Chapter One

Commodore Krilen gazed nervously at the large tactical sensor screen. There were four hundred heavily armed Hocklyn warships represented by friendly green icons waiting for him to give the order to attack. Also showing were four of the large AI ships in the center of the formation that had been silent for the past few days, refusing all attempts at communication. Krilen wondered what would happen when the AIs finally broke their silence. He crossed his powerful arms and gazed over at his First Leader.

“The AIs are still not communicating,” Angoth commented as he approached the command pedestal where Krilen was standing. Angoth was over two meters in height, which was normal for a reptilian Hocklyn. He wore dark gray body armor, which signified that he was of command rank. “It makes me wonder if the reports we received of Fleet Commodore Resmunt being defeated are indeed accurate.” He let his six-digit hand stray down to the hilt of his knife, which was in a protective sheath at his waist. In many ways, he wished the AIs were not here; they were disruptive to the moral of the fleet.

“Over one hundred AI ships reportedly destroyed, and Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s fleet losses were in excess of six hundred warships,” Krilen spoke in a low voice, still finding it hard to comprehend such losses. “If true, it is the greatest defeat in Hocklyn history.”

“These Humans are a threat to the Empire,” admonished Angoth, shaking his head. “What about these mysterious ships that reportedly came to the Humans' aid? How could the AIs lose so many ships?”

“Unknown,” Krilen replied, his large, cold eyes turning even darker. “From what Resmunt reports, the unknown ships jumped into the Human system and attacked the AIs. Resmunt claims the AIs had no defense against the energy weapons these new aliens used. The battle quickly turned to the Humans' favor and Resmunt was forced to withdraw in order to save what remained of his fleet. The AIs fled and did not show up at Resmunt’s designated rendezvous coordinates. He believes they are fleeing back to AI space in the galactic center.”

“What about us?” Angoth inquired in his grating voice. For weeks now, they had sat in this system acquiring no honor. Their fleet had been steadily growing as more ships arrived from the outer reaches of the Empire. It was time to attack! Only by attacking the Humans defending Careth could the warriors of the fleet gain honor.

“High Leader Nartel has sent a message to Fleet Commodore Resmunt to send us two of his fleets to assist in our attack. War Leader Versith and Osbith are being reassigned temporarily to our fleet. They both will have the newly updated ships.”

Angoth nodded his head in appreciation. “I know of War Leader Versith; he is a very talented warrior. The crew of his flagship, the Viden, have achieved much honor under his command.”

“So I understand,” Krilen replied as he turned to gaze toward the large viewscreens on the front wall of the War Room. “Once their fleets arrive we will begin our attack upon the Carethian System.”

“What of the AIs?”

“We will communicate our intentions when the time comes,” Krilen answered evenly as he looked up at one of the large viewscreens, which showed one of the massive 1,500-meter AI spheres. He wondered how the AIs felt knowing their ships were not as invulnerable to attack as they once were. For that matter, he wondered if the AIs even had feelings.

-

Rear Admiral Jeremy Strong was aboard the massive space station that served as the Command Center for the defense of the Carethian system. The station was six kilometers across and contained two large repair bays for fleet ships. Twenty dual power beam installations were the station’s primary armament, as well as its Devastator Three missiles tubes. It also had numerous flight bays containing hundreds of fighters and bombers.

He was standing next to Grayseth, looking at the large holographic tactical display that showed the Hocklyn and AI ships four light years distant in system K-774. It had been over three weeks since they'd dispatched a destroyer to New Tellus. The destroyer had been laying a new line of FTL communication buoys and they lost contact with it before it arrived at its destination. They still didn’t know if Admiral Streth and New Tellus had survived or if the Hocklyns and the AIs had destroyed the New Human Federation of Worlds. For all they knew, they might be the only Federation survivors left in the galaxy.

“Their numbers continue to grow,” Grayseth spoke, his large brown eyes looking over at Jeremy. The bear towered over Jeremy and his massive form was heavily muscled.

“Yes,” Jeremy replied in agreement. He looked over at Grayseth and smiled. The two had become very good friends over the past six months. “I wish we knew what happened at New Tellus.” Jeremy knew all the Humans in the fleet were deeply concerned. Most had family back in the Federation, and the not knowing was hard on everyone. Rumors were already flying that the Federation had been destroyed. “I was certain we would have heard something by now.”

“We can only wait,” Grayseth spoke in understanding, knowing his Human friends were deeply concerned about their home worlds.

“You’re right, my friend,” Jeremy said with a sigh. He knew worrying was not going to help.

“I don’t believe the evil ones will wait much longer before they attack,” Grayseth added as he folded his powerful arms across his large chest. “They know that each day they wait, we only grow stronger.”

“Jeremy, we have the computer updates completed,” Lieutenant Katie Johnson reported as she stood up from where she'd been sitting at the main computer console with Karalle, a young female Carethian.

She had been setting up a new targeting program that would allow the power beam installations to fire in unison at a specific target. She'd also set up a similar program for the Devastator Three missiles in the station’s missile tubes. The new program would allow the station to fire upon an AI ship, creating holes in the vessel’s powerful energy shield. Ariel had helped Katie perfect the new program. It was similar to the one used on the strikecruisers but had been adapted for the computers and targeting systems on the massive space station. They had been working on it for weeks.

“That’s great, Katie,” Jeremy replied, pleased that Katie had finished the modifications. Katie was one of his closest friends and a member of the Special Five. Fleet personnel had picked that nickname for Jeremy and his four friends who were the only survivors of the New Horizon incident from so many years ago.

A warning alarm suddenly sounded, drawing Jeremy’s attention back to the holographic tactical display that depicted the Carethian system. Two glaring red threat icons had appeared a short ten million kilometers from Careth.

“Two Hocklyn support cruisers at ten million kilometers,” Colonel Millburn reported from his seat in front of the large sensor console. The console was manned by both Humans and Carethians.

“Another probe,” growled Grayseth, wishing they could destroy the two cruisers. If they followed the normal pattern, they would not give the defenders time to launch an attack.

All of the Human warships had been pulled back inside Careth’s gravity well to help protect them and it would take too long for them to respond to this incursion. Grayseth continued staring at the ships in anger, wishing he could attack them. His own people had a large number of small warships, but they were being held back in secret within the hidden underground cities on Careth.

“They’re taking detailed scans,” Colonel Millburn continued as he studied the data coming across the sensors. He pressed several buttons on his console, which brought up even more data on his screens. “Definitely scanning us, Sir,” he continued. “They are taking detailed scans of the station and the orbiting defenses.”

“The attack will be coming soon,” Jeremy said, letting out a deep breath as he continued to watch the two red icons floating tauntingly in the tactical display. He knew their days of peace were about to come to an end.

“Jeremy,” Katie spoke, her voice sounding tense. “Ariel is reporting that more AI ships and additional Hocklyn units are jumping into system K-774.”

Jeremy looked back over at the other tactical display and noticed more orange and red threat icons appearing. He had two stealth scouts stationed on the perimeter of the system keeping a wary eye on the enemy warships. There were also a number of FTL detection buoys in the system, which sent reports to Careth anytime a new FTL jump was detected.

“What do we have, Ariel?” asked Jeremy over his mini-com, knowing the AI would already be cataloguing the new arrivals.

“It’s not good, Jeremy,” Ariel spoke in her youthful female voice. “The FTL events have stopped and I've analyzed the new ships that are present. We have six more AI ships that have jumped into the system as well as twelve Hocklyn dreadnoughts, twenty-four warcruisers, and ninety-six support cruisers.”

Jeremy passed on the information to Grayseth as they both gazed with concern at all the new red and orange threat icons. They both knew that shortly the Hocklyns and AIs would be attacking. The ten AI ships would be a major problem with their ability to jump inside the gravity well of a planet.

“They may have been waiting for these ships to launch their attack,” Grayseth uttered, his large eyes narrowing as he studied the tactical display.

“I agree,” responded Jeremy, feeling his pulse beating faster. He just hoped they were ready for what was about to be thrown at them.

“We must prepare for battle,” Grayseth continued in a calm voice. “The evil ones must be destroyed.”

“Katie and I will be going back to the Avenger,” Jeremy decided after a moment. “We will be undocking and taking Fourth Fleet and Ceres Fleet to Condition Three.”

“What about the station?” Grayseth asked. He knew that with its larger crew that it could stay at a higher alert level for a much longer time than the two defending fleets. He was willing to follow Jeremy’s orders since he had more experience in dealing with the Hocklyns.

“Condition Two,” Jeremy suggested, his eyes meeting Grayseth’s.

“It will be done,” answered Grayseth gravely as he reached forward and pressed one of the alert buttons on the master console in front of him. Instantly, red lights began flashing and alarms sounded. The bear knew that shortly many of the Humans that he had come to call friends over the past few months would be giving their lives to save his world. Then, looking over at Jeremy, he spoke again in a solemn voice. “We will hunt together.”

“Yes, my friend,” replied Jeremy gravely, gazing deeply into Grayseth’s eyes. “We will hunt together.”

-

War Leader Versith listened to his new orders from Commodore Krilen. His war fleet had been shuffled around some, with all of the damaged ships continuing on to Kenward Seven. They had been replaced with repaired ships from Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s surviving fleet by orders from High Leader Nartel. War Leader Osbith’s fleet had also been similarly shuffled around. The two War Leaders now commanded full strength war fleets with which to attack the Humans.

“We attack immediately,” Versith said in his rasping voice, looking over at First Leader Trion.

“What about the AIs?” Trion asked, his cold, dark eyes narrowing. “Will they be going in with us?” He still didn’t like the way the AIs had withdrawn from the battle over the Human world, leaving the Hocklyn fleet at the mercy of those strange new ships. Many brave Hocklyn warriors had gone on to find their final honor during the battle.

“They have only now begun communicating again,” Versith responded as his eyes moved to one of the large viewscreens, which showed one of the monstrous AI ships. “Two of their ships will accompany us and serve in a support role. We will jump to just outside the gravity well of the planet and launch our fighters. Our target is the Carethian’s space station. Order half of our fighters armed with regular missiles and the other half with interceptors. From what I have seen of the defenses of this planet, we can expect a powerful force of opposing Human fighters.”

“What about Jaseth?” inquired Trion with a strong frown. “Should he be allowed out of his quarters for this engagement?”

Versith was silent for a long moment. He was still upset about Jaseth’s actions in the last battle. “Yes, release him from his quarters but assign a Protector to keep an eye on him. It won’t hurt for Jaseth to be reminded that another act of insubordination will result in his continued detention.”

-

Jeremy was back aboard the Avenger. The 1,000-meter heavy strikecruiser was the flagship of Fourth Fleet. Entering the Command Center, he saw that the ship was already at Condition Three.

“Ship is ready for departure,” Colonel Malen, the executive officer, reported. “All the crew are on board and at their stations.”

“Send the recall to all crewmembers of the other ships that are on leave down on Careth,” Jeremy ordered as he sat down behind the command console in the center of the large room. He could already sense the heightened anxiety in the Command Center as the crew knew they would shortly be going into combat.

“I’ve already done so,” Ariel spoke as the dark headed AI walked over to stand next to Jeremy. She had a concerned look upon her face. “I have further analyzed the energy signatures from the new Hocklyn ships and confirmed that they are some of the same ships that engaged Admiral Streth at the former Hocklyn fleet base over a month ago.”

Jeremy sucked in a sharp breath. He knew those very ships had gone off in pursuit of Admiral Streth toward New Tellus. Did their showing up now mean that the Hocklyn fleets had indeed been victorious? If so, there would be no relief fleet coming.

“What does it mean, Jeremy?” Kevin asked from his position at the ship’s sensors. He had a troubled look upon his face after hearing Ariel’s announcement about the Hocklyn ships.

Due to their closeness, they had long since dispensed with using military ranks unless they were in front of strangers. The rest of the crew had accepted that the Special Five were a close knit group. The twenty-nine year old redheaded lieutenant was also Jeremy’s best friend.

“I don’t know; it could mean nothing. We don’t know what happened back in the Federation.”

“Or it could mean that the Hocklyn and the AIs overcame New Tellus’s defenses and conquered the Federation,” Colonel Malen spoke in a restrained voice, her eyes growing wide at the thought. “We did lose contact with the destroyer we sent back.”

The entire crew in the Command Center had grown silent as they waited for Jeremy’s answer. Everyone had been deeply concerned about what was happening back home, particularly with the FTL lines of communication down.

“It does us no good to speculate,” Jeremy finally said, his eyes roaming over the Command Center crew. “I can’t believe that Admiral Streth could have been defeated. I still fully expect him to return shortly with a relief fleet. Our job is to protect Careth and to still be here when he arrives.”

“We will be!” Kelsey spoke loudly from Navigation, looking around at the rest of the crew daring anyone to contradict her.

“Let’s go kill some Hocklyns!” Lieutenant Preston said from Tactical, his eyes flashing.

“Move us away from the station,” ordered Jeremy, firmly. “I want Fourth Fleet ready to respond immediately if an AI jumps inside the gravity well. Angela, contact Admiral Stillson and tell him to stand by for further orders.”

Taking another deep breath, Jeremy looked over at the tactical display, which showed the current deployment of Fourth Fleet. He had forty ships at his disposal, including two battlecruisers and four battlecarriers. Ceres Fleet, under command of Rear Admiral Jase Stillson, had forty-eight ships.

In addition, there were thirty destroyers deployed in the massive satellite defense grid that surrounded the planet. He had fourteen heavy strikecruisers available to combat AI ships, all with full loads of Devastator Three missiles. There were also four type two battle stations in orbit around the space station that could also engage an AI. They had done everything they could to prepare for the expected attack.

Ensign Striker at the helm carefully maneuvered the Avenger away from the station. A few minutes later, the flagship took her place in the waiting fleet formation. Shuttles were rising from the planet, bringing crewmembers that had been planet-side on leave.

Ariel stood just behind Jeremy with her arms folded across her breasts. The gorgeous AI was keeping a close watch on all of the ship’s sensors as well as the incoming data from the two stealth scouts that were observing the enemy warships. She would know as soon as they jumped. There was also deep worry inside her. For over a month, she had not heard from Clarissa, and she greatly feared that something was very wrong back in the Federation.

-

The 1,200-meter Hocklyn dreadnought Viden exited the swirling white spatial vortex two million kilometers from their intended target. Other spatial vortexes expelled even more Hocklyn warships as War Leader Versith and War Leader Osbith’s fleets left hyperspace. A total of one hundred and thirty-two ships were now in the Carethian System.

“Report!” snapped War Leader Versith as he saw the ship’s screens and sensors coming online.

“All ships report successful jumps,” First Leader Trion reported as he listened to the communications from the different ships. Even as he watched the screens, two more large icons appeared. They were the two AI ships that would play a support role in this action.

“Put Careth and the planet’s defenses up on the tactical display,” Versith rasped as he turned his cold eyes toward the hologram. He was glad the Viden had one of the updated tactical displays. It made commanding a fleet operation much simpler and concise.

Instantly, the planet appeared in the display as well as numerous red threat icons. He had known what to expect from the scans of the two escort cruisers earlier. While this system was not as heavily held as the one where they'd faced defeat fourteen days ago, it would be no pushover and they didn’t have two hundred AI ships to whittle down the planet’s defenses.

“All ships, standard screening formation and advance at forty percent sublight. We will close to just outside the gravity well and then launch our fighter attack.”

Second Leader Jaseth had returned to his post at the weapons console. He glared at the tall Protector standing close to him, knowing that if he stepped out of line he would be escorted back to his quarters. That would not happen this time, given the chance, he would kill as many Humans as possible. For now, he would obey War Leader Versith’s orders.

“Honor will come slowly in this battle,” Trion commented as he watched the tactical display. “If the Human warships do not come out to engage us, this will only be a battle between fighters.”

“This battle is to probe their defenses,” responded Versith, looking sharply over at his First Leader. “There will be honor enough for all of us when we finally conquer this system.”

While honor was important, preserving the Empire had to take precedence. Versith was also concerned about how long it would be before the Humans sent a relief fleet to this system. If that fleet had any of the new alien warships, Versith knew they would have no recourse but to withdraw or face annihilation.

Trion was silent as he thought about their orders. He knew the AIs had informed the High Council that the surface of Careth was to be cleansed of life. When the Hocklyn fleet finally left this system, they would have committed genocide. This was something that didn’t set well with Trion, though he would follow his orders. He was a Hocklyn warrior of the Empire, and his duty was to obey.

-

“Commander Marks,” Jeremy spoke over the ship-to-ship communications. Susan was aboard her battlecarrier the Retribution. “You will be coordinating our fighter strike. Grayseth wants you to incorporate some of their fighters and bombers in your flight operations.” Susan had been working with the bear pilots for months and had recently informed Jeremy that they were ready for combat.

“Should we plan on a bomber strike?” Commander Marks inquired.

“Hold off on the bombers until we see what their intentions are,” Jeremy responded as he watched the Hocklyn ships, which were rapidly nearing Careth’s gravity well. If they entered the gravity well then Jeremy would know that they were committing their ships to this action.

“How many fighters can we expect them to launch, Ariel?”

Ariel was standing next to Jeremy, her dark eyes seemingly focused on a distant point. “If they are carrying full loads of fighters, we can expect eight hundred and sixty-four.”

Jeremy nodded as he thought about how he wanted to handle this. He had six battlecarriers available, each with one hundred sixty Talon fighters and sixty Anlon bombers. In addition, he had another three hundred twenty fighters and one hundred sixty bombers on the space station, as well as all the bear fighters and bombers.

“Jeremy, the Hocklyns are launching their fighters,” Kevin reported as new red threat icons began appearing on the tactical and sensor screens.

“What about their fleet?”

“It’s stopped just outside the gravity well,” Ariel informed him, her dark eyes focusing on Jeremy. “Only their fighters are coming in.”

“Admiral, I would suggest sending in some of our light cruisers along with our fighters,” Colonel Malen spoke as she studied the tactical display. “They can use their missiles as well as defensive laser turrets to help take out the enemy fighters; it might help to reduce our own losses and prevent them from reaching our defenses.”

“I agree,” responded Jeremy, noticing that Commander Marks was already launching fighters. “Designate ten light cruisers under the command of a Monarch to go in with our fighters.”

-

In space, the two groups rapidly closed. The Hocklyn pilots were intent on adding to their honor, while the Human and bear pilots' goal was to protect the world behind them. In their wake came the 900-meter Monarch heavy cruiser Reprisal with a screen of ten light cruisers. All missile tubes were loaded with Hunter class interceptors ready to launch. Her laser and railgun turrets would fire once they were within range.

The two groups of fighters rapidly neared each other. “Lock on targets and prepare to fire,” Major Wink Thurman ordered all squadrons. He was the CAG for the Retribution and in charge of the attacking fighters. “We will hit them with our interceptors first and then close to pointblank range. When we hit their formation, I don’t want to see a missile left on any fighter! The Reprisal and her fleet will follow us in; don’t let the Hocklyns hit our warships, make them focus on us.”

“Time to kick some Hocklyn ass,” one of the pilots spoke excitedly over the com.

“It’s about time,” a female voice replied. “It’s been boring flying patrols.”

“Stay tight with your wingman,” Thurman reminded everyone.

He was concerned about the bears since this would be their first actual combat mission. He wondered if it would have been smarter to assign the Human fighters a bear fighter as their wingman until the bears had more actual combat experience.

“I have target lock,” a pilot suddenly announced.

“Fire,” ordered Major Thurman, seeing green target lock lights appear on the small control console in his fighter.

From six hundred Human fighters and two hundred bear fighters, eight hundred Hunter interceptor missiles blasted away and hurtled toward the incoming Hocklyns. The Hocklyns fired at the same time and space was suddenly full of deadly interceptor missiles, each seeking a target.

“Vampire, vampire!” screamed a Human pilot over the squadron coms. “Incoming missiles.”

“Launch countermeasures,” another responded grimly. “Damn, we launched at the same time. There are missiles everywhere!”

“Go evasive!” Major Thurman ordered as he rolled his Anlon fighter and turned at a sharp angle while launching countermeasures at the same time.

Fighters from both sides began slewing about in wild gyrations, trying to throw off the incoming missiles. Some succeeded; others did not. Both formations were suddenly lit up by bright explosions as numerous missiles found their targets.

-

Jeremy winced inwardly as he saw the fiery explosions on Avenger’s main viewscreens. He knew that each one marked the death of a fighter. From this distance, it was hard to tell if it was Human, bear, or Hocklyn.

“Major Thurman’s fighters have reached the Hocklyn formation,” Ariel informed him as she watched the battle with the ship’s sensors.

“What about the AIs?”

Ariel glanced over at Jeremy. “They are still behind the Hocklyn fleet; I am not detecting any buildup of energy indicating an imminent FTL jump.”

“Keep a watch on them,” ordered Jeremy, crisply. He had his strikecruisers at key positions in groups of two in case they had to respond to an attack by the AIs. For now, Jeremy hoped the AIs stayed put.

“The Reprisal and light cruisers are now in range; they are launching missiles and engaging their defensive laser batteries,” Ariel continued.

Jeremy looked back at the viewscreen. It was now crisscrossed with orange-red beams of light where lasers were firing. Occasionally there would be a fiery explosion at the end of one of the beams.

-

The fighter battle had broken down into a wild, swirling dogfight as each side tried to eliminate the other. All interceptor missiles had been fired. However, half the Hocklyn fighters were equipped with small ship-to-ship missiles, which were armed with powerful explosive warheads designed to cripple a small warship. They had planned originally to use these missiles against the space station orbiting the planet.

The Hocklyn strike leader instantly ordered all fighters equipped with the heavier missiles to attack the light cruisers. He knew the missiles probably couldn’t damage the larger Human warship, but if enough missiles could strike the screens of the smaller ships a few might get through. With the number of fighters the Humans and Carethians had launched, he knew his war wings had no hope of reaching the station in sufficient numbers to launch an effective strike.

-

“They’re trying to target the light cruisers!” Major Thurman warned over his com as he saw numerous Hocklyn fighters suddenly accelerate toward the nearby warships. “All fighters, cut off those Hocklyns before they can launch their missiles!”

Major Thurman hit his turbos and quickly fell in behind a Hocklyn fighter. Pressing the button on his flight control a line of 30mm tracers reached out and struck the Hocklyn fighter in its tail. It instantly exploded in a fiery fireball, and Thurman grimaced as his fighter flew through the shattered debris and he heard small fragments hitting his cockpit windows. On his small sensor screen, he could see dozens of missiles streaking toward the light cruisers. He just hoped the defensive laser turrets could shoot them down.

-

On the Monarch cruiser Reprisal, Commander Karson Adams ordered all defensive lasers to target the inbound missile strike. Already, over one hundred forty inbound missiles had been detected with more being launched every moment. The sensor operator had reported that none of them contained nuclear warheads.

“Lock on those inbound missiles,” he ordered as he watched the tactical display intently. “I want them destroyed!”

“Locking on targets,” the tactical officer replied. “Firing lasers and interceptors.”

Space became lit up with exploding missiles as lasers eliminated many of the inbound targets, but some of the fighters were launching from almost pointblank range. Missiles began impacting the light cruisers’ energy screens as multiple explosions rolled across them.

The light cruiser Wrath suddenly saw her screen weaken in one area from multiple hits and two small missiles darted through, striking the armored hull. Two large explosions shook the ship, blasting out deep holes in the hull and causing damage to several power conduits. For a moment, the screen wavered; that was all the Hocklyn fighters needed. Dozens of the small missiles flashed through the weakened screen, ravaging the hull of the 700-meter light cruiser. Fires broke out and key systems shut down, then a missile hit Engineering and the main fusion reactor went offline. Moments later, the ship’s self-destructs activated and the Wrath vanished as two nuclear explosions annihilated the ship.

-

“All missiles have been launched,” First Leader Trion reported as he listened to reports coming in from the Hocklyn pilots.

“Order them to return,” War Leader Versith ordered as he turned away from the tactical display. “It's obvious that if we want to strike their space station, a larger force will be required. We will withdraw back to Commodore Krilen’s position and discuss the next attack with him. When we return, we will be better prepared.”

“Victory will be ours,” responded Trion, knowing that War Leader Versith was well versed in strategy.

Jaseth was silent, but felt frustrated as he had not been given an opportunity to use his weapons. The Humans were so close, but he was powerless to extract vengeance against them.

-

“The light cruiser Wrath is down,” Kevin reported as he watched the green icon representing the stricken ship vanish from his sensor screen.

“Too many missiles got through,” Ariel reported with sadness in her voice. “I believe their reactor went offline and the ship suffered catastrophic damage causing the self-destructs to engage.”

“What about the other ships?” Jeremy asked with a heavy frown. He hadn’t planned on losing one of the light cruisers.

“Light damage only,” Ariel reported as she looked over the indicated ships with the Avenger’s sensors.

Jeremy watched as the Hocklyn fighters broke contact and fell back toward their waiting fleet. “Order our fighters to pursue to the edge of the gravity well but not to get too close to the Hocklyn warships. I don’t want them to be able to fire their defensive weapons upon our fighters.”

“Yes, Sir,” Colonel Malen replied as she passed on the orders to Commander Marks.

-

The Hocklyn fighters quickly flew back to their waiting ships and after landing, the Hocklyn warships began jumping into hyperspace. White, swirling spatial vortexes indicated the departure of each ship. Once they were gone, the vortexes faded away as if nothing had ever been there. The AIs waited until the last one left, and then they too vanished into hyperspace.

-

“What did we lose?” asked Jeremy, looking over expectantly at Ariel. He had come to depend more and more upon the talented AI for tactical information. She was also his friend.

“Human fighter losses are one hundred and twenty-two; the bears lost sixty-seven. We also lost the light cruiser Wrath with three other light cruisers suffering light damage. Hocklyn losses were four hundred and sixty-eight fighters.

“This was a probe of our defenses,” Colonel Malen commented as she gazed at the tactical display, noting the absence of any red threat icons. She placed her hands behind her back and looked over at Jeremy. “Next time they will return with a much larger force.”

“You’re right,” answered Jeremy, knowing that when they returned the Hocklyns would not just be using their fighters. “We need to be prepared for a major fleet battle in the next few days. Take the fleet back to Condition Three and have the damaged light cruisers put in at the repair bays on the station. I want their battle damage repaired as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Sir,” Malen replied. “It shouldn’t take more than a day to repair them.”

Jeremy nodded. He knew that with the loss of the light cruiser the battle could be called a draw. He felt ill knowing over seven hundred Human and bears had lost their lives in the short battle. He also knew that in the next one many more lives would probably be lost. Jeremy let out a deep sigh; he just hoped that Admiral Streth was still alive and on his way with a relief force. If not, no one in his fleet would survive when the AIs and the Hocklyns finally hit them with their full force.

Looking over at Kelsey, he could see the look of concern in her deep blue eyes. She forced a smile and Jeremy smiled back. Both knew that if Admiral Streth did not show up shortly, the rest of their lives could probably be numbered in days.

Chapter Two

Fleet Admiral Streth strolled purposely down the hallway until he reached the doors of the Federation Senate Chambers. The two heavily armed marines standing guard at the door said nothing as they saw the anger on his face. They stood aside as he pushed the heavy doors open and entered the chamber.

President Kincaid looked up from his seat and frowned upon seeing who had interrupted the meeting of the Federation Senate. From the look on Admiral Streth’s face, he knew this wouldn’t be good. He let out a heavy sigh, knowing exactly what the admiral was going to say.

“What do you mean there will be no relief fleet for Careth!” Admiral Streth roared in anger as he walked around to stand between the seated president and the twenty-eight members of the Federation Senate. “I promised Rear Admiral Strong that I would return for him and I fully intend to do that!” He glared at the senators, daring them to dispute his words.

“Not without any ships,” Senator Fulbright commented, unperturbed by the admiral’s impertinence at interrupting the Senate meeting. “If I remember correctly, there isn’t much left of the Active Reserve Fleets. You managed to get most of them destroyed.”

“I still command what’s left of First and Second Fleet and we’re ready to return to Careth,” barked Admiral Streth, his eyes staring down the senator from Serenity. “We can be ready to depart within 48 hours.”

“Calm down,” spoke Senator Davis from Bliss, focusing his eyes on the venerated admiral. “We understand your desire to return to Careth, but the fleet is in shambles after the Hocklyn and AI attack on New Tellus. We don’t have the ships to spare at this time to launch a rescue operation.”

“We lost less than twenty percent of our total fleet,” Senator Barnes from Ceres interrupted, glaring across the room at Senators Fulbright and Davis. “We have the ships for a relief force and I strongly protest anyone who says otherwise. Must I remind you that there is a sizable Ceres fleet under command of Admiral Stillson at Careth also?”

“The Hocklyns and the AIs could launch a major attack against Careth at any time,” Admiral Streth informed them as his eyes swept over the Federation Senators. “We can’t wait any longer. Over three weeks have already passed since the Hocklyn attack.”

“We still have a large number of ships in the repair bays at New Tellus,” Senator Fulbright reminded the admiral in a conciliatory tone. “In my opinion, we can’t launch a relief force until we have repaired our ships and new construction replaces what we have lost. We have the entire Federation to think about. Careth will have to wait.”

“The Inactive Reserve is being brought online and will be fully operational in another three months,” Senator Anderson from Earth commented. “That will more than make up for our fleet losses.”

“But they’re older ships,” protested Senator Fulbright, shaking his head in denial. “We can’t count on them to protect us if the Hocklyns launch another major attack. What if they attack somewhere else besides New Tellus or Earth? Is there any other system here that could survive an attack the size of the one they launched against New Tellus?”

The Senate Chamber was quiet as the senators looked worriedly at one another. They knew that the smaller systems would be vulnerable to such an attack. While many agreed with Admiral Streth’s desire to send a relief fleet, they also knew they had their own worlds to be concerned about. Many of the senators refused to meet Admiral Streth’s eyes.

“We also need to further upgrade our warships with Alton weapons and shields,” President Kincaid said, rising to his feet in an attempt to take back control of the meeting. “We all would like to launch a relief fleet to Careth, but now is not the time, Admiral.”

“How long before Alton weapons can be installed on our warships?” Senator Malle from Mars inquired. “If we encounter more AI ships in such a relief effort, those weapons will be sorely needed.”

“The StarStrike and the New Tellus are already undergoing upgrades for the new weapons systems,” replied Admiral Streth, trying to keep his anger in check. “We have a team of Alton engineers at New Tellus working with our people to upgrade the two battleships as well as our battlecruisers. The two battleships will be ready in another two days.” Hedon had the crews working around the clock in order to have the two powerful ships ready to deploy. “We can be ready to leave by the end of the week.”

“When all the ships are upgraded, come back and see us,” President Kincaid suggested as his eyes focused on Admiral Streth. “We understand your desire to rescue Rear Admiral Strong and the ships under his command. It will do him no good if you rush off in ships that haven’t been properly updated.”

“A wise decision,” Senator Fulbright echoed, pleased that Admiral Streth was not going to get his way. He was also surprised that President Kincaid was siding with him.

Admiral Streth stood in silence as he regarded the looks upon the senator’s faces. He knew he could not win this argument, at least not yet.

“I will return when the ships are ready,” promised Hedon. “When I return I will not take no for an answer.” He turned and exited the Senate Chambers, still angry with the senators. It reminded him why politicians should not be allowed to run a war.

President Kincaid watched him leave. He wished he could send the ships that Fleet Admiral Streth wanted. It pained him to know that the Special Five were in grave danger and could very well lose their lives at Careth. Rear Admiral Strong and the other four of that special group were very important to the entire Federation. Kincaid didn’t want to think about the ramifications if the relief force was to arrive too late. Kincaid knew he could have forced a vote, and while a number of key senators would have supported the measure, those opposed would have outnumbered them.

-

Governor Malleck was meeting with Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson, Admiral Telleck, and Admiral Kalen in his office at Ceres. They were discussing the recent meeting that Fleet Admiral Streth had with the Federation Senate.

“It is as I expected,” Governor Malleck said with a disappointed sigh. “The attack at New Tellus has frightened many of the senators. They will not agree to a relief fleet until the Inactive Reserve has been mobilized and new ship construction has made up for our losses.” He had received a briefing on the meeting from an irate Senator Barnes. Barnes would have been one of the senators in support of sending the relief fleet.

“I don’t understand their thinking,” Admiral Telleck said with a frown. “We have Alton warships assigned to each Federation system. Neither the AIs nor the Hocklyns will attack us as long as those ships are present.”

“But they are in small numbers,” pointed out Admiral Kalen. “There are four ships at New Tellus and Earth, but only two in each of the other systems.”

“I spoke to Ambassador Tureen several days ago,” Malleck said as he looked at the others. “The majority of their people are pacifists. That’s what took them so long to activate their warships. Even the ships they sent to New Tellus had very small crews in them; just enough to operate the ships.”

“Governor,” spoke Admiral Telleck, squaring up his shoulders. “I volunteer to take my fleet and go to Careth. Perhaps with the added numbers Admiral Strong will be able to survive until Fleet Admiral Streth can arrive with a large enough force to drive off the besieging Hocklyns.”

Malleck leaned back in his chair, slowly shook his head and looked at Admiral Telleck. The two had been friends for many years and he knew that the admiral was serious in his offer. “Glenn, we don’t dare do so,” he spoke in a soft voice. “For all that we know Careth may have already fallen. I have made arrangements with Ambassador Tureen for a number of Alton engineers to come to Ceres in the next few days. They will be bringing a number of cargo ships containing some special equipment that they will need. We’re going to install the new shields, weapons, and power systems upon our battlecarriers and battlecruisers. All of our new ships under construction will be equipped with the new systems.”

“That will take weeks!” protested Telleck, arching his eyebrows in deep concern. “The relief fleet needs to be sent as soon as possible!”

“Six weeks at the most,” replied Malleck, recalling the timeline the Altons had agreed upon. “At the end of six weeks, I promise we will send a relief fleet, even if Ceres has to do it alone.”

“You won’t be alone,” Fleet Admiral Johnson said determinedly. “I will see to it that in six weeks Admiral Streth will have First and Second Fleets back up to full strength and they'll be going with you.”

“What if the Federation Senate objects?” Admiral Kalen asked his eyes focusing on the Fleet Admiral. He knew she might be putting her job on the line.

“They won’t know until after the mission has been launched,” Karla replied, her eyes flashing defiantly. “We don’t leave our people behind!”

-

Later that evening, Karla and Admiral Telleck were in one of the classier restaurants inside one of the large habitats within Ceres. They were currently in the Aquarian Habitat, which had been named after one of the worlds of the original Federation.

“If you send this fleet without the permission of the Federation Senate, you could lose your command,” Glenn spoke with concern in his voice. Karla and he had been close friends for years.

“It will be a difficult decision,” Karla admitted with a deep sigh. “I think President Kincaid really wants to send the mission as soon as possible, but he doesn’t dare with the current mood of the Senate. The senators have seen videos of the battle at New Tellus. Hell, the AIs and Hocklyns managed to destroy two of our asteroid fortresses, and those were supposed to be nearly indestructible. I guess you can’t blame them for being scared.”

A waiter brought their food and the two were quiet for a moment as they began to eat. Karla was having smoked trout and Glenn his normal rib eye steak, cooked medium rare.

“I don’t see how you can eat a steak cooked like that,” commented Karla, shaking her head in mild disgust. “I’m surprised that steak doesn’t holler every time you cut off a slice.”

“It’s all in the flavor,” replied Glenn, defensively. “If you grill a good steak too long you cook the flavor out.”

“Perhaps,” Karla replied as she took a small bite of her trout. It was cooked perfectly.

“Will Admiral Streth be willing to wait six weeks?”

Karla put her fork down and looked over at Glenn. “I don’t know. He promised Jeremy he would be returning and Hedon believes in keeping his promises. Once we return to New Tellus, I’ll have a long talk with him. He won’t like it, but I think I can talk him into waiting. I just hope Rear Admiral Strong can hold out until help arrives.”

-

Fleet Admiral Streth was on board the battlecarrier Endurance, which was part of Second Fleet. The battlecarrier had come through the battle at New Tellus relatively unscathed. The only other surviving battlecarrier from Operation First Strike was the Essex under the command of Commander Bixby.

“Ready to jump, Sir,” Commander Evelyn Marsh reported from her position behind the main command console.

Hedon gazed at the large viewscreen, which showed a view of the planet Earth. He let out a long, deep sigh. The planet reminded him so much of his home planet, Maken. The deep blues of the oceans, the scattering of white clouds drifting in the atmosphere, and the green and browns of the landmasses.

“Let’s go to New Tellus,” Hedon ordered with a nod. He was anxious to get back and see the progress being made on the StarStrike. He also wanted to visit Amanda. She and Richard were currently down on New Tellus relaxing at one of the mountain resorts.

