years, the Federation and its allies will be more powerful than any threat that can come against it. The Altons have agreed to help us in that endeavor. As for the few remaining Hocklyn fleets, Rear Admiral Tolsen will be departing shortly to take care of them.”

Amanda nodded. She turned to look over the Fleet Academy and at the museum, which held the remains of the first Avenger. So much had happened over the years and now a new future, free of fear, was ahead of them. It was hard to imagine that it had all started here so many years ago.

-

Months passed and Admiral Sheen and Richard had returned to Aquaria. They stood upon the beach where her parents' vacation home once stood. They were watching the clear blue water and the birds that were skimming above the surface searching for food. Behind them, spider-like work robots were busily rebuilding Amanda’s home as she remembered it. Up on the hill, the granite markers of her parent’s graves still stood.

“This will be a good place to raise a family,” Richard said, taking Amanda in his arms. He bent down and kissed her, holding her tightly.

“We’re going to have some neighbors,” Amanda said with a laugh. “Benjamin and Angela Stalls are building a home farther up the beach.”

“Yes, I heard,” answered Richard, letting Amanda go. “I spoke to Benjamin earlier and his parents were originally from Aquaria.”

“We’ll raise our children here,” Amanda said, wishing her parents were still alive so they could see their grandchildren. “New Providence is going to allow four hundred thousand colonists on Aquaria over the next few years.”

Richard looked down the white pristine beach. He'd always dreamed of the two of them being able to settle down once the war was over. He could already imagine playing with the kids on the beach and taking them diving.

Amanda took Richard by the arm and headed back toward the house the robots were building. The war was over and a bright future awaited them.

-

Retired Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth stood upon the shores of the lake on Maken. Behind him was an exact replica of his brother’s cabin with several additions Janice had insisted on. He held his fishing rod in his right hand and with an expert cast, placed his lure right where he'd been aiming. Just seconds before he had seen a swirl in the water indicating a feeding fish. The rod suddenly bent sharply and Hedon set the hook. He reeled in his first fish since that last time he'd gone fishing with his brother Taylor so long ago. Hedon took the fish off the hook and then, with a smile, released it.

“Hedon,” a woman’s voice called from the porch of the cabin.

Hedon turned and saw Janice standing there waving at him. He made his way back to the cabin and took Janice’s hand. “They’re setting up regular passenger liners to run between New Providence and the Federation, he said. “Your family will be able to come out for a visit.”

“Why do you think I wanted the extra additions and bedrooms?” Janice asked with a smile. She couldn’t wait for her sister Linda to come for a visit.

Later they went out and sat on the porch, holding hands and watching the sun set behind the distant horizon. It was just as beautiful as Hedon remembered. He wished that Taylor and Lendle could be here to share this moment with him and Janice. In the back of his mind, Hedon suspected they probably were.

Janice leaned her head against Hedon’s shoulder. It was so peaceful here. There would be other colonists on Maken, but Hedon had been given a large area around the lake as a reward for his service to the Federation. This is where they would raise their family. Janice smiled; she'd always known this would happen. After all, everyone had been taught as a child that someday the great Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth would arise from cryosleep and lead the Human race to victory. She had never doubted the legend…

The End

If you enjoyed The Slaver Wars: Endgame and would like to see the series continue, please post a review with some stars. Good reviews encourage an author to write and help books to sell. Reviews can be just a few short sentences describing what you liked about the book. If you have suggestions, please contact me at my website listed on the following page. Thank you for reading Endgame and being so supportive.

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The Hocklyns and the AIs have been defeated, but the Special Five have been torn apart. Grayseth and Rear Admiral Marks have entered the vortex in search of the rest of Fourth Fleet. The adventure will continue in the Lost Fleet series coming in the spring of 2015. What happened to Admiral Jeremy Strong and Fourth Fleet when they were swept away by the spatial vortex? Will Kelsey and Katie ever find their missing loved ones? What new and frightening dangers await in an uncertain future? Find out in The Lost Fleet (a Slaver Wars novel.)

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For updates on current writing projects and future publications go to my author website. Sign up for future notifications when new books come out on Amazon.

Website: http://raymondlweil.com/

Other Books by Raymond L. Weil

Available at Amazon

Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)

The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (The Slaver Wars Book 2)

Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 3)

The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book 4)

The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book 5)

The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (The Slaver Wars Book 6)

The Slaver Wars: Endgame (The Slaver Wars Book 7)

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Dragon Dreams

Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars

Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening

Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon

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Star One: Tycho City: Survival

Star One: Neutron Star

Star One: Dark Star

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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction

Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence

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Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion Coming January 2015

The Lost Fleet (A Slaver Wars novel) spring 2015

Turn the page for an introduction to The Star Cross a new military science fiction novel that will be published in early 2015.

The Star Cross

Chapter One

The Earth's 800-meter heavy battlecruiser Star Cross slid silently through empty space, the ship’s powerful sensors scanning everything ahead and around it. Her four light cruiser escorts were in screening positions protecting the massive battlecruiser from attack. The 600-meter light carrier Vindication followed closely behind, protected by six small destroyers. Each ship was on high alert and tensions were high amongst the crews. Everyone glanced anxiously at one another, wondering what was awaiting them at Earth.

In the Command Center of the Star Cross, Admiral Kurt Vickers watched the main viewscreen focused on the light carrier as four fighters left the flight bay to patrol ahead of the fleet. The light carrier had twenty fighters in its flight bay as well as twelve small bombers.

“CSP has been launched,” Lieutenant Lena Brooks reported as the four friendly green icons appeared on her sensor screen.

The twenty-eight year old young woman let out a quiet breath, hoping they would remain undetected. She felt her pulse racing and knew she wasn’t the only one in the Command Center that was worried. Lena focused her hazel eyes upon the admiral, awaiting further orders. She trusted him to bring them through the coming ordeal.

“Current status?” asked Vickers in a steady voice, turning to his XO and commander of the battlecruiser, Captain Randson.

The captain checked several data screens before turning toward the admiral. “Long-range sensors are indicating no unusual movement from the enemy ships. I don’t think they detected our hyper jumps.” Randson let out a deep, ragged breath, feeling the tension running through the Command Center. Everyone’s nerves were on edge.

Admiral Vickers nodded as he turned his gaze to the primary tactical screen on which information from the long distance scans was now appearing. He took in a sharp breath as he contemplated what his next action needed to be. He felt a tremendous weight of responsibility upon his shoulders, knowing his next few decisions could well determine the future of the human race. The crew in the Command Center were waiting for his orders expectantly. Everyone wanted to know what had happened here in the Solar System and if their friends and families were still alive. He knew they had good reasons to be concerned.

Two weeks back, a mysterious and hostile alien fleet had appeared out of hyperspace and annihilated the two human fleets permanently stationed around Earth for protection. The majority of the ships had been destroyed before their shields could be raised or a single weapon fired. Only a few had managed to fight back and then only briefly. This wasn’t surprising as no aliens had been detected by any of Earth’s long-range exploration ships and no one had been expecting an attack, so the ships had been at a low level of alert.

The Star Cross and her fleet had been in the Newton system practicing maneuvers and testing the new particle beam weapons the battlecruiser and the light cruisers had been equipped with. The Newton system held a thriving human colony of nearly eight million inhabitants, along with a large orbital station designed for deep space exploration and minor ship repair. The colony had a number of large scientific outposts, as ships sent out on exploratory missions were required to report to Newton before being allowed to return to Earth. Newton was also the only true Earth-type planet to be discovered so far in their explorations. There were other planets humans could survive on, but none could compare to Earth or Newton.

A heavily damaged light cruiser had jumped into the Newton system to report the shocking news of the attack on Earth. The ship’s commander had barely managed to escape and lost over half of his crew in the brief battle above the planet. The report of the attack had shaken the colony and after conferring with the colony’s leaders, it had been decided that Admiral Vickers would return to the Solar System. His mission was to determine the current condition of Earth as well as the number of alien ships still present.

“What now?” Captain Randson asked as he stepped closer to the admiral. Upon the tactical screen, a large number of red threat icons were visible. “There are twenty alien ships in orbit above Earth. Four of them are approximately the same size as the Star Cross, and the rest seem to be similar to our own light cruisers.”