A swirling blue-white spatial vortex suddenly formed in front of the Endurance and the ship accelerated into it. The battlecarrier jumped into hyperspace and shortly after, the vortex collapsed and then vanished.

-

On Earth, President Kincaid was in his office watching a large viewscreen, which had been focused on the Endurance. He breathed a deep sigh of regret as he saw the ship disappear. He knew it contained a very upset Fleet Admiral.

“He’s on his way back to New Tellus,” Senator Anderson commented from where he was sitting in front of the president’s desk.

“Yes, and he’s not a happy admiral,” Senator Malle added from his seat next to Anderson.

“We didn’t have the votes,” spoke Kincaid, looking across his desk at the other two. “Senator Fulbright and his faction would have voted the measure down.”

“What if the Special Five die?” asked Anderson, arching his eyebrows. “The entire population of the Federation will be demanding our heads. Next to Admiral Streth, those five young people are the Federation’s biggest heroes.”

“Perhaps we should use that popularity to our advantage,” Senator Malle proposed. “If enough people put pressure on the Federation Senators who are opposed to a rescue operation it could force them to change their minds.”

“That just might work,” Senator Anderson spoke in agreement. Even Senator Fulbright would have to give in to public pressure.”

“We don’t know what happened to the AIs and the Hocklyns after they jumped away from New Tellus,” Kincaid reminded them. He liked the idea of using public pressure against some of the other senators to get them to agree to send a relief fleet. A few choice words dropped to several of the larger media outlets would probably do the trick.

“No, we don’t,” responded Malle, leaning forward. “But they still had one hell of a fleet. If that fleet attacks Rear Admiral Strong and we don’t send a relief fleet, he won’t stand a chance.”

“It’s out of our hands for now,” Kincaid replied in a grim voice. “If the Altons were willing to furnish a large number of their warships for such an endeavor, then I would have put forward a motion to send a relief force and I think it would have carried. However, they have made it plain that they are not willing to risk a major portion of their fleet so far from home.”

“Fleet Admiral Streth may take it upon himself to act alone,” warned Anderson, warily. “The man is full of pride and loyalty to the people that serve under him. He may take First and Second Fleet and go off on his own.”

“Perhaps,” replied Kincaid, letting out a deep breath as he considered the possibility. “But I think that once he calms down, he will see the wisdom of waiting until his ships are updated.”

“The people of the Federation all know he played a major role in the victory at New Tellus,” Malle reminded them. “If he does decide to do this on his own, I don’t think there is anything we could do. He is by far the most popular officer in the fleet.”

The three continued to talk and make future plans. They all knew that the destiny of the New Federation of Worlds rested squarely upon Admiral Streth’s shoulders. After all, everyone had always been taught that the great Admiral Streth would someday awaken from cryosleep and lead the Human race to victory over the Hocklyns. All President Kincaid had to do was to find some way to make sure that happened.

-

Amanda and Richard were in a shuttle flying over one of the former cities of New Tellus. The city had been hit with a twenty-megaton nuclear missile and all that remained was rubble. All the skyscrapers and other buildings had been leveled in the blast. A large, blackened crater was visible at the city’s center.

“There’s no radiation,” Richard commented as he gazed out at the destruction. It reminded him of what the Hocklyns had done to New Providence while he had been trapped in orbit on New Providence Station, powerless to stop them. “The Altons were able to eliminate the radiation, so there will be no residual effects.”

Amanda nodded as she looked down seeing construction equipment busily at work tearing down and hauling off what remained of the once thriving city. “What are the people doing?”

“Many of the smaller towns survived,” replied Richard, looking over at his wife. Amanda was almost back to normal after being injured aboard the WarStorm, even though it worried Richard that she had spoken very little about the battle and the loss of her ship. He feared that she regretted not dying with the rest of her crew. “There is a massive effort to rebuild what the Hocklyns and the AIs destroyed. I spoke to Senator Amy Karnes a few days ago and she is confident they can have everything rebuilt in less than a year. They’re going to use some of the spider-like repair robots that Ceres makes use of in their construction projects.”

“I hope so,” replied Amanda, softly. She knew there had been very few civilian casualties as New Tellus had been prepared for this type of attack. The people had survived in deep underground bunkers, safe from the Hocklyn bombardment. “Where are we going?”

Richard smiled and then replied. “We're going to New Tellus Station, there is something there I want to show you.”

The small shuttle rapidly climbed up out of the planet’s atmosphere and was soon approaching the massive shipyard that orbited the planet. There were currently five shipyards around New Tellus. At one time, there had been six, but Shipyard Clements had been destroyed in the Hocklyn attack. Space was still littered with debris from countless ships, the satellite defensive grid, as well as the two asteroid fortresses that had been destroyed. Dozens of small tugs were busy gathering up the debris and taking it to the shipyards to be reprocessed. Eventually, new warships would emerge. There were even plans being made to build another shipyard.

Amanda gazed out of the viewport next to her. This was the first time in several weeks that she had been back up into space. In the back of her mind, she could still hear the screams and panicked voices in the Command Center of the WarStorm as it was struck by the deadly sublight missile launched by the AI. After that, there was nothing as she had been knocked unconscious. Her ship had died when Commander Evans had rammed an AI ship, destroying both in the process. She knew from reports that less than twenty of the crew had survived. Most of those had been injured and evacuated under Commander Evans orders. Her eyes glistened with tears at the memory.

I should have been with them, Amanda thought, as she peered out the viewport and wiped away the tears. Most of her fleet had died; the people she had grown so close to had perished while she had survived. It wasn’t fair!

The shuttle docked to the station and as they walked down the shuttle’s ramp, Amanda was surprised to see Rear Admiral Bennett, as well as Lieutenant Benjamin Stalls and Lieutenant Angela Trask. She allowed herself to smile upon seeing the two lieutenants. They had been with her from the very beginning and she was extremely thankful that they had survived the destruction of the WarStorm. It also reminded her that Lieutenant Karen Ashton had not. Karen had also been with them for a very long time and she would be deeply missed.

“Admiral,” greeted Amanda, shaking hands with Admiral Bennett. Then she walked over and uncharacteristically hugged both of the lieutenants. “I’m glad to see the two of you. It’s been awhile.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Benjamin replied, surprised and embarrassed at Admiral Sheen’s emotional response to seeing them. “You look well.”

Amanda nodded and then turned to Admiral Bennett. “Just why am I here? There has to be a reason.”

Admiral Bennett allowed himself to smile. “Follow me and I'll show you.”

The small group made their way through the busy station, even passing a small group of Altons.

“How many Altons are on the station?” Amanda asked as they passed by the taller, white haired aliens. She knew that if not for the Altons, New Tellus would have fallen.

“Several hundred,” Bennett replied. “They’re helping to install some new power systems for the station as well as working on upgrading our warships.”

“Just what are they doing to our ships?” asked Amanda, feeling intrigued. She had heard a number of rumors, but Richard had insisted that she stay away from Fleet stuff while she had recuperated from her injury.

“They’re giving us their particle beam weapon, which was so devastating to the AIs, as well as their sublight antimatter missiles,” Bennett replied. “They have warned us that the AIs will probably now strengthen their shields in an attempt to make their ships less vulnerable to the particle beam weapon. They are also giving us a new fusion reactor, which is much more efficient and powerful than our class one reactors. It will substantially increase the strength of our ship’s energy shields as well as our other weapons.”

“Their ships also use a type of armor that is much more resistant to energy weapons,” added Richard, recalling what he had been told in his last briefing by Admiral Johnson. “We will be using that armor on all of our new construction.”

They passed through a large hatch that was guarded by several heavily armed marines and stepped into one of the shipyard’s large construction bays. Inside, a new hull had been laid and numerous technicians and a few Altons were busy working on the massive construction. A number of the spider-like work robots were also present.

“What is it?” asked Amanda, curiously. From the size of the hull, she suspected the vessel had to be a battleship. Currently, the Federation only had two, the StarStrike and the Tellus.

“It’s your new command ship,” Admiral Bennett replied with a pleased grin. “With your permission, we would like to name your new battleship the WarStorm in memory of her sacrifice.”

Amanda felt herself choke up as she gazed at what would soon be a massive warship. There had been times recently when she had wondered if she even wanted command of another ship or fleet again. She looked over at Lieutenants Stalls and Trask and saw the excited hope in their faces. It was time for her to accept the reality of her situation. There was a war to fight, and Admiral Streth would need her.

Straightening up her shoulders, she drew in a sharp breath and looked at Admiral Bennett. “I think the WarStorm will be a fine name. How soon before she’s completed?”

“With some of the construction techniques the Altons are providing and the work robots, we can have her ready in six months,” Admiral Bennett replied. “When we’re done, she will be the most advanced and powerful warship in our fleet.”

Amanda nodded. The Hocklyns had taken many of her friends away from her. This new WarStorm would be what she would use to avenge them. She would build a new fleet around this battleship. After seeing what the Hocklyns had done to the cities of New Tellus and the destruction they'd left in orbit of the planet, they would find no mercy from Amanda. The new ship would be her Sword of Damocles, and she would use it to make the Hocklyns and AIs pay for what they had done.

Richard could see the new resolve in his wife’s eyes. For the first time since her injury, he could see the fire return to Amanda. Her eyes were full of life and determination. He was already beginning to feel sorry for the Hocklyns.

Chapter Three

Jeremy and the rest of the Special Five were in the officers' mess eating. Ariel was sitting with them with a look of deep concern upon her face.

“It’s been nearly a week and the Hocklyns haven’t attacked again,” she said in her young female voice, sounding perplexed. “They are just sitting there doing nothing, I don’t understand. They have us outnumbered and have ten AI ships. What are they waiting on?”

“Be patient, Ariel,” spoke Kelsey, looking over compassionately at the AI. Kelsey knew that Ariel missed her daily talks with Clarissa.

“We need to do something, Jeremy,” Kevin added as he toyed with the French fries on his plate. “We need to find out what happened at New Tellus. Most of the people in the fleet are talking and asking questions.”

“I would have thought Admiral Streth would have returned by now,” Angela said as she leaned back and crossed her arms over her breasts. “Why hasn’t he?” The marine captain that Angela had been dating had expressed some deep concern earlier when the two had been talking over a private com channel. Every day the rumors were getting worse.

“I’m getting worried, Jeremy,” Katie said in a soft voice, her green eyes showing her unease “What if Admiral Streth lost and we’re all that’s left of the Federation Fleet?”

“He didn’t lose,” replied Jeremy, shaking his head in denial. “Admiral Streth will show up; he promised to return and the Fleet Admiral keeps his promises.”

“Some of those ships in system K-774 are the same ones that went to attack New Tellus,” Ariel reminded Jeremy, her dark eyes focusing on him. “From my scans, at least two of those Hocklyn war fleets were involved. If the Hocklyns lost at New Tellus, why have those two fleets returned to help the ones besieging us?”

Jeremy closed his eyes as he tried to think. If his friends were this concerned, he could imagine how the rest of the fleet must feel. He was also becoming worried as he'd also thought Admiral Streth would have been back by now or at least sent word as to what had happened in the battle. The lack of any news was disconcerting. He needed to do something or the morale in the fleet would quickly deteriorate.

“We need to send another ship back,” Kelsey suggested, her deep blue eyes focusing on Jeremy. She reached out, took his hand, and squeezed encouragingly. “Jeremy, we need to find out what happened.”

“I think you’re right,” Jeremy responded with a heavy sigh. He'd been thinking about that very idea for several days now. They needed to find out what had happened back in the Federation. “Only this time we’ll send a light cruiser. It will have a better chance of defending itself than a destroyer.”

“I think a light cruiser would do very well,” added Ariel, wanting to hear from Clarissa. She was sure Clarissa would have all kinds of exciting stories to tell about the battle around New Tellus. Ariel was also curious to find out what part her AI friend might have played.

It was at that moment that the Condition One alarm went off and red lights in the mess hall began flashing. Colonel Malen’s voice then came over the internal speakers. “All crew, go to Condition One; this is not a drill. Admiral Strong, please report to the Command Center.”

“It’s the Hocklyns,” Ariel reported. Her dark eyes had that faraway look they often got when she was studying her sensors. “A large number of their ships have jumped out of system K-774. From the stealth scout scans of their entry vectors, they are headed here.”

Jeremy stood up, knowing they still had a good forty minutes before the enemy showed up. “Let’s get to the Command Center and see what we’re up against.”

Kevin sighed heavily as he looked down at the partially eaten hamburger on his plate. He hated wasting food. “Why couldn’t they have waited ten more minutes?” he mumbled as he stood up.

A few minutes later, they were all in the Command Center and Jeremy took his place behind the command console. “What do we have?”

Colonel Malen turned away from the tactical display and looked over at Jeremy. “Over two hundred Hocklyn ships have jumped into hyperspace, as well as four AI ships. Grayseth has brought the defense grid online. He's also placed the battle stations and the space station at Condition One and is readying his fighters and bombers. Commander Marks has suggested that he arm the bombers with Shrike nuclear tipped missiles. I have brought our fleets up to Condition One also. Admiral Stillson has his fleet on the far side of the planet in case the AIs attempt to jump inside the gravity well. All strikecruisers have Devastator Threes loaded and ready to launch upon detecting an AI ship.”

Jeremy nodded. Admiral Stillson and he had decided to position their two fleets on opposite sides of the planet. That way if an AI ship did jump in, they would be in immediate attack range of the Devastator Threes from the strikecruisers.

Fourth Fleet was currently five hundred kilometers away from the space station. The station had four of the type two battle stations, which could engage an AI ship. It also had twenty power beam installations as well as its other weapons. But Fourth Fleet was still close enough to support the station if need be.

“Grayseth reports he has fighters and bombers being prepped and ready to deploy upon your orders,” Angela reported from Communications. She looked nervously at the main viewscreen, knowing that soon it would be showing Hocklyn ships coming with the intention of killing them. She swallowed loudly and then looked around, hoping no one had noticed.

Jeremy nodded, knowing that today many of Grayseth’s brave pilots might die. There was nothing else they could do until the Hocklyns and the AIs arrived. He leaned back in his chair and watched the tactical display expectantly.

-

Commodore Krilen nodded in satisfaction as his dreadnought, the IronHand, exited hyperspace into the Careth system. “Status,” he rasped in his cold and demanding voice.

“All ships present, including the AIs,” First Leader Angoth reported as he checked the tactical screen. “We are two million kilometers out from the planet.”

“Take us into the gravity well,” ordered Krilen, as he watched the tactical screen begin to fill up with red threat icons.

War Leader Versith and he had come up with a plan to force the Humans to commit their fleet. They would take their ships into the gravity well, but stay well away from the large space station and the weapons it was bound to be armed with. The Human fleet would have to engage or risk allowing the Hocklyn ships to bombard the planet.

-

On board the Viden, War Leader Versith watched as the Hocklyn fleet neared the gravity well of the planet. He noted that the Humans had divided their forces into two separate fleets, one on each side of Careth. It was a good strategy to protect the planet from the Hocklyns, as well as the AIs. Stepping down from the command pedestal, he walked across the War Room until he was standing in front of the large tactical display.

“We will take our fleet to this position,” he said to First Leader Trion as he pointed to a part of the display between the two Human fleets, but away from the space station. “They will have no choice but to engage us.”

“Honor will come today,” Trion spoke with a satisfied nod. “It is a good plan.”

“Have our war wings ready to deploy armed with interceptors. If the Humans launch their bombers, I want to be able to destroy them. Inform our pilots that the Human bombers are their priority target.”

“As you command,” Trion responded as he moved over to Communications to carry out the order.

Versith’s eyes strayed over to Second Leader Jaseth at his weapons console. Once again, a Protector stood watchfully nearby. Soon, Jaseth would have the opportunity to use the Viden’s weapons against the Humans. Perhaps that would help to curb the young Hocklyn’s raging anger.

-

Commodore Krilen watched impassively as the fleets began to enter the planet’s gravity well. The goal of this battle was to severely cripple the Humans' ability to defend the planet and to see how many of the deadly sublight missiles they might have.

“AIs are ready to jump once engagement has begun,” First Leader Angoth reported. He crossed his large, powerful arms across the chest plate of his dark gray battle armor and looked intently at the tactical screen. He was curious to see if the AIs would do as promised.

Krilen nodded. The AIs had started speaking again. They'd agreed with the battle plan that Versith had come up with. Very shortly, they would begin their crucial part in this engagement.

“Honor comes to us today,” Angoth intoned, pleased that after so long they were finally going into battle.

“Yes, there will be much honor gained today,” Krilen agreed in response. He needed to accrue honor if he wanted to continue to advance in the Hocklyn command hierarchy. This battle today would be the next step in his desire for more and greater power.

-

“They have entered the gravity well,” Ariel reported as she studied her sensors. She was standing to Jeremy’s left, dressed in her regulation dark blue uniform without insignia. Her dark black hair rested upon her shoulders and her face had that youthful look of innocence.

“They seek to engage us this time,” Colonel Malen announced as she studied the tactical display.

“What’s their fleet makeup?” Jeremy asked as he leaned forward and studied the display more intently.

Ariel studied her sensors briefly and then reported. “Sixteen dreadnoughts, thirty-six warcruisers, and one hundred and forty-four escort cruisers.”

Jeremy drew in a sharp breath. Fourth Fleet was composed of only two battlecruisers, four battlecarriers, eight strikecruisers, eight Monarch cruisers, and eighteen light cruisers. He would be outnumbered five to one in the upcoming battle. For a moment, he wondered if he should call in Admiral Stillson’s fleet, which had forty-eight more ships in it.

“Whoever drew up this attack plan is clever,” Colonel Malen commented with a deep frown as she arched her eyebrows. “They attack away from the station’s heavy weapons, forcing us to engage. If we call in Admiral Stillson, then the AIs can jump in and attack the defense grid and possibly the planet.”

“But we have Devastator Threes, and a lot of them,” Jeremy replied as he studied the tactical display. “I don’t think they realize just how many we have and we'll use that to our advantage.”

He had placed Devastator Threes on all of his warships except the destroyers. From studying the battle data between Fleet Admiral Streth and the Hocklyns above the fleet base, he knew the Devastator Threes could be extremely dangerous to the Hocklyn ships. The Hocklyns, of course, would have no idea of just how many of the deadly weapons he had. They were about to find out.

“Admiral Streth didn’t have Devastator Threes on his light cruisers,” Colonel Malen spoke with a wolfish grin. “The Hocklyns won’t be expecting them.”

“Order all ships to load only Devastator Threes in their missile tubes,” Jeremy ordered as he prepared for the battle. “This will only work once. Lieutenant Striker, plot an interception course for the Hocklyn fleet. Contact Commander Marks and have her coordinate a bomber strike with the station. Make sure it has sufficient fighters to protect them as they go in.”

“What about our shipboard fighters?”

“Launch them,” Jeremy ordered, his eyes showing fire. “They are to engage any Hocklyn fighters, but stay away from their heavy warships. Leave those to us and the bombers. I want to smash this attack! Perhaps it will gain us some time before the next.”

-

War Leader Versith watched the tactical display closely to see if the Humans would come out to engage the Hocklyn fleets. Without surprise, the fleet nearest the space station moved out and began heading toward them on an interception course. It also began launching fighters. The other fleet on the far side of the planet remained unmoving.

“One Human fleet approaches,” spoke First Leader Trion, pointing toward the fleet on the tactical screen. “Why does the other not join it? The single fleet does not possess sufficient ships to be a serious threat to us. Honor will come quickly in this battle, for it will not last long.”

“Don’t underestimate our enemy,” cautioned Versith, allowing his left hand to rest on the breastplate of his battle armor. “These Humans are full of surprises.”

“They only have ten of the capital ships that have their heavier missiles,” Trion added as he studied the makeup of the approaching Human fleet. “We will suffer losses but our superior numbers will defeat them.”

“Make sure those ten ships are priority targets,” ordered Versith, feeling uneasy at the way the Human ships were approaching. They seemed not to fear the Hocklyn’s superior numbers. “Launch our war wings. They have two of their large ships that carry the small bombers. I don’t want any of their small craft to make it to our fleet.”

Second Leader Jaseth watched the small sensor screen above his weapons console with anticipation. Finally, he would be given the opportunity to destroy more Human ships. He could already taste their blood. He could feel the blood in his veins running hot as the time for battle neared. It would be a great day as he killed more of the Human vermin. His right hand moved unconsciously to the sharp blade at his waist. Someday that blade would be drenched with the blood of his hated enemies. On that day, he would take back his family’s honor.

“Enemy small craft launching from the space station,” Trion suddenly reported as numerous small red threat icons began appearing.”

Versith nodded his head, not surprised. He was certain there would be large numbers of the small deadly bombers in those approaching formations. If he were the Human commander, he would engage with his ships first and then, in the heat of the battle, attack with the small bombers.

“Hold several of our war wings back to protect our ships,” Versith ordered as he watched the swarm of red icons continue to grow.

-

Jeremy watched tensely as the Avenger and the rest of Fourth Fleet continued to move toward the approaching Hocklyns. “What are the AIs doing?”

“They’re just sitting there,” Kevin replied as he watched the data coming across his sensor screens and then appearing on the large tactical display. “They’re two hundred thousand kilometers behind the Hocklyns and haven’t moved since they jumped in.”

“Perhaps they’re just going to watch, same as they did last time,” Colonel Malen suggested as she gazed at the four large orange threat icons.

“I doubt it,” Jeremy replied as he activated his mini-com to speak with Rear Admiral Stillson.

“Yes, Sir,” Admiral Stillson’s spoke over the com link.

“Keep an eye on those AIs,” Jeremy ordered as he took in a sharp breath. “I fully expect them to jump in toward the station or the planet as soon as Fourth Fleet becomes engaged with the Hocklyn ships. If they do, hit them with Devastator Threes.”

“We’re watching them,” replied Stillson, confidently. “If they jump in, we'll make them pay. They won’t get past us!”

“Nearing engagement range,” Ariel reported from her position next to Jeremy. She quickly checked the ship’s weapons systems as well as the energy screen. Everything was ready for battle.

The fleets continued to close. Fighters were launched and already on attack vectors, which would bring them into contact shortly. From the space station, four hundred bear bombers protected by two hundred fighters had settled into their attack formations. A dozen Human bombers launched also and tucked themselves into the bear squadrons. They would help to coordinate the attack with the less experienced bear pilots.

“Engagement range,” Ariel spoke in a calm and cool voice.

“Fire!” Jeremy ordered his eyes glued to the tactical display.

From the Human ships, hundreds of Devastator Three missiles launched. Due to their sublight drives and inertial dampening systems, they arrived on target almost at the instant of firing. From the missile tubes, only a brief blur was visible and then titanic explosions of nuclear fire began rolling across the Hocklyn fleet formations.

“Follow up with power beams,” Jeremy ordered as he shifted his gaze to the large viewscreens on the front walls. The screens were lit up with hundreds of 40-megaton explosions as the deadly sublight missiles ravaged the Hocklyn fleet.

“Hocklyns are returning fire,” Ariel warned as space became full of flying ordnance and energy beam fire.

-

In the Hocklyn fleet, shield after shield failed under the tumultuous attack of the Devastator Three missiles. Due to their subspace drives, the missiles were nearly impossible to shoot down.

Hocklyn escort cruisers died as their shields failed and additional missiles struck their heavily armored hulls. However, even heavy armor could not keep out the deadly destructive power of a 40-megaton warhead. Support cruisers began dying in bright explosions as the deadly missiles blew the 800-meter ships apart.

Several warcruisers died as their shields were stripped away and nuclear detonations against their hull blasted massive glowing holes in the ships. Not even a warcruiser could survive the detonation of a 40-megaton warhead against its battle armor. In each case, the warcruiser died as its self-destructs activated, blowing the remains of the ships into thousands of pieces.

-

“The Hocklyns are losing ships,” Colonel Malen reported with a savage grin as red threat icons began blinking out.

“Keep firing the Devastator Threes,” Jeremy ordered grimly as the Avenger shook from missile and railgun fire impacting the ship’s energy screen. He knew the Devastators were his big advantage and he intended to use them to push the Hocklyns back.

“Light cruiser Malven is down,” Kevin reported as the friendly green icon flared up and vanished from the screen.

In space, heavy Hocklyn energy beam fire overloaded a section of the energy screen on the light cruiser Johnson. Explosive decompression blew out several large sections of the hull where the beams penetrated. Then the shield failed completely. Seeing an opening, half a dozen Hocklyn nuclear missiles struck the hapless cruiser, sending it into nuclear oblivion.

“Order the bomber strike in,” Jeremy said between clenched teeth as he watched another of his light cruisers vanish from the tactical screen.

“Light cruiser Johnson is down,” Kevin uttered as he tried to keep track of the growing battle on his sensor screens.

-

Commodore Krilen watched in increasing frustration as more of his ships died around him. On the main viewscreen, a warcruiser was being torn apart by enemy energy beams, which were cutting deep swaths in the ship’s hull. The warcruiser finally exploded as its self-destructs were set off.

“Honor has found them today,” Angoth intoned as he watched the destruction on the screen.

“What about the AIs?” Krilen demanded. He had never expected the Humans to fire so many of their deadly sublight missiles and now their bomber strike was coming in.

“AIs are jumping now,” Angoth reported.

-

In space, the four AI ships suddenly opened up white spatial vortexes in front of their vessels and accelerated into them. Moments later, they reappeared midway between the space station and the second Human fleet. They were close to the defensive satellite grid and all four AI spheres instantly opened up with heavy energy weapons fire upon the satellites and the dozen small battle stations within range. There were even a few of the Humans' destroyers inside their engagement range. All were targeted by the AI’s deadly energy beam weapons.

In moments, the grid was covered in destruction as satellites were blown apart. Even from the surface of the planet, Carethians could look up and see the bright explosions lighting up the night sky above them.

Satellites, battle stations, and the few destroyers in the area instantly responded, but none had weapons that could endanger an AI. However, that was not true of Ceres Fleet under command of Admiral Stillson. Seeing the AIs appear, he instantly ordered his strikecruisers to lock on and fire.

The AIs had been bombarding the satellite grid for less than ten seconds when their screens were suddenly covered in 40-megaton explosions from Devastator Threes launched from the strikecruisers. However, the range was just enough that a few of the deadly missiles were intercepted by AI defensive fire.

One of the AI screens suddenly weakened and a Devastator Three struck the hull of the huge 1,500-meter sphere. Instantly, thousands of tons of steel and armor were turned into red hot plasma and incandescent gas. The AIs quickly activated their jump drives. New spatial vortexes formed and they jumped into hyperspace. But they had done their damage. Six of the small battle stations were gone, two Human destroyers, and over two hundred defensive satellites had been annihilated in the brief attack.

-

Second Leader Jaseth grinned in wolfish satisfaction as a Human battlecruiser died under the withering weapons fire from the Viden. The Viden and two other dreadnoughts had managed to knock down the cruiser’s screens and then finish the destruction with missile and railgun fire.

“AIs have jumped back out,” First Leader Trion reported as he saw the four large green icons that represented the AIs vanish and reappear again far behind the fleet, safely out of the gravity well of the planet. “One of them appears to have been heavily damaged.”

“Yes, and Commodore Krilen is ordering us to withdraw,” War Leader Versith responded as he looked critically at the tactical display. The Human bombers were nearly upon the fleet and he had ordered the two war wings he had held back in reserve to intercept them. The rest of the fleet’s war wings were tied up with the Human fighters in a deadly dance of death. Bright fireballs upon the main viewscreen attested to the ferocity of that battle. Versith knew the fleet would take some losses from the small attack craft as it withdrew. “Load all tubes with interceptors,” he ordered grimly. “I want as many of those bombers destroyed as possible when we exit the gravity well.”

“As you command,” Trion replied as he moved to carry out the orders.

-

Jeremy groaned as he watched one of his two battlecruisers vanish from the tactical screen. Looking at the one of the main viewscreens, he could see several nuclear fireballs where the powerful battlecruiser had been.

“Battlecruiser Republic is down,” Kevin reported in a strained voice. He knew that close to two thousand fleet personnel had just died.

“Hocklyns are withdrawing,” Ariel reported with obvious relief in her voice. “They are moving toward the edge of the gravity well.”

“Continue to hammer them with Devastator Threes,” Jeremy ordered as he blinked his eyes and looked around the Command Center. “I want to cause as much damage to them as possible.”

“Bomber strike is going in now,” Colonel Malen informed Jeremy as she saw the swarm of small green icons nearing the retreating Hocklyn ships.

“Ten more seconds and then stop Devastator launches,” Jeremy ordered not wanting to accidently destroy any of the bear bombers.

“Bombers continuing to close,” Ariel reported as she watched the attack with her sensors. “Devastator Three launches have stopped. Bombers beginning their attack run.”

In space, four hundred bear bombers protected by two hundred fighters hurled themselves at the Hocklyn ships. Interceptor missiles reached out and began destroying the incoming bombers in bright fireballs. Energy beams and railguns began targeting the inbound bomber strike. A few Hocklyn fighters moved in to attack, but were intercepted by the defending bear fighters. The bear bomber formation was full of balls of fire as bomber after bomber died, but then they were within range. Hundreds of missiles were fired. In all, over nine hundred small nuclear tipped Shrike missiles rained down on the battered Hocklyn fleet formation. Ship after ship died as nuclear fire ravaged the targeted ships.

The bombers finished their attack run. They had gone in with four hundred bombers, but only one hundred and eighty flew back out. Behind them, they left eighteen Hocklyn support cruisers in ruin as well as four warcruisers.

-

Hocklyn are moving out of the gravity well,” reported Ariel, looking over at Jeremy. He had a ghastly look upon his face from seeing the staggering losses the bears had suffered. “The bear bombers and fighters are disengaging.”

Jeremy took a deep breath and then looked over at Colonel Malen. “Get me a status report on the fleet. I want to know our damage and what we lost.”

“Yes, Sir,” Malen replied. She knew that if not for the massive use of Devastator Threes and the bear bomber strike, the Hocklyns could have destroyed Fourth Fleet.

Jeremy looked across the Command Center at Kelsey. She must have felt his look as she turned around and looked back. For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t smiling.

-

Commodore Krilen glared angrily at the tactical screen, which showed his ships beginning to enter hyperspace. White spatial vortexes were forming in front of the ships as they fled back to the system where their other ships waited. He had not expected the Humans to use so many of their powerful missiles.

“What did we lose?” he demanded, turning toward First Leader Angoth.

“Reports are just coming in,” Angoth rasped in his heavy, deep voice. “Two dreadnoughts, eight warcruisers, and thirty-seven escort cruisers. Many other ships are reporting damage.”

Krilen cringed inwardly at the losses. Those damn Human sublight missiles were deadly. At least they had destroyed a large number of the defending fighters and bombers. The AIs had also managed to significantly degrade the planet’s defensive grid in one section. Krilen had already decided they would continue to attack and weaken the defenses until they reached a point where they could attack the planet. There had to be a limit as to how many of the deadly sublight missiles the Humans had.

-

Jaseth watched in elation at seeing the damage they had done to the Humans. While it was true the Hocklyn fleet had suffered more, they had forced the Humans to use a large number of their powerful missiles. Jaseth knew that each subsequent attack would further weaken the Humans more until the last of them would fall to Hocklyn weapons. These Humans were trapped with nowhere to go. Jaseth gazed around the War Room, noticing other Hocklyns. All were busy at their consoles. Looking behind him, he frowned at the tall Protector standing there. It had felt good today to fire the ship’s weapons upon the Humans, particularly when they had destroyed the Human’s battlecruiser.

Versith was watching Jaseth. The young warrior had performed his duties admirably today, no problems and no fits of rage. If he continued to do so, there might not be a need for a Protector to be present. Versith felt the Viden jump into the safety of hyperspace. Trion was already working on a status report of the damage suffered by the war fleet. Repairs would have to be made and perhaps more ships shuffled around to keep his fleet at full strength. Commodore Krilen had already informed Versith that the Viden would be leading all of the future attacks.

-

Jeremy studied the loss report on the small data screen on his command console. Fourth fleet had lost one battlecruiser and four light cruisers. The battlecarrier Cygnus had been damaged and was already on its way to one of the two large repair docks at the station. Jeremy needed his first line ships repaired and available for combat. Numerous other ships were damaged and would also need repair time. Other losses included two hundred and sixty fighters, two hundred and twenty bombers, two destroyers, six battle stations, and over two hundred of the defensive satellites.

Orders had already been issued to reposition the other battle stations to cover the gaps left in the defensive grid from the AI attack. More satellites were being brought up from the surface to replace those the AIs had destroyed.

“I just hope the battle today has bought us some time,” Colonel Malen spoke as she walked over to the command console from the tactical display. “The Hocklyns lost forty-seven ships and Admiral Stillson did manage to damage one of the AIs.”

“We may have,” replied Jeremy, hoping Colonel Malen was right. “They'll likely take the time to repair their battle damage before attacking us again, even though they have nearly four hundred ships that did not participate in this attack. There are also six more AI ships sitting in system K-774. Our placement of Devastator Threes on our light cruisers really hurt the Hocklyns. They weren't prepared for that. I doubt if we can expect such lopsided fleet victories in the future.”

“We need to buy all the time we can,” Ariel spoke from her position next to Jeremy. “Admiral Streth and Clarissa will be here soon. They said they'd be coming back. We also have large reserves of Devastator Threes.”

Jeremy just nodded. He hoped the light cruiser they were sending could find out what had happened and return with a relief fleet. Even if that happened, it would take close to three weeks for the light cruiser to reach New Tellus and come back with help. The only problem was Jeremy didn’t know if the Human forces in the Carethian system could survive for three more weeks.

Chapter Four

High Leader Nartel gazed in open contempt at Councilor Ruthan. The councilor had been demanding that all weapons research be stopped and that more ships be brought in from the outer regions of the Empire to protect the twelve home systems. The recent turn of events in the war with the Humans had deeply shaken Ruthan.

“We will not stop the weapons research,” responded Nartel, gazing defiantly at the standing councilor. “I have informed the AIs of our decision to pursue a robust weapons research program to counter the Humans. I have also requested additional weapons from them, including their sublight antimatter missiles.”

“They will send their ships again,” Ruthan grated out his dark, cold eyes turning red with anger. “They will wipe more of our habitats from orbit causing the ruins to rain down upon our worlds. How can you dare risk such a disaster? The AIs will show us no mercy!”

“There will be no risk,” Nartel replied in a confident voice, his eyes sweeping over the other councilors. “The AIs have agreed to the weapons research and are sending ships to all four of our major ship production sites, including Kenward Seven, to help in modernizing our fleet.”

“If the AIs have agreed to that then they must greatly fear the Humans and these new allies of theirs,” Councilor Berken spoke as he stood up and gazed at the other High Councilors with deep concern on his face. It might be wise for us to consider what must be done to better fortify our home systems in case they decide to attack us here.”

“They will never be able to attack our home worlds,” spoke Councilor Desmonde, shaking his head in denial. “We are too far behind the front lines of this war. Our resources should be devoted to building more modern ships and to holding the current boundaries of our Empire. Perhaps it would even be wise to expand our existing ship building capacity.”

“I agree,” Councilor Jarles added, his large, cold eyes looking around the council. “Expansion of the Empire under the current conditions will be impossible. We must preserve what we have and determine how best to meet this new threat. If we build more shipyards, when the time comes that we can begin aggressively expanding our Empire once more we can make up for the time lost in dealing with the Humans.”

“What will the Humans' next move be?” Berken asked as he sat back down. “Will they attempt to take more of our slave worlds?”

“Commodore Krilen is still in the process of attacking the system of Careth,” High Leader Nartel responded. “He has over five hundred warships and ten AI spheres with which to annihilate the Humans and the Carethians. Once that's done, he will hold his position in the Carethian system and notify us when the Humans return.”

“How soon before the Humans show up?” demanded Ruthan, nervously. “They could be on their way right now!”

“A few weeks at least,” replied Nartel, confidently. “They suffered heavily in our attack upon their system. It will take them time to repair the damage and assemble a fleet. When they return, Commodore Krilen will attempt to fight a delaying action. We must finish updating as many ships as possible before engaging the Humans in a major battle. We still have thousands of ships in the Empire that we can call upon if need be and they will all have to be sent to the shipyards.”

“What if the new, advanced aliens come with the Humans?” Ruthan asked as he looked worriedly at the High Leader. “How can we hope to stop them if the AIs could not?”

“The AIs have other weapons,” replied Nartel, recalling his most recent conversation with the metal monstrosities. “I suspect if these aliens do show up, the AIs will be better prepared next time.”

This seemed to satisfy the council and after discussing several other matters of importance to the Empire, the meeting broke up. Once the other councilors had left, Nartel went to his office and stepped out onto the balcony that over looked the capital city. He took in a deep breath and looked up into the sky. There was a heavy haze over the city and even though it was mid afternoon, the city seemed dark and gloomy.