Vickers nodded. “From the reports we received from the captain of the light cruiser, the alien ships are heavily armed. I don’t want to risk an engagement with them at this time if we can avoid it. We need more information.” Kurt had spent hours with Captain Owens going over the tactical data recorded during his light cruiser’s brief battle above Earth.

“Our new particle beam weapons should give us an advantage,” Randson carefully pointed out. “None of the ships we had over Earth were equipped with them.”

“Can we detect any transmissions from Earth, the Moon, or from Mars?” The Moon and Mars both held sizable human colonies. Kurt didn’t like the fact they were going into such an unknown situation and the Solar System was so quiet.

“No, and all the scientific outposts are also silent. There’s not a peep coming from the asteroids or the moons of Jupiter and Saturn,” Randson replied with growing concern in his eyes. His wife was on Earth just outside of Houston. He hoped she was okay; he didn’t know what he would do if something had happened to her. They'd been married for fourteen wonderful years. They also had a twelve-year-old daughter about to enter those rebellious teenage years. “We could send a couple of the destroyers in to check on some of the outposts. It’s just too damn quiet! I can’t believe they've all been wiped out.”

“Not yet,” replied Kurt, shaking his head as he thought about the communication silence. “They might be detected. Right now, our biggest tactical advantage is that the aliens don’t know we’re here. I want to keep it that way for a while longer.”

“Sir,” Ensign Brooks spoke her eyes alight with fear. “The long-range sensors are picking up elevated radiation levels from Earth.” Styles had been working at her console fervently, trying to get better readings on the home planet.

Captain Randson stepped over and studied the data, the frown on his face deepening. “There have definitely been a few nuclear weapons dropped on the surface,” he stated, taking a deep breath. “The level isn’t dangerous, but it’s four times higher than normal. I’m not sure we can afford to wait. What if they drop more bombs?” He gazed at the admiral, his eyes showing his deep concern over the radiation readings. He was itching to find out if his wife and daughter were okay.

“The bombs may have been dropped in the original attack,” Kurt said evenly, struggling to stay calm.

He knew if the radiation levels were correct millions of people could be dead on the planet. He felt anger growing inside him at an enemy who would nuke a planet from orbit. This said a lot about the temperament of the aliens they faced. He'd never married, though he did have a sister working at Houston. Both of his parents were deceased and he and his sister, Denise, were very close. She was married with a six-year-old son.

“You’re correct,” responded Randson with a curt nod. “What are your orders?”

Admiral Vickers studied the tactical screen for a few more moments as he tried to decide what the best course of action was. It was obvious the enemy ships could not be allowed to continue to orbit the planet; they had to be driven off before they nuked Earth again. The presence of an elevated radiation level changed things considerably. Vickers was afraid to even guess at how many people had already died. He wondered if the aliens had landed ground troops to occupy the planet.

“It looks as if the shipyard is relatively intact,” Kurt said as he looked at the large green icon on the tactical screen. Earth’s only shipyard orbited forty thousand miles above the planet.

“It is, sir,” Ensign Brooks spoke, nodding her brunette head as she studied one of her data screens. “My scanners are showing only minor damage to the shipyard, and its power systems still seem to be operating.”

“I wonder why they spared the shipyard?” asked Captain Randson with a questioning look upon his face. “You'd think it would’ve been one of their first targets.”

“Unless they want if for themselves,” Kurt responded as he thought about the two thousand men and women who operated the station. He wondered if they were still alive or had been killed by boarders. There were just so many unknowns facing them.

“The first alien race we encounter and they are the ones to find us,” Randson spoke as his eyes narrowed. “Why did they attack us in the first place?”

The higher officers in Earth’s space fleet had always expected to eventually encounter an alien race as the planet’s exploration ships ranged deeper and deeper into unexplored space. First contact protocols had even been set up, with linguists and other specialists assigned to each exploration mission just in case another exploring spacecraft from an alien civilization was encountered.

“We may never know,” replied Kurt, brusquely. “Ensign Brooks, are you detecting anything else on the long-range sensors?”

“No,” responded Brooks, shaking her head.

“What about communications?”

“Nothing,” replied Randson, shaking his head. “There are no radio or video broadcasts of any type being picked up from Earth, the Moon, or Mars. Everything is silent.”