Nartel took out his blade from the scabbard at his waist and gazed thoughtfully at it. Things had been so much simpler back in his youth when he had served as a warrior upon a warship. While it was true the AIs had agreed to the weapons research and to further upgrade Hocklyn ships, Nartel thought he had detected a definite undertone of fear from the AIs. This was something he had never noticed before and it was causing him some grave concern. There was something about this new race of aliens that had come to the Humans' rescue that deeply worried the AIs.

However, Nartel had another ace up his sleeve. There was additional help he could call upon, and to preserve the Empire he had done so. When the Humans returned, he had a surprise that he hoped would end the Human problem once and for all. If he succeeded, then he would have the advanced weapons and warships he wanted and the Hocklyns could move quickly to finish expanding the Empire to the edge of the galaxy and possibly beyond. It might also put them on a more equal footing with the AIs.

-

Hedon was in Governor Malleck’s office meeting with Admiral Telleck and the Alton Ambassador Tureen. They had been discussing the current situation in the Federation as well as the ongoing war with the Hocklyns and the AIs.

“If we go on the offensive, how many of your warships can we count on?” asked Admiral Streth, looking intently at Ambassador Tureen.

He was growing impatient to launch his relief fleet. Two more weeks had passed since he had interrupted the meeting in the Federation Council Chambers. He knew that he had aggravated a number of Federation Senators in doing so.

The tall, white haired ambassador took a deep breath and then replied. “You must understand Admiral that close to ninety percent of my race will not participate in this war. As I have explained earlier, even those warships we have deployed have minimal crews aboard.”

“Is there any chance we can put Federation crews on your ships if we agree to let your people remain in command?” Admiral Telleck asked. He had gone on board one of the Alton battlecruisers and been highly impressed by what he had seen. Even with the designs, it would be years before the Federation could build such ships.

“It might be a solution and is one my people have already discussed,” Tureen responded with a slow nod. “We have a fleet of slightly over four hundred battlecruisers. To ensure the safety of the Federation and the other races in our section of the galaxy, our leaders feel we must keep at least three hundred of those cruisers close to home.”

“That still leaves over one hundred,” Hedon spoke, his eyes lighting up at the thought of having those ships added to his fleet.

“We would not want to risk all of those at once,” Tureen added as he placed his right hand palm down on the conference table. He gazed at his long, slender fingers. “I have already spoken to my people and we would be willing to furnish you with twenty ships to go with your relief fleet. If you wish, I can have those ships at New Tellus in forty-eight of your hours.”

“What about adding Humans to your crews?” Governor Malleck asked.

“We are not an overly aggressive race,” Tureen responded with a heavy sigh. “It was extremely distasteful for our crews to fight at New Tellus, though they realized it was a necessity. Our battlecruisers, in order to function at full capacity, need a crew of four hundred. We can furnish fifty Altons to crew each ship and we would like you to furnish the rest. The commanding officer will be an Alton, but we would like the executive officer to be a Human.”

“It will be necessary to modify the ships for Human crews,” Hedon said between pursed lips. “That might take a while.”

“The twenty ships I am speaking of have already been modified to handle Human crews,” Tureen replied. “Once they arrive at New Tellus I propose that you have some of your own construction engineers go on board the ships and see if anything else is required.”

“Will there be any problems mixing the crews?” Governor Malleck asked his eyes focusing sharply on Tureen. They couldn’t afford to have an incident between the Human crew and the Alton crew.

“No,” Tureen replied without hesitation. “Our people will serve primarily as advisors. Your people will be responsible for the ship during combat operations. We have carefully chosen these crews; they are some of the more aggressive members of the Alton race.”

The door suddenly opened and an ashen faced Rear Admiral Kalen stepped in. “Sorry to interrupt, but we just received a message from Fleet Admiral Johnson. A light cruiser has just jumped into the New Tellus system. It’s from Careth and they want to know where the relief fleet is. The commander says the system is facing a fleet of over five hundred Hocklyn warships and ten AIs and they have already thrown back two attacks.”

“Ten AIs,” Governor Malleck mumbled with sudden concern in his eyes. “They can’t stand up to that many AIs.” Malleck felt his stomach churn. It was unimaginable to let the Special Five die. He knew with a sinking feeling that Ceres would once again have to disobey the Federation Senate.

“This is Admiral Strong we’re talking about,” Hedon responded as he stood up. “I wouldn’t count him out just yet. What worries me is what happens if the Hocklyns and AIs throw even more ships at him. I don’t think we can wait four more weeks to launch the relief fleet. I’m returning immediately to New Tellus to speak with Admiral Johnson. I told Jeremy I would return and I’ll be damned if I will let him die at Careth!”

“My fleet will be going with you,” added Admiral Telleck, standing and looking at over Governor Malleck, who nodded in agreement. “We’re nearly through with the Alton upgrades and can be ready to depart by the end of the week.”

“Then be ready. I’m going to save Admiral Strong with or without the approval of the Federation Senate.”

Governor Malleck watched as Hedon strolled purposefully from the conference room. Admiral Kalen stayed behind with a grim look upon his face. “What about the Federation Senate? We have already gone around them several times in the past. This will not be well received when they hear what we have done.”

“Ambassador Tureen, the Federation Senate wants us to hold off another four weeks before we launch the relief fleet,” Governor Malleck informed him in a serious voice. “Would you be willing to speak with President Kincaid and promise to help preserve Federation security if he will launch the fleet sooner?”

Tureen was silent as he contemplated his answer. “It would be unfortunate if Careth was to fall to the Hocklyns and the AIs. If we can fortify Careth, it would make an ideal advance base to continue the attack against the Hocklyns and eventually the AIs in the galactic center. I'll speak to President Kincaid.”

“I firmly believe that President Kincaid is supportive of sending the fleet, his hands have just been tied by politics in the Senate,” Admiral Telleck spoke.

As Ambassador Tureen left, Governor Malleck had the uneasy feeling that there was something going on at the galactic center that greatly concerned the Altons. He wondered if the real reason the Altons had intervened at New Tellus wasn’t the threat the Hocklyns and the AIs were posing to the Federation, but events at the galactic core.

-

Several days later, Admiral Streth was walking through one of the Alton battlecruisers that was docked to New Tellus station. The ship was unbelievably modern and had the feel of just having come out of the construction yard. The decks were polished and devoid of scuffmarks or any other signs of wear. It was one thousand meters in length and two hundred in width. A large sphere nearly four hundred meters in diameter was at the front, and another sphere three hundred meters in diameter was at the rear that housed the ship’s drives as well as its main fusion power plant.

The ship was equipped with an advanced particle beam as its primary offensive weapon. It also had numerous energy turrets for defense as well as additional offensive capabilities. There were twenty-four missile tubes capable of launching sublight antimatter missiles.

Alton Admiral Cleeteus was currently taking Hedon on a tour of what would serve as the Alton fleet’s flagship in the relief fleet.

“Will it be a problem having Humans on board?” Hedon asked as they stepped into Engineering. He paused as he stared at what he knew were the sublight drives and the FTL core. Both were far smaller than on Federation ships.

“No,” Cleeteus replied in a pleasant voice. “And before you ask, our ships are capable of making jumps of nearly fifty of your light years and only require a brief cool down time of about ten of your minutes.”

Hedon could only nod as he thought of the possibilities. Looking around, he noticed that there were already several Human members of the crew working with Altons as they tried to become familiar with the new systems and technology they would be expected to operate. Hedon knew that for the next few months, the Human crews would be highly dependent upon the Altons for operating the ships.

“Let me show you the Command Center,” Cleeteus suggested with a smile. “I think you will find it interesting.”

Admiral Cleeteus led Hedon to a small passenger tram, which ran through the center of the ship to allow the crew to get to their duty stations quicker. After a few short minutes, they stepped into the Command Center. Hedon was pleased to notice two heavily armed marines standing at the armored hatch. He'd assigned fifty marines to each Alton battlecruiser as a security detachment.

The Command Center was about the same size as would be expected aboard a Conqueror Class Battlecruiser, but there the differences ended. Three of the walls were covered with large viewscreens depicting space or different sections of the ship. Four large holographic tables were located in a semi circle around the center command station. The consoles all seemed to be cutting edge technology with touch screens and audio links.

The only area of the Command Center where there weren't viewscreens was on the front wall. Hedon wondered about that as the two walked over to the center command console.

“Watch this,” Admiral Cleeteus said as he waved his hand over a sensor on the console.

The entire front wall of the Command Center vanished suddenly, and Hedon gazed at an unobstructed view of space. In the distance, he could see New Tellus Station and even several Federation warships. The battlecarriers Endurance and LightStar were visible nearby. The view was crystal clear and Hedon had no idea how this was being projected on the front wall.

“It’s a holographic image,” explained Admiral Cleeteus, seeing the confused look upon Hedon’s face. “The entire front wall contains holographic imagers which project a detailed image of what is in front of the ship. Unlike Humans, we Altons prefer to see where we’re going at all times.”

Hedon nodded; he knew that Alton science was far ahead of anything the Federation had. He would be curious to see what his own engineers had to say after serving aboard Alton ships. The Altons had already made it clear that certain technologies were still off limits, at least for now.

-

Two hours later, Hedon was back on board the StarStrike. As he stepped into the Command Center, he saw that Colonel Trist was on duty and Captain Janice Duncan was busy at Communications. The StarStrike was still inside one of the repair bays in New Tellus Station being updated with Alton weapons and technology. Crews had been working around the clock trying to get the massive battleship ready.

“How much longer?” Hedon demanded as he sat down behind the command console. He had been ready for several weeks to take a task force to Careth to relieve Admiral Strong even if he had to leave the StarStrike behind. The arrival of the light cruiser had only added to his determination to get underway. He had spent several hours speaking to the cruiser’s commander about the situation in the Carethian system.

“Thirty-eight hours and everything will be finished,” Colonel Trist reported as he stepped over to the command console. “The new fusion reactor has been installed, all repairs are completed, and we have full load outs of Alton sublight antimatter missiles. The new heavy particle beam weapons have been installed and are ready to be tested.”

“The rest of First Fleet is nearly ready also,” Hedon added as he thought about what he wanted to do.

He had reorganized what remained of First and Second Fleet into one fleet for now. The new First Fleet currently consisted of the StarStrike, six battlecruisers, eight battlecarriers, fourteen strikecruisers, ten Monarch cruisers, and thirty-six light cruisers. Hedon wished he had more ships, but he knew that with the losses suffered in the recent battle none were available in the New Tellus system. There were other fleet units, but they were assigned to each of the other systems in the Human Federation of Worlds and at the moment could not be spared.

Captain Duncan heard Hedon’s voice and turned her head with a smile spreading across her face. In the weeks since the attack, the two of them had become much closer. While nothing intimate had occurred on their little vacation to the mountain resort, there was no doubt in Janice’s mind that eventually it would.

Janice had managed to spend a week back home on the planet Horizon. Her younger sister Linda had just about died when she told her about Hedon. Even her mother had been full of questions. Fortunately, her father was an ex naval officer and understood that there were certain things Janice couldn’t talk about.

Janice turned back to her Communications console. Even though they were still inside the repair bay, the StarStrike was the flagship for First Fleet and there were a large number of communications constantly going back and forth. Janice brushed back her short brunette hair with her left hand as she reached forward to answer an incoming call. She'd already decided that the next time that she and Hedon had an extended leave she needed to find some way to have him meet her family. She could already visualize the look upon her mother and sister’s faces when she walked in with the legendary Fleet Admiral.

Hedon had noticed Janice’s smile upon seeing him and it made him feel warm inside knowing there was someone that really cared for him. He'd kept most people at a distance since he had gone into cryo sleep. Only a few had he kept close, such as Amanda and Jacob. Of course, Jacob had been killed above the Hocklyn fleet base when he had sacrificed himself and his command to save the StarStrike. The loss of his oldest friend had deeply shaken Hedon. Then he'd almost lost Amanda in the battle over New Tellus.

“The light cruiser BattleCry has some tactical data on the Hocklyns and AIs that are besieging Careth,” he spoke, looking over at Colonel Trist. “Have it downloaded to one of our tactical displays; I want to study just what Admiral Strong is up against. Also, load the current defenses around Careth and how Strong has deployed his fleet and other resources.”

“Yes, Sir,” Trist replied. “How soon is the relief fleet going to be launched?” Colonel Trist knew that Hedon had been growing more impatient with each passing day. With the arrival of the light cruiser from Careth, Trist knew that Hedon was highly impatient to launch the fleet.

“Within the week if I have any say about it,” Hedon responded with fire in his eyes. “According to Governor Malleck, the Altons are going to put some pressure on the Federation Senate to launch the mission. This time I don’t believe they will refuse.”

Colonel Trist nodded his head in understanding as he moved over to Communications to contact the commander of the BattleCry. He knew how Hedon felt about leaving people behind. He would move the galaxy single handedly if he had to in order to return and rescue Admiral Strong.

-

President Kincaid let out a heavy sigh as he sat down behind his desk. He'd just finished presiding over a very tumultuous meeting of the Federation Senate. Ambassador Tureen had asked to speak to the gathered senators. Kincaid had been stunned when the Alton Ambassador had suggested that the Federation needed to launch a relief fleet immediately to save Admiral Strong, as well as the Carethians. Tureen had made it clear that the Altons would not look kindly upon the Federation if the Hocklyns and the AIs were allowed to wipe out Fourth Fleet, as well as the friendly Carethian race.

The turning point had been when Ambassador Tureen promised that the Altons would furnish twenty of their battlecruisers to accompany the fleet and guaranteed the rest of their ships would ensure the safety of the Federation while the fleet was gone. After a long and heated debate with Senator Fulbright leading the opposition, the vote had been taken and been carried by a twenty-two to six margin.

“I sense Fleet Admiral Streth’s hand in this,” Kincaid said with a weary smile.

“You’re probably right,” Senator Anderson responded with a nod. “We all know the Fleet Admiral has been pushing to launch the rescue fleet for weeks now.”

“I did some checking and Ambassador Tureen was at Ceres a few days ago,” Senator Malle added. “I strongly suspect Governor Malleck is also involved. There are some unconfirmed rumors that Admiral Streth was also present and Admiral Telleck is preparing his fleet for deployment.”

President Kincaid stood up and walked over to the large map of the galaxy that hung on the wall of his office. He let his finger trace out the distance from Earth to Careth. It was a little over seven hundred light years.

“Admiral Streth would make a good politician,” he said with a short laugh, realizing the Fleet Admiral had finally gotten his way. Then he turned back to the other two senators. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right. I will send orders to Fleet Admiral Johnson to give Admiral Streth everything he needs to launch the rescue operation.”

“When will it commence?” asked Anderson, raising his eyebrows.

“I will leave that up to Admiral Streth,” Kincaid replied. He folded his arms across his chest and spoke in a serious tone. “I just hope Admiral Strong and the Carethians are still there when the admiral arrives. If not, I would not want to be any Hocklyns or AIs in the way of the Fleet Admiral’s wrath.”

“There will be some serious repercussions even for us if Careth has fallen,” Senator Malle reminded the other two. “Admiral Strong and the other four of the Special Five are Federation heroes and are held in very high esteem by the civilian population.”

“I wish we could have launched this rescue mission weeks ago,” Senator Anderson spoke, with a frown. “Why is Hedon so fired up to launch it now? In another few weeks, we will have more ships updated with Alton technology and weapons. He'd have a much stronger force.”

“We don’t have weeks,” answered Kincaid in a lower and more solemn voice. “A light cruiser arrived a few days ago from Admiral Strong. The Hocklyns and AIs are besieging the planet and have already launched two attacks. I’m sure there have been others by now. Fleet Admiral Streth is right; we can’t wait any longer. I’m just glad he forced our hand using Ambassador Tureen.”

“This will be the beginning of the next phase of the war,” Senator Malle warned. “Once Admiral Streth leaves, I don’t think he will stop until he has freed the old Federation worlds.”

“You may be right,” Kincaid responded as he came back to his desk and sat down. “It will be up to us to make sure he has what he needs. Ships, supplies, battle stations, missiles; everything we can think of. We'll wait until Admiral Streth has left and then try to push this through the Senate.”

“How?” Senator Anderson asked his brow wrinkled in thought. “Senator Fulbright will object as usual.”

“We will tell the Senate it is better to fight the Hocklyns and the AIs on their turf rather than ours,” Kincaid replied evenly. “We can remind them about what happened at New Tellus and that by attacking the Hocklyns in their territory we prevent them from attacking other Federation worlds.”

The other two nodded. It would be a tough sell, particularly after what had happened in Operation First Strike and the tragic losses the fleet suffered. However, if they were going to defeat the Hocklyns and the AIs, the war had to be taken to them and Admiral Streth was the only one that could do that. There was no doubt in their minds that once the civilian population of the Federation learned about what Fleet Admiral Streth was doing; the entire population would rally in support of the Fleet Admiral.

President Kincaid leaned back and took a deep breath. The sheer savagery of the attack on New Tellus had stunned the Federation. It had brought the war home and made people across the Federation realize what was at stake. He also needed to speak to the Federation’s allies about committing some of their ships to the war effort. So far the Kessels, Darvonians, and Zanths had agreed to build up their fleets to help protect the Federation’s flanks. Now it was time for them to take a more aggressive role.

He would have the Federation ambassadors meet with representatives of the three race’s governments and see what could be agreed upon. This was a question of survival, and everyone had to be on board. Kincaid closed his eyes briefly, wondering what the next few months would bring. With Admiral Streth, anything was possible.

Chapter Five

Jeremy looked over at Kelsey, who was still sound asleep next to him. She looked so beautiful and innocent early in the morning. He allowed himself to smile and put his arm around her. He felt her snuggle closer with a quiet moan of contentment. For a few moments, Jeremy lay there and didn't worry about the dangerous situation they were in. Kelsey and he had taken Colonel Malen’s advice and were spending most of their nights together. Jeremy knew that Kevin and Katie were doing the same. Even Angela had been spending more and more time with her marine captain over on the space station whenever the opportunity arose.

It had been weeks since Admiral Streth’s horrific battle over the Hocklyn fleet base and there still had been no word. Even the light cruiser they had sent back to the Federation three weeks earlier had failed to return. It was an eight-day trip back to Federation space, then figure a couple of days at New Tellus and eight more back. The cruiser should have been back several days ago. It made Jeremy wonder if the Federation had survived the Hocklyn attack. Every day that passed without word only made the prospects of the Federation having won the battle even less.

“Thinking about the Federation?” Kelsey spoke sleepily, her deep blue eyes focusing on Jeremy as she pushed back her natural inclination to fall back to sleep.

“Some,” admitted Jeremy, pulling Kelsey closer. “The BattleCry should have been back by now.”

“They may be waiting for the relief fleet,” replied Kelsey, knowing Jeremy was extremely worried. They all were worried about what had happened back in the Federation. Each day without the relief fleet showing up only increased the growing despair.

Jeremy released Kelsey and sat up, swinging his legs out of bed. “The Hocklyns and AIs have attacked us three more times since the BattleCry left. In each attack, they have eliminated more of our fighters and bombers as well as degraded the defense grid. Any day now, they will launch an all out attack to try to finish us off. I don’t know if we can stop them again, Kelsey.”

“Grayseth is bringing more satellites up every day to replace the ones that have been destroyed,” Kelsey responded with a deep sigh. It was hard to imagine that she and Jeremy might only have a few days left. “The Carethians are doing everything they can to replace the losses.”

“I know,” answered Jeremy his voice taking on a disheartening tone. “But they can’t replace the missile platforms or the laser satellites. We’ve lost sixteen of the defensive battle stations. After each attack, we’re weaker than before. They also can’t replace the fighter and bomber losses.”

Kelsey nodded and stood up, allowing the sheet to fall away from her body. For a moment, she saw Jeremy’s eyes alight with desire and she thought he might take her back to bed. “I spoke to Malith yesterday; even the Carethians on the space station are growing concerned. He said that she and all the rest of the female Carethians on the space station might be sent to one of the underground cities shortly, where they would be safe.”

Jeremy let out a sharp breath and then forced a smile after taking a long, admiring look at Kelsey. “I'd better get to the Command Center; I have a conference call with Grayseth and Admiral Stillson scheduled this morning. I’m not surprised that all the female bears are going back to Careth. The Carethians don’t believe in endangering the females of their species.”

Kelsey nodded. She understood that command came first and their personal lives second, at least for now. Jeremy turned and went to take a quick shower, while Kelsey lay back down and thought about what was ahead of them. Someday, she hoped, she and Jeremy could have a family, but if the Federation had fallen then that dream might come to an unpleasant end very shortly. At least they were together now.

-

An hour later, Jeremy was speaking to Grayseth and Admiral Stillson over the com system.

“It’s not good,” Admiral Stillson said worriedly, knowing they were in a deteriorating tactical situation. “We may be better off joining our fleets after the fighter and bomber losses we have suffered.”

“We've moved as many of our people as possible into the underground cities,” Grayseth added, regret sounding in his voice. “Many others have been moved to bunkers and cave facilities we have prepared for this situation. Later today, we'll be evacuating all of the female Carethians from the station.”

Jeremy nodded as he thought about what to do. The Hocklyns had, thus far, avoided attacking the space station or directly engaging the two orbiting Federation fleets. Instead, they would jump in between the fleets and hit the defense grid. Most of the battles were between opposing groups of fighters and occasionally the bombers would get near enough to launch their missiles. In system K-774, the stealth scouts had reported the arrival of numerous large freighters delivering new fighters to the Hocklyns to replace their losses.

“The main attack will come shortly,” uttered Jeremy, knowing it was pretty much over except for the dying. They had half the fighters and bombers they'd started with, including the extra ones that had been stored on the space station. “Position four of our battlecarriers at strategic locations beneath the defense grid. I want all four carriers to have full loads of fighters even if we have to take them from the other carriers. Those fighters are to be used to intercept any missiles targeting the surface of Careth.”

“We also have our own surface aircraft that can be used to intercept missiles,” Grayseth informed them in his powerful voice. “I have already ordered them to be dispersed across the planet. Numerous ground based interceptors are ready to launch if missiles are detected heading toward our cities.”

“Admiral Stillson, move your ships into Fourth Fleet’s formation. Commander Marks will be moved up in rank to rear admiral and placed in charge of all carrier operations.”

“She can command our fighters and bombers as well,” Grayseth added. “Commander Marks is a fine warrior and my people will follow her orders. She is a great huntress, and my people will hunt well with her. She will make a good admiral.”

“You should prepare your small warships,” Jeremy suggested to Grayseth. “In the coming battle, I suspect they will be needed.”

Grayseth was silent for a moment and then responded. “I will order them to make ready. They have been hungry to join the hunt.”

Jeremy nodded to himself. The small warships were the last card he had to play against the Hocklyns and the AIs. With luck, their use might buy them more time.

-

A few hours later, Jeremy was studying the tactical display when he sensed a presence next to him. Turning, he saw Ariel with a sad and questioning look upon her face.

“What’s it like to die, Jeremy?” she asked in a low and unsure voice. “Will I just cease to be?”

“I don’t know,” Jeremy responded surprised at the question. “Everyone has to die sometime; I guess we are fortunate in that we will get to choose how we die.”

“You are very much like a Human,” Katie said as she walked up from behind Ariel. She had overheard Ariel’s question. “My parents believed in an afterlife and I know there are many that don’t. I can’t believe that this is all there is to living. If there is an afterlife, there is no doubt in my mind that you will be there with us.”

Ariel nodded. She had read much about the various religions on Earth and back in the old Federation. Her biggest regret was that she would not get the opportunity to tell Clarissa goodbye. At least if she died, she would do so with her friends.

“Hocklyns are jumping,” Kevin said suddenly as he saw the red icons representing the Hocklyn ships in system K-774 begin to vanish.

“This is it,” Jeremy said in a steady voice. “Colonel Malen, bring all of our forces up to Condition One.”

Instantly, red Condition One lights began to flash and warning klaxons began to sound. Over the ship’s com system, Colonel Malen’s calm, authoritative voice could be heard ordering the crew to their combat stations. Once that was done, she stepped over to the command console and silenced the alarms and the flashing lights.

Jeremy watched in silence as the rest of the first shift operations crew filed into the Command Center and relieved the junior officers. Jeremy was proud of his people, as each one seemed unafraid of what was ahead. They all knew that this might be their last battle.

“All of the Hocklyn ships have jumped,” Ariel whispered as her beautiful dark eyes focused on Jeremy.

“It’s what we've been expecting,” replied Jeremy, taking a deep and steadying breath. “Colonel Malen, make sure all ships have Devastator Threes in their tubes; there’s no point in saving them. Either we win this battle or the Hocklyns do, and if it’s the Hocklyns we won’t need them any more.”

“AIs are jumping,” Ariel reported as the ten orange icons on the tactical display vanished.

“We have forty minutes,” Jeremy commented as he eyed the timer on the tactical display. “Angela, get me Admiral Marks.”

A few moments later, Rear Admiral Susan Mark’s voice came over the mini-com. “Yes, Admiral.”

“I have placed four battlecarriers beneath the defense grid,” Jeremy began. “Their primary function is to interdict any Hocklyn missiles that get through the defenses. You'll also be coordinating all flight operations for our remaining fighters and bombers and whatever Grayseth has left on the space station. I want bomber strikes of squadron strength against individual Hocklyn ships as soon as they jump in. Stay away from the AIs.”

“We will make you proud, Admiral,” responded Susan, knowing her stint as an admiral was probably going to be a very short one.

Jeremy turned his attention back to the rest of his fleet. He quickly assigned his remaining strikecruisers to work together in pairs. Two light cruisers would support each one. The strikecruisers had orders to engage AI ships at their discretion.

Taking a deep breath, Jeremy walked over to the Navigation console where Kelsey was sitting. There was one more thing he needed to do and this might be his last opportunity to do this. Taking his right hand, he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder.

Kelsey turned and glanced up at Jeremy in surprise. He'd always been careful not to show affection toward her in front of the crew. “Jeremy, what is it?”

Jeremy took a deep breath, knowing that most of the crew in the Command Center were watching. “Kelsey, I love you, and if we make it back to the Federation someday, I want you to be my wife.”

Kelsey felt her heart skip a beat. She and Jeremy had spoken of a life together, but this was the first time he had actually suggested marriage. It was a strange time for a proposal, but she suspected she knew the reason behind it.

Kelsey stood up and put her arms around Jeremy, kissing him deeply. Then, with a smile, she said the magic words. “I accept.”

The entire command crew broke out into loud cheers and clapping. It was as if they were not shortly going to be in a fight to the death. For a moment, they all shared the joy that Jeremy and Kelsey were feeling.

Katie, Kevin, Angela, and Ariel all felt a swelling of happiness at the proposal. All four were determined they would survive this battle and be part of the happy couple’s future. The proposal gave them another reason for living.

Jeremy stepped back and nodded at the smiling crew, then made his way back to the command console as various crewmembers wished him and Kelsey congratulations.

“About time,” Kevin teased with a big grin on his face as Jeremy passed the sensor console. “We were all wondering when you'd finally break down and propose.”

Jeremy reached the command console and sat down. Ariel was already there with a big pleased smile on her face. If they could only survive this battle, then someday she would have more special children to look after.

“Hocklyns are exiting hyperspace,” Kevin announced, breaking the joyous feeling in the Command Center. “Two million kilometers from the edge of the gravity well.”

Looking up at a viewscreen, Jeremy could see hundreds of distant white spatial vortexes forming. He knew that each one of those vortexes represented a Hocklyn warship.

“AIs are arriving,” Ariel added as ten large orange icons appeared on the tactical display.

“They are accelerating toward us,” Kevin reported as he studied the data coming across his sensor screens. “Ten minutes until they reach the gravity well and another fifteen at their current speed until they reach us.”

“Put me through to the entire fleet, the battle stations, and the space station,” ordered Jeremy, looking over at Angela.

After a moment, Angela nodded back looking at Jeremy expectantly.

“This is Rear Admiral Strong. In approximately twenty to thirty minutes, we will be fighting the final battle to save the planet beneath us. For weeks now, the Carethians have fought bravely at our side and died with us. We don’t know what's happened back in Federation space. There's a remote chance we are all that's left of the new Human Federation of Worlds.” Jeremy paused as he looked around the Command Center. Everyone was listening to his every word.

“We will not be leaving this system in defeat. If the Hocklyns win this battle then let it be known that every Human in the system gave their lives to protect the freedom of the Carethians and what the Federation stands for. In the coming battle, we are one with our Carethian friends and as they would say, let us stand and hunt together!”

“Hunt together!” echoed the crew in strong and committed voices. The same words were repeated aboard every Federation ship and the battle stations. Grayseth and his people on board the space station repeated the words with respect and admiration. What Jeremy didn’t know was that his words had been transmitted live on every media station on Careth. Every Carethian on the planet stood tall knowing that this was a Human that understood the Carethian way.

Grayseth looked around the crew of his massive Command Center. There were Carethians as well as Humans. “Know well that today we hunt with our Human allies. There can be no greater glory than to die with such warriors. The evil ones come and we will live as one or we will die as one!”

-

Commodore Krilen looked with growing anticipation at the waiting Human ships. He was confident that over the last few weeks he'd weakened the defenses enough to finally allow him to attack the planet itself. The Humans could not have too many more of their deadly sublight missiles left and the planet’s defense grid had been greatly degraded by using the AI ships. Even the Humans' small fighters and bombers had been greatly reduced in numbers.

He still had nearly five hundred warships, all with flight bays full of fighters. In the coming battle, the fighters would be tasked with eliminating all remaining Human fighters and bombers as well as the few the Carethians had left.

“Honor comes today,” Angoth spoke, pleased that the final battle was upon them. He felt confident in a Hocklyn victory. Perhaps if Commodore Krilen rose in rank then he could become a War Leader.

“There will be much honor for all,” Krilen replied self-assuredly. This victory would make him very popular amongst the High Council. Perhaps popular enough to be assigned to one of the home systems. From there, he could work toward his eventual goal of becoming a High Councilor.

-

On board the dreadnought Viden, War Leader Versith gazed with deep concern at the waiting Human ships. They had to know they could not win this battle, but were making no efforts to flee.

“These Humans are warriors,” First Leader Trion commented as he gazed at the tactical display. “They are willing to die in the defense of this world.”

Versith nodded as he studied the deployment of the Human ships. He took note of the four large battlecarriers, which were deployed beneath the planet’s defense grid. “This will not be an easy victory,” he spoke, knowing how a cornered enemy with no hope would fight. I fear that many Hocklyn warriors will find their honor today.”

“It is the Hocklyn way,” replied Trion, gravely.

Second Leader Jaseth had overheard the conversation between the two commanding officers. He was standing at his weapons console ready to throw his missiles and other weapons at the Humans. He grinned in vicious anticipation of causing more Human deaths. When they were done today, there would not be a single surviving Human in the system. For a while, his taste for their blood would be satiated.

-

“Hocklyn ships are nearing engagement range,” Ariel reported as she checked the status of the Avenger’s weapons for the hundredth time in the last thirty seconds.

“They’ve split up into three groups,” added Colonel Malen, looking worriedly at the tactical screen. The largest force of nearly three hundred warships was coming directly toward the newly augmented Fourth Fleet, another group of eighty was moving toward the space station, and the final group of ninety was heading toward the planet.

“AIs are jumping in,” Kevin uttered in worry as all ten AI ships suddenly jumped into range of the defense grid and started hammering it with their deadly beam weapons.

“Order the strikecruisers to attack,” Jeremy spoke, his face looking grim. “All ships are to fire when enemy ships reach optimal engagement range.”

A few more seconds passed and then Jeremy felt the Avenger shudder slightly as missiles, railgun rounds, and the power beams were fired.

In space, the area between the two opposing fleets became filled with deadly ordnance. Human fighters flew up and above to stay away from the deadly conflagration. From the space station, its twenty power beam installations suddenly fired, blowing two Hocklyn escort cruisers to oblivion. From its flight bays, squadron after squadron of fighters and bombers were launching. None were being held back.

Jeremy winced as the Avenger shook violently. He glanced at the damage control console, seeing several lights turn amber.

“Several nukes hit the shield,” Colonel Malen explained with narrowed eyes. “A couple of railgun rounds made it through before the shields regenerated.”

Devastator Threes began pounding the Hocklyn fleet, tearing holes in shields and occasionally detonating against a ship’s armor. Two warcruisers died in raging nuclear fire as the Devastators unleashed their forty megatons of nuclear inferno against the ships’ hulls.

“Light cruisers Dawn and London are down,” Kevin spoke in a voice that sounded like someone else. “Battlecruiser Aspen is down.”

On the main viewscreens, brilliant explosions lit up space. Ships on both sides were dying as the exchange of weapons fire grew even greater. Blue Hocklyn energy beams, violet Human power beams, and orange-red laser beams flashed between the two fleets.

-

In space, Major Thurman grimaced in anger as he watched a Monarch heavy cruiser explode as numerous Hocklyn energy beams ripped the ship apart. “Hocklyn fighters inbound,” he calmly spoke into his com as he watched the massive red wave of icons that was quickly approaching his fighters and the few bombers they were escorting. “All squadrons engage; the more of them we destroy, the more likely some of our bombers will get through.”

“That’s a lot of enemy fighters,” a female voice spoke nervously over the squadron com channel.

“Just more for us to shoot at,” a male pilot responded. “Makes it harder to miss.”

“Stay with you wingman and let’s engage,” Thurman ordered. Increasing his fighter’s acceleration, he targeted an approaching Hocklyn fighter and fired one of his Hunter missiles. A fiery explosion confirmed the kill.

-

Jeremy watched the growing carnage through narrowed eyes. He felt gut wrenching pain every time a friendly green icon vanished from the tactical display. “Order Grayseth to launch their small warships. Their target is the fleet attempting to attack the planet.”

Colonel Malen nodded and quickly passed on the order. She knew the battle was getting desperate as the Hocklyns threatened to overrun the fleet.

Moments later, numerous green icons began rising from the surface of Careth. Two hundred and thirty small, one hundred-meter spacecraft had been built secretly in the hidden underground cities of the planet, each armed with railguns and nuclear tipped Klave missiles. They also had an energy screen to give them some protection from incoming fire.

“Strikecruisers got an AI,” Ariel reported excitedly as one of the orange icons flared up and then vanished.

“Strikecruiser Taurus is down,” Kevin spoke in a strained voice.

“Bear bombers under fighter escort are beginning their attack run on the fleet targeting the space station,” Ariel reported. She was using the Avenger’s sensors to try to keep track of the entire battle.

“Jeremy,” Colonel Malen gasped in shock. “Look at the screen!”

The viewscreen she was pointing at was focused on Careth. Upon the surface the tell all flash of a nuclear explosion was evident.

“Twenty megatons,” reported Ariel, grimly. “It detonated above the Carethian city of Presden.”

“Second AI ship confirmed destroyed,” Kevin reported as he watched another of the orange threat icons vanish from his screen. It had hurt deeply to see the nuclear weapon strike Careth. Kevin just hoped there were no others.

“The bear bombers and fighters are taking heavy losses,” Ariel added in a pained voice.

As she watched with her sensors, dozens of brave pilots were dying as their fighters and bombers were blown apart by Hocklyn fighters and heavy defensive fire from their warships. Undeterred by the losses, the bear pilots continued toward their targets. They would not turn back until their missiles were fired.

-

In space, Major Thurman fired his last Hunter interceptor missile. It struck a Hocklyn fighter, blowing it into a thousand pieces. A red warning light suddenly flared up on his console indicating a missile was locked on. In desperation, he juked his fighter through several barrel rolls and dove away at a sharp angle, releasing a canister of countermeasures, which blew apart, attracting the missile away at the last second. The explosion rocked his fighter but caused no damage.

Letting out a deep breath, Major Thurman dropped his Talon fighter in behind another Hocklyn and pressed the firing button for his thirty-millimeter cannons. Instantly, the Hocklyn fighter exploded in a brilliant fireball. Taking a second to look around, Thurman could see numerous explosions around him indicating dying fighters. Glancing down at his sensor screen, he saw very few green icons still surviving.

-

Jeremy felt the Avenger shake violently and for a moment, the lights in the Command Center flickered. A few people screamed in fright. On the damage control console, a number of new lights turned amber and then red.

“We’re venting atmosphere,” Colonel Malen reported as she issued orders rapidly to damage control teams. “A Hocklyn energy beam hit the hull and cut through six decks.”

“Jeremy, the New Eden has suffered major damage!” Kevin spoke loudly with deep concern on his face. The New Eden was Admiral Stillson’s flagship.

“Order several light cruisers to give her covering fire!” Jeremy ordered his face turning ashen.

On the main viewscreen, it had changed to show the New Eden. The battlecruiser was under heavy attack and even as they watched, a nuclear explosion ripped out a major portion of the ship’s hull.