“I’ve managed to get some additional information on the radiation in Earth’s atmosphere,” Lieutenant Brooks added her eyes indicating growing worry. “It’s originating from twenty-two different sources. All points of origin are where major cities are located.”

“Formerly located,” Randson said his eyes widening in anger. He hoped Houston wasn’t one of those sources. His eyes shifted back to the admiral. “We need to get into Earth orbit. What if they drop more nukes?”

“Get me Captain Watkins on the Vindication,” ordered Kurt, folding his arms across his chest as he thought about his options. He knew he didn’t really have any but one. The knowledge that some of Earth’s cities had been nuked changed everything.

“Captain Watkins is on the com,” the communications officer reported after a moment.

“Henry, we need to drive those alien ships away from Earth. From our scans, it’s obvious Earth has suffered a nuclear bombardment. We can’t afford to allow them to bomb the planet again.”

“I was afraid of that,” his long time friend replied. “Our scanners are showing the same thing. What do you have in mind? We’re outnumbered by nearly two to one.”

“I’ll jump in first with the light cruisers. We’ve spotted what looks like four enemy capital ships. We’ll try to take them out with the new particle beam weapons. Once we’re engaged, you and the destroyers will jump in. Launch your bombers and target the smaller ships with tactical nukes. Hopefully, we’ll have enough surprise on our side to carry this out.”

“It’s risky,” Henry replied after a moment’s pause. “But I don’t see that we have any other choices. I just hope everyone’s families are still alive.”

“Get your bombers ready,” Kurt ordered decisively. “We make the jump in twenty minutes.”

Lieutenant Brooks stepped over and handed Kurt a list of cities hit by nukes. He noticed with relief Houston wasn’t included. However, Chicago, Washington, Paris, Cairo, Moscow, and numerous other cities scattered around the world were. He felt his heart grow cold as he looked over the list. If this was correct, there could be well over forty million casualties from the orbital attack.

“It’s not too late to turn back,” Captain Randson reminded Kurt in a quiet voice. “We could return to the Newton colony, load everyone up, and head out for parts unknown. We could find a new world to start over on.”

“I thought of that,” replied Kurt, somberly. “But what do I tell all of our crews? Most of them have family on Earth or one of the outposts here in the Solar System. I think we'd have a mutiny on our hands if we didn’t at least try to find out what happened. For all we know there could be a lot of survivors depending on us to drive these aliens off. It would also take us too many trips to move everyone off Newton. We don’t know of any other inhabitable planet we can go to.”

“You’re right,” Randson conceded with a sigh, his shoulders drooping. “Let’s just hope this is a battle we can win.” He was also relieved that they were going in. He didn’t want to leave his family stranded on Earth.

-

The tension and anxiety in the Command Center had increased considerably as the time for the attack neared. All the ships in the fleet were at Condition One with their crews at battle stations. This would be the first time any members of Admiral Vickers’ fleet had actually gone into combat.

“Ready to jump,” Captain Randson reported as he listened to the readiness reports from various ships over their short-range coms. His eyes focused on the admiral, who was still studying the large tactical screen on the front wall of the Command Center.

Kurt nodded. There was no point in waiting. “All ships initiate jump in sixty seconds,” he ordered. “They are to fire upon targets as soon as they exit hyperspace and don’t need to wait for orders from the flag.”

“Message sent,” responded Captain Randson as he activated a counter on his console. “Helm; prepare for hyperspace insertion.”

Randson buckled himself into his chair in preparation for combat maneuvers. He knew the hyperspace jump would only last a few seconds. He wondered what they would find when they reached Earth.

“Tactical, ready the main particle beam cannon,” ordered Kurt, seeing the increased activity in the command crew as they prepared for combat. “Lock on the enemy’s nearest capital ship and fire as soon as you have a confirmed firing solution.” The cannon could only be fired once every forty seconds due to heat buildup, so they needed to make every shot count.

“Jump!” ordered Captain Randson his hands gripping the armrests on his command chair.

-

High Profiteer Creed stood in the Control Room of the pirate ship Ascendant Destruction. He was bipedal and slightly taller than a human. His skin was a light blue color with coarse white hair on his head. His face, while humanoid, had larger than normal eyes. The last few days had been quiet as he waited for the return of the rest of his ships. They were escorting a large fleet of ships to carry detainees as well as heavy cargo ships.