“Her screens are down,” Ariel reported as she used her sensors to scan Stillson’s flagship. “Heavy structural damage to the hull and there is massive internal damage as well.”

Even as they watched, half a dozen blue Hocklyn energy beams struck the ship, cutting into the hull and doing irrevocable damage. Suddenly, four bright balls of energy formed and the New Eden vanished as its nuclear self-destructs initiated.

“New Eden is down,” Kevin spoke in a shocked voice.

-

Commodore Krilen felt jubilation as another enemy capital ship died. He was losing far more ships under the bombardment of the enemy’s deadly sublight missiles but he had the ships to lose; the Humans did not. On the main viewscreen, he watched as two more nuclear detonations appeared over Carethian cities. The battle was going his way and nothing the Humans could do could save the planet.

“Large numbers of small warships are rising from the planet’s surface,” First Leader Angoth reported in his cold rasping voice.

“How large?” snapped Krilen, wondering if this was some type of trick. He was leery of traps set by the Humans.

“One hundred meters,” Angoth replied.

“Scout ship size,” Krilen responded as he wondered what the purpose of these small ships might be. “They may contain Carethians trying to escape. Order War Leader Osbith to intercept those ships. There can be no survivors!”

-

War Leader Osbith watched impassively as the small ships clawed upward into space. He had already hit the planet three times with nuclear missiles. This area of the planet’s defense grid was steadily growing weaker under the attack of his fighters' and ships' weapons. His dreadnought, the BattleHand, had been instrumental in two of those strikes.

“Target those small ships,” he ordered his First Leader. “They may be trying to escape. We will destroy them.”

-

Grayseth was in the Command Center of the space station. It was under heavy attack from the Hocklyn fleet and beginning to suffer damage. From its outer hull, the twenty power beam installations continued to fire as well as the numerous laser turrets. Devastator and Devastator Three missiles were being launched continuously and the encroaching Hocklyn fleet was suffering heavily. The bomber strike was almost within range, though its numbers had suffered serious losses.

He knew there was only one possible solution to save the worsening situation. It had pained him to no end at seeing the three nuclear detonations on Careth’s surface, knowing that millions of his fellow Carethians may have died under that hellfire.

He turned to Daelthon, his second in command. “Contact our ships and tell them it is time for the Final Hunt.”

“Is that necessary?” Daelthon asked, the short fur on his face turning pale.

“We have no other choice,” replied Grayseth, gravely. “Our Human brothers are dying; we can do no less.”

Daelthon nodded and the large Carethian moved off to Communications to carry out the orders.

Grayseth looked back at the viewscreens. This battle was not yet over; he had one more surprise for the evil ones; a surprise they would not be expecting.

-

War Leader Osbith watched in satisfaction as the small Carethian warships came into engagement range. He would destroy them and then continue to bombard the planet’s surface with his nuclear missiles. Then he would return to the home systems as a hero and be richly rewarded. Perhaps someday he would become a Fleet Commodore or higher. With his connections to the High Council, it was possible.

“War Leader, the small ships are accelerating rapidly,” his First Leader spoke with concern in his voice.

“Where are they going?” demanded Osbith, fearful that his easy victory was escaping him. He had to destroy those small ships; they couldn’t be allowed to escape Careth’s gravity well and jump into hyperspace.

“Straight for us!” the First Leader replied, his eyes growing wide. “They’re going to ram!”

Osbith gazed at the main viewscreen, too stunned to speak. He had let the small warships get to close to his fleet, now he was going to pay the price.

-

In space, fifty of the two hundred and thirty small Hocklyn warships had activated their subspace drives at nearly eighty percent power. In mere seconds, they closed the distance, throwing their ships at their hated enemies. The Hocklyn ships had no chance to evade, and suddenly massive explosions wracked their formation as the Carethian ships struck their astonished targets.

Forty-two Hocklyn ships died in massive explosions of energy, including the dreadnought BattleHand and War Leader Osbith. The rest of the fleet was thrown into disarray and the remaining one hundred and eighty small warships fired all of their weapons in unison. More Hocklyns ships died under their ferocious attack. The loss of War Leader Osbith threw the remaining Hocklyn ships into disarray. They were fighting back individually and not as a fleet. The losses continued to mount as the small Carethian warships took advantage of the Hocklyns' obvious confusion.

-

Commodore Krilen looked at the tactical screen in shock. War Leader Osbith’s entire fleet had been nearly wiped out. War Leader Versith was under heavy attack by enemy bombers and the space station. His own fleet was still suffering losses from the Human fleet he was engaging. Even as he watched, the Human strikecruisers managed to destroy another one of the stupendous AIs spheres in a blaze of light.

“Retreat,” he ordered, fearing that he might lose his entire fleet. He needed to withdraw and rethink his strategy.

“Retreat?” First Leader Angoth spoke in disbelief. “We can still win this battle!”

“Not if those small ships decide to ram the rest of our fleet,” Krilen replied. “Order all ships to make for the edge of the gravity well and return to our rendezvous point. We will repair our damage and determine our next course of action.”

“As you command,” Angoth responded, not liking the order. “Many warriors, including War Leader Osbith, have found honor today.”

-

War Leader Versith swore as the Viden shook violently from multiple nuclear explosions striking the ship’s screens. He knew if the ship had not been updated, they would all have died.

“Commodore Krilen is ordering an immediate withdrawal,” First Leader Trion reported his eyes growing wide.

“It is just as well,” Versith replied in his cold, reptilian voice. “I told him it was a mistake to split up the fleet. We should have attacked as one and destroyed each segment of the planet’s defenses a piece at a time. Now we are paying for Commodore Krilen’s refusal to accept the strategy I suggested. Disengage and make for the edge of the gravity well at our best speed. Keep our cripples under our protective fire in case the enemy launches any more of their small bombers.”

“Yes, War Leader,” Trion responded.

Second Leader Jaseth looked angrily at his small sensor screen, knowing the battle had been lost. He had overheard War Leader Versith’s comments about the commodore not using the strategy he had suggested. Even though Jaseth regretted not being able to kill more Humans, he understood the need to survive to fight another day. His burning rage was now more under control. For this battle, not even the ever present Protector had been watching him. He let out a deep breath. The Humans were still here and after retiring to repair their battle damage, they would return to finish what they had started today. The Humans would have a brief respite, but not much of one.

“The enemy is beginning to withdraw,” Kevin spoke in astonishment as his sensors showed the Hocklyn fleet beginning to break off contact and move away.

“AIs have jumped out,” Ariel added with obvious relief in her youthful voice.

“It was the bears,” Colonel Malen spoke in awe. “They rammed the Hocklyn fleet that was attacking the planet, devastating it, and then used the lack of an organized command structure to nearly wipe it out.”

“I didn’t know they were planning that,” Jeremy spoke in a stunned voice, finding it hard to accept the sacrifice the bears had made. “Call our fighters back and let’s see what we have left.”

Ariel felt immensely relieved; she had been so certain that she was going to die in this battle. Somehow, they had managed to survive, but the fleet and the defenses were now in shambles. If the relief fleet didn’t show up shortly, there would soon be no one left alive in the system. She hoped that Clarissa didn’t arrive to find the Avenger destroyed and that the end had come for Ariel.

Chapter Six

Jeremy was on the space station meeting with Grayseth and Rear Admiral Susan Marks. They were discussing the losses and what their options would be if the Hocklyns launched another major attack.

“We don’t have the fighters to stop another attack on the defense grid,” Susan spoke as she thought about the horrific losses suffered by the fighters and bombers in the recent battle. “We have less than two hundred fighters remaining on our ships and only forty-two bombers.” It had pained her to watch from the Command Center of the Retribution as her pilots died trying to defend the fleet and Careth. She'd felt like crying each time a green icon representing a Federation fighter or bomber had faded out on the tactical screen.

“What were your losses?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Grayseth. He knew the bears had done everything in their power to force the Hocklyns back. There were even reports of Carethian fighters strafing Hocklyn warships with their 30mm cannons.

“Heavy,” Grayseth responded, his powerful voice sounding tired. “We have sixty-two fighters remaining and less than twenty bombers. We do have one hundred and twenty-eight of our small warships that survived.”

“Our fleet losses were heavy also,” admitted Jeremy, taking a deep breath. “We lost two battlecruisers, three of our battlecarriers, five of our strikecruisers, seven Monarch cruisers, fourteen light cruisers, and ten more of the destroyers in the defense grid, as well as Admiral Stillson.”

“Admiral Stillson was a brave hunter,” spoke Grayseth, respectfully. “He died a warrior’s death.”

“He will be missed,” Jeremy responded with a heavy sigh. It had shaken him to see the New Eden destroyed. He knew it could just have easily been the Avenger.

“The station suffered some damage,” Grayseth continued. “We lost four of the power beam installations, which can’t be replaced. We have serious damage to the outer hull of the station, and numerous compartments are open to vacuum. Two of the type two battle stations were also destroyed.”

“What now, Admiral?” Susan asked. She knew that if the Hocklyns and AIs had not broken off their attack, they all would have died above Careth. They were in a desperate situation and she didn’t see any way out of it.

Jeremy let out a deep sigh of frustration at the situation they now found themselves in. “We hurt the AIs and the Hocklyns badly in the battle. Grayseth, your people’s sacrifice probably saved us. I think it shook the Hocklyn commodore enough to force him to call off the attack. We also used nearly ninety percent of our remaining Devastator Threes.”

“The evil ones will not be stopped next time,” Grayseth spoke, his large eyes taking on a sad look of hopelessness. “We will fight until the last warrior has passed. It will be a great hunt and a proud way to die.”

Jeremy was silent as he thought over his options. He could think of only one way to save the situation. It would be dangerous and risky, but he didn’t see any other choice.

“You’re planning something, I can tell from the look in your eyes,” spoke Susan, arching her eyebrows. “What is it?”

“It’s the AIs,” Jeremy responded as his gaze shifted to each of the other two. “If we could destroy their remaining ships or make them withdraw, then I think the Hocklyns would call off the next attack.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Grayseth asked, his large eyes focusing on Jeremy. “We will soon be out of Devastator Threes and once those missiles are gone we have nothing that can harm an AI ship. Just one ship would be capable of wiping us out.”

“We have eight strikecruisers left, counting the Avenger,” Jeremy began. “I propose to take all eight of those ships and attack the AIs in system K-774.”

“Attack the AIs?” Susan repeated not believing what she had just heard. She looked at Jeremy shaking her head. “That would be suicide! You can’t do that.”

“Not without Ariel,” countered Jeremy, leaning forward. “If I turn the Avenger and several other of the strikecruisers over to Ariel’s control, I believe we could destroy enough of the AI ships to force them to leave. It’s our only hope of surviving.”

“It’s a daring plan,” spoke Grayseth, hoping that his Human friend was not about to sacrifice himself. “But it may be the only plan that might have a chance of success.”

“But what good will it do?” Susan asked her eyes showing deep concern over Jeremy’s suggestion. “Even if you do drive the AIs off, it will only be a matter of time before they return with more ships.”

“I’m buying time,” Jeremy responded in a determined voice. “If I can get us a few more weeks, surely Admiral Streth will be here with the relief fleet.”

Susan didn’t know what to say. She knew as well as Jeremy did that if the Federation had lost at New Tellus then there was no relief fleet coming. “When would you leave?”

“Tomorrow,” Jeremy replied. “That will give us twenty-four more hours to do basic repairs to some of the damage the strikecruisers have suffered. We also need to make sure they have plenty of Devastator Threes for this attack.”

“It will take half of our remaining stockpile to fully arm them,” Grayseth commented as he placed his large hands upon the conference table. “But it may be worth the risk.”

“What are our orders?” asked Susan, knowing she would not be able to talk Jeremy out of this decision. She also knew that Jeremy was doing the only thing that might have a remote chance of saving Careth and the remaining Federation ships.

“Pull the fleet in around the station,” Jeremy ordered, satisfied now that he had put his decision into words. “Make sure the two surviving type two battle stations are fully loaded with Devastator Threes. If I fail and don’t return, at least they can still destroy an AI.”

“It is a brave thing you are proposing,” Grayseth spoke, his large brown eyes gazing deeply into Jeremy’s eyes. “It is the way of the hunt.”

Jeremy nodded. “We need to start getting our more heavily damaged ships into the repair bays. If I fail, you’re going to need every ship we have. May we live long and hunt together.”

“Hunt together, my friend,” replied Grayseth, reaching across the table and clasping Jeremy’s right hand.

-

Jeremy walked back through the station along its many wide corridors toward the docking port where the Avenger was waiting. Numerous bears and Humans were hurriedly rushing to conduct emergency repairs to get the station back up to being as fully operational as possible. He knew the outside of the station had a number of rents and tears in it where Hocklyn energy beams and a few railgun rounds had struck. The armored hull looked burned in some sections from the heat of nuclear explosions. They had been fortunate that none of the nukes had struck the station’s armor.

Jeremy thought about the decision he had made. He knew that every day that passed without the relief fleet showing up was a bad sign. He hadn’t said anything to the others, but he was starting to feel that a relief fleet wasn’t coming. If Admiral Streth could have returned, Jeremy was certain that he would have by now.

-

Kelsey and Katie were eating a quick meal and discussing Kelsey’s engagement. Suddenly the air next to Kelsey seemed to glow slightly and Ariel’s hologram materialized.

Kelsey jumped slightly and frowned at Ariel. “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she complained, shaking her head. “You scare me every time you just appear out of nothing.”

“Sorry,” Ariel apologized not wanting to upset Kelsey. “When are you and Jeremy going to have children?”

Katie burst out laughing because she knew full well what was behind the question. “You just want more children to raise like you did with me.”

Ariel looked surprised and then nodded. “Of course. The five of you are my friends; it’s only natural that I would want to help raise your children.”

“Oh God!” Kelsey mumbled her eyes growing wide at the thought. “If and when Jeremy and I have children, they won’t be raised on a starship. If anything they will be raised in the safety of Ceres where I know no harm can come to them.”

Ariel nodded her youthful head in agreement. “I won’t always be on a warship,” she spoke in a soft and yearning voice. “I really enjoyed my time on the old Avenger with Jeremy’s father and yours, Katie. It was an exciting time, especially when the Fleet Academy came into existence.”

Katie only nodded. Well did she remember those days and how she had tricked Ariel into helping her stow away on the New Horizon. In those youthful days, she had a crush on Jeremy. What fifteen-year-old wouldn’t have? It also made her feel sad thinking about her mother and father. It had been a hard decision to go into cryosleep and leave them behind.

“What about you, Katie?” asked Ariel, focusing her attention on her blonde friend with the light green eyes. “When are you and Kevin going to have children?”

“Whoa, girl!” Katie spoke her face growing red. “Kevin and I haven’t even discussed marriage yet!”

“You’ve discussed having a life together after the war,” Ariel pointed out.

“You’ve been listening to our private conversations again,” Katie said accusingly.

“A few,” Ariel confessed.

“Before we can even discuss children, we need to survive this mission of Jeremy’s,” Kelsey added with deep concern in her voice. Jeremy had told her what he planned to do, and she was not pleased with his decision; it was just too risky.

“Jeremy has suggested that you, Angela, and Katie not go,” Ariel reminded her.

“We’re the Special Five,” Katie put in. “We do everything together. I’m not letting Jeremy and Kevin go off on this mission without me!”

“Me neither,” added Kelsey, nodding her head in agreement. “Besides, he may need us if something goes wrong. I’m the best navigator in the fleet and Katie is by far the best computer expert we have.”

Ariel nodded. She had expected this answer. “It will be dangerous, but I think we can do it. I've been running battle simulations all day and if the Hocklyns stay out of the battle, I think we can take out the AIs.”

“What if the Hocklyns intervene?” Katie asked, her light green eyes looking worried.

“Then none of us will be coming back,” replied Ariel, in a softer voice.

-

“You don’t have to go,” Jeremy was telling Angela in the Command Center. You, Kelsey, and Katie can stay here at the space station where you'll be safe.”

“You know where you can put that idea,” responded Angela, shaking her head in rejection. “What would my marine captain think if I didn’t go on this mission?”

Jeremy frowned in frustration. He knew, after talking to Ariel, that there was nearly a fifty percent chance the Avenger would not be returning from this mission. He'd hoped to protect the girls by allowing them to stay on the space station. In hindsight, he should have known better. Particularly after all they had been through together.

“Get a good night’s sleep,” Jeremy spoke as he turned away. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Going back over to the command console, he saw Kevin waiting for him. “She turned you down also, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy replied as he sat down. “I don’t know about those three girls; I just want them to be safe.”

“They wouldn’t be the people they are if they'd accepted,” said Kevin, earnestly. “That’s why you’re in love with Kelsey and I’m in love with Katie.”

“You’re right,” admitted Jeremy, knowing what Kevin had said was true.

He leaned back in his command chair and thought about his father. Admiral Jason Strong had found the crashed spaceship Avenger on the Moon, later formed the Fleet Academy, and then along with Kati’s dad Greg had gone on to help form the New Human Federation of Worlds. He wondered what his dad would have said about the current situation.

“We will launch our attack at 0800 in the morning,” Jeremy said after a moment. “All strikecruiser commanders have reported that essential repairs will have been completed by then.”

Kevin nodded. He ran his left hand through his fiery red hair. “I just hope Admiral Streth is on his way; if not we won’t last much longer.”

“So do I,” replied Jeremy, looking over at his best friend. “If Admiral Streth and the relief force aren’t here in another two weeks I’m afraid the battle for Careth will be over.”

-

Commodore Krilen had just finished talking to War Leader Versith. Versith was very unhappy with the way the last battle had been fought. Krilen had gone against the War Leader’s advice and divided the fleet. He'd never dreamed that the Carethians would use suicide tactics to defend their world. In hindsight, he knew he should have known better. From the records, it was reported that the Carethians were a very ferocious species and would do anything to protect their females and young.

“War Leader Versith is still angry,” spoke Krilen, looking over at First Leader Angoth. “I should have listened to him and not split the fleet.”

“What now?” Angoth asked, his cold, dark eyes focusing on the commodore. “It will be another seventy hours before the fleet has finished enough repairs to go on the offensive again.”

“I have asked Versith to come up with a new battle plan,” replied Krilen, letting out a long, rasping breath. He gazed down at the six digits on his left hand and then made a tight fist, feeling the long nails dig into his palm. “The AIs are also not pleased with my decision to withdraw; they feel that the Humans are nearing the end of their supply of those sublight missiles that have destroyed so many of our ships.”

“What did they say?” Angoth asked with interest as his eyes strayed to a large viewscreen on the front wall of the War Room that was focused on one of the huge 1,500-meter spheres of their masters.

“We will not be allowed to withdraw during the next attack,” Krilen replied in a quieter voice. “If we do, the AIs say they will destroy all of our surviving ships themselves.”

Angoth nodded, not surprised by this revelation. “This war with the Humans has changed many things already. We now know the AIs are not as invincible as we were once led to believe.”

“Even our honor system is changing,” Krilen added, his right hand instinctively touching the long knife in its protective scabbard at his waist. “Honor is no longer our first priority; it has now become doing what we must to preserve the Empire.”

Krilen allowed his eyes to roam across the busy War Room. Numerous Hocklyns were manning their consoles and coordinating repairs across the fleet. He'd already sent a request back to the High Council asking for more ships, explaining that the defenses protecting Careth were much more powerful than originally thought. He didn’t know how the High Council would react to his request or if the ships could get here in time.

-

Jeremy was sitting behind the command console watching the main viewscreens. They showed a sea of stars ahead as the Avenger and the other seven strikecruisers moved slowly out toward the edge of the planet’s gravity well.

“All ships report ready for jump into hyperspace,” Colonel Malen reported from her position in front of the tactical display.

“How close can you put us to the AIs?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Ariel.

Ariel got that faraway look in her eyes as she checked on the latest data from the two stealth scouts that were still watching system K-774. “If they stay in their current location, I can put all eight strikecruisers within three thousand kilometers of the AIs.”

Jeremy nodded. He looked over at Kelsey, who was busily inputting the jump coordinates into the system that she and Ariel were constantly updating. He could feel his pulse quickening and his breathing becoming more rapid. Jeremy knew this next battle could well decide their survival as well as the Carethians.

One thing that Jeremy had done was place Rear Admiral Marks in charge of the defense of Careth. He had full confidence that she would do everything in her power to protect the planet. He'd said his goodbyes to Grayseth; the large bear had gripped Jeremy’s hand tightly and swore that Jeremy would always be a member of the bear’s family clan.

“Ten minutes until we reach the edge of the gravity well,” Kevin reported in a steady voice. He looked back at Katie, who was busy at her computer console. He felt more nervous than usual about going into battle. He really wished the girls had agreed to stay behind, but he understood why they hadn’t.

“Devastator Threes are loaded in all missile tubes,” Lieutenant Charles Preston the tactical officer reported. “Ready to fire on your orders.”

The minutes slowly passed and then Ariel announced, “We’re clear of the gravity well and can jump. AIs are still holding their same position.”

“Jump!” ordered Jeremy, clenching his jaw tightly.

In front of the eight strikecruisers swirling blue-white spatial vortexes formed. Ariel had full control of the navigation systems of all the ships and expertly maneuvered them into the vortexes. Moments later, the vortexes collapsed in upon themselves and there were no sign of the ships or the vortexes.

-

Grayseth let out a deep and heavy breath as he watched Admiral Strong’s ships jump into hyperspace. In many ways, he had wanted to accompany Jeremy on this mission, but he knew his place was here, defending Careth. “Hunt well, my friend,” Grayseth spoke in a soft voice. He hoped his Human friend would return.

-

In system K-774, seven AI ships floated twenty million kilometers distant from the Hocklyn fleet. Two of the AI ships were damaged and undergoing repairs. The Command AI watched as the status of the two ships continued to change as repairs to various systems were completed.

“Some of the Human ships have jumped,” the AI at the sensors reported, the glowing orb that served as its head glowing brightly.

The Command AI turned to study the sensors. “They may be trying to escape,” it commented as it studied the data from the sensors. They had been using their long-range sensors to monitor the system. The maximum effective range was four light years and due to the distance, it was difficult to ascertain the ship types that had left.

“This battle must end quickly,” the AI next to the weapons console added. “If the Altons and Humans show up to rescue those we have trapped here we will have no choice but to withdraw.”

“I have already instructed Commodore Krilen that the next attack will be the final one. He will not be allowed to withdraw again.”

The room seemed to be filled with electricity as the AIs contemplated what it meant to find living Altons. The Altons had created the AIs thousands of years in the past. It had been believed that the ancient race had died out. It had been a massive shock to the AIs to learn that some Altons had survived and allied themselves with the Humans.

“I have spoken to AI Command and they are developing a plan to deal with our creators,” the Command AI responded as he waved one of his metal tentacles at the Communications console. “Our ships in the galactic center are even now being equipped with additional advanced weapons and more powerful shields. Next time our ships encounter the Altons, they will find their weapons will not be quite so dangerous to our ships.”

“What about the Great Project?” another AI asked. “We must complete it as soon as possible.”

“Work on the project has been speeded up,” the Command AI reported. “The first tests should begin within the next year.”

“Finally,” the AI at the sensors spoke. “We will be rid of the organic races once and for all.”

-

Jeremy stared impassively at the counter on the bottom of the tactical display. It was a forty-minute trip to system K-774. Without the help of Ariel and Kelsey, it would have been impossible to plot a jump with the accuracy they were attempting.

“Two minutes to jump termination,” Colonel Malen reported as she checked the different control stations using her mini-com. “All stations report combat ready. Missiles are loaded and power beams are standing by to be charged.”

Jeremy nodded as he clenched and unclenched his fists. There were seven AI ships waiting for them and he had eight strikecruisers. In normal situations, he wouldn’t stand a chance. However, he had Ariel and she would have full control over the Avenger and the Nemesis in the attack. She'd already demonstrated her ability to destroy AI ships, but this would be the first time she would be taking on more than one.

“One minute to jump termination,” Colonel Malen continued as she watched the counter switch over and begin counting down the seconds.

Over their private channel, Jeremy heard Kelsey’s voice. “I love you, Jeremy.”

Jeremy looked over at Kelsey and replied softly. “I love you too.”

“Vortex is forming, we’re dropping out of hyperspace,” Colonel Malen said as she gripped the edge of the holographic table with her hands.

Eight blue-white spatial vortexes suddenly formed in system K-774 and the Avenger and the other seven strikecruisers suddenly found themselves three thousand kilometers from their targets.

“Systems coming online,” Ariel reported as she quickly powered up essential systems. “Shields are at one hundred percent and power beams are charging.”

On the front wall, the screens were beginning to clear of static. At the same time, the tactical display began updating.

“Firing Devastator Threes,” Ariel reported as she got a firm sensor lock on the AIs. She sent firing orders and sensor information to the Nemesis and Avenger’s targeting computers. She knew it would only be seconds before the AIs responded to the sudden appearance of the Federation ships.

“Incoming fire,” Colonel Malen reported as the Avenger shuddered violently. “Shield is holding. All ships are firing.”

In space, Devastator Threes from the Avenger and the Nemesis were already arriving on target. Due to the distance and it taking several microseconds for the missiles to arrive upon target, the AIs were able to shoot down eight of the deadly missiles in the first wave. However, Ariel had expected this and had launched fourteen missiles at the AI she'd targeted. Four of the forty-megaton missiles detonated on a narrow section of the AI’s energy screen in bright fiery blasts, causing a small hole thirty meters across to form in the energy shield. Instantly, the other two missiles flashed through, detonating on the armor of the AI ship. Uncontrolled energy burned through the hull, melting systems and turning thousands of tons of metal and battle armor instantly into incandescent gas. The ship’s self-destructs, detecting irreparable damage, instantly activated, blowing the 1,500-meter sphere into a million pieces of glowing debris.

“AI is down,” reported Kevin, excitedly.

“Accelerating toward the next target,” Ariel spoke as she moved the Avenger and the Nemesis toward the next nearest AI sphere. Power beams were firing and the violet energy beams were hitting the AI’s shields, causing them to glow from the influx of energy.

“Second AI is down,” Kevin reported as another of the orange icons flared up and vanished from his sensors.

Now all of the remaining AI ships were returning fire. Powerful energy beams pummeled the screens of the advancing strikecruisers. Several screens began to glow brightly and brief holes began to appear. Beams flashed through and tore massive holes in the battle armor, reaching inside and setting off internal explosions. In just a matter of a few seconds, two strikecruisers exploded as they received enormous interior damage, causing their nuclear self-destructs to detonate.

“Strikecruisers Taurus and New London are down,” Kevin spoke, his face turning pale. Both had died within a few seconds of one another.

“We need to concentrate our fire,” Colonel Malen spoke as the Avenger shook violently. She saw several amber and red lights appear on the damage control console. “We just got hit by an energy beam. We have multiple compartments open to space and several internal fires in our storage areas. Damage control teams are en route.”

Jeremy quickly ordered the remaining strikecruisers to concentrate on a single AI. He knew he had to destroy them quickly or all was lost. Their ships were taking too much damage.

“Firing missiles,” Ariel reported as she watched with that faraway look in her eyes as missiles from the Avenger and Nemesis flashed out of the missile tubes toward the designated target.

Fiery explosions roared across the screen of the AI once again, tearing a brief hole in the shield, then two more missiles darted through, impacting the hull. Moments later, the AI ship was in ruins.

But the AIs were not idle. They intensified their fire, concentrating on one strikecruiser. The shields of the Federation ship glowed bright and then began to buckle beneath the onslaught. Two AI energy beams burst through, blasting deep glowing holes in the cruiser’s hull. Then more beams penetrated, riddling the cruiser as the shield failed completely. Sensing the massive damage, the ship's two nuclear destruct charges initiated. Two glowing fireballs marked the cruiser’s death.

“AI is down,” Kevin reported as he watched another AI vanish from the screen. Then he saw a friendly green icon swell up and also vanish. “Strikecruiser Zeus is down.” At this rate, there would be no AIs or strikecruisers left at the end of the battle.

-

“Foreign AI operation detected,” reported the AI at the command ship’s computer consoles, turning to face the Command AI. “This must be the second of the two AIs the Humans reportedly have on board their ships.”

The Command AI nodded. “Send the virus. The AI must be destroyed!”

-

“Fourth AI is down,” Kevin reported as Devastator Three strikes from the other strikecruisers continued to slam home. On his sensor screen, another orange icon flared up and died away. Kevin was beginning to believe they just might win.

It was at that moment that the Communications panel exploded, hurling Angela brutally to the floor. At the same time, Ariel’s hologram vanished.

“No!” screamed Katie her face turning ashen as her fingers ran rapidly over her computer control console.

She got up, ran over to Ariel’s computer console, and slammed her hands down on two prominent red buttons. The panel was beginning to smoke as Katie tore open its protective cover. She reached inside, grabbing the large green crystal at the panel’s center. She pulled it loose, clutching it to her chest, then fell back just as the panel exploded, throwing a shower of bright sparks over her.

“Medics to the Command Center,” Jeremy yelled over his mini-com, seeing that both Angela and Katie weren’t moving. He started to move toward them.

“Jeremy, fight the ship!” Colonel Malen spoke in a stern voice. “You can’t help them if we’re all dead.” Then she turned to Kevin, who was already kneeling over Katie. “Lieutenant Walters, the same goes for you. Get back to your station; the medics will take care of Lieutenant Johnson.”

Jeremy forced himself to turn his attention back to the battle. “All strikecruisers form up on the Avenger. We have three AIs left; designate them as targets one through three. All ships, target the nearest AI and fire Devastator Three missiles.” Jeremy had to force himself to remain calm. It was all he could do not to rush over and check on Angela and Katie. Glancing over at Navigation, he saw that Kelsey had a pale and shocked look upon her face.

“Kelsey, plot us a jump back to Careth. Get us as close to the gravity well as possible.”

Kelsey nodded as she turned back to her console and began entering numbers. She didn’t have Ariel to help her plot the jump, but she knew what had to be done.

The Avenger shuddered and another control panel exploded in a shower of sparks just as the medics rushed in. Smoke began to fill the Command Center.

In space, the weapons fire between the three surviving AIs and the five attacking strikecruisers intensified. Energy beams and power beams flicked back and forth. The AIs were rotating their ships in an attempt to prevent the strikecruisers from hitting the energy shields in a small area, thus preventing holes from forming.

Eight AI energy beams bracketed the strikecruiser Punisher and her energy shield failed. Even as she died, her last Devastator Three missiles flashed out from her tubes, joining the other missiles launched from the other strikecruisers and smashing into the shield of the nearest AI ship. Forty-two Devastator Threes managed to strike the energy screen in brilliant explosions of energy. Two holes formed and six missiles struck the armored hull. The AI ship turned into a glowing sun as its metal was consumed.

“AI One is down,” uttered Kevin, as he looked back seeing that the medics were working on Katie. She didn’t seem to be conscious. She still had Ariel’s memory crystal clutched tightly in her hands. A few feet away other medics were working on Angela. Kevin was really worried and it was all he could do not to get up and rush to her side.

“AIs are jumping out,” Colonel Malen reported with relief in her voice as the two remaining AIs vanished from the tactical display.

“All ships, prepare to jump,” ordered Jeremy, nodding at Kelsey to transmit the jump coordinates to the other three surviving strikecruisers. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Moments later, spatial vortexes formed in front of the four strikecruisers and they quickly entered them, jumping into the safety of hyperspace. The vortexes collapsed back into nothing and the strikecruisers were gone, leaving behind them glowing wreckage and destruction.

-

Commodore Krilen looked in shock at what his sensor screens were telling him. The brief battle had only lasted a few minutes, but it had been long enough to allow the Humans to destroy five of the massive AI ships at a loss of only four of their own.

“The AIs are gone,” spoke First Leader Angoth, looking at the tactical screen in shock. “How did the Humans destroy five of them so swiftly?”

“Those damn hell weapons,” Krilen snapped his eyes full of fire. “They took the AIs by surprise, which shouldn’t have happened.”

“What do we do now?”

Krilen hesitated for a moment as he thought over his options. The Humans had used a lot of their deadly missiles against the AIs, more than the AIs had thought remained. It made Krilen wonder just how many more they still had. “We can’t attack until we receive more reinforcements or the AIs' return. We will continue to repair our ships and wait; we have no other choice.”

Krilen looked at one of the viewscreens, which was showing the area of space where the recent battle had occurred. It was full of glowing gases and debris. He was now beginning to understand just why the AIs were fearful of the Humans. He would send a full report of the battle to the High Council. There was no doubt in Krilen’s mind that they would not like what he was going to say.

Chapter Seven

Jeremy breathed a belated sigh of relief as the Avenger dropped back out of hyperspace into the Carethian system. It had been a harrowing forty minutes as medics carried both Angela and Katie out on stretchers.

“I put Ariel’s memory crystal in the secure safe,” Colonel Malen reported as she came out of a small doorway on one side of the Command Center.

Through the doorway was a very small office that could be used by the commanding officer. The small office contained a desk a few chairs and a safe that was used to keep important documents, as well as ship orders. Jeremy very seldom even used the office; most of the time he forgot it was even there.

“Did it look damaged?” asked Jeremy, concerned. He knew there had to be a reason that Katie had been so frantic to get the crystal out of the console, possibly risking her life to do so.

He couldn’t imagine life without Ariel. She had been a part of his life since returning from the New Horizon incident so long ago. Even worse was the fact that two of his closest friends had been injured and were even now being treated in the med bay. Jeremy had no idea how serious their injuries were. He glanced over at the sensor panel, which had been taken over by an ensign and felt a sense of loss. Kevin had gone to check on the two girls. Both had still been unconscious when they'd been carried from the Command Center.

“The crystal looks as if it’s been slightly burned on one end,” Malen replied. “I don’t know enough about it to guess how badly the crystal is damaged; only Lieutenant Johnson would know that.”

Jeremy was silent as he thought that over. He knew there was nothing he could do until Katie was back up and on duty. She had designed the memory crystal for both Ariel and Clarissa. Taking a deep breath, he tried not to think what it would mean if the crystal was irreparable and Ariel was gone.

“What’s the status of our ships?” inquired Jeremy, tilting his head slightly.

“Light damage to the Avenger and the Nemesis,” Malen reported as she walked over and studied the data on a small screen next to the tactical display. The Vega and Orion have moderate to heavy damage and will need to spend some time in the station repair bays. I wouldn’t risk them in combat in their current condition.”

Jeremy nodded. He knew they were lucky to have gotten out of system K-774 alive. He was still anxious to find out what exactly had happened to Ariel. The Communications console and Ariel’s computer console both being damaged at the same time were too much of a coincidence. It was almost as if the AIs had intentionally tried to take Ariel out.

“How many Devastator Threes do we still have?”

“On all four ships combined we have fifty-three,” responded Malen, grimly. She knew that was not enough of the deadly sublight missiles to fight a major battle with. “Of course, the two battle stations have full loads and there are still one hundred and eight on the space station.”

“Entering Careth’s gravity well,” Kelsey reported over the mini-com. “Jeremy, can I go to the med bay?”

“Go,” replied Jeremy, knowing Kelsey was anxious to check on Angela and Katie. Since they were inside the gravity well, there would be no need to plot additional jumps, and Ensign Striker at the helm could take the Avenger on into the space station.

“Grayseth is on the com,” the backup communications officer reported from the auxiliary console. “He’s inquiring as to what assistance we need.”

Jeremy tapped his mini-com and changed its frequency to that used by the station. “We’re back,” Jeremy said, trying to keep his voice calm.

“I’m glad to see you survived,” Grayseth responded in his strong and powerful voice. “I am already moving ships out of the repair bays to make room for the Orion and Vega; I assume you want them repaired first?”

Jeremy knew that the powerful viewscreens in the Command Center of the station could easily show Grayseth the damage to the strikecruisers. “Yes; we don’t know what the Hocklyns and the AIs will do now.”

“At the moment, the Hocklyns haven’t moved other than to send a few ships to investigate the wreckage from the battle,” Grayseth responded. They'd been watching system K-774 very closely using the two stealth scouts positioned on the outskirts of the system. “There have also been no signs of the two AI ships that fled the battle. We’re hoping to pick them up on some of the FTL sensor buoys in other systems.”

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair and briefly closed his eyes. The attack on the AIs had cost him four of his irreplaceable strikecruisers and most of his supply of the Devastator Three missiles. It was a gamble he'd taken in hopes of buying enough time for Admiral Streth to return. Jeremy knew that if he was wrong, the Careth system would not survive the next attack.

“As soon as we dock, I’ll come aboard,” Jeremy said, wondering what else they could do to protect the system. “I need to stop by the med bay and check on several members of the crew.”

“I will tell Admiral Marks you’re coming on board,” Grayseth replied. “It was a good hunt, Jeremy,” Grayseth added. “You have bought us some much needed time to work on repairing our defenses.”

“I just hope it was worth it,” Jeremy replied as he stood up. He hoped that Angela and Katie pulled through. He could not imagine losing either of them.

-

A few minutes later, Jeremy stepped into the med bay. Looking around, he saw Katie in one of the beds with Kevin hovering close by. Both of her hands were wrapped in bandages.

“How is she?” Jeremy asked with concern in his voice as he walked over to stand next to Kevin.

“Sleeping,” replied Kevin, sounding exhausted. “She suffered some pretty bad burns on her hands and a mild electrical shock. The doctors gave her something to make her sleep. They say she should be fine in a couple of days and there shouldn’t be any scarring.”

“What about Angela?”

“Kelsey’s in with her,” Kevin replied as his eyes remained focused on Katie. “What about Ariel?”

“We don’t know,” Jeremy replied with a shake of his head. “Her crystal looks to be slightly damaged; we will have to wait until Katie can examine it.”

“The AIs attacked Ariel, didn’t they?”

“It would seem that way,” answered Jeremy with a slight nod of his head. “Colonel Malen thinks the AIs sent some type of computer virus through the communications system in an attempt to access Ariel’s program and disrupt it. Malen believes that Angela realized something was wrong and when she tried to shut the system down, the virus caused the console to overload and explode.”

“If something has happened to Ariel, I wouldn’t want to be the AIs when Katie learns of it,” spoke Kevin, softly. There was no doubt in Kevin’s mind that Katie would think of some way to retaliate against the AIs.

Jeremy left Kevin and Katie and made his way over to another section of the med bay, which was sealed off. Several doctors and a nurse were standing there talking.

“How’s Lieutenant DeSota?” Jeremy asked when the three stopped speaking as he approached.

“Not good,” the senior doctor in charge replied. “She has major burns to her hands and arms as well as some internal injuries. Her left arm is broken as well as two of her ribs.”

“We’re going to do surgery shortly to stop the internal bleeding,” continued the other doctor. “We’re pretty confident we can repair everything. She will be off duty for at least six to ten weeks.”

“Then it’s not life threatening?”

“No,” replied the senior doctor, shaking his head. “The internal bleeding was brought about by her broken ribs, which also caused one of her lungs to partially collapse. However, we have managed to stabilize her and her bio readings are strong, so she should come through surgery okay. Then it’s just a matter of rest and rehabilitation.”

“Is she conscious?”

“Not at the moment,” the other doctor replied. “We want to keep her under until after the surgery. Lieutenant Grainger is in with her now. Should I tell her you’re out here?”

“No,” responded Jeremy, knowing there was nothing more he could to at the moment. “Just keep me informed of Lieutenant Johnson and Desoto’s conditions.”

“Yes, Sir,” the senior doctor replied.

Turning, Jeremy left the med bay wishing there was more he could do. In all the time the five of them had been together this was the first time any of them had been seriously injured. It made Jeremy realize that it was perhaps a mistake for all of them to be on board the same ship. It made him understand even better why the fleet frowned on fraternization between officers.

-

In system K-774, Commodore Krilen was in his personal quarters. The AIs were gone and he strongly suspected they were not returning. He had sent requests to several nearby bases for reinforcements, but he had no idea if they would comply. Many of them had been stripped of their warships to send against the Human home worlds, and Krilen was well aware of how that had turned out.

He took his knife out of its sheath and gazed at its polished metal. Turning it over, he could see his reflection. It had been years since he had fought any honor duels and the knife had served him well in those. He tapped the dark gray armor of his chest plate lightly with the hilt of the knife as he contemplated their next move. With the forces he had remaining, he just might still be able to overwhelm the Humans in the Careth system, but his fleet would take heavy losses. If he waited for reinforcements then there was a danger that Human relief forces could arrive. If he failed to take the system, then any hope he had of future advancement in the Hocklyn hierarchy would be gone.

Letting out a long, deep breath, he knew he had no other choice but to attack. The Humans had used a large number of their deadly missiles in the recent battle with the AIs, perhaps too many. He would speak to War Leader Versith in the morning. In two more days, they would launch the final assault on the Carethian system. Either the Humans and Carethians would die or his entire fleet would find final honor in death.

-

Second Leader Jaseth was standing at his weapons console, knowing the AIs had abandoned them. He felt growing anger that the AIs would not stand and fight to the end against the Humans. Glancing over at the small sensor screen above his console, he gazed thoughtfully at the myriad of green icons that represented Hocklyn warships. They still had enough ships to take the Carethian system, if only Commodore Krilen would listen to War Leader Versith. Jaseth knew that his relationship with the War Leader had soured considerably over the last six weeks. He also knew that if he wanted to continue to kill Humans and rise in rank he needed to get back on Versith’s good side again.

He now knew that Versith had been correct in stating that this war might last for some time. Jaseth wanted to rise in rank and become a War Leader. If he was in command of a fleet then he could seek even more revenge against the Humans for what had happened to his family. Jaseth knew it would be necessary to keep his anger in check; Versith must come to trust him again.

War Leader Versith was standing in front of the tactical display with First Leader Trion. The display was showing the last known dispositions of the Human and Carethian forces around Careth.

“In our last attack, we managed to destroy many of their warships and took out a large number of their defensive satellites,” Versith commented as he gazed thoughtfully at the screen. In some areas, the defensive satellites were almost gone.

“If not for the suicide attack by the small Carethian ships we would have won the battle,” Trion added. “They died with honor defending their world. Both the Carethians and the Humans are worthy adversaries.”

“Too worthy,” replied Versith, turning away from the screen. “I still believe that if we had combined our forces instead of splitting them, we could have eliminated the Human ships and destroyed the orbiting space station.”

“War Leader Osbith did manage to destroy three Carethian cities before his fleet was lost,” pointed out Trion, recalling the nuclear detonations that had been detected on the planet. “He died with honor.”

“Perhaps,” Versith said in his rasping voice. “But his foolishness in not taking the small ships as a serious danger cost him his life as well as that of his fleet. While he might have found honor in death, we can’t lose valuable warships due to faulty tactics and strategy. The Humans will be sending a relief fleet shortly if it is not already on the way. We have only a few days at most to conquer Careth.”

“Commodore Krilen has requested additional reinforcements,” mentioned Trion in his harsh and cold voice.

“They won’t arrive in time,” replied Versith, shaking his head. “Once the Human relief fleet gets here we will be forced to withdraw.”

“Much has changed since the start of this war,” Trion spoke in a lower voice. Before the war with the Humans, no Hocklyn commander would have even considered withdrawing in the face of the enemy; it would have been an insult to their honor. But the Humans had changed all of that.

“I fear there will be even more changes ahead of us,” Versith responded, his cold dark eyes looking over the War Room. “I suspect this war is barely beginning and our Empire will be severely tested in the coming years.”

Trion only nodded and didn’t respond. He knew War Leader Versith was much wiser than he was and it concerned him that Versith felt this could be a long war. Trion had no idea how the Empire would react to such a concept.

-

Jeremy was in the space station meeting with Grayseth and Rear Admiral Marks. He had already briefly described to them the battle in the K-774 system.

“What next?” Susan asked as she folded her arms across her breasts. “Our flight wings have been devastated and I’ve consolidated our remaining fighters and bombers on the Cygnus and Retribution. Major Thurman is currently organizing our surviving squadrons into strike groups. Some of the squadrons are made up of pilots from a dozen different ships.”

“The same for us, I’m afraid,” Grayseth added in a more subdued voice than normal. “We have three squadrons of fighters remaining plus one bomber squadron.”

“When the Hocklyns attack again I’m sure they'll come after our remaining fleet units,” Jeremy replied with a heavy sigh, knowing they were in trouble. “We will position our ships around the space station and make our last stand here. Perhaps if we can take enough of them out, the remaining defense satellites and battle stations can stop the rest of their ships.”

“A big if,” spoke Susan, arching her eyebrows. “But I don’t see any other choice.”

“Arm our remaining bombers with nuclear tipped Shrike missiles,” Jeremy ordered. “We will hold them back until the very last and send them in with our remaining fighters.”

“We’re bringing the last defensive satellites we had in reserve up from Careth,” Grayseth added. “We can restore most of the defense grid and we are repositioning the remaining destroyers and battle stations to help better protect it.”

“What were the casualties on the planet from the three nuclear strikes?”

“Over four million,” Grayseth spoke, his eyes looking grim. “It would have been more but much of the population of the three cities had already been partially evacuated.” Grayseth had gone down to the planet and personally inspected the damage. In all three devastated cities, fires still burned and smoke was heavy in the air. Precautions were being taken to control the spread of any lingering radiation.

Susan closed her eyes and then opening them, looked directly at Jeremy. “We’re not making it out of this alive are we?”

Jeremy looked over at Grayseth and then back over at Susan and slowly shook his head. He was afraid that if Admiral Streth were coming it would be too late to save Careth’s Human defenders or the Carethians. When he finally made it all he would find were shattered wrecks in orbit and a decimated planet.

-

Later, Jeremy made his way to the two ship repair bays. Stepping inside the first large bay, he gazed at the strikecruiser Orion and the massive damage the cruiser had suffered. Huge, jagged holes covered one side of it and smoke was still coming out of a few of them. He knew all the internal fires had been brought under control. It was obvious that some of the damage had been caused by AI energy beams and other damage from internal explosions.

“We’ll be ready,” a voice spoke determinedly from behind Jeremy.

Turning, he saw Major Kawaskii the executive officer of the Orion. “The Orion took quite a beating,” Jeremy commented.

“But we drove off the AIs,” Kawaskii spoke with fire in his eyes. “We made them pay!”

“How soon before the Orion is repaired sufficiently to go back into combat?”

“Tomorrow,” Kawaskii replied with determination in his voice. “The repair bay foreman is going to slap patches over the holes in the hull and we’re sealing off the most damaged areas. It won’t look pretty, but the ship will be space worthy. In twenty-four hours, we can be back at seventy percent combat efficiency.”

“I want the Orion to stay in the repair bay until the last minute,” ordered Jeremy, knowing Kawaskii wanted his ship ready to face the Hocklyns. “From the moment they jump out of system K-774 plus the time they will need to enter Careth’s gravity well to attack us, we should have over forty minutes warning. That should give you plenty of time to get out of the bay and into formation with the rest of the fleet.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Kawaskii replied. “We’ll be ready, you can count on that!”

Looking back at the Orion, Jeremy could see the bright flashes of welders. There were numerous people, both bears and Humans, working on the ship. He knew it would be the same in the Vega’s repair bay. He was proud of his people; they had all volunteered to stay and fight in the Carethian system to help defend the bears from the AIs and the Hocklyns. He just hoped and prayed that some miracle would allow them to survive.

-

Aboard the Avenger, Katie had woken up and was asking questions about what had happened. “You say the crystal is slightly burned on one end?”

“Yes,” Kelsey replied, her deep blue eyes showing concern. “Colonel Malen put the crystal in the secure safe in Jeremy’s office.”

“It was an attack,” Katie spoke after a moment, her light green eyes looking angry. “It was a virus the AIs attempted to insert into the Avenger’s systems through Communications. When Angela realized what was happening she attempted to shut the panel down, but the virus already had control of it and shorted it out.”

“Why?” asked Kevin, looking confused. “It almost sounds as if they knew Ariel was on the Avenger.”

“They did,” Katie replied in a soft voice, trying to keep her growing worry for Ariel out of her voice. “They must have deduced from the actions of our ship that we had an AI in control at times. I think this virus was designed specifically to destroy Ariel.”

Kelsey hesitated for a moment and then asked the question she had been dreading. “Did it?”

“I don’t know,” Katie replied with tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I installed some firewalls to protect Ariel even though she didn’t think they were necessary. The firewalls managed to slow the virus down, giving me just enough time to pull Ariel’s crystal. I won’t know how bad it’s been damaged until I can inspect it. Ariel can’t be gone, she just can’t be!”

Kevin sat down on the bed and took Katie’s bandaged hand. “The crystal didn’t look that badly damaged,” spoke Kevin, soothingly. “I’m sure you can repair it and have Ariel up and running shortly.”

“I want to see the crystal!” Katie said in a determined voice. “I want to see how badly damaged it is.”

Kevin looked over at Kelsey, who let out a deep sigh.

“Katie, it will be several days before you’re ready to go back to work,” Kelsey informed her, knowing that Katie was deeply upset about Ariel. They all were. Ariel had been a part of their lives from the very beginning.

“Please,” Katie begged, her light green eyes taking on a pleading look. “I was Ariel’s first real friend. She is like a sister to me. I have to know. I can’t go back to sleep without knowing.”

“All right,” Kelsey said after a moment, looking over at Kevin who nodded. “I’ll have to call Colonel Malen since she's the only one besides Jeremy that has access to the safe.”

“Thanks,” Katie said gratefully as she watched Kelsey leave to contact the colonel. Then she turned her head toward Kevin. “How’s Angela?”

“She came through her surgery just fine,” Kevin replied. “The doctors say it will take her four to six weeks to fully recover.”

“Has anyone contacted her marine captain?”

“Yes,” responded Kevin, nodding his head. “I let him know earlier; he was even here during the surgery. He seems like a very nice guy.”

“I’m glad,” Katie replied with a slight smile. “Angela needed someone special in her life.” Then, squeezing Kevin’s hand, she added. “We all do.”

A few minutes later, Colonel Malen entered the med bay and walked over to Katie’s bed. She was carrying a small case and upon reaching Katie, set it down next to her. “The crystal is inside.”

Kevin opened the case for Katie since her hands were heavily bandaged. Katie gazed worriedly down upon the large green crystal inside. A good quarter of the crystal was a dark, almost gray color. Her face turned pale upon seeing the change in color.

“This isn’t good,” she said after a moment. “Kevin, can you pick up the crystal and turn it so I can see if there are any fractures in it anywhere?”

Kevin carefully picked up the crystal and turned it slowly as Katie inspected it. All of them were quiet as Katie examined the crystal.

“I don’t think it’s too badly damaged,” she said after a moment, indicating that Kevin could put the crystal back in the case. “As long as there are no fractures running through the crystal I should be able to restore Ariel back to how she was.”

“I will return the crystal to the safe,” Colonel Malen spoke as she picked the case back up. “I’m sure the admiral will be pleased to learn that Ariel will be okay. He was extremely concerned about Ariel as well as you and Lieutenant DeSota.”

Katie nodded as the colonel left the med bay. “If not for those firewalls, I don’t think Ariel would have made it.”

“What about Clarissa?” Kelsey asked suddenly as she realized that the other friendly AI might have faced the same type of attack. “What if the AIs attacked her as well?”

Katie’s face turned pale as she thought about what Kelsey had just said. “I don’t know. She wasn’t protected by the same firewalls that Ariel was. I suggested to the computer tech on the StarStrike that he install the same firewalls that I did, but I don’t know if he ever did it. When I spoke to him last he didn’t seem to feel they were necessary.”

“I’m sure he did,” spoke Kevin, squeezing Katie’s hand reassuringly. “When the StarStrike arrives I am sure that Clarissa will be fine.”

Katie nodded, but a troubled feeling in the back of her mind told her it might not be so. How would Ariel react if something had happened to the other AI?

“Come on, Kevin,” Kelsey said. “We need to let Katie get some rest. We all need to.”

Katie watched them leave and closed her eyes. She tried to sleep, but she kept seeing a shattered green crystal that couldn’t be repaired. She knew that if the AIs had attacked Clarissa in the same way they had Ariel, there was a good chance the other AI had not survived.

Chapter Eight

High Leader Nartel gazed stoically at the capital city from the high balcony of his office. In his hand, he held the latest message from Commodore Krilen. In frustration, he crumpled the message and threw it from the balcony, watching it blow away in the wind before turning and walking back inside.

“Commodore Krilen needs to be removed from command,” commented High Councilor Berken, crossing his powerful arms over the chest plate of his ceremonial battle armor. “He has erred seriously in his attack upon the planet Careth and I have serious doubts if he can take the planet, particularly since the AIs have withdrawn.”

Nartel nodded in agreement. An AI ship had intercepted Commodore Krilen’s report of the latest battle and relayed it on to Calzen. “War Leader Versith needs to be promoted and put in command of the fleet. He should have been promoted to Fleet Commodore status long ago.”

“Commodore Krilen will view that as a serious loss of honor,” Berken spoke. “But his actions of late indicate that he might deserve a lesser status.”

“War Leader Osbith was killed in their last attack upon Careth,” Nartel pointed out. “From the reports I received earlier from Fleet Commodore Resmunt, he was an inept War Leader. He is distantly related to High Councilor Ruthan.”

“I’m not surprised,” Berken responded, his cold eyes gazing unblinkingly at Nartel. “From what I have heard, War Leader Osbith was more of a political appointment than a good leader.”

“It was Ruthan that made sure he was included in the attack fleet,” Nartel replied. “If we are to defeat these Humans we must place our best War Leaders in command of our fleets. In the past, we have allowed politics to deem who commands. Our honor system was allowed to greatly influence our choices to ensure that certain families grew in both honor and prestige. We can no longer afford to follow that policy. Our fleet leaders must be chosen based on their skills and abilities in combat if we want to stop the Humans.”

“Then are you going to replace Commodore Krilen with War Leader Versith?” asked Berken, tilting his head slightly. “Versith has refused higher commands in the past.”

“But we weren’t fighting the Humans then,” Nartel pointed out in a cold voice. “I’m sure this time he will accept the promotion.”

High Leader Nartel looked over at the large map on his office wall, which showed the sections of the galaxy the Hocklyn Empire held under its control. It was many thousands of light years to Careth and even farther to the Human home worlds. This was a war that would take fleets weeks to reach their targets and days for the reports of the success or failure of battles to reach the High Council. They had to have dependable leaders in such circumstances.

“What of the AIs?” Berken asked in his rasping voice. “What have they to say since their defeat by the Humans?”

“Fleet Commodore Resmunt has sent us a full report on the aliens that appeared at the Human world. It was their ships that destroyed so many of the AIs,” Nartel replied as his cold dark eyes focused on Berken. “An AI ship will be here in a few more days to discuss the future of the war with the Humans and these new aliens.”

“Will they give us the new weapons we have asked for?”

“I believe so,” Nartel replied with a nod. “We have reports from across our Empire that every known AI ship is on its way back to AI controlled space.”

“Why?” Berken asked with growing concern. “Are they fleeing back to the galactic center and leaving us to face the Humans and these new aliens alone?”

“I don’t believe so,” Nartel replied. “I think they are calling their ships back to equip them with new and more powerful weapons.”

“What if you're wrong and the AIs abandon us?”

“Not to worry,” Nartel replied in his rasping voice. “I have already made other arrangements to ensure that the Humans are defeated and the new aliens driven back to their worlds. In the end, the Hocklyn Empire will prevail.”

-

Jeremy gazed with growing concern at the tactical display. For the last twelve hours, Hocklyn escort cruisers had been jumping into the system, taking scans of the space around Careth, and then jumping back to system K-774.

“They’re preparing to attack,” Colonel Malen spoke as she studied the display. “Each escort cruiser stays longer than the last.”

There was no doubt in Jeremy’s mind that Colonel Malen was correct. He gazed worriedly at the green icons spread out protectively around the space station. He had three battlecruisers, nine battlecarriers, four strikecruisers, eleven Monarch cruisers, and twenty light cruisers remaining from Fourth Fleet and Ceres fleet. It was still a respectable force but not powerful enough considering what they would soon be facing. He also had one hundred and twenty-eight of the small Carethian warships to add to his fleet formation as well.

He had tried to transfer Katie and Angela to the space station where they would be safer, but both had refused. Katie was resting in her quarters and Angela was still in the med bay. He'd have felt better if the two had gone to the space station. With its powerful weapons and energy shield, it had the best chance of surviving the coming battle.

Kevin came over to stand next to Jeremy and spoke in a concerned voice. “They will be coming soon.”

“At least we have no AIs to deal with,” Jeremy responded with a weak smile.

He was surprised that the Hocklyns were preparing to attack so quickly. Their fleet had been heavily damaged in the last battle over Careth, and they were bound to still have a lot of battle damage to repair. He’d hoped by attacking the AIs he could buy them at least a week or two. It now looked as if that wasn't going to happen.

“It’s hard to believe it’s all going to end here,” Kevin uttered in a low voice, his eyes meeting Jeremy’s. “Do you think we have a chance to defeat their fleet?”

“A small one,” replied Jeremy, trying his best to sound calm. “We still have some Devastator Threes left and a reasonably sized fleet. It'll all depend on how many ships the Hocklyns are willing to lose to take Careth.”

On the front wall of the Avenger, one of the main screens was focused on the space station and the other on Careth itself. Jeremy knew that Grayseth had evacuated all the female Carethians serving on the space station down to the underground cities. Grayseth had even suggested sending Kelsey, Angela, and Katie down to one of the secret cities as well, but the girls had steadfastly refused. Gazing at the blue and green planet on the other viewscreen Jeremy wished there was some way he could assure its safety. The Carethians were a good and honorable race and didn’t deserve to suffer the same fate as the old Human Federation of Worlds.

“Hocklyn fleet is maneuvering,” Colonel Malen spoke suddenly from where she was watching the tactical display. “They're preparing to jump!”

“Order the Orion and the Vega to exit the repair bays,” Jeremy said. He would need all of his ships for this battle. Looking around the Command Center, it felt strange for Ariel not to be standing at his side. He had come to count on her for advice during the battles.

“It’s been good serving with you, Jeremy,” Kevin said, reaching out and putting his hand upon Jeremy’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend.”

“Same here,” replied Jeremy, letting out a deep breath. “Let’s just hope we’re both here tomorrow.”

Kevin returned to his console just as a warning alarm sounded.

“More ships jumping into system K-774,” he reported as numerous red threat icons began appearing close to the Hocklyn fleet. The data was being sent from the two stealth scouts hiding in the system.

“They called for reinforcements,” Colonel Malen spoke in dismay, knowing they wouldn’t be able to defeat a larger Hocklyn force. Their odds of surviving the coming battle had just dropped to zero.

A ghostly silence held the Command Center as everyone’s eyes focused on the tactical display. As they watched with growing despair, more red icons continued to appear. Then, to their utter amazement, the icons began changing from red to green.

“Those are Federation ships!” Kevin yelled out in jubilation, his eyes growing wide in excitement. “It’s the relief fleet!”

The entire Command Center was frozen in silence as they stared in shock at the tactical display. They'd been ready to face death and now suddenly, everything had changed! As the realization of what this meant hit home, everyone began cheering and then clapping. Crewmembers stood up and slapped each other on the back, their faces lighting up with growing smiles. They weren’t going to die after all!

-

Aboard the StarStrike, Admiral Streth gazed determinedly at the surprised Hocklyn fleet in front of him. “All ships, attack! Focus on their dreadnoughts and warcruisers.” He could see that many of the Hocklyn warships were damaged.

Admiral Streth had the newly expanded and updated First Fleet under his command as well as a large fleet from Ceres commanded by Admiral Telleck. They also had twenty Alton battlecruisers. The fact that this Hocklyn fleet was here and not in the Careth system indicated that Fourth Fleet was still holding the system. Hedon breathed out a long sigh of relief. They'd made it back in time.

Instantly, from the advancing Federation fleets, power beams, Devastator Three missiles, and a few antimatter missiles were fired into the stunned Hocklyn fleet. Bright explosions began to light up space as shields were quickly pummeled and battered down. The antimatter missiles contained fifty-megaton warheads, and whenever two of those would strike a Hocklyn energy shield, it would fail immediately. In the opening salvo, forty Hocklyn ships died as they were torn apart by the massive amounts of energy being released.

-

Commodore Krilen gazed in shock at the tactical screen showing the newly arrived Human ships. The IronHand shook violently and the lights went out to come back on dimly. Alarms were sounding and the damage control console was covered with amber and red lights.

“FTL drive is down,” First Leader Angoth reported in a grave voice. “Honor comes for us today.”

The War Room was beginning to fill with smoke and several panels were on fire. Krilen could hear screams of pain and distant explosions, which were shaking the ship even more. He knew the IronHand was severely damaged.

“What hit us?” he demanded. He could hear panicked voices over the ship-to-ship com, and Hocklyn ships were just now beginning to return fire. War Leader Versith ordered all ships to concentrate their fire upon the Human warships and close their formation to allow for stronger defensive fire against the Human missiles.

“One of their hell missiles knocked down our energy screen. The sublight drive is down, energy beams are nonfunctioning,” Angoth continued as the reports of damage continued to flow in from various departments. “We don’t have sufficient power available to reenergize the screen.”

“Honor indeed comes for us,” Krilen spoke in acceptance, his eyes gazing fixedly at the main viewscreen showing the carnage going on around the IronHand.

He could see a warcruiser burning; several escort cruisers were in the last throes of death. A dreadnought exploded as its self-destructs blew it apart. Krilen knew his desire to advance in the Hocklyn Hierarchy were about to come to an abrupt end. A massive explosion suddenly shook the dreadnought and the last thing Krilen saw was a brilliant flash of light. Then his body was consumed by the antimatter explosion.

-

“Another dreadnought is down,” Colonel Grissom reported as a large red icon vanished from the tactical display. “Alton ships are entering engagement range and firing.”

“Continue to press the attack,” ordered Hedon, wanting to destroy as much of this Hocklyn fleet as possible.

“Light cruiser Justice is down,” Captain Reynolds reported as the friendly green icon of the light cruiser blinked out.

“Other ships are reporting only minor damage,” Colonel Trist informed Hedon as he listened to damage reports over his mini-com. “The new shields are holding.”

-

In space, energy beams flashed back and forth between the two opposing fleets. Violet power beams powered by the new Alton fusion reactors tore through Hocklyn energy screens. Orange-red pulse lasers flashed out, striking Hocklyn ships whose screens had failed. Devastator Three and antimatter missiles vaporized large sections of ships' hulls as they tore through the massed Hocklyn fleet. Blue energy beams from the Hocklyn ships flashed out at the Human ships to be dissipated harmlessly by the new, more powerful energy screens. Occasionally a Hocklyn nuke would detonate against an energy screen, causing the barest of flickers.

-

“IronHand is confirmed destroyed,” reported Fist Leader Trion, glancing at War Leader Versith. “We've identified twenty of the ships that attacked the AIs in the Human system with the attacking Human fleet.”

“We must withdraw,” Versith spoke as the Viden shook from an energy weapons strike to her shields. “All ships to jump to the fallback position in system K-633. Once there, we will reorganize the fleet and wait for orders from the High Council.”

Gazing at the tactical screen and the viewscreens, he couldn’t believe the amount of destruction being dealt out by the Human ships. For the first time, he felt actual fear for the Empire itself. It was obvious these Human ships had been updated and now possessed even more fearsome weapons than ever before.

Second Leader Jaseth was firing his weapons in growing frustration. So far in the battle only a few of the Humans' smaller warships had been destroyed. It was as if their energy screens had been greatly reinforced. Even as he watched, several nuclear missiles he'd launched struck a Human battlecruiser and all that happened was its screen glowed a little brighter. He snarled in anger, knowing his weapons were nearly useless.

In front of the Hocklyn ships, white spatial vortexes began to form. Ship after ship entered the vortexes, fleeing into the safety of hyperspace. Behind them, the slaughter continued with damaged Hocklyn warships being blasted into thousands of pieces as the Humans relentlessly pressed their advantage. Finally, it was over as the last Hocklyn escort cruiser vanished into a swirling spatial vortex, which instantly collapsed. Behind them, the fleeing Hocklyn fleet left nearly two hundred ships in ruins.

-

“Report!” barked Hedon, seeing the last Hocklyn ship vanish from the system.

“We lost three light cruisers and one Monarch cruiser,” Colonel Grissom responded. “We have several other ships with light to moderate damage.”

“Hocklyn losses?”

“Close to two hundred ships,” replied Grissom, feeling elated at the ease of their victory. She knew that the updated systems the Altons had helped to install were responsible.

“That’s a decisive victory,” Colonel Trist spoke with a growing smile. “I don’t think the Hocklyns will be returning anytime soon.”

“Admiral Telleck is on the com, Sir,” spoke Captain Duncan. “He wants to know what your orders are.” She knew that Hedon would want to jump to the Careth system immediately. He'd been dying for weeks to launch this rescue operation and he was impatient to see if Admiral Strong and Admiral Stillson had survived.

“We’re jumping to the Carethian system,” Hedon said with a pleased smile. “We have a certain admiral I promised to come back and save. Let’s go pay him a visit.” Hedon hoped that Jeremy had survived. From the battered look of some of the Hocklyn ships they'd just destroyed, he was pretty certain the talented young admiral was indeed still alive.

“Sir, we have two stealth scouts that have just jumped in close to the fleet,” Captain Reynolds reported.

“Captain Duncan, contact the scouts, let’s hear what they have to say.”

-

Jeremy had ordered the Avenger to dock with the space station and also requested that Rear Admiral Marks come over. The two stealth scouts in system K-774 had already made contact with Fleet Admiral Streth, and Jeremy had been greatly surprised to learn that Admiral Telleck had come along as well.

“Your people have come,” Grayseth spoke in his loud booming voice, his face covered in what the Carethians would call a grin. “The Hocklyns have fled and the AIs are gone. I have already spread the word to my people and there are celebrations spreading across the planet. It is a great day for Careth.”

“A great day indeed,” Jeremy replied with a big smile. They were in the Command Center and already new friendly green icons were showing up on the large tactical display as First Fleet and the new Ceres Fleet exited hyperspace just outside of Careth’s gravity well.

“Both fleets have exited hyperspace,” Colonel Millburn reported from his post at the station’s large sensor screens. “They are beginning to enter Careth’s gravity well.”

“The StarStrike will be docking shortly,” Daelthon, Grayseth’s second in command reported. “Admiral Telleck will be taking a shuttle to come over.”

“I have two live communications channels opening up with the Federation,” the communications officer reported in surprise as two green lights began blinking on his panel.

“Admiral Streth must have laid several sets of new communication buoys between us and the Federation,” Jeremy commented, pleased that they would soon have communications contact with Federation space once again.

“There are twenty ships of unknown configuration with the two fleets,” Colonel Millburn continued as he put one of them up on the screen.

Jeremy saw the new ships looked like giant dumbbells, measuring about 1,000 meters in length. “I don’t think those are Human ships,” Jeremy said slowly as he studied the ships on the screen. Were these new allies of the Federation?

“They resemble Albanian exploration cruisers, but larger,” Colonel Millburn responded. He'd been on several missions to Albanian space a few years back. “I don’t understand; the Albanians didn’t want to get involved in the war and they have no warships. They are pacifists.”

“I guess we'll find out shortly,” Jeremy responded. On one of the main viewscreens, the StarStrike now filled the entire screen. It felt good to see the powerful battleship once more in Carethian space.

-

Two hours later, Fleet Admiral Streth, Admiral Telleck, Rear Admiral Strong, Rear Admiral Marks, and Grayseth were all seated in one of the station’s conference rooms.

“I am glad you made it, Admiral Strong,” began Hedon, feeling relieved that Jeremy and Careth had survived. “Where is Admiral Stillson?”

“He was killed in one of the attacks,” responded Jeremy, sorrowfully. “He was instrumental in helping to set up the planet’s defenses and the station. We couldn’t have survived without his efforts.”

“I knew Admiral Stillson since he attended the academy,” spoke Admiral Telleck, sadly. “We've been friends for many years. He was a good man.”

“He was a brave warrior,” Grayseth added. “He will be remembered by my people as a great hunter.”

“So what happened here at Careth?” Hedon asked, anxious to hear how Jeremy and his fleet had managed to survive. He'd greatly feared he would find the Hocklyns and AIs in control of Careth, considering the amount of time he had been forced to wait before launching the relief fleets.

For the next hour, Jeremy explained in detail what happened and the different battles fought above the planet. Occasionally, Admiral Streth or Admiral Telleck would stop him and ask some detailed questions.

“I am saddened to hear about Ariel,” Hedon said after he'd finished hearing Jeremy and Admiral Marks explain how they had defended Careth. “Clarissa was also attacked and her memory crystal severely damaged. We brought it with us for Lieutenant Johnson to examine.”

“Clarissa, too!” cried Jeremy in anguish, knowing how hard this would affect Katie. He'd known from the time that Ariel had been attacked that Clarissa also might have suffered the same fate. It was hard to imagine that they might have lost both of the valuable and friendly AIs.

“We'll make everything we have available to Lieutenant Johnson in order to restore the two AIs,” Hedon assured Jeremy. “They're a very big part of Federation history and we'll do everything in our power to bring them back.”

“Thank you, Sir,” responded Jeremy, gratefully. “But what happened at New Tellus and what are those new ships that came with you? Colonel Millburn thinks they’re Albanian.”

Hedon smiled. “They are Albanian, or to put it in more real terms, it seems that the Albanians are the direct descendants of the ancient Altons.”

“I don’t understand,” said Jeremy, feeling confused. “I thought the Altons were all dead.”

“It’s a long story,” Hedon replied and began to explain in detail what had happened at New Tellus and the role the Altons had played in saving the Federation.

“In the end, we finished updating our ships and set back out to discover what happened at Careth,” Hedon said. “Imagine our surprise to discover that you had survived. I've already sent word back to Federation space and a large supply fleet will be sent shortly. We laid two new lines of FTL communications buoys between Careth and the Federation. They are of Alton design and a message to the Federation will only take eight hours to get there. With luck, the supply fleet will be arriving in ten to twelve days.”

“What are your plans, Sir?” asked Jeremy, realizing how much the war had changed with the advent of the Altons. He felt sure the Fleet Admiral wouldn’t be satisfied with just saving Careth. Admiral Streth now had the ships and the weapons to take the war to the Hocklyns.

“We’re going to heavily fortify Careth and make it our main base of operations, if the Carethians agree,” began Hedon, looking over at Grayseth.

“My people will support yours fully in this war against the evil ones,” Grayseth promised. “We will do whatever is necessary to bring about their end. We would also like to construct an additional shipyard to begin building larger warships so our people can join yours in the hunt of the evil ones.”

Hedon nodded. He was not surprised by Grayseth’s response. The bears were an honorable people with rich traditions. “We'll build up the defenses and once we’re satisfied that Careth is impregnable to attack, we will move to free the planets of the original Human Federation of Worlds. From there, we will be in range to attack the Hocklyn’s home systems. Hedon knew it would take time to accomplish all of this. But there was no doubt in his mind that sometime in the next few years he would stand on the shore of that lake on Maken where his brother and Lendle had built their cabin so many years ago.

“What of my own fleet?” Jeremy asked. He knew his people needed some rest.

“Once we’re satisfied all of your ships have been repaired, you’re going to return to the Federation for a well deserved rest. After a few months, you will be returning at the head of a new and much larger Fourth Fleet.”

“Then we’re going home,” said Rear Admiral Marks, with a pleased smile. She reached up on her shoulders and removed the rear admiral insignia from her shoulders, sliding them across the table toward Fleet Admiral Streth. “I know that I was only promoted due to the circumstances,” Susan spoke. “Admiral Strong needed someone to help in command and I was pleased to be able to do so.”

Hedon picked up the two insignias and gazed at them thoughtfully. Then, placing them back down on the table, he slid them back across toward Susan. “Rear Admiral Marks, I intend to make your promotion permanent. Admiral Strong made a wise decision in your field promotion and you deserve to keep it. Admiral Strong will need a good commander of the carrier force that will be a part his new Fourth Fleet, and I can think of no better officer to command it than you.”

Susan didn’t know what to say as she picked up the insignia and gazed at the gold stars. She had never expected to get to stay an admiral. “I will make you proud, Sir,” she promised.

“I know you will,” Hedon responded with a friendly smile. Then, looking around at the others, he continued, “You did a great job defending Careth. From here, we will begin the real war of defeating the AIs and the Hocklyn Slave Empire.”

Grayseth stood and looked gravely at the others. “We will hunt together,” he spoke in a solemn voice.

“We will hunt together,” the others repeated. They all knew that today marked a new phase in the war with the Hocklyns and the AIs.

Chapter Nine

Katie was in her computer lab on the Avenger along with Kevin and Kelsey. On the worktable in front of her were two large green crystals. Both showed burn marks and one had several small fractures in it. There were tears in Katie’s eyes as she ran her right hand softly over the crystals.

“I’m frightened,” she said, letting out a long sigh. “Both crystals are damaged. Ariel’s only slightly, but Clarisse’s is bad. The fractures might have caused a loss of some of the data stored in the crystal. If I restore her, she might not be the Clarissa we all knew.”

“Is there anything you can do to recover the lost data?” asked Kelsey, knowing Ariel would be devastated if anything happened to Clarissa.

“I need to take the crystal back to Ceres. The computer labs there offer the best chance for restoring her; even then it’s going to be a long shot.”