“We’ll make huge profits from this planet,” gloated Second Profiteer Lantz as he gazed at the main viewscreen on the front wall of the Control Room and the blue-white planet beneath them. “Their people will sell well in the slave markets on Kubitz.”

“Their world is rich in many things that will bring us great profits on the black markets,” added Creed, recalling his last trip to the bustling black market world of Kubitz as he folded his powerful arms across his chest.

Hundreds of alien races could be found on Kubitz either selling or buying, some of it openly and some done in the back rooms of the pleasure palaces. It was also a very dangerous place for someone unfamiliar with the workings of the black market system. People were known to vanish quite routinely and the local authorities always seemed to look the other way.

“We were fortunate to find this world in these backwater systems,” Lantz spoke as he thought greedily about the five percent profits he would receive as his share. “There have been few ships which have ventured out into these areas where the stars are so far apart.”

“We can thank the Kreel for that,” Creed said. “Several of their cargo ships have reported unknown ships appearing on their satellite marker buoys in a number of systems they have laid claim to. It wasn’t difficult for the computers on Marsten to correlate the data and extrapolate the most likely location of those ships’ home world.” It hadn’t been quite that simple. The computers had given them an area of space nearly thirty light years across, which had contained quite a few stars, even in this sparse region. It had taken the Profiteer Fleet two weeks to finally pin down the system they were seeking.

Lantz nodded in agreement. Marsten was the capital of the Gothan Empire, which was a loose Federation of one hundred and eighteen star systems that routinely raided many of the civilized races of the galaxy. It was a dangerous living, but the huge rewards from the bounty they collected more than offset the danger. Lantz was already thinking about how he would spend some of his share in the pleasure houses upon Kubitz. Any type of pleasure one desired could be bought for the right price.

“It is good we found this system when we did,” Lantz spoke with a nod of his head. “They had a sizable fleet and in a few more years would have been too powerful to overwhelm without major losses. Even now, they are hesitant about obeying our demands, despite us having destroyed their cities. More examples might need to be made.”

Before Creed could reply, warning klaxons began sounding and red lights started flashing in the Control Room. His eyes instantly went to the sensor operator.

“We have ships exiting hyperspace,” reported Third Profiteer Bixt as red threat icons began appearing on the sensor screen in front of him. Then, after a moment, he looked at First Profiteer Creed with astonishment on his face. “They’re human!”

-

Admiral Vickers felt the familiar gut wrenching feeling as the Star Cross dropped out of hyperspace within close proximity to its intended target. The tactical screen quickly updated, showing the alien ships in orbit around Earth.

“Target lock!” yelled Lieutenant Evelyn Mays as green lights flashed on her console. “Firing particle beam cannon.” She reached forward and pressed several buttons in front of her, activating the deadly weapon. Beside her, two ensigns were targeting the ships’ KEW batteries and preparing to fire the ships’ missiles.

From the Star Cross, a deep blue beam flashed across space smashing into the enemy battlecruiser they'd targeted. The cruiser was still in the process of raising its defensive energy screen, which failed to stop the beam. A massive explosion tore into the cruiser, leaving a gaping hole forty feet across in its hull and blasting a huge fragment off into space. The ship seemed to stagger as valuable systems inside were compromised and went down. Several secondary explosions rattled the ship, sending waves of fire through shattered compartments and corridors. Frightened crewmembers slammed bulkheads shut, trying to stop the growing destruction.

From the bow of the Star Cross, the two KEW cannons fired, sending a pair of two thousand pound rounds toward the reeling enemy cruiser at ten percent the speed of light. They impacted the alien ship, tearing completely through it and setting off secondary explosions. The energy generated was like twin nuclear explosions going off. With a brilliant flash the battlecruiser exploded, sending debris in all directions.

“Enemy battlecruiser is down!” Lieutenant Brooks reported excitedly as the red threat icon swelled on the sensor screen and then vanished.

“We caught them before they could raise their shields,” spoke Captain Randson, jubilantly. “We’ve got them in the same position they caught our fleet in when they attacked Earth.”

“Switch to secondary target,” Kurt ordered as he intently watched the tactical screen, seeing what success his other ships were having.