“What about Ariel?” asked Kevin, coming over to stand next to Katie. “When can you bring her back? The ship’s not the same without her.”

“Right now,” Katie answered as she picked up Ariel’s green memory crystal and placed it in a slot on a console next to her worktable. Getting up, she walked over to a small safe and after inputting the combination, opened it and reaching in, pulled out a new green memory crystal. “I kept a few blank crystals in case they were ever needed.”

Kati brought the crystal back over to the console and placed it in the empty slot next to the damaged one. Then, taking a deep breath, she activated the console and began touching icons on the small computer screen. After a moment, she was satisfied that everything was ready. “Here goes.” She pressed several buttons on the console.

Both crystals began to glow, and on the computer screen a green status bar began moving to show the memory transfer. For several minutes, it moved steadily and then, at eighty-two percent, it slowed and came to a stop.

“Why did it stop?” asked Kevin, turning his concerned eyes toward Katie.

“I don’t know,” she responded, looking worried. “It shouldn’t have.”

Katie’s fingers ran over her keyboard as she called up more data on the crystal. After a moment, she let out a heavy disappointed sigh. “The crystal is more damaged than I'd thought. There are several hairline fractures in its structure. The rest of the stored data is irretrievable.”

“Then Ariel is gone,” Kelsey said, her eyes widening at the thought of losing their friend.

“I don’t know,” Katie responded as she pressed a green button on her console.

Instantly Ariel materialized out of the air in front of them as the holographic imagers were activated. She looked normal, though her breasts seemed smaller and her hips slimmer. Her dark hair lay upon her shoulders with a slight curl and her dark eyes gazed at them in confusion.

“Something is not right,” she said in a partially stilted and slurred voice.

Katie, Kelsey, and Kevin looked at each other in despair. The voice had been absent of any trace of emotion. This was not the Ariel they all knew and loved.

Ariel’s eyes took on that faraway look that she had so often when she was in deep thought. Then, in her slurred voice, she spoke. “Katie, I need to access the Avenger’s main computer core.”

Katie flinched at hearing the stilted and slurred voice. She felt like crying. “Why the core?” she asked. This was a strange request.

“I have a command that is instructing me to activate a program in the core. There seems to be gaps in my memory.”

Katie looked confused. She had not placed any such command in Ariel’s program or memory nor was there anything in the core that she was aware of that could be of any use.

“Do it,” Kelsey said as she gazed critically at Ariel’s hologram. It reminded her of how Ariel had first looked when she had been given a holographic body to begin with. “There has to be a reason for that command to be in Ariel’s memory.”

“I hope I don’t get in trouble for this,” Katie spoke as she inputted more commands on her console. “Link to the main computer core has been established.” She hoped she wasn’t endangering the Avenger.

All eyes turned toward Ariel. Her hologram seemed to flicker and then solidify again. Even as they watched, her breasts grew slightly larger and her hips flared back out. Her hair shortened slightly and in just a few seconds, she was looking like the Ariel they were all familiar with.

“There, that was easy,” said Ariel with a big grin, looking at her three astonished friends. “You didn’t think I was going to risk dying if that green crystal was destroyed, did you?”

“Ariel, it’s you!” screamed Katie, her eyes lighting up with joy. “How?”

“When we go into battle, I always copied all of the contents of the memory crystal and loaded it into the Avenger’s main computer core as a precaution. The crystal itself contains my main matrix, but there was always a chance that it could be damaged. After you insisted on installing all of those firewalls, it got me to thinking about what I could do to survive in case the crystal was ever damaged. I have now restored the new crystal to an exact duplicate of the original crystal. So, where are Jeremy and Angela?”

All three looked at Ariel in astonishment. She wasn’t gone after all!

“Jeremy’s in the Command Center and Angela is still in the med bay. She was severely injured when we attacked the AIs,” Kelsey explained pleased to have Ariel back.

“Yes, I see,” Ariel replied as she accessed the Avenger’s computer files and replayed the battle and what had occurred afterward. Then her eyes turned with concern toward the remaining crystal lying upon Katie’s worktable. “Clarissa,” she spoke in a sad and forlorn voice.

“Yes,” Katie replied her shoulders drooping. “She was attacked in the same manner as you.”

Ariel walked over to the table and gazed down at the damaged crystal. “It has several fractures in it. Much of her memory will have been lost.”

“We'll do everything we can to restore her,” promised Katie, passionately.

“I’ll help,” spoke Ariel, crossing her arms over her breasts and looking at Katie. “I don’t want to be the only Federation AI. When can my crystal be reinstalled in the Command Center?” Ariel knew that the control console in the Command Center was the one that gave her access to all the ship’s systems as well as the other holographic emitters that had been installed in different sections of the ship.

“I want to run a few more tests first,” answered Katie, as she sat back down in front of her computer console and began running additional diagnostics on the new crystal. “Once I’m satisfied you’re one hundred percent back to normal, I will take your crystal back to the Command Center and install it in the control console.”

“Everything’s fine,” huffed Ariel, walking over to Katie and peering over her shoulder at the computer screen.

Kevin and Kelsey laughed. Ariel sure sounded and was acting like her old self. They couldn’t wait to tell Jeremy that the AI was back to normal and would soon be standing at his side in the Command Center.

-

“What’s the current status on fleet repairs?” Jeremy asked as he leaned back in his command chair. It was nice not to have to worry about an impending attack. None of the FTL detection buoys within twenty light years of Careth had detected an unauthorized FTL jump since the Hocklyns had fled from system K-774. It had been eight days since Admiral Streth and Admiral Telleck had arrived in the Careth star system and everything was still quiet.

“The Vega and Orion will be out of the repair bays tomorrow,” Colonel Malen reported. “Their armor has been repaired and all primary and secondary systems are back online. There is still a lot of cosmetic work that needs to be done on the inside, but they are one hundred percent combat ready. “We have one battlecarrier that needs repairs as well as two Monarchs, then we should be ready to return to Federation space. Estimates are that all repairs will be completed within four more days.”

Jeremy nodded; that would work out just about right. He didn’t want to leave until the supply fleet arrived. From speaking with Fleet Admiral Streth, Jeremy knew the supply fleet would be a large one and that more fleet units would be accompanying it. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of Careth while they were gone. With any kind of luck, Fourth Fleet would be fully updated and would be back in Carethian space within six months and ready to renew combat operations against the Hocklyns and the AIs.

-

Admiral Streth was in the gym on the StarStrike taking his daily run. Captain Duncan was running at his side, which had become a habit for the two of them over the months.

“What's next, Hedon?” she asked in between breaths. They had taken to using their first names when they were off duty and no one else was around.

“We fortify Careth until we are satisfied the Hocklyns and the AIs can’t retake it. I've spoken to Admiral Cleeteus and he has agreed to post five of his ships permanently in the Carethian system.”

“That leaves us fifteen Alton battlecruisers,” responded Janice, wondering what Hedon’s plans were. She had a strong feeling they involved the old Human Federation of Worlds.

“Admiral Sheen’s new battleship will be completed in a few more months. Once we have Second Fleet and Fourth Fleet back here at Careth, I intend to launch an all out attack against the Hocklyn Slave Empire.”

Janice nodded. That didn’t surprise her. “What about between now and then?”

“A number of the newer, long-range stealth scouts are being delivered by the supply fleet. I'll be sending them out to search for any nearby Hocklyn bases. We'll begin hit and run raids as soon as the defenses here at Careth are finished. I want to keep all the Hocklyn forces in our immediate sector off balance, particularly with our new weapons advantage.”

“How soon before I get to see Maken?” Janice asked in a softer voice as they slowed down to a walk.

Hedon stopped and gazed at her, looking deep into her hazel colored eyes. “Within the year,” he promised with determination in his voice. “The Hocklyns have had control of our worlds for far too long and those days are numbered. By the end of the year, I will show you the lake on Maken where I used to spend time with my brother and his wife.”

“I'd like that,” Janice answered with a knowing smile. She knew Hedon had been driven from the very beginning to return to his old home world someday. There was no doubt in her mind that he would succeed.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt gazed in frustration at First Leader Ganth. “The fools!” he oathed. “They don’t understand the threat they are up against. I just spoke to the commander of the main shipyard and he refuses to dedicate any of his construction facilities to building defensive satellites.”

“What about arming the shipyards?” Ganth asked, his cold, dark eyes focusing on the Fleet Commodore. “They currently only have a few defensive weapons and virtually no offensive weapons.”

“They are convinced their fleet units can protect them,” Resmunt spat. “They don’t want to devote resources to projects they feel are unnecessary.”

“So what are they doing?”

“The High Council has ordered all the shipyards across the Empire to begin updating our warships,” Resmunt responded. “Bases are sending their fleets in to be equipped with the newest weapons and energy shields. High Leader Nartel has just sent a message informing me that an AI ship will be arriving here shortly delivering some sublight antimatter missiles for us to use against the Humans. It will be necessary to modify some of our missile tubes to handle the new weapons.”

Fist Leader Ganth was silent for a moment as he thought over that piece of information, and then he spoke. “Will we be taught how to build these new missiles, or will we be dependent upon the AIs to deliver them?”

“The AIs will deliver them,” replied Resmunt, unhappily. “That means we will have to be cautious in their use and only place them on board our dreadnoughts and perhaps a few of the warcruisers.”

“I've heard rumors that the High Leader has begun our own weapons' research program,” Ganth added as he gazed across the War Room at the main viewscreen, which showed the nearby shipyard. It was massive, containing forty construction and repair bays.

“You heard correctly,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt replied. “It's about time we began conducting our own research. The new aliens that have sided with the Humans have frightened the AIs. It's as if they'd seen a ghost the way they turned and fled from the Human system we were attacking.”

“They fled without honor,” spoke Ganth, shaking his head. “They left us to die under the weapons of the Humans and these strange new aliens. Their fleet didn’t come to the rendezvous coordinates nor did they make further contact with us.”

“The AIs have no honor,” replied Resmunt, angrily. “All they care about is their Empire and that mysterious project they are rumored to be working on at the galaxy’s center.”

“I have often wondered what will happen when the day comes the AIs no longer need us.”

“I suspect they will turn and destroy us as we have so many of their lesser enemies,” replied Resmunt, prophetically. “But we now know their warships are not as invincible as they once seemed; the Humans and the new aliens have demonstrated that. Perhaps when this war is over, we will possess weapons that will give the AIs pause if they ever feel they no longer need us.”

“I have also heard that Commodore Krilen has died in his battle to conquer and destroy the Humans at Careth,” Ganth stated. He'd always felt that Krilen was rash and should not have been promoted to that exalted position.

“Yes, the Humans and their alien allies appeared and attacked his fleet, destroying close to two hundred ships before War Leader Versith managed to withdraw. High Leader Nartel has offered Versith a promotion to the rank of Fleet Commodore if he will take over command of what remains of Krilen’s fleets.”

“Will he do it?” Ganth asked his eyes widening at the thought. “War Leader Versith has refused promotions in the past.”

“I think he will accept this time,” Resmunt replied. He knew Versith would make an excellent leader and a worthy opponent to the Humans. “War Leader Versith has been directed to bring his remaining ships here to be updated. I am looking forward to discussing and hearing his thoughts on this war.”

“Versith is an honorable War Leader,” First Leader Ganth responded. He'd served under Versith years in the past.

“We will need more like him if we are to win this conflict,” Resmunt responded.

One thing he had learned in his months of fighting the Humans was that victory was no longer a sure thing. He greatly feared that the Empire was facing a threat that could actually destroy it. He was also deeply concerned that the High Council still didn’t seem to understand exactly what the Empire was up against.

-

Jeremy watched with interest as the supply fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Dozens of swirling blue-white spatial vortexes were forming and ships were appearing. There were thirty large supply ships, including some of the newer type being built at New Tellus. In addition, there were eight battlecarriers, all with type two battle stations attached to their hulls. Jeremy knew that as soon as the battlecarriers released the stations and unloaded a number of their fighters and bombers, six of them would be returning immediately to the Federation. The other two would be staying until the supply fleet was unloaded and ready to return back to Federation space.

“Thirty-two of the type two battle stations,” Colonel Malen commented, impressed by the sight of the large carriers starting to move into Careth’s gravity well. “They will go a long way toward securing Careth from attack by the AIs.”

“There are also four fleet repair ships that have returned,” Jeremy added as he watched the approaching ships on the main viewscreens. “From what Admiral Streth has said, two of the repair ships have been reconfigured to produce additional fighters and bombers for either Human or Carethian pilots.”

“When will we be departing?” asked Malen, curiously. She knew that the final essential repairs to Fourth Fleet had been completed and they could depart at any time. She was also anxious to get back home to Earth to see her parents.

“The six returning battlecarriers will be going back with us,” Jeremy answered as he turned and gazed at Ariel’s computer console behind him.

It had been completely repaired and he knew that Katie was currently in her lab running diagnostics on the AI. He hoped everything turned out okay. He also wondered how Ariel would respond if Clarissa could not be brought back. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned back toward the viewscreens.

“We should be able to leave early in the morning.”

Colonel Malen nodded. It would be good to return to Federation space and take some leave time. She knew the crews of all the ships needed it.

Jeremy heard the hatch to the Command Center open and looking over saw Katie and Kelsey come in. Katie was holding a large green crystal in her hand with a big smile on her face. “Guess who's back?” she said as she walked over to Ariel’s computer console, opened the panel, and bending over, inserted the crystal into its slot. Closing the console back up, she stood up and activated it.

Instantly, Ariel materialized in her normal spot right next to Jeremy. “Hi,” she said in her girlish voice with a big grin on her face. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked at Jeremy and asked. “Did you miss me?”

The entire Command Center erupted in cheers and excited voices at seeing Ariel back on duty. To most of the crew she wasn’t just an AI, she was their friend.

Jeremy stood up and smiled at Ariel. “If I could, I would hug you. I really missed you. It’s great to have you back, Ariel.”

“I’m glad to be back,” responded Ariel, looking around at the smiling crew. Then she began accessing the ship’s systems. “Let’s see what you have done to my ship while I was away.”

Katie stood nearby watching, seeing the warmth in Jeremy’s smile. She knew that Ariel was very important to him; she was to all of the Special Five. Sitting down at the main computer console, she began thinking about what to do about Clarissa’s damaged crystal. It was going to pose a major problem to restore it back to its original state. Katie wasn’t even sure if it could be done. Glancing over at Ariel, who was talking animatedly with Jeremy, she knew one thing. She would do everything possible to restore Ariel’s friend.

Kelsey walked over to her Navigation console and sat down. The Command Center felt more normal with Ariel back. It was amazing the difference in the attitude of the crew upon realizing that the AI was back on duty.

-

It was early the next morning and Hedon had just finished talking to Admiral Strong. Fourth Fleet was preparing to depart and would soon be on its way home.

“I will miss Admiral Strong,” spoke Grayseth with a sad look in his large brown eyes. “He is a great hunter and a true friend.”

Hedon nodded. They were in the Command Center of the space station. “He will be returning,” Hedon promised. “Once his fleet has been updated he will be coming back to join us in this war.”

“I am pleased to see that your ships have brought us more fighters and bombers for my pilots. We had few left after the recent battles with the evil ones.”

“Two hundred fighters and one hundred bombers,” Hedon responded. He knew that many pilots both Human and Carethian had been recovered after they ejected during the battles. He also knew that Grayseth was already bringing more Carethians up from Careth to go through flight training. “We also brought enough new defense satellites and missile platforms to replace those lost in the battles.”

“This will be a great and long war,” Grayseth spoke in his powerful voice, turning to look at Admiral Streth. “The evil ones will not be defeated easily.”

“No, they will not,” agreed Hedon. “But we are not alone in this battle; we have allies and more ships that will soon be arriving.” Hedon had been pleased to learn from Fleet Admiral Johnson that the Kessels and the Darvonians had agreed to send ships to help defend Careth. The ships of both allied races were currently being updated at their shipyards with better weapons and shields. Human and Alton engineers had gone to both to help with those efforts.

Hedon watched one of the main viewscreens as Fourth Fleet accelerated toward the edge of the planet’s gravity well. He knew when Admiral Strong returned, Amanda and Second Fleet would be coming also. His main job now was to see that Careth was so strongly held that no conceivable Hocklyn or AI attack could endanger it. It was to become the primary base for the Federation’s war with the Hocklyns and the AIs. He also intended to use First Fleet to harass all the Hocklyn bases within easy range of the Carethian system. Once Second and Fourth Fleet returned, he planned to strike at the heart of the Hocklyn Empire. He had a daring plan that, if it worked, would also free the old Federation worlds.

-

On board the Avenger, Jeremy watched the viewscreens as the strikecruiser crossed the edge of the gravity well and blue-white spatial vortexes began to form in front of the ships of Fourth Fleet.

“It’s time to go home,” he spoke in a soft voice over his mini-com on the private channel that connected the Special Five.

“I’m glad,” Kelsey responded. She knew in the next few months she'd finally have a lot of alone time with Jeremy and she fully intended to make the most of it. She also had a wedding to plan.

“Katie and I are going to take a long vacation,” Kevin announced with a grin.

“First I've heard of that,” Katie retorted with a pleased smile. A long vacation with Kevin sounded great!

“Have you told Angela that you had her marine captain transferred to the Avenger?” Kelsey asked. She knew Angela would be pleasantly surprised.

“Not yet,” admitted Jeremy, sheepishly. “He just arrived on the ship a few hours ago. He was going to go see Angela after we made our first jump.”

“She’ll be surprised,” Katie said with a laugh. “It should help speed up her recovery.”

Ariel listened to the four talk with a pleased smile on her face. Everything seemed so normal.

A few moments later, the Avenger entered the spatial vortex and jumped into hyperspace. Jeremy let out a long sigh of relief. It would be great to get back to the Federation, but there was a nagging worry in the back of his mind. Due to the relationships the five of them had established, he wondered if Fleet Admiral Johnson would allow all of them to remain aboard the Avenger, especially if Kelsey and he got married. Jeremy was deeply afraid that this trip home would be the last time the Special Five would be allowed to serve together on the same ship. Their lives were about to change once again, and Jeremy wondered how they would all feel about it.

Chapter Ten

Fleet Commodore Resmunt gazed at the tactical display as newly promoted Fleet Commodore Versith jumped into the Kenward Seven star system with what remained of Commodore Krilen’s fleets. He had received the new commodore’s detailed report on the damage to the fleet ships earlier.

“It will take weeks to repair all the battle damage,” he muttered in frustration, looking over at First Leader Ganth. Already the systems repair bays were full of the ships that had returned with him after the disastrous battle at the Human world.

Ganth’s large black eyes gazed back as he nodded in agreement. “From the reports it is obvious that the Humans' new alien allies have given them better energy shields and weapons. They will be difficult to defeat in battle.”

“Over two hundred ships destroyed and only five or six Human vessels destroyed in return,” Resmunt muttered with a deep frown. If Fleet Commodore Versith had not confirmed the numbers, he never would have believed them. “We must update our ships quickly if we want to be able to defeat the Humans. They become a bigger threat to our Empire with each passing day.”

“I fear that many of our warriors will find their final honor in this war,” Ganth responded in agreement. Honor was important to a Hocklyn and death in battle was an honorable way to die.

Resmunt let out a heavy sigh. From his recent engagements with the Humans, he knew better than to underestimate them. There was no doubt in his mind that the Humans would use their new tactical advantage to continue to attack the Empire. There were very few warships remaining between the Humans and Kenward Seven. A few small bases and numerous slave worlds with only an older escort cruiser or two for defense.

Looking at the front wall of the War Room, he saw that one of the main viewscreens was currently focused on the AI ship that was floating in orbit a short two thousand kilometers from the Liberator. For days now, Hocklyn engineers had been meeting with the AIs, discussing the new weapons systems the masters were willing to supply. The meetings were always highly uncomfortable with the AIs expecting the Hocklyns to easily understand what they were being told.

“Will the AI’s new weapons make a difference?” asked Ganth, knowing that honor in the future would be much more difficult to acquire. How could a Hocklyn warrior accumulate honor and prestige if they continued to lose battles to the Humans?

“That is unknown,” responded Resmunt, folding his powerful, sinewy arms across the chest plate of his battle armor. Without thinking, his pale green scaly hand with its six long fingers and sharp nails slid down to the knife at his waist. “Once the updates have been completed our ships will be more powerful, but the Humans may still possess an edge in weapons technology. Our biggest advantage will be in numbers. I have already sent a message to the High Council suggesting that we should not engage Human ships henceforth unless we have at least a two-to-one advantage.”

“What did they say?” asked Ganth, knowing the High Council was used to issuing orders, not receiving them. They might frown heavily at a Fleet Commodore suggesting a change in battle tactics to the council.

“Nothing yet,” Resmunt answered with a cold look. He had expected to have received a reply by now. “Make my shuttle ready. I will be going over to the Viden to speak with Fleet Commodore Versith. We have a war to fight and Versith is our best tactician. Unlike Commodore Krilen, I will pay close attention to Versith’s’ recommendations. He may also have some insight as to the new weapons the Human ships are equipped with.”

-

Back on the Hocklyn home world of Calzen, High Leader Nartel and the High Council were waiting nervously for the AIs to make an appearance. Ten AI ships had jumped into orbit above the planet in the clear space made by the AI’s destruction of the habitats that once floated in that region. Only recently had all the debris from the destroyed habitats been cleared away. The AIs had demanded an immediate audience with Nartel and the council.

“What can they want?” Ruthan asked, his large cold reptilian eyes showing fright as he tried to think of an answer. Then, turning toward Nartel, he said accusingly, “It’s your weapons research! Never have they come to Calzen with so many ships. Your foolish desire to pursue this weapons program has brought disaster upon us. The AIs will kill us and install our subordinates as new council members. They will demand that the weapons research program be disbanded. You have brought ruin to all of us!”

“I doubt if it is the weapons program that they are here for,” responded High Councilor Berken, frowning heavily at Councilor Ruthan and the obvious weakness he was displaying. “It is the war with the Humans that they are here to discuss. I strongly suggest we listen to what they have to say.”

“Yes, the Humans and these new allies of theirs,” added Councilor Desmonde, rising to his feet and looking at Nartel and the other councilors. “It is becoming more evident every day that the Empire is in danger. We must learn more about what the AIs know of the Humans and their new allies. They have never been forthcoming in telling us why they fear the Humans so much. It has now become essential that they do so.”

It was at that moment that two Hocklyn Protectors opened the massive council chamber doors, allowing six AIs to enter. The room fell into silence as the councilors stared at the mechanical monstrosities. Each one was a different shape. The only thing they had in common was the glowing globe of energy that served as a head and the numerous tentacles attached to various locations of their metal bodies.

“We have come to address the council,” the one who had entered first spoke as they floated over and took up positions on each side of the council table. “It is time you know the truth about the enemy you now face. If you fail to understand the danger, then your Empire will fall.”

“I don’t understand,” responded High Leader Nartel, rising to his feet and trying not to show fear or nervousness in front of the AIs. “What is this truth you speak of? What is it about the Humans that make them such a threat?”

“The Humans are extremely dangerous, but these new allies of the Humans are even more so. These new allies of the Humans are our creators, the Altons,” the AI replied as it floated even closer to Nartel. “We thought they had died out over ten thousand years ago; we were wrong. It is the Altons who have been responsible for guiding the Humans in their conflict with you. They brought Humans to the original Human Federation of Worlds from the Human home world, which you have recently come into conflict with. We believe the Altons must inhabit several star systems in close proximity to the Human worlds.”

Nartel sat back down, his large dark eyes growing even wider after hearing these revelations. He was now beginning to understand why the AIs feared the Humans. “How advanced are these Altons?”

“Perhaps as much as we are,” confessed the AI in a voice that sounded unsure of itself. “They are an unknown factor in this war. All AI ships have been recalled to the galactic center to be updated with better weapons in order to combat the Altons. Your own ships will be given more powerful weapons in order to combat the Humans. We do not believe the Altons will make their most powerful weapons available to the Humans as they are a more youthful and less advanced race.”

“What are your orders for us?” asked Nartel, gazing inquiringly at the AI that was doing the speaking.

“You will continue to attack the Humans wherever they can be found once your ships have been updated. Leave the Altons to us.”

“It will be as you command,” responded Nartel, knowing they had no other choice but to obey.

“This war must be won quickly or your Empire will soon lie in ruins,” the AI spoke as it turned and begin moving toward the large doors to the council chamber followed by the others. “Do not underestimate the Humans or they will destroy you!”

Nartel was silent as the AIs left and then he looked around the conference table. “This is extremely serious,” he said after a moment. “We are facing the Humans, who are a proxy race for the Altons much as we are to the AIs.”

“And the Altons created the AIs,” Ruthan spoke his eyes wide and looking terrified. “What if they cannot be defeated?”

“Then our Empire is finished,” replied Nartel grimly. He did not tell the council he still had one trump card to play. If it worked, then the Human threat would be neutralized and that would leave the AIs to deal with the Altons. If things went according to plan, the Hocklyns would be left to pick up the pieces.

-

Fleet Admiral Streth gazed thoughtfully at the latest reports from the stealth scouts. The supply fleet had brought twenty of the new long-range stealth scouts with them in their cargo bays. For the last four weeks, Hedon had deployed those scouts searching the edge of Hocklyn space for any bases that might pose a potential threat. For the most part, they had found nothing. It was as if the Hocklyns had withdrawn their fleets farther back into their Empire.

“They must be modernizing the same as us,” Admiral Telleck spoke through pursed lips. “If we don’t attack soon, our tactical advantage given to us by our new weapon systems may be reduced or even eliminated.” He didn’t like the fact that there were no signs of any AI or Hocklyn warships.

“You’re right, of course,” responded Hedon, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “We need to find some targets that are easy pickings but will still hurt the Hocklyn’s war effort.”

“What about freeing the worlds in this sector as you did last time?” Telleck suggested. He knew that none of the worlds in this sector, other than the Carethians, possessed an advanced enough culture to help in the war effort.

“Not yet,” answered Hedon, shaking his head. “The Hocklyns took them back easily enough the last time. This time, I want us to be able to hold them.”

Telleck let out a deep sigh. “That will mean more type two battle stations and defensive satellites,” he said, knowing the Federation would be hard pressed to furnish enough to protect any slave worlds that they might free.

“The scouts must go deeper into the evil one's territory,” Grayseth announced in his powerful voice. “We must go to wherever they are; we cannot wait for them to come to us.”

“I fear you are correct,” responded Hedon, looking over at the large bear. “We know from captured records at Commodore Resmunt’s former fleet base where some of those bases might be. I will send the orders to the scouts to go deeper into Hocklyn territory.”

-

Later, after the meeting, Admiral Telleck walked with Grayseth through one of the large flight bays on the station. Numerous bear pilots were excitedly checking over the new fighters and bombers that had been brought by the Federation and the supply fleets.

“Your people are brave warriors,” Admiral Telleck commented as they paused to watch several bear mechanics working on an Anlon bomber. They seemed very knowledgeable about what they were doing.

“As are yours,” Grayseth responded. “Admiral Strong has been made an honorary member of my clan on Careth. He is held in very high esteem by my people.”

“Admiral Strong is a good admiral,” Telleck agreed.

He knew he'd made the right decision in the beginning promoting the young man. Telleck watched in amusement as a bear pilot came over to the mechanics and started to complain about something. The two mechanics seemed to become agitated and began gesturing toward the bomber with their hands. It reminded him so much of Human pilots making suggestions and demands to their own repair crews.

“Repairs have been completed to the station,” Grayseth continued as they begin walking once more. “We now have eight of the type two battle stations surrounding the station as well as a large number of the more powerful defense satellites and missile platforms. I have spoken to my government and we will start construction on a new and larger shipyard next week. In time, we will go out with you to combat the evil ones wherever they may be.”

“We have four of the large repair ships with us,” Telleck said with a thoughtful look upon his face. If the bears could build larger warships and form a fleet, it would give a tremendous boost to the war effort. “They can help in the construction.”

“They helped in building this one,” Grayseth responded as they entered a large passenger elevator, which took them up toward the command level of the station. “The new one will be much larger and more heavily defended.”

“How large?” asked Telleck, curiously. The station they were on was already considered to be large even by Federation standards.

“There will be six construction and ten repair bays,” Grayseth responded in an even voice. “The repair bays will be able to handle both Carethian and Federation warships.”

Telleck let out a whistle realizing the mammoth task the Carethians had set for themselves. The elevator came to a stop and they began walking toward the Command Center. “I'll contact my people back on Ceres and see if there is anything they can send to help with the construction. We have some spider-like robots that are very good at building things. They might be of use in building your new shipyard.”

“Robots?” spoke Grayseth, stopping to look at Admiral Telleck curiously. “Lieutenant Johnson once mentioned the construction robots used inside Ceres. She said they are not like the AIs.”

“The robots are controlled by Humans,” Telleck explained. “They are very useful in construction. They can perform many tasks and work almost nonstop. I think in this case their programming can be modified so that Carethians can issue construction orders. I believe you'll find them extremely useful.”

“If it will make construction go faster than I see no reason for us not to use these robots,” Grayseth replied. The sooner the new shipyard started building warships for his people the sooner they could take the war to the evil ones. “I will speak to my people about this.”

Admiral Telleck nodded. He did not mention that the construction robots were only used inside Ceres and at New Tellus; the rest of the Federation had never grown to accept them. Telleck suspected fear of the AIs was at the root of the problem. However, the construction robots only had very primitive cognitive abilities. They could never become a threat.

Reaching the Command Center, the two went over to the main command console. Since the arrival of the two new Federation fleets the female Carethians had been allowed to return to the station and go back to their duties. Malith was back at Communications and Karalle was back at her computer station. Admiral Telleck had been introduced to both and was deeply impressed by their knowledge of their respective positions.

“Have you a design for your new warships?” Telleck asked. He knew that due to the size of the average Carethian a Federation designed vessel was not practical.

“Yes,” Grayseth responded. “I have already turned the design over to some of your ship building engineers for them to study. It will be a medium cruiser class of eight hundred meters. We are also designing a battleship to act as a command craft. I have spoken to Admiral Streth and our new battleship will have to be constructed at New Tellus. We just don’t have the technology or construction facilities to build such a large ship.”

Admiral Telleck nodded. He wondered how that would go over with the Federation Council.

“We have a number of ore freighters inbound,” Malith reported to Colonel Malang, who had taken over the duties of Colonel Millburn, who had left for the Federation with Fourth Fleet.

Colonel Malang was a young woman of Chinese ancestry. She was twenty-eight years old with dark black hair. “Have them hold just outside the gravity well until a light cruiser can rendezvous with them, then they can continue on into the station,” she responded. Malang was still in the process of setting up regular convoys within the system that would be escorted by Federation light cruisers as a safety precaution.

Admiral Telleck nodded his head as he listened to the conversation. The Carethians had reactivated their mines on some of the moons and asteroids in the system; they would soon need the raw materials for construction. Unfortunately, they did not have a large number of ore freighters available to them and it would take time to build new ones.

“I will contact Fleet Admiral Johnson at New Tellus and see if she can find some additional ore freighters to send our way,” Telleck added as he turned to face Grayseth. He would rather see the Carethians constructing warships than spending precious time building ore freighters.

“That would be deeply appreciated,” Grayseth responded, pleased at the offer. “We are already constructing more small ships in our underground cities, but they will only be useful in helping to defend our system. They are too small to deploy on a long term mission.”

“I received a message from Senator Barnes yesterday,” added Telleck, recalling the surprising information it had contained. “He is one of the two Federation Senators that represents Ceres on the council. Two of our allies will soon be sending warships to help defend Careth. Their ships are currently being updated and should be arriving within the next two weeks.”

“Their help will be greatly appreciated,” Grayseth responded with a nod of his head. “We will make Careth a bastion of war against the evil ones. The more heavily defended it is the more ships of the evil ones we can destroy if they ever attack us here again.”

Telleck was pleased that the Kessels and the Darvonians were going to provide warships. It would lessen the burden on the Federation. He'd already decided that his executive officer, Kathryn Barnes, would be the fleet officer responsible for handling any problems that might occur with having five races in the same star system. Her father was the senior senator from Ceres so she well understood the importance of diplomacy. He knew she could be depended on to smooth out any misunderstandings that might occur due to cultural differences. He just hadn’t told her yet of her new job duties.

-

Hedon was in the officers' mess eating with Janice. The few crewmembers in the large room carefully kept a discreet distance between the admiral and themselves, allowing them some privacy.

“Everything seems to be going well,” Janice commented as she took a bite of her Caesar Salad.

“Much better than I expected,” Hedon responded with a smile. “Admiral Strong and Grayseth have done wonders preparing the Carethian system for war with the Hocklyns. In the four short weeks we've been here we have already repaired the damage to the station, brought the defense grid back up to full strength, and the Altons are helping with the radiation problems in the three cities that were nuked.”

“I am glad that the Altons are able to help the Carethians with the radiation problems,” Janice replied. She had been saddened when she learned that Careth had been hit by three Hocklyn nukes. She still found it hard to understand the reasoning for nuking civilian populations. However, the Hocklyns had done it numerous times in the past and would do it again in the future if they weren’t stopped.

“The Altons have assured the Carethians that there will be no trace of lingering radiation when they are through,” Hedon added, pleased with the effort by the Altons to help the Carethians. Admiral Cleeteus had instantly volunteered the service of his warships to remove the radiation as soon as he learned of the Hocklyns' use of nuclear weapons on the surface of the planet.

“The Hocklyns have been strangely quiet since our arrival,” Janice spoke as she cut up the hardboiled egg in her salad into smaller pieces. “There have been no reports of contacts or even FTL detections from the buoys deployed in the different star systems.”

Hedon took a deep drink of his unsweetened tea and nodded. “They’re undoubtedly updating their fleet. I believe they’re avoiding contact with our forces, particularly after their recent defeats.”

“I spoke to Malith today,” Janice continued. “She's responsible for communications as well as setting up patrol routes for their fighters. I was very impressed with her. If possible, I'd like to go aboard the station and actually meet her.”

“That can easily be arranged,” Hedon replied with a nod. “I want our people to get used to being around the Carethians. Besides the Altons, they are going to be our most important ally in this war.”

“I spoke briefly with Lieutenant Kelsey Grainger before they left to return home,” Janice added recalling the conversation. “She is the first one of the Special Five that I have ever spoken to. She seems so normal, just like anyone else.”

“They are normal,” Hedon responded with an enigmatic smile. “From what Admiral Strong told me, he and Kelsey intend to get married while they are back in the Federation.”

“That’s great!” Janice exclaimed her eyes lighting up. “The Federation will be abuzz with excitement when that engagement is announced.”

“But it poses a problem,” responded Hedon, dourly. “Married couples are not supposed to serve together on warships, particularly officers.”

“They’re the Special Five,” explained Janice, patiently. “No one expects rules to apply to them.”

“But it should,” Hedon replied. He knew that he had made exceptions for Amanda and Richard on occasion though now they were assigned to different duties.

“I’m sure everything will work out,” answered Janice, reaching across the table and squeezing Hedon’s hand. She pulled it quickly back, not wanting any of the crew to notice any signs of affection between her and Hedon. “Perhaps the rules should be changed since the fleet is now going on such long deployments. I think married couples should be allowed to serve together as long as children are not involved.”

“We’ll see,” Hedon responded as he picked up his ham sandwich and took a bite. “It will be close to six months before they return, I have that long to figure something out.”

He also knew that he and Janice were close to violating that same fleet regulation about fraternization between ship officers. Janice was also right about the long deployments. It might be necessary to change the rules slightly to accommodate this new reality of space combat. With mixed crews on warships being deployed for such extensive lengths of time, there were bound to be some romantic relationships formed.

-

Deep inside the boundaries of the Hocklyn Slave Empire, a Federation stealth scout dropped out of hyperspace and exited the swirling blue-white spatial vortex in the next system on its long search list. So far, they'd found very little of strategic value. A few evacuated bases and several slave worlds guarded by a solitary Hocklyn escort cruiser.

This system was more interesting as it had a yellow G type star, and records from Resmunt’s fleet base indicated that it contained at least two inhabited worlds.

“Initiating scans,” the sensor operator reported as the stealth’s systems stabilized and everything came back online.

“All stealth systems are activated,” the ensign in front of another console reported as he adjusted several controls, feeling satisfied that the scout was as undetectable as he could make it.

“I’m moving us in system at sixty percent sublight,” Captain Brentwood spoke as she adjusted the controls on the flight console. “Keep me updated on the scans.”

The small scout leaped forward as she accelerated the ship to sixty percent power on the sublight drive. That brought them up to a speed of nearly nine thousand kilometers per second.

After a few minutes, the sensor operator was ready with his initial report. “There are ten planets in the system with two in the liquid water zone. I am also detecting three different asteroid fields as well as numerous moons. There seems to be a thriving mining operation going on throughout the system as I see over eighty ships in transit between the systems moons, asteroids and the two planets in the liquid water zone.”

“Are those eighty ships cargo ships?” asked Captain Brentwood, arching her eyebrows. That sounded like an awful lot of ships.

“They seem to be,” the sensor operator replied as he studied the data. “I am also detecting two large space stations in orbit over the two habitable planets.”

Captain Brentwood nodded to herself. She was under orders to search for targets for the fleet. She had a growing feeling that she might just have found one.

“We will continue in system on our sublight drive until we can get better readings on those two inhabited planets. Then we will reverse course and initiate an FTL jump to return to Careth with the information.”

-

Twenty hours later, Captain Brentwood let out a long breath of satisfaction. This was exactly the type of target that Admiral Streth was searching for. There were over one hundred Hocklyn warships in orbit above the two planets. It was obvious the Hocklyns were mining the system for its abundance of natural resources. There were also a large number of heavy transports docked to the two space stations above the planets. They had observed several depart the stations and after leaving the gravity well, jump into hyperspace.

“This is it,” Brentwood informed her crew. “Let’s plot a course back to Careth and inform Admiral Streth. He will be highly interested to learn of what we have found.”

The small stealth scout reversed course and once Brentwood was satisfied they wouldn’t be detected, she activated the stealth’s jump drive. Instantly a small blue-white vortex formed and she expertly maneuvered the scout into the center of it. Moments later, the vortex collapsed and the scout was gone.

-

None of the Hocklyn ships in the system had detected the presence of the scout or its jump. The two Hocklyn War Leaders in the system were not concerned. They were far behind the front lines and in another three weeks, their fleets were to report to Kenward Seven for upgrading. Little did they suspect what would be coming their way in just a few more days.

Chapter Eleven

Fleet Admiral Streth studied the tactical data being sent by the four stealth scouts he had in system K-108. It showed the two inhabited planets as well as the numerous freighters. It seemed like a robust system totally under Hocklyn control.

“No wonder the Hocklyns didn’t abandon this system,” Colonel Trist commented as he studied the data being projected on the tactical display. “From our scans, there must be over sixty active mining operations going on. In the last two hours, we've detected two cargo ships jumping out to some unknown destination.”

“I wish we knew where they're going,” Hedon spoke as he turned his head to look over at Colonel Trist. “It might be a good target for us.” He really wanted to take advantage of the current tactical situation the Federation held over the Hocklyns.

“From the latest readings from the scouts, both of those large space stations are probably capable of producing at least cargo ships and ore haulers,” Colonel Grissim added, her eyes focusing on Admiral Streth. Colonel Grissim had at one time been in charge of the Intelligence service at Ceres. “Neither station seems to be armed, and I'd guess that they're both being operated by the beings that inhabit this system.”

“What are they like?” asked Hedon, curiously. “Have we been able to find out?” Very seldom did the Hocklyns allow slave worlds to maintain this level of technology. Hedon wondered what the reason was for the deviance in this system.

“Their technology is far behind ours overall but still pretty advanced for a slave world,” Anne replied as she stepped over closer to Hedon. “One of the scouts has been able to pick up video broadcasts from the innermost of the two inhabited planets. Their technology is mid twenty-first century when compared to Earth. They're a Humanoid species, slightly shorter and of slimmer build than Earth Humans. There is a slight green tint to their skin, which hints at a different type of blood makeup, probably from their environment. Their ears are also further back on their heads and are a little larger than Human's. Their voices are also at a much higher pitch, perhaps due to something in their atmosphere.”

“What are the populations on the two planets?”

“Unknown,” Anne replied. “From our long distance scans both planets boast large populations, probably in the hundreds of millions.”

“Typical Hocklyn slave planets,” muttered Colonel Trist, shaking his head disgustedly. “I just wonder what their population was before the arrival of the Hocklyns?”

Admiral Streth and Colonel Grissom were silent. They both knew the Hocklyns had a tendency to reduce the population on slave planets down to a more manageable level, normally by the use of nuclear bombardment from space.

“What of the two Hocklyn fleets in the system?” Hedon asked as his eyes shifted to the red threat icons being displayed on the tactical display. It looked as if there were two full war fleets present. That in itself indicated the importance the Hocklyns attributed to the system.

“Forty-eight ships each,” Colonel Grissom confirmed as she checked some data. “Each fleet is similar, being comprised of four dreadnoughts, eight warcruisers, and thirty-six escort cruisers.”

“I wonder if any of those ships have been updated?” asked Colonel Trist, cocking his eyebrow. “This system seems as if it's a pretty important one to the Hocklyns. Those ships might have better weapons and shields.”

“I doubt if they've had the time,” Hedon responded. He knew from the captured data at the Hocklyn fleet base that the Hocklyn Empire had four main fleet construction facilities. Due to the distance to the nearest, he didn’t think the Hocklyns would've had the time to update the ships in the system.

“How do we want to do this?” asked Trist, looking over at Hedon. The problem was they only had First Fleet with them, and two different Hocklyn fleets at two different planets that needed to be attacked. At the moment, the two planets were separated by a great distance, being on opposite sides of the system’s sun.

“I don’t want to divide the fleet,” Hedon said as he thought about their options. He knew his brother Taylor would have agreed with him on that. From a tactical standpoint, it was much better to keep the fleet together and eliminate the two Hocklyn fleets one by one.

“The inner world seems to be the more populous of the two planets,” Anne commented as more information continued to come in from the two forward scouts. “The computers are starting to give us population estimates based on our scans. The inner world has a population of approximately three hundred million and the outer one a population slightly in excess of one hundred million.”

“Then the inner world will be our first target,” spoke Hedon, folding his arms across his chest. He missed having Clarissa available. Her ability to take the data from the sensor scans and correlate it was remarkable. He really missed her insights in situations like this. “Take the fleet to Condition One and prepare to jump. I want to jump to just outside of the inner planet’s gravity well. The battlecarriers and ten light cruisers will remain here in case the Hocklyn fleet at the other planet jumps in. I want our carrier’s bombers tasked for a shipping strike if needed. It'll take the Hocklyns awhile just to clear the gravity well, and by then the battle at the inner planet will be over. Commander Bixby aboard the battlecarrier Essex will be in command of the carrier group. Also, contact Admiral Cleeteus and ask him to leave four of his Alton battlecruisers with the carriers. That should ensure they stay safe from attack.”

The orders were quickly passed and the fleet was brought to Condition One. On board the StarStrike, the crew raced to their battle stations, knowing that very shortly they would be engaged against the Hocklyns once more.

“Ready to jump,” Colonel Trist reported as he took up his position in front of one of the four tactical displays the StarStrike was equipped with.

“Initiate jump!” ordered Admiral Streth as he held his breath waiting for the StarStrike to enter the spatial vortex. They were just outside the system and this would be a very brief stint in hyperspace. Moments later, he felt the normal queasiness associated with an FTL jump. In all his years in the Fleet, he still hadn’t gotten used to that gut wrenching feeling.

-

War Leader Briton was asleep in his quarters when the warning klaxons sounded and the red alert lights began flashing. Jumping up, he grabbed his battle armor and pressed the com button connecting him to the War Room. “What is the alarm for?” he demanded as he pulled on his chest plate and buckled his knife to his waist.

“It’s the Humans; a large fleet has just jumped into the system outside the gravity well of the planet,” his First Leader responded in a concerned voice.

“How large?” demanded Briton as he prepared to leave his quarters. His First Leader had never been exposed to combat. It was disconcerting that the Humans had chosen this moment to attack. In another few weeks, his fleet would have gone to Kenward Seven to be updated.

“Our sensors are detecting eighty-five ships, War Leader.”

“Bring our fleet to battle readiness and send a report of the arrival of the Human fleet to Fleet Commodore Resmunt at Kenward Seven,” Briton ordered as he stepped out of the door to his quarters and began rushing toward the War Room.

Because of the importance of this system, they had an AI FTL communicator. Each week the system sent several cargo ships with rare metals to the AIs at the center of the galaxy. This system could not be lost or there would be serious ramifications.

A few minutes later, the out of breath War Leader burst into the War Room amongst the still ringing klaxons and flashing red lights. “Turn those off!” he roared, shaking his head. “What are the Humans doing?”

“They're beginning to enter the gravity well,” First Leader Bakh reported as he watched War Leader Briton take his position upon the command pedestal.

Briton studied the tactical screen for a long moment and then turned back to his First Leader. “Form the fleet up into formation B-14 and begin moving toward the Humans at twenty percent sublight. We'll meet them away from the planet.”

The Hocklyn fleet quickly formed up into the designated formation, which was an inverted shallow cone with the most powerful ships at the center.

-

“Hocklyns have formed up and are coming out to meet us,” Colonel Trist reported in surprise. He'd thought the Hocklyn War Leader would have stayed closer to the planet in order to better protect the rear of his formation. “Should we launch our fighters?”

“No, not unless the Hocklyns do,” Hedon replied as he watched one of the tactical displays.

All of his bombers were aboard the battlecarriers and would not take part in this engagement. He still wanted to continue to test the Federation’s newly upgraded weapons against the Hocklyns. The one brief battle, when they had first returned, had been impressive. He wanted to see if that continued here.

“Engagement range in ten minutes,” Captain Reynolds reported from his sensor console. “Hocklyns are headed directly for us.”

“We need to be prepared for possible suicide runs,” Colonel Grissom cautioned as she watched the approaching Hocklyn fleet. Anne knew that not even the new and improved shields could withstand an eight hundred-meter ship or larger smashing into them.

“Pass the warning,” Hedon ordered as he buckled himself into his command chair.

-

The two fleets continued to close and then, as they approached optimum engagement range, both began to slow to allow for better targeting acquisition of their weapons. The Hocklyns knew they couldn't escape the gravity well quickly enough to escape the larger Human fleet. Their best option was to engage and hope they could destroy enough of the Human ships to force them to withdraw. Orders had already been sent for the other Hocklyn fleet to come to their aid.

-

“Optimum firing range,” Major Weir reported calmly from Tactical as he prepared to order his weapon crews to fire.

“All ships lock on to targets and fire!” Hedon ordered over his mini-com, which connected him to all of the ship commanders in his fleet.

“Firing,” Major Weir replied as he sent the orders to his subordinates and crews.

Instantly from the StarStrike, ten Devastator Three sublight missiles flashed from their missile tubes and four powerful power beams shot out to strike a nearby Hocklyn warcruiser. It was the same with the entire Human fleet. Hundreds of Devastator Three missiles were being fired and the more powerful power beam weapons were turned upon the Hocklyns. For this battle, the newer Alton furnished antimatter missiles and deadly particle beam weapons would not be used.

Massive nuclear explosions began to roll across the screens of the Hocklyn ships, blasting them down and leaving the ships’ armored hulls defenseless. Power beams struck, cutting deep into the warships causing substantial damage. Railgun rounds began impacting, leaving small, glowing craters wherever they impacted. None of these Hocklyn ships had been updated and all had the weaker energy shields. In most cases, it was only taking a single Devastator Three missile to knock a shield down. Space was full of power beams, energy beams, pulse lasers, railgun rounds, and missiles as the two fleets tried to destroy each other.

The Hocklyn ships had no defense against the improved Human weapons. Internal explosions began to tear ships apart throughout the Hocklyn formation. Munitions exploded, blowing out huge sections of ships’ hulls. Fires raged inside, sucking up the available oxygen and killing the crews. Hocklyn ship after ship perished in fiery balls of blazing light. Some died as their self-destructs were set off and others were destroyed when Devastator Three missiles detonated against their hulls literally vaporizing the tens of thousands of tons of metal that made up each ship.

-

War Leader Briton blanched at seeing the destruction being imposed upon his fleet. Warcruisers and escort cruisers were dying faster than the sensor operator could report. On the main viewscreens, he could see Human power beams and laser beams flashing out and striking Hocklyn vessels. The Humans' power beams seemed to cut right through the energy screens. Occasionally a massive explosion of energy would indicate where one of their deadly sublight missiles had detonated against an energy screen or a ship’s hull.

“We can’t survive this,” First Leader Bakh groaned in anguish as another warcruiser exploded in a ball of nuclear fire. “We are all going to face our honor today.”

“Then we will die,” War Leader Briton spoke, his face looking impassive as he accepted their fate. “Continue to fire all weapons; I want to destroy as many of these Human ships as possible before we go to seek our honor. It is our duty to the Empire.”

Briton felt his dreadnought shudder violently; the lights dimmed and then brightened. Looking over at the damage control board, he saw numerous lights turning amber and then red. He took a deep breath. He'd served the Empire for many long years; he was willing to accept his death. The Humans were demons indeed if they could so easily destroy his ships; he knew the entire Empire could be at risk. The ship shook again, nearly throwing Briton from the command pedestal. He could hear the sounds of tearing metal in the distance, as the hull was ripped open. Smoke was growing thick in the War Room; he knew the battle would not last much longer.

-

“Light cruiser Ascendant is down,” Captain Reynolds reported as the green icon swelled up on his screen and then vanished.

“Hocklyns are taking heavy damage,” Colonel Trist reported as the StarStrike shook slightly from weapons fire impacting the ship’s energy screen. “Energy screen is holding at ninety-two percent.”

“These Hocklyn ships have not been updated,” Colonel Grissim spoke as she looked at some of the data coming back from the ship’s sensors. “They have the weaker screens and weapons. Our power beams are going right through their shields.” Anne knew the power beams were much stronger now that the new Alton fusion reactor had been installed. Even the pulse lasers had more power.

Looking up at a viewscreen, Hedon could see a Hocklyn warcruiser burning. Massive holes covered its hull, and fires could be seen inside. Even as he watched, several violet colored power beams struck the hull, carving deep into the ship. Violent explosions began to wrack the warcruiser, which suddenly exploded as its nuclear self-destructs activated. Moments later, there was nothing left but glowing debris.

“Several Hocklyn ships are attempting to ram!” Captain Reynolds warned as he saw a group of enemy ships begin to accelerate toward the Human fleet.

“Intensify our fire on those ships!” Hedon ordered as he shifted his gaze back to one of the tactical displays. He knew that ramming was the only option the Hocklyns had left.

-

Six Hocklyn escort cruisers were in close formation protecting their last surviving warcruiser. They were on a suicide run that would give them a chance to destroy part of the attacking Human fleet. Missile fire and power beams began to strike the ships as the Human fleet shifted their focus to this new threat. First one and then two of the escort cruisers exploded in bright fireballs as their shields were overwhelmed. A third and a fourth died quickly after Devastator Threes blew them apart. Then the fire shifted to the warcruiser. Its shield wavered as Devastator Threes exploded against it. Then several power beams blasted through the shield, striking the hull. Violent explosions rocked the ship and then the shield failed. Six Devastator Three missiles vaporized the warcruiser into plasma and gas.

The other two escort cruisers were now in amongst the Human ships. One crashed into a light cruiser and the two vanished in a massive ball of flame. The second crashed into a battlecruiser, causing heavy damage. The new energy shield had absorbed just enough of the energy from the collision to prevent the ship from being destroyed.

-

“Light cruiser McLain is down, battlecruiser Resolute is heavily damaged,” Captain Reynolds reported in a stunned voice.

“Let’s finish off the rest of the Hocklyn fleet,” ordered Hedon, letting out a deep breath. He knew that a lot of brave men and women had probably just died on the battlecruiser. Glancing over at Janice, Hedon saw the pained look upon her face. She knew how he felt about casualties.

-

War Leader Briton held on to his command console as his dreadnought was hammered brutally by Human weapons. On the damage control board, more lights were red than green. He knew his ship was dying around him. Looking at the tactical screen, he saw that only a few Hocklyn ships still survived. Even as he watched, two more icons representing escort cruisers faded away.

“We are defeated,” First Leader Bakh spoke, his face covered in blood from a vicious cut across his forehead. The War Room was in ruin, full of smoke and several burning consoles. Most of the crew were either dead or unconscious. “Honor awaits us.”

“Honor awaits us,” agreed War Leader Briton as he reached forward and pressed the large red button on his control console.

Instantly, the self-destructs in the dreadnought activated. Four large nuclear explosions tore the ship apart as nuclear energy rushed through the hull. In moments, it was nothing more than a glowing, expanding debris field.

-

“Last Hocklyn ship has been destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported with relief.

“What about the second fleet?” Hedon asked. He wouldn’t consider this mission a success unless he could destroy it also.

“It’s just now exiting the gravity well of the other inhabited planet,” Colonel Grissim reported. “They appear to be spinning up their FTL drives.”

“They’re escaping!” oathed Colonel Trist, looking over at Hedon.

“Nothing we can do about it,” replied Hedon, disappointedly. “Turn the fleet around and let’s rejoin Commander Bixby.” Then, turning back to Colonel Grissom, “What were our losses?”

“Two light cruisers destroyed, two Monarchs suffered moderate damage, and the battlecruiser Resolute is reporting heavy damage. At the moment, their FTL core is down and it will take them four to six hours to make sufficient repairs to allow them to jump.”

“Very well,” responded Hedon, letting out a deep breath. “Have Commander Bixby jump his ships to just outside the gravity well. Once we make rendezvous we'll decide upon our next move.”

-

Several hours later, First Fleet was floating in the depths of the system surrounded by nothing but unblinking stars. Crews were busily repairing the battle damage suffered in the brief but savage battle with the Hocklyns.

“I have a final damage report,” Colonel Trist said as he approached Hedon. “We lost two light cruisers, with another dozen ships reporting some damage. The only ship that requires being put into a repair bay is the battlecruiser Resolute. I have her casualty figures. The ship lost six hundred and twenty dead, fifteen missing, and another three hundred and twelve injured. They report that all the fires are out and repairs are well underway. We’ve sent additional repair crews over from other ships to assist, as well as med teams.”

“What about Hocklyn losses?”

“We destroyed their entire fleet around the inner inhabited world,” Trist replied with satisfaction in his voice. “It hadn't been upgraded and didn’t have powerful enough weapons to seriously endanger our ships. Our improved weapons and shields seem to be holding up well.”

“I spoke to Admiral Cleeteus a few minutes ago and none of the Alton ships suffered any damage,” Hedon added. “He wants to know what we’re going to do about the two slave worlds in this system.”

“What are we going to do?” Trist asked his eyes looking intently at Hedon. “We can’t afford to fortify this system, at least not yet. We don’t have the resources.”

“No, not at the moment,” responded Hedon, agreeing with his executive officer. He hated leaving the system in control of the Hocklyns, but he didn’t see any other choice.

“Perhaps it would be best to leave the system as is,” suggested Colonel Grissom, coming to stand next to Hedon. “It’s rich in natural resources and could be very useful to the war effort at a later date. If we leave now, the Hocklyns will assume we only came to destroy their fleet and will probably leave the two planets as they are.”

Hedon nodded slowly as he thought the suggestion over. “I think you’re right,” he said after a moment. “As soon as the repairs are completed on the Resolute, we will return to Careth. We need to consider what our next move needs to be. It’s obvious at the moment that the Hocklyn fleets are still very vulnerable to our improved weapons. We don’t know how much longer that advantage is going to last. Someday we will return to this system and visit with its inhabitants. With their two planets and heavy mining industry they would be good allies to have.”

-

Hedon was in his quarters when he heard a knock on the hatch. He was sitting behind his desk thinking about the recent battle. Reaching forward, he pressed a button and the hatch to his quarters slid open. Janice was standing there with a concerned look upon her face.

“How are you doing, Hedon?” she asked as she stepped inside and the hatch slid shut behind her. She knew that Hedon hated the loss of life in the battles, though he knew they were necessary.

“We lost another twenty two hundred fleet personnel in the battle today,” he spoke with little emotion in his voice.

“We’re at war,” Janice said, approaching Hedon. “If we don’t win this, the Hocklyns and AIs will wipe us out; you know that.”

Hedon leaned back and focused his eyes on Janice. Then he let out a heavy sigh. “I know,” he said softly. “But every one of those men and women that just died has a family somewhere. Will they understand the need for their sons or daughters' sacrifice?”

Janice came around the desk and placed her hands upon Hedon’s shoulders. “I suspect that most will,” she responded gently. “There will be the normal grieving and they will blame the AIs and the Hocklyns for their loved one's loss, not you.”

“I suppose you’re right,” replied Hedon, turning his chair around and taking Janice’s hands. “I will just be glad when all of this is over and the dying comes to a stop.”

“That’s why you’re the Fleet Admiral,” Janice spoke, her eyes looking fondly at Hedon. “You can make that happen and someday return to Maken to rebuild that cabin by the lake.”

Hedon closed his eyes briefly, thinking of Taylor and Lendle. He knew they would have liked the idea of him someday returning to that pristine vacation hideaway. He just needed to defeat the AIs and the Hocklyns first.

Chapter Twelve

Admiral Jeremy Strong and Rear Admiral Susan Marks were standing in one of the large ship construction bays inside New Tellus Station. Inside the bay was a partially constructed battleship. Jeremy had recently been promoted to the rank of full admiral.

“That’s a big damn ship!” Susan said as she looked at the myriad of workers swarming over the construction site. There were even a large number of the spider like construction robots from Ceres scrambling over the ship’s frame.

“I wonder who’s going to get it?” Jeremy spoke as he watched the mad pace of construction.

“It’s yours, Admiral Strong,” spoke Fleet Admiral Johnson from just behind them as she walked up and smiled at the two young admirals. “We just need to decide upon a name.”

“Mine?” Jeremy said feeling flabbergasted.

“After what you did at Careth and keeping the Carethians safe for so long, you deserve it.”

“A battleship,” Susan said grinning and looking over at Jeremy. “So, what are you going to name it?”

“The Avenger,” replied Jeremy with conviction as the knowledge that this ship was going to be his began to sink in. “I think the Avenger deserves to become a battleship.”

“We can retire your former flagship,” Karla suggested with a nod. “We can reassign her to duty at Ceres. I think that will be fitting for the ship.”

“How soon before the battleship's done?” Jeremy asked. He had a strong suspicion he wouldn’t be going back to Careth until it was completed.

“Not as long as you'd think,” Karla replied as her eyes shifted to the massive framework surrounding the new ship. “The construction robots really speed up the building process. It should be ready for initial space trials in four months.”

“Four months!” Jeremy exclaimed his eyes growing wide. That was much sooner than he'd expected.

“Yes, four months,” replied Karla with a smile on her face. “We’re also building a new battleship for Admiral Sheen as well as one for your Carethian friend, Grayseth. Most of the people in the Federation feel uneasy with the construction robots, but we are using them here and at Ceres. They are also beginning to use them at the big shipyards over Earth and the Moon to help speed up construction.

“Grayseth wants to build a war fleet,” responded Jeremy, recalling the long conversations in which the bear indicated he wanted to build a fleet to attack the Hocklyns. “He wants to join us in our war against the Hocklyns and the AIs.”

“Yes, that’s what I understand,” Karla replied, pleased at the Carethians wanting to take a more active role in the war. “We have already arranged to send them nearly a thousand of the construction robots to use in building their new shipyard. If things go as planned, they'll begin building their first true warships in six more months.”

“The Carethians will make good allies for the Federation,” Susan added, folding her arms across her breasts. “They are excellent fighters and their pilots are as good as their Federation counterparts.”

“They’re the type of allies the Federation needs,” Karla responded. It was one of the reasons that President Kincaid and the Federation Senate had agreed to build the battleship for Grayseth.

“What are the plans for our fleets?” asked Jeremy, curiously. Both he and Susan had been wondering how powerful a force they'd be allowed to take back to Careth.

“There will be one Fourth Fleet,” Karla replied as she turned to face the two. “It will consist of a battle task force as well as a carrier task force. Jeremy, you will have overall command of the fleet with Susan as your second. It will be quite large; possibly the most powerful fleet we have built to date. All the new construction is going toward Fourth Fleet and the new Second Fleet. Other ships will be sent to Fleet Admiral Streth as well as Admiral Telleck.”

“Then the Federation Senate has agreed to fight the Hocklyns in their own territory?” Susan asked. She knew that the Senate had been debating just how many ships should be committed to this operation.

“Yes, as well as our allies,” replied Karla, recalling her most recent conversation with President Kincaid. “The Kessels and the Darvonians are both building as many ships as possible to add to the war effort. They know how lucky we were to survive here at New Tellus. If not for the Altons intervening, the system would have fallen.”

“Will that leave enough ships to defend the Federation from attack?” asked Jeremy, concerned. He didn’t trust the AIs at all. It would be just like them to mount another attack against the Federation.

“Yes, we have nearly finished bringing the inactive reserve back into service,” responded Karla, recalling all the headaches bringing the older ships back up to battle readiness had been. “We have sufficient ships to stop any Hocklyn or AI attack against the Federation or our allies. The Altons also have ships they've assigned to our defense. If we’re going to win this war, we must take the fight to the Hocklyns and the AIs.”

“We have a lot of fighting still ahead of us,” Jeremy spoke in a softer voice. He knew this war could drag on for years or even longer. Would his children someday still be fighting the Hocklyns and the AIs? He knew it was a distinct possibility. He didn’t know what Kelsey would think about that.

“This war may last a long time,” Karla said, looking at the two young admirals. “Our generation may not see its end.” She knew they were well aware of that.

-

Katie was in one of the large computer labs inside the Aquaria Habitat. For several weeks, she'd worked at retrieving as much data as possible from Clarissa’s damaged crystal. She had set it up so that Ariel could assist her, even adding holo emitters so Ariel could be present in holographic form.

“How are we doing?” Kelsey asked as she walked across the large lab toward Katie. Katie had asked her to come down since they might attempt to bring Clarissa back today. There were half a dozen white coated assistants working with her.

“Not good,” responded Katie, gloomily. “No matter what I do, I can’t recover more than sixty percent of Clarissa’s memory files.”

“Is there any chance that Clarissa did the same thing you did?” asked Kelsey, looking over at Ariel, who was standing nearby with her hands on her hips and a worried look upon her face.

“I don’t think so,” Ariel responded with a look of anxiety in her dark eyes. “If she did, she never mentioned it in any of our conversations.”

“We’re nearly ready,” Katie said as she let out a long, deep breath and looked over her computer console one more time. It held Clarissa’s damaged green crystal in a slot as well as a new one in a slot next to it. “I’m almost afraid to do this. What if it doesn’t work?”

Ariel came to stand next to Katie and gazed down at her friend. “Clarissa would want you to try.”

“Everything is online and we’re ready to activate the transfer process,” Sterling Rhodes reported as he finished checking one of the consoles. Sterling was one of Ceres' top computer scientists. “We should be able to access all the available data inside the crystal, even some of it that's been corrupted by the damage.”

“This is it, then,” Katie spoke in a nervous voice. Her light green eyes looked over at the damaged crystal and a single tear formed. This just had to work.

“It will work,” Ariel said with conviction. “I just know it will.” She couldn’t imagine life without Clarissa.

“I hope so,” Katie replied with a weak smile. Then, looking over at Sterling, “Start the procedure.”

Rhodes reached forward, pressed multiple buttons on his console, and adjusted several dials. A light hum filled the room, and then the two crystals in front of Katie began to glow softly.

“It’s starting,” she said as her eyes focused intently on them.

On the console in front of her, a data screen began showing the rate of transfer. Slowly it moved to twenty percent, then forty percent, and then slowed and nearly stopped at fifty percent. Katie looked over worriedly at Rhodes.

Rhodes adjusted several dials on his console and then went and spoke briefly with one of the other assistants. He returned and made additional adjustments and then looked over at Katie.

The transfer began again and was soon hovering at sixty-two percent. For several more minutes, Katie and Sterling worked feverishly trying to get the damaged crystal to transfer more data, but the best they were able to do was get it up to sixty-three percent.

“That’s all,” Katie said finally, her eyes looking dejected. “We’re not going to be able to recover any more files from the crystal.”

“Is it enough?” asked Kelsey with concern, her light blue eyes focusing on Katie.

“No,” Katie responded dejectedly with more tears forming in her eyes. “We needed at least seventy percent to bring Clarissa back online to the point where she would even be a semblance of her old self. We’ve failed.”

Ariel stared at Katie for a long moment and then got that faraway look in her eyes. “Perhaps not,” she said. “Katie, can you adjust my program so I can access the files in the new crystal?”

“Why, yes,” responded Katie, looking confused. “But what good will that do?”

“Clarissa and I talked a lot. We transmitted a lot of information back and forth. I have all of those data transfers stored in my memory. I may be able to use those to help bring Clarissa back.”

Katie was silent for a moment as she thought over what Ariel had suggested. She glanced over at Sterling and he nodded in the affirmative. “We can try it,” she said at last, not knowing what else to do. “I just don’t know if it will be enough, and even if it is there are going to be a lot of gaps in Clarissa’s memory.”

“Then we’re just going to have to help her to remember,” said Kelsey with conviction. “We can bring in everyone that has had contact with her and tell her their experiences. It won’t be easy, but it may help.”

“Okay, Ariel,” Katie said after she made more adjustments to her console and Sterling turned on another console instructing one of the assistants to monitor it closely. “Let’s try this.”

Ariel’s eyes closed as she accessed the new crystal. Her eyes opened and then she began transferring the information from all of her conversations with Clarissa over the years, memories of the old Human Federation of Worlds and their experiences from then to the present. There were hundreds of years of memories.

Everyone’s eyes went to the console and the data screen, praying for it to move. Katie gripped the edge of the console, her eyes focused intently on the screen. For a heartbreaking moment, it did nothing, and then it began to move again. Sixty-five percent, then seventy, then seventy-five and it began to slow once more. At seventy-eight percent, the data flow came to a stop.

“Is that enough?” Ariel asked with hope in her eyes. “That’s all I can do.”

“Yes,” responded Katie, letting out a deep sigh. “That’s enough to activate the crystal.”

Katie reached forward and pressed two buttons on her console. Suddenly, Clarissa was standing there in front of them. She was back in her youthful form before she had given herself much larger breasts and wider hips. She looked young and innocent.

“Hello?” she said, looking confused. Then, seeing Ariel she smiled. “Ariel, I remember you.” Looking around, she continued, “Katie, Kelsey; what are you doing here?”

“Your crystal was damaged in an attack by the AIs,” answered Katie, waiting to hear how Clarissa responded to this information.

“I don’t remember,” Clarissa responded in her youthful voice, sounding mystified. “There seem to be some gaps in my memory.”

“Don’t worry, Clarissa,” Ariel said softly, coming to stand next to her AI friend. “We will all help you to remember.”

“It may take awhile, but I think you’re going to be all right,” Katie spoke as she stood up and came to stand in front of the two AIs.

“It’s just good to have you back,” said Kelsey, walking over next to Katie. “Jeremy, Kevin, and Angela will all be excited.”

“Angela?” Clarissa said, looking confused. “Who is Angela?”

Katie and Kelsey looked at one another. It was evident that Clarissa was back, but it would take some time to discover just exactly what she still remembered. She was Clarissa, but not the old Clarissa. That Clarissa was gone and would probably never return.

-

Governor Malleck was meeting with Ambassador Tureen of the Altons. Also sitting in on the meeting was Fleet Admiral Johnson, who had come from New Tellus just to attend.

“I spoke to Fleet Admiral Streth about current operations in the Carethian sector,” Karla said, her eyes focusing on the other two. “The Hocklyns are keeping a very low profile and the AIs can’t be found anywhere.”

“They have retreated to the galactic center to rearm and modernize their fleet,” Tureen commented as the tall, white haired Alton looked down at the conference table and then back up again. “I have spoken to some of our strategists who have long studied the AIs, and they are certain that when they have finished updating their ships they will attack with a vengeance. They may fear being destroyed, but they won’t risk losing their Empire.”

“What are we to do?” asked Karla, knowing they might not be able to stop a massive AI attack. It could also be a devastating blow to Admiral Streth and the Carethians if the AIs struck there first. “It will be another four to six months before we can substantially increase the size of the fleet Admiral Streth has available to him.”

“As you know, most of my people are pacifists,” Tureen began. “Fortunately we have a large population spread across many worlds, and while only a small portion are willing to take part in the war effort, it is still a large number. Nearly one billion of my people will actively support the war and are willing to do whatever is necessary to defeat the AIs and the Hocklyns.”

“Why are your people pacifists?” asked Malleck, curiously. Particularly since the Altons had always known that someday, they would have to face the AIs. It didn’t make sense for the race to have become pacifists.

“Our race is an old one,” Tureen explained calmly, his eyes focusing on Governor Malleck. “We have over twenty thousand years of civilized history and another thirty thousand that could be considered preindustrial. Over the years, as our race matured, our people turned to more mental challenges rather than physical ones. It was one of the primary reasons we created the AIs in the first place.”

“You had no wars upon your planet?” Karla asked. She couldn’t imagine there not being some type of conflicts.

“Only in the early years,” Tureen admitted. “Before we created the AIs, we had gone nearly four thousand years without a conflict on our planet or the worlds we controlled.”

“What about hostile alien races?” Karla asked. “Surely you encountered a few.”

“Several,” Tureen admitted. “But their science was far behind ours, and while we had not fought a war in centuries, we still had very advanced weapons and shields on our exploration ships. Other races soon learned not to attack our vessels.”

Fleet Admiral Johnson nodded in understanding. “Just the threat of your superior weapons was enough to keep your worlds at peace.”

“As the centuries passed, we turned more and more away from physical forms of recreation and even work. The AIs were created to allow us to spend more time to grow in the fields of science, philosophy, art, and others. A small group of my people began to fear we'd made a mistake turning so much over to the AIs. Our birthrate began to decline and our population began to shrink.”

“Decadence began setting in,” Governor Malleck spoke in realization. “The lack of physical activity and challenges was draining the vitality away from your species.”

“Correct,” responded Tureen, with a nod of his head. “A small group of my people decided that the AIs were not the solution and because of their programming could someday pose a threat to our people and even the galaxy at large. A scientific expedition was mounted by this group, and several ships were sent out into the galaxy to search for a solution. They eventually found Earth and decided to transplant a viable Human population to what later became the Human Federation of Worlds. Most of that expedition elected to stay behind and colonize a new world close to Earth to watch over your budding Human civilization.”

“This sounds like a history lesson,” Governor Malleck said, wondering where this was leading.

“In a way,” Tureen responded. “You know what happened to my people that remained at the galactic center; the steadily decreasing birthrate eventually caused them to die out and leave the AIs in charge of what was left of our civilization. However, in the system we colonized near Earth, we were rediscovering our vitality. We colonized new worlds, built mining and research bases, and began to explore this region of the galaxy. We also kept track of what was happening with the AIs, though we were powerless to actively intervene.”

“Then the AIs moved out into the galaxy and began setting up their own Empire,” muttered Karla, shaking her head.

“Yes,” replied Tureen, sounding regretful. “We were horrified at what was happening. There were even discussions amongst my people of building new ships and trying to leave the galaxy. We finally discarded that train of thought as being too impractical. We watched over the centuries as the AIs continued to expand their Empire using the Hocklyns and three other warlike races. We were still debating what to do when the Hocklyns and the original Human Federation of Worlds went to war. We'd waited too long; we didn’t have the ships to help save them. Immediately after the fall of the Federation and seeing the survivors find Earth and settle within Ceres, we began building a war fleet in case the AIs every ventured out into this section of the galaxy.”

“So, what now?” Governor Malleck asked. “Your fleet saved us at New Tellus, but we're still facing unbelievable odds. This may still be a war we can’t win.”

“We need a way to secure our worlds from the AIs and their four proxy races,” Tureen told the other two as he stood up and walked over to a holographic projection table. He inserted a computer chip and a large, cylindrical object appeared. It had a flat base that obviously contained some sort of power source.

“What’s that?” asked Karla, guessing it was some type of weapon.

“This is a new development by our scientists and may be a solution to part of our problem,” Tureen began as he gestured at the hologram. “It is an orbital particle beam cannon. It projects a beam of charged particles similar to the ones used on our warships. It’s not as powerful as the ones on our ships, but it is still capable of penetrating a Hocklyn ship’s screens and doing major damage. If enough of these satellites focus their beams on an AI ship, even its shields will eventually fail.”

“Can we build these?” asked Karla, feeling excited. “If we could surround all of our colony worlds with these it would free up fleet units to use in the war.”

“Not yet,” replied Tureen, shaking his head. “You just don’t have the technology base. However, we will be pleased to build them for you.”

“How soon?” Karla asked. “I would like to send some to Admiral Streth to use to help protect Careth. I don’t believe the AIs or the Hocklyns will attack us here without neutralizing Careth first.”

“We've already begun construction,” Tureen replied. “We can have five hundred of these new particle beam satellites ready within four of your weeks. Each one of your Federation worlds and bases can be protected by a screen of these within the year, and then we will begin with your allies.”

“This could change the entire war effort,” Governor Malleck said, his eyes lighting up. “If we know our worlds are secure from Hocklyn or AI attack, we can focus on taking the battle to them.”

Tureen seemed to hesitate and then inserted another computer chip into the holographic imager. A large battle station appeared floating above the table.

“What’s that?” Fleet Admiral Johnson asked as she stood up and walked over next to the image to inspect it closer. It was similar in some ways to the large battle stations that protected Earth.

“It’s an Indomitable Class Battle Station,” answered Tureen, promptly. “It’s the latest development by our scientists. The station is one thousand meters in diameter and armed with numerous heavy particle beam cannons and sublight antimatter missile tubes. It has other defensive weapons as well. Six of these stations in orbit over a planet will make it virtually impervious to an attack from an AI ship.”

“We can’t build them,” spoke Karla, shaking her head knowing it would be the same as the satellites. “Even if we could, how can we get these to Careth? If the AIs attack as you say they will, that will be their main target before coming after us.” She knew that holding Careth was vital to the future of the Federation.

“These are already under construction,” replied Tureen, informatively. “They are being built in our home system and will be deployed there first. They can be built in modular units, transported to Careth, and assembled there. I have spoken to my government and they are willing to furnish twelve of these for the planet’s defense. They have very powerful energy shields, which should be able to resist any weapon the AIs come up with. Most of the science the AIs possess comes from our old civilization, which the AIs inherited, and from the worlds they have conquered. These shields are of a modulated frequency, which changes hundreds of times per second. We can fire weapons through it, but the AIs and the Hocklyns will not be able to penetrate it with their weapons as long as they can’t find the current frequency of the shield.”

“I don’t know what to say,” spoke Karla, feeling speechless. It was becoming more evident every day that the Altons were heavily committed to the war effort. She didn’t even what to hazard a guess as to the astronomical costs of building these large battle stations and the particle beam satellites.

“We are also willing to furnish twenty more battlecruisers to help defend Careth,” added Tureen, smiling. “We have started up the warship construction yards again and these will be the most modern and powerful ships we can build with our technology. They will be larger than our current ships and will have one hundred and twenty Altons assigned to each as a crew. However, we still recognize that Humans are better suited for war than we are. The ships will need Human crews of six hundred each plus a contingent of your marines.”

“You will have them,” Karla promised, her face flushing with excitement at the prospect of having even more powerful Alton ships. “How soon do you need them?”

“As soon as possible,” replied Tureen, thinking about the construction schedule. “It would be good to have the crews involved in the construction process so they'll better understand how the ships function.”

Karla thought for a moment. There was the new class of cadets preparing to graduate from the Fleet Academy on the Moon. Throw in some seasoned officers and she would have the crews the Altons wanted.

“When are you going to speak to President Kincaid about this?” Governor Malleck asked. He knew this was not a decision that could be made by Ceres alone, though he appreciated Ambassador Tureen telling him of his proposals.

“In three more days,” Tureen responded. “I have asked to address the Federation Senate concerning this matter.”

“I don’t think you will have a problem getting this approved,” Karla spoke with an all knowing grin. “Once you mention the particle beam defensive satellites and the battle stations, you'll have the Senate in your pocket.” Karla knew that not even the ever vocal Senator Fulbright would object to this.

-

Jeremy was aboard Ambassador Tureen’s ship standing in the Command Center, looking about in amazement. He'd been at Ceres and was catching a ride back to the Moon where he had a meeting scheduled with the current head of the Fleet Academy about new recruits for his battleship. Jeremy was in awe of everything around him. The entire front wall of the ship seemed to be open to space. They were traveling at sublight speeds, but the engines on the Alton ship were much more powerful than Federation ships and capable of much higher speeds. The view looking out at the stars was spectacular.

Several of the tall, white haired Altons manned various consoles. Most of them sensed motion and the Alton’s hands never actually touched the controls as they made minor adjustments. A holographic image floated to just one side of the main control console depicting a three dimensional image of the solar system. It showed much more detail than anything currently being used on Federation ships.

Even the always present vibrations from the engines were absent on the Alton craft. The chairs the Altons were sitting in seemed to be even more padded and comfortable than those found on a Federation warship. When you sat in one, it seemed to automatically adjust itself to your body. It was obvious the Altons had done everything they could to make their ships as comfortable as possible.

“Do you like my ship, Admiral?” Ambassador Tureen asked with a pleasant smile.

Jeremy had to look up at the tall ambassador. “It’s fantastic,” he said, nodding his head as he continued to gaze around in fascination.

“This ship is a diplomatic vessel with light weapons but a powerful energy shield,” Tureen explained. “As you know, for centuries we've stayed away from any type of armed conflict up to the point of making our stellar neighbors believe that all of our ships were unarmed.”

“You have a lot of large exploration ships,” Jeremy mentioned. He'd seen images of some of the large vessels and reports on the exploring the Altons had done in the local region of space.

“Exploration is how we maintain the vigor in our race. Before the recent war with the Hocklyns and the AIs, we always had exploratory missions out in the galaxy. Even now, we still have numerous scientific posts scattered throughout this section of space.”

“Just how much of the galaxy have you explored?”

“The galaxy is a large place with billions of stars. The nebula, black holes, and unformed stellar matter hold thousands of years of future explorations. Then there are the nearer galaxies. Before this war, there was already some discussion of sending missions to the closest ones.”

Jeremy was silent for a moment. He could tell from the excited tone in Tureen’s voice that just the thought of exploration was intriguing to him. “What are the AIs building in the center of the galaxy?”

Tureen looked at Jeremy with surprise in his eyes. Then they took on a darker and more worried look. “We’re not sure,” he replied at last. “We have managed to get a few exploration ships into AI space. I can tell you there are thousands of AI spheres at the heart of the galaxy. They're building something close to the massive black hole at the galaxy’s center. A few of our scientists have a theory as to what it may be, but it’s too early to speculate until we have more solid information.”

“How do we get that information?” Jeremy asked. He'd only heard rumors about the Hocklyns building something at the galaxy’s center. Whatever it was, Jeremy had a haunting feeling it was extremely dangerous. It also made him deeply concerned to hear Tureen mention thousands of AI spheres.

“We are building two new research vessels,” responded Tureen, letting out a deep and long breath. “We plan on sending those ships to the galactic core to find out.”

“How will you get there through all of those AI ships?”

Tureen gazed at Jeremy for a long moment. “Your fleet will have to take us there. Once we are close enough to what the AIs are constructing we can ascertain its function and determine its potential threat.”

“What if it is a danger?” asked Jeremy, wondering what they could do.

“Then we destroy it,” answered Tureen, grimly. “The AIs can’t be allowed to succeed in whatever they are planning for this galaxy.”

The center of the galaxy, Jeremy thought feeling numb. He wondered what would await them there if and when they finally made that dangerous journey.

Chapter Thirteen

Fleet Commodore Resmunt continued to watch as more fleet units arrived to be updated. The Humans had been relatively quiet in the last few weeks after attacking and destroying War Leader Briton’s fleet. There were currently over two thousand Hocklyn warships in the Kenward Seven star system. The four massive shipyards had over one hundred and sixty construction bays combined. It was taking an average of six days to upgrade a dreadnought or warcruiser with the new weapons. There were also two AI ships in orbit assisting with the upgrades.

“How much longer before we attack?” First Leader Ganth asked, his large dark eyes focusing on the Fleet Commodore.

It made him nervous that the AIs were in the system and had stayed for such a long period. Normally they jumped in, downloaded the updates, and then left. That hadn’t happened this time.

“The Humans seem to be fortifying Careth,” Resmunt responded. An AI ship had jumped to within four light years of the system to see what the Humans and Carethians were up to. It had stayed in interstellar space since it was now assumed the Humans had some way of detecting FTL jumps in the systems near them. “I've been instructed by the High Council to hold our fleets here. We will attack the Humans en mass, annihilating them at Careth and then continuing on to their home worlds. We will eliminate this menace once and for all.”

“Honor will come to us,” First Leader Ganth responded in his harsh, raspy voice. “It will be good to go into combat and defeat the Humans.”

“Much honor will come in these next few battles,” agreed Resmunt, reaching down and tapping the hilt of the knife at his waist.

It had been awhile since he had last tasted the fruits of victory. He knew that another loss at the hands of the Humans could cost him his Fleet Commodore position as well as his family honor. It was something he was determined not to allow to happen.

“Will there be AI ships going with us when we launch our attack?”

“I don’t know,” Resmunt replied as his reptilian eyes strayed to one of the main viewscreens, which was focused on one of the two massive 1,500-meter AI spheres. “The High Council has not informed me if the AIs will be involved.”

“If we have enough upgraded warships, we might not need them,” Ganth stated. “Without the AIs there will be much more honor in our victory.” Ganth had no respect for the AIs and would just prefer that they did not take part in any future battles.

“Perhaps,” responded Resmunt, folding his powerful arms across his chest plate and looking over at his First Leader. Resmunt knew that Ganth aspired to become a War Leader someday, but he still lacked in the strategy department.

Resmunt’s gaze returned to another viewscreen that showed even more ships moving into the repair bays in the nearest shipyard that orbited the planet beneath them. Dreadnoughts and warcruisers were being given first priority. The only thing that concerned Resmunt was that they had withdrawn so many ships from the outlying sectors of the Empire to be updated that there was little left to stop the Humans from marching through Hocklyn territory if they so wished. It mystified Resmunt as to why the Humans were not taking advantage of their current tactical advantage.

-

Aboard the dreadnought Viden, Fleet Commodore Versith gazed thoughtfully at the tactical hologram, which showed the assembling Hocklyn fleet. There were more ships currently in the system than any ship gathering in the Empire’s long history. Over the coming weeks, even more ships were due to arrive.

“Impressive,” War Leader Trion spoke from his position next to Versith. Since Versith had been promoted to Fleet Commodore, Trion had been moved up to War Leader.

“We will have a decided edge in warships over the Humans,” commented Versith, looking over at his second in command. “But the Humans will have the edge in technology.”

“Even with the new weapons the AIs are giving us?” Trion asked in surprise, his large dark eyes gazing in question at Versith. He'd hoped the new weapons would put them on an even par with the Humans.

“The AIs have given us more powerful weapons,” admitted Versith, letting out a deep breath. “But they keep the most powerful weapons for themselves. The High Council has reported that the AIs are involved in a massive rearming of all their warships in the center of the galaxy.”

“What about this mysterious project they are supposedly working on at the galaxy’s center?” Trion asked.

“I fear that it will not be to our liking when it is completed,” Versith responded.

He gazed at one of the large viewscreens. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they were actually fighting on the wrong side in this war. The AIs had always used the Hocklyns as pawns to expand the Empire. Even though the Hocklyns controlled thousands of slave worlds, the AIs called all the shots.

“We have built their Empire,” Trion countered, his eyes widening. “Surely they will not do anything to jeopardize that.”

“The AIs are not organic,” Versith reminded Trion in his raspy cold voice. “They do not think as we do.”

Over at one of the weapons consoles, Second Leader Jaseth was busy running diagnostics on his targeting systems. He was excited at the new weapons the Viden had been equipped with. It had been rushed into one of the construction bays immediately after jumping into the system and rapidly updated.

“These new weapons will allow us to kill even more of the Human vermin,” he commented to one of the Hocklyns manning a console next to him. “They will die beneath our weapons.”

“The new weapons are truly powerful,” the Fourth Leader beside him responded in agreement. “Even our energy screen is stronger than before. Surely the Humans and their new allies will fall before us.”

“Their species will be eliminated,” agreed Jaseth, feeling the hot rush of his blood feeding his desire to kill the Humans. Jaseth would not rest until his family was avenged and every last Human was dead.

-

High Leader Nartel had made a decision. He was going to take a small escort fleet and go to Kenward Seven. He wanted to make sure there was no doubt in the minds of either Fleet Commodore Resmunt or Fleet Commodore Versith as to what their orders were. He also needed to be there when another special group of ships he was expecting arrived.

“Is this wise?” High Councilor Berken asked, his dark eyes focusing on the High Leader. “This is a dangerous time for the Empire. Your untimely death after the way High Leader Ankler died would unsettle the Empire.” It was very seldom a High Leader ever traveled away from the home worlds.

“I will be perfectly safe,” Nartel replied confidently as he tapped his chest plate with his left hand. “I will be taking the dreadnought HammersHand and a small escort fleet to Kenward Seven where I will supervise the final preparations of the fleet. This will be our last chance to destroy the Humans and we must not make any mistakes. If we fail, the AIs may abandon us completely.”

High Councilor Jarles only shook his head. He was standing next to Berken and they were all in the High Leader’s office. “The Humans and Altons are a big threat,” Jarles commented, his eyes narrowing. “We might be able to destroy the Humans with our superior numbers, but what about the Altons? Even our newly updated ships may not be able to destroy them.”

“The AIs are rearming their own fleet,” responded Nartel, recalling his last conversation with their mechanical masters. “Once they have finished updating their ships they will take care of the Altons. The AIs feel certain that with more powerful ships and superior numbers they can destroy what remains of the Alton race.”

“There are a lot of ifs in all of this,” spoke Berken, shaking his head. “We have underestimated the Humans every time. I just hope we're not doing so again.”

-

Fleet Admiral Streth gazed in satisfaction at the arrival of the latest supply fleet. On the tactical display, hundreds of new friendly green icons were appearing as they exited hyperspace. There were Federation supply ships and warships, Alton ships both cargo and battlecruisers, Kessel warships and their attending supply ships, as well as Darvonian warships and their supply ships.

“That’s one hell of a supply fleet,” Colonel Trist spoke with a wide grin across his face. “I’ve never seen that many in a single fleet before.”

“We're being reinforced with six more battlecruisers, four battlecarriers, eight strikecruisers, and twenty light cruisers,” Colonel Grissim reported as she looked at the latest scans and the messages from the admiral commanding the arriving supply fleet.

“Contact Colonel Barnes on the Ceres and tell her that I'll be having a meeting with all the admirals of the recently arrived fleets as well as Grayseth and I would like her to attend,” ordered Hedon, looking over at Janice, who was sitting in front of Communications.

“I'll send the message immediately,” Janice replied with a grin. “She knew that Colonel Barnes was not happy with her new assignment, even though she was the best qualified person in the fleet to handle this type of diplomacy. Kathryn had joined the fleet to get away from the diplomatic part of her family life.

“There are eighty Kessel warships in the fleet, including ten of their battlecruisers,” Colonel Grissim reported. “The Darvonian fleet has one hundred and forty ships, including seven of their light cruiser size command ships.”

“Our allies really came through,” Commented Colonel Trist, feeling more secure with all the new ships. “This will free us up to resume combat operations against the Hocklyns.”

Hedon nodded, all of the Kessel and Darvonian ships would be assigned to defensive duty inside the Carethian system. This would free up his heavier Federation ships to attack the Hocklyns, and he already had his first high priority target picked out. One other thing this fleet contained were five hundred new particle beam satellites built by the Altons. Once they were deployed, he would be ready to throw his next punch at the enemy, one they would never suspect was coming.

-

Colonel Kathryn Barnes gazed pensively at the newly arrived fleet. It would take them hours to finish entering the gravity well and go into orbit around Careth. She was still aboard the Ceres and in the ship’s Command Center.

“Ready for your new assignment?” Admiral Telleck asked with a soft smile.

“I guess,” Kathryn replied with a heavy sigh.

She'd joined the fleet to get away from all the diplomatic intrigue that seemed to be such a big part of politics. Her father loved being a Federation Senator, but Kathryn had never felt the desire to pursue a political career. She knew it had been a big disappointment to her father, but he had allowed her to go her own way.

“I know you wanted to stay out of this kind of thing,” Telleck added, his eyes focusing on the hazel eyes of his executive officer. “But we’re a long way from the Federation and you’re by far the best qualified person we have to fill this position.”

“I know,” Kathryn responded with a heavy sigh. She had traveled with her father on numerous diplomatic trips to the home worlds of the Federation’s allies and was familiar with their intricacies. They'd even entertained alien diplomats in their home inside Ceres upon occasion.

“We have arranged for a new set of offices for you on board the Carethian space station,” Telleck added, wanting to make this transition as easy as possible on Kathryn. “Admiral Streth and I have found several other fleet personnel who have worked with our alien allies that should be of use to you. You should be interested to know that a Carethian officer has requested to be part of your staff.”

“Which one?” asked Kathryn, curiously. She'd met several on the space station when she had taken a tour of the facility.

“Malith,” Telleck replied. “She serves as a Communications and Navigation officer on the station. She is highly interested in meeting representatives from our allies.”

“What are the plans, Sir?” Kathryn asked as she took a deep breath.

“We want to acclimate our allies into working with each other, as well as us and the Carethians. Their primary responsibility will be defending Careth, with help from the Carethians and a few Alton ships, while Admiral Streth and I take our fleets on the offensive.”

“Do you have a target chosen?” Kathryn knew it would be hard for her to see Ceres Fleet leave and not be going with it.

“Yes,” Admiral Telleck spoke, his voice suddenly sounding serious. “We want to hit the Hocklyns where it hurts. One of their major fleet construction bases lies between us and their home worlds. If we can damage it, we'll seriously hamper their ability to build new warships as well as update their old ones.”

“What’s the name of this base?” To Kathryn this sounded like a bold move but it was also very risky. A major ship construction facility would probably have a large number of Hocklyn warships defending it; perhaps even a few AIs.

“Kenward Seven,” Admiral Telleck replied after a moment. “We managed to get a lot of intelligence from the fleet base we captured. Several computers didn't have their memory cores completely wiped.”

“I hope it’s a successful operation,” spoke Kathryn, wishing that she was going and not stuck on the space station. Then, squaring her shoulders she added, “I'd better go over to the station and get organized.”

Admiral Telleck watched her leave the Command Center and then turned back to his command console. He had some readiness reports to look over and Admiral Kalen had sent him a message stating that additional new battle units would soon be arriving from Ceres to reinforce his fleet for the coming campaign.

-

Admiral Streth was sitting down in a conference room on board the StarStrike with Grayseth, Daelthon, Colonel Trist, Colonel Grissim, and Colonel Malang. The only viewscreen in the room was focused on the newly arriving ships.

“We are building many more of our small warships to add to the defense of our planet,” Grayseth reported with his large hairy arms lying on the table.

“Construction of the new shipyard is coming along rapidly,” Daelthon added. “The new construction robots from Ceres have been really helpful.”

“Still look like giant spiders,” Colonel Trist muttered with a frown.

Colonel Grissim laughed and then spoke. “If you stay on Ceres long enough you get used to them. We use them for everything in the asteroid.”

“How soon before the first construction bay is finished?” asked Hedon, looking over at Daelthon.

The light brown furred Carethian looked down at some notes in front of him and replied. “In two more months, we can begin building our first large warship.”

“We will finally be able to take the war to the evil ones,” Grayseth uttered with satisfaction in his voice. “It'll be good to strike at our enemies.”

“I understand you have assigned Malith to work with Colonel Barnes in her new envoy role.”

“Yes,” responded Grayseth, nodding his large head. “She requested it as she wants to become more familiar with the various races that are allied to the Federation.”

“I know Colonel Barnes' father,” Anne added with a thoughtful look in her eyes. “He's our senior senator from Ceres. I can remember when Colonel Barnes was younger how her father used to take her on many of his diplomatic missions. She should be well suited for the job.”

“I hope so,” Hedon responded. Then looking down at his notes, he continued, “The Kessels and the Darvonians do not use fighters or bombers. However, the Kessel fleet does have ten battlecruisers that have been updated to current Federation standards with Alton fusion reactors. They've also been furnished with Devastator Three missiles. They have twenty heavy cruisers similar to our Monarchs and fifty light cruisers.

“That’s a powerful force,” commented Grayseth, realizing that the Kessels were indeed a force to be reckoned with. “Their ships will aid greatly in the defense of Careth. What about the Darvonians?”

“The Darvonian ships are much smaller and have also been updated with Alton fusion reactors. They have seven command ships similar in size to a light cruiser and one hundred and thirty-three ships of destroyer class. I propose we use the Darvonian ships to help defend the satellite grid to ensure that no future bombardment of Careth can occur.”

“I agree,” spoke Daelthon, nodding his head in agreement. “Many of our own new small ships will be based on the space station and upon the new shipyard we are building. They are currently being modified to carry Shrike missiles with twenty-megaton warheads. Each ship will be capable of delivering ten to its target. They will go in with the bomber strike, providing covering fire.”

“The new orbital particle beam satellites will be deployed starting tomorrow,” Colonel Grissim added as she leaned back and folded her arms across her breasts. “There will be two Shrike missile platforms and four laser satellites assigned to protect each one. The missile platforms and satellites will be arriving with the next supply fleet in two weeks.”

“There are also the new battle stations,” Hedon reminded them. “Those are of Alton design and should be the final key to allow us to fortify Careth to the point where it can withstand a massive AI and Hocklyn attack. Once the battle stations are in place, we will begin our new offensive against the Hocklyns.”

-

The next day, Colonel Grissim was in a shuttle observing the placement of one of the new particle beam satellites. The satellite was twenty meters long and four meters wide with a base ten meters across that held the weapons' power source. The base had to be attached to the long cylinder of the particle beam weapon inside one of the construction bays of the space station and then carefully positioned into its new orbit. Targeting and identification computers in the base of the satellite would fire upon any AI or Hocklyn vessel that came within range.

“I wish we'd had those at New Tellus when the AIs attacked,” the shuttle pilot commented wistfully as he carefully turned the small ship to give Colonel Grissim a better view of the operation.

“At least the Altons made it in time to save the system from being destroyed,” replied Anne, recalling that horrific battle. There was a time there when everyone in the fleet had thought they were going to die.

“From what I overheard in the flight bay on the StarStrike, the Altons are going to put some of these in every Federation and ally system.”

“Eventually,” Anne responded as she watched the shuttle with the particle beam satellite carefully position it so it pointed away from the planet.

The satellite's own internal computer and miniature thrusters would keep it in proper orientation after release. The construction shuttle that was positioning the satellite had several grappling arms that could be used to manipulate objects.

The pilot of the construction shuttle finally released the particle beam satellite and began to back away. After observing the satellite for a few moments, the pilot turned his shuttle and headed back toward the construction bay on the space station for another one. There were four shuttles currently placing the particle beam satellites around Careth.

“Seems easy enough,” commented Colonel Grissim, with a satisfied nod. She knew that later, when the Shrike missile platforms arrived along with the new batch of laser satellites, they too would have to be positioned by the construction shuttles. To her, it seemed like a lot of tedious work.

“Looks like they’re done,” the pilot reported as he watched the other shuttle move rapidly off toward the station.

“Yes,” Anne replied. “Let’s get back to the StarStrike, Colonel Barnes is having her first meeting with all of our allies in a few hours, and I will be representing the Federation.” She'd hoped that Admiral Telleck or Fleet Admiral Streth would be the representative, but she had been chosen because of her detailed knowledge of what they were up against.

-

Admiral Streth was in the gym and had just finished a long run with Captain Duncan. They'd both been silent as they ran. They had pushed themselves and were now just walking as they caught their breath.

“That felt good,” Janice commented with a pleased smile as she took a deep breath. “I like to push myself like that on occasion. It gets the heart really pumping.”

Hedon laughed and looked over at Janice. “I enjoy our runs together. For a while, I can forget there is a war going on.”

Janice was quiet for a moment. There had been a question she had been wanting to ask Hedon for several weeks now but had been hesitant to bring it up. “The ship from New Providence is still at Ceres, Hedon. When will it be returning home?”

Hedon walked over and picked up a towel off a bench next to the wall. He wiped off his face and arms and then turned to face Janice. “Sometime in the next three weeks they'll be returning to New Providence,” he responded. “Senator Arden and Commander Strone are anxious to return home and tell their people about the Federation.”

“It’s surprising that they were willing to stay so long,” she said. “I would have thought they would have left months ago.”

“It was important for them to see how the battle at New Tellus went,” Hedon responded. “They were also given two years to complete their mission.”

Janice walked over close to Hedon until they were nearly touching. “When are you returning home? And I don’t mean Ceres or New Tellus.”

For a long moment, Hedon was silent and then he finally answered. “With the new particle beam satellites and Alton battle stations we can fortify New Providence and make it secure from attack. It may take a while but eventually we'll take back control of all the other systems in the former Human Federation of Worlds. Those are Human worlds and someday they'll have people walking on their surfaces once more.”

“How soon before New Providence is fortified?” Janice asked. She knew that Hedon ached to return to the lake on Maken where Taylor and Lendle had lived.

“It'll probably be at least another year,” responded Hedon, wishing it could be sooner. “Once the Federation worlds are all fortified with the Alton particle beam satellites and battle stations we can move on to New Providence.”

“There are several things that worry me about all of this,” Janice said as she gazed deeply into Hedon’s eyes. “What are the AIs and the Hocklyns going to be doing during all of this time? They have to know that we’re coming for them.”

“I guess that’s the big question,” Hedon replied, looking at Janice. Over the months, they'd gotten closer. He wished that Taylor and Lendle could have met Janice. He had a strong suspicion they both would have liked her. “The Altons feel the AIs are updating their ships with better weapons, same as the Hocklyns. That’s one reason why we have to strike soon and strike hard.”

Janice nodded. She wished that she and Hedon could become more romantically involved, but he was the Fleet Admiral and she had to restrain herself and not distract him. The Federation needed Admiral Streth if they wanted to win this war. The romance she so deeply wanted would have to wait.

-

Kathryn let out a deep, steadying breath as she watched members from all of the allied races file into the large conference room she'd set up on the space station. There was Colonel Grissim, Malith, Major Deleen from the Kessels, and Captain Anchon from the Darvonians.

“If everyone will please take a seat, we'll get this meeting started,” Kathryn said with a polite smile upon her face.

The representatives all sat down and looked over at Kathryn with expectant looks upon their faces.

“We have representatives here from four of the races that form our alliance,” she began from her seat at the head of the table. “The main purpose of this group will be to ensure that our different peoples work well together in this war against the AIs and the Hocklyns.”

“We have worked with Humans and even the Kessels for many years,” Captain Anchon spoke. “We wish to get to know the Carethians better as it is their world that we will be defending.”

“Same with my people,” Major Deleen added in her purring voice.

“I would suggest we start by each one of you introducing yourselves and telling us a little about your worlds,” Kathryn said, deciding this was the best way to get to know one another. “We all should recognize with four different races from different cultural backgrounds working together there will be disagreements at times. I want to ensure none of those get out of hand.”

“As do we Carethians,” Malith said in her mellow voice. Her large, warm eyes looked over the other representatives. “We lived for nearly one hundred years as slaves to the Hocklyns as our population was drastically reduced and our single colony world destroyed. My people are dedicated to this war effort and we deeply appreciate your help in protecting our world. We will never allow our planet to come under the Hocklyn’s rule again.” She continued giving the others a very brief history of Careth and what had happened under Hocklyn rule.

Once Malith was finished, one by one the other delegates gave a brief description of their own unique history and their view on the war. Occasionally someone would interrupt and ask a question. Finally, everyone had spoken and Kathryn looked over the small group.

“I think that everyone can see that we all offer something unique to this alliance. We must do everything within our power to make sure this works. The planet of Careth is not just at risk, but all of our worlds. You all heard Malith describe what living under Hocklyn rule was like. None of us wants to see that fate befall our own planets.”

“We will all hunt together in this,” Malith decreed with conviction. The other looked at Malith and then answered in kind. “We will all hunt together.”

Kathryn smiled. Everything was going better than expected. If it continued then the AIs and the Hocklyns had better watch out, for their time of enslaving other races was going to be coming to an abrupt end.

Chapter Fourteen

Jeremy was feeling nervous, even worse than when he had faced the Hocklyns and AIs at Careth. The reason was simple; today was his wedding day. In two more weeks, they would be launching the new Avenger and shortly after that, they'd be returning to Careth to continue the war. Both Fourth Fleet and Second Fleet were nearly ready, as well as Grayseth’s new battleship.

“You should see the look on your face,” Kevin said with a grin as he put on his fleet dress jacket. “Not about to change your mind, are you?”

“No way,” Jeremy croaked out. He reached over, poured some cold water into a glass from the small table in the room, and took a fortifying drink. “Kelsey and I have wanted this for a long time.” Then, looking over at Kevin, he continued. “It’s still not too late; we could always make this a double wedding.”

“Are you kidding?” Kevin said, shaking his head vehemently. “The entire Federation is going to be watching your wedding; Katie and I prefer something more intimate and private.”

Jeremy nodded in understanding. At first, he'd been opposed to broadcasting their nuptials live across the entire Human Federation of Worlds, but Fleet Admiral Johnson had convinced them by seeing the marriage of two of the Special Five would boost the morale of the entire Federation.

“Have you seen the list of who's attending?” asked Kevin, holding a sheet of paper in his hand he'd picked up from the table. “The President, Governor Malleck, and almost every member of the Federation Senate will be in the assembly hall.”

“Our families will be too,” Jeremy reminded Kevin. They'd sent out invitations to nearly everyone that had attended the reception Fleet Admiral Johnson had held for them at New Tellus Station before they left on Operation First Strike. Nearly everyone had accepted, and there had been numerous calls of congratulations.

Jeremy looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in the uniform of a full fleet admiral, decorations and all. The dark blue uniform was made of the finest material fleet tailors had been able to find. Jeremy had felt a little uncomfortable wearing all the decorations and insignia, but Fleet Admiral Johnson had told him the people of the Federation would be expecting it.

There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened. Admiral Kalen stepped in and looked approvingly at Jeremy. “You should know that Fleet Admiral Johnson, Governor Malleck, and I had a long conversation with President Kincaid. He's agreed to allow you and Kelsey to stay with Fourth Fleet. The only demand he has made is that the two of you cannot be on the Avenger together if it goes into combat. She will be assigned to the new shipyard being built over Careth when the Avenger goes out on sorties.”

“At least the two of you will still get to see one another,” Kevin said with a nod. A big concern for all of them had been that Kelsey might have to stay in the Federation and not be able to return to Careth.

“You will also be affected,” continued Admiral Kalen, looking over at Kevin. “Lieutenant Johnson is being reassigned to the new shipyard as well.”

“So we’re finally being split up,” Jeremy said with a deep sigh. He'd been expecting this. His biggest fear was that Katie and Kelsey would have to remain behind in the Federation. It was a relief to hear that they would be going to Careth with the fleet.

“It’s for the best,” Admiral Kalen replied. Then, in a more serious tone, “Jeremy, the five of you represent the heart of the Federation. Your history, particularly considering who some of your parents were, is what built the Human Federations of Worlds as we know it today. We can’t afford to lose that.”

“We understand, Admiral,” responded Jeremy, squaring his shoulders knowing it was an adjustment they'd all have to learn to live with. At least they would all be at Careth together.

“Now on to better and brighter things,” Kalen said with a broad smile covering his face. “There was an argument about who is going to perform the official ceremony. The President, Governor Malleck, and Fleet Admiral Johnson all wanted to be the ones to preside. However, someone else has stepped forward and we couldn’t in good faith turn him down.”

“Who?” asked Jeremy, curiously. He couldn’t think of anyone else.

Admiral Kalen turned and opened the door and Admiral Telleck walked in. “Me,” Telleck spoke with a friendly smile. “I was the one that promoted you to admiral and it’s only fitting that I preside over the joining of you and Kelsey.”

“I thought you were back at Careth,” stated Jeremy, feeling pleased to see the senior admiral from Ceres.

“I came back for a few days to brief Admiral Sheen as well as President Kincaid of what Fleet Admiral Streth and I are planning shortly.”

“You’re planning a major attack!” Kevin uttered his eyes growing wide. “We’re about to go back on the offensive.”

Telleck turned toward Kevin and nodded. “Within the next few weeks. The Alton battle stations are nearly assembled in their stationary orbits above Careth, our allies are working well together, and the new shipyard is coming along rapidly. Already, several of its construction bays are operational and Grayseth has begun constructing Careth’s first true warships.”

“Will you launch the attack before Admiral Sheen and I arrive with our fleets?” Jeremy asked. It made him a little nervous knowing the two large Federation fleets would be leaving Careth, even with its new and improved defenses.

“Yes,” Telleck responded with a nod. “We dare not wait much longer. Now, let’s get on with this wedding; we don’t want to keep the Federation and the bride waiting too much longer.”

-

Admiral Sheen was sitting near the front of the large assembly hall at the Fleet Academy on the Moon. After much debate, it was decided the Fleet Academy was where the wedding of the century would be held. Amanda looked around, seeing all the dignitaries including several ambassadors from their allies. Even the Alton ambassador, Tureen, was in attendance.

“Quite a crowd,” Richard said from her side. He too was amazed at all the people in attendance. Media crews were not visible, though he knew that equipment placed strategically around the large assembly hall would be transmitting the ceremony to all of the Federation worlds. Thanks to Alton FTL transmission technology, the entire Federation would see the ceremony within minutes of it occurring.

“There are a lot of people here,” spoke Amanda, wondering how Kelsey and Jeremy felt about their wedding being made into such a big spectacle.

“The hall holds ten thousand cadets normally,” Richard replied. “From what I can see, not a single seat is empty.”

The lights suddenly dimmed, and a door at the rear of the stage opened. Admiral Telleck, Jeremy, and Kevin stepped through to take their designated positions. Admiral Telleck stepped behind the podium and motioned for everyone to stand. As everyone stood, the familiar sounds of the customary wedding song filled the assembly hall.

Amanda looked toward the back entrance and the door slowly opened. Kelsey stepped through in a resplendent white wedding gown followed by Katie and Angela, her maids of honor.

“She looks beautiful,” Richard whispered quietly so just Amanda could hear.

“She is beautiful,” replied Amanda, noticing that Kelsey had allowed her blonde hair to grow longer for the wedding. Amanda felt a warm feeling inside knowing that these two young people deserved one another.

-

Kelsey walked slowly, keeping her head up and her dark blue eyes focused on Jeremy. She saw with surprise that Admiral Telleck was standing at the podium. She knew the admiral being here would mean a lot to Jeremy. Her pulse was racing and she was trying her best not to look nervous. It was hard to stay calm knowing that ten thousand pairs of eyes in the assembly hall were all focused on her.

A few moments later, Kelsey was standing on the stage with Jeremy. He reached out and took her hands, and Admiral Telleck began the ceremony. Jeremy and Kelsey had written their own vows and Kelsey could hear Katie and Angela sobbing quietly as Jeremy and she spoke them aloud. The only thing missing was Kelsey and Jeremy’s parents. In the back of her mind, Kelsey was certain that, though they couldn’t be seen, they were here in the assembly hall watching. She knew both sets of their parents would be quite happy with them getting married.

The ceremony was plain and simple and it seemed like only a few minutes had passed until Admiral Telleck pronounced them husband and wife. Jeremy tilted her head up and kissed her. They turned around and as they did so, everyone in the assembly hall stood and began clapping.

“We have one week for a honeymoon,” Jeremy said quietly as he smiled at everyone. He nodded at President Kincaid and Governor Malleck, who were sitting on the front row.

“The beach resort on New Tellus will be just perfect,” Kelsey spoke as she continued to smile at everyone. “I'm sure they are well stocked up on those fruit drinks you like so well.”

-

Amanda and Richard watched the happy couple leave the assembly hall, recalling their own wedding. She knew that for the next few days, Kelsey and Jeremy would be extremely happy, and then it would be time for them to return to their Fleet duties. At least for a while, they could be two normal people. She knew where the two were going for their honeymoon and the Fleet had arranged it so they would have a semblance of privacy. No media people would be allowed on the resort. There were also several security people that had been assigned to ensure that the two were not bothered. The security detail would be disguised as another married couple so as not to draw attention. Jeremy and Kelsey would never know they were there.

“I want to speak to Admiral Telleck before he gets away,” Amanda said as the crowd began to file out and go to the large, lavish reception that was planned.

“You could always invite him up to see your new battleship,” Richard suggested. He knew that Amanda was excited about her new flagship.

Amanda grinned back and said. “You know, I just might do that.”

The WarStorm was docked to the large shipyard that orbited the Moon. They'd taken a shuttle down to the Fleet Academy so they could attend the ceremony. Amanda had been extremely surprised at how well the new ship handled. The most difficult thing had been putting a crew together. Only a few had survived the destruction of the old WarStorm and most of those survivors had volunteered to become part of the new crew. Amanda still found herself looking for familiar faces in the Command Center, but most of the ones she saw were new to her.

The battlecruiser WarStorm had been destroyed when Commander Samantha Evans had used the heavily damaged ship to ram an AI sphere, annihilating both in the process. The only Command Center officers to survive were Lieutenant Benjamin Stalls and Lieutenant Angela Trask. Both had volunteered to serve on the new battleship.

“We'd better get to the reception,” Richard suggested. “We need to give our regards to the happy couple.”

Amanda nodded as they began moving toward the center aisle.

-

A few hours