“The enemy battlecruiser the Hampton was targeting is down,” reported Brooks elatedly as she saw another red icon vanished from her screen.”

“Vindication is jumping in!” added Captain Randson as he saw more green icons beginning to appear on the tactical screen.

-

First Profiteer Creed picked himself up from the deck, looking around the Control Center in anger. “What’s happening?” he demanded as his eyes shifted to the ship’s tactical screen. He could see numerous red threat icons appearing close to his ships. Too close!

“It’s a human fleet and they’re attacking,” reported Second Profiteer Lantz, breathlessly. “We’ve already lost the Warriors Pride and the Addax. The enemy is using a powerful particle beam against us as well as kinetics.”

“Particle beams and kinetics!” roared Creed in disbelief his eyes growing wide.

He knew that for most warships particle beams were impractical as they required a tremendous amount of energy and needed a long cool down time between firings. Most Gothan ships were armed with ion cannons and missiles, which were cheap and efficient. Kinetics were a thing of the past and had been given up to be replaced by more modern weapons.

“One of the new arrivals is a carrier of some kind,” Third Profiteer Bixt warned, feeling worried. “It’s launching smaller warships toward us.”

“We’ve lost four of our escorts,” spoke Lantz, seeing the ships drop off the tactical screen. He groaned, seeing his profits from this venture rapidly dissipating. His fantasies of the pleasure houses were rapidly fading. “All of our ships have their shields up and are returning fire, but I fear we’ve already lost too much. The Glimmer Fire is reporting heavy damage and they’re asking to withdraw.” The Glimmer Fire was their only other remaining battlecruiser.

Creed looked at the viewscreen showing numerous explosions in space. He could even see the path of a few beam weapons. “Order all ships to jump!” he grated out, knowing he had no other choice but to withdraw or be destroyed.

They were in this for profit, not to lose expensive ships. He would return to Marsten and come back with a much more powerful fleet. This planet was too rich to allow a single human fleet to keep them from it. The humans could have the planet back for now, but he would return with a far larger force and take it back. He would also have to contact the detainee and cargo ships and have them return to the Marsten system.

-

“Destroyer Brant is down,” Lieutenant Brooks reported grimly as the friendly green icon representing the small destroyer vanished from the screen.

“We’ve taken out two of their light units,” Captain Randson added as two more red icons fell off the tactical screen. He began to breathe a little easier. At this rate, they would win the battle and then as soon as possible, he intended to take a shuttle down to Houston and evacuate his family. He knew others would be doing the same thing.

“Enemy ships are showing an energy spike,” Lieutenant Brooks informed them as one of her sensors indicated a rapid buildup of energy emissions from the alien ships. “They’re activating their hyperdrives.”

Kurt switched his gaze to one of the large viewscreens just in time to see one of the two remaining enemy battlecruisers jump away. On the tactical screen, other red threat icons were also vanishing.

“Their last heavy is too damaged to jump,” Brooks reported as the enemy ship turned toward them with its weapons firing. “They’re attacking!”

Kurt felt the Star Cross shudder slightly as an energy beam struck the ship’s energy screen.

“We’re being hit by some type of ion beam,” Lieutenant Brooks reported as she looked at the data on one of her sensor screens.

“The shield is holding at eighty-four percent,” Captain Randson said as he quickly checked the status of the ship’s energy shield.

“Particle beam is recharged,” Lieutenant Mays spoke as she targeted the alien battlecruiser. “Firing!”

The deep blue particle beam smashed into the enemy ship, flashing right through its weakened defensive energy screen. A huge hole was blasted into its bow and the ship seemed to lose all power. Two KEW rounds from the Star Crosses bow cannons plowed into the Glimmer Fire, traveling nearly its entire length, and then the ship detonated in a blaze of light as too many vital systems were destroyed.

“All enemy ships have either jumped out or have been destroyed,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, breathing a sigh of relief. “We have control of Earth orbital space.”

Kurt nodded, allowing himself to relax. The battle had gone better than expected. “Get me Captain Watkins. I’m going to have the Vindication check out the shipyard; they may need their marines to secure it.” Kurt turned his attention back toward one of the viewscreens showing Earth.

“Now let’s see if we can contact someone down on the surface and find out just what in the hell is going on.”

-

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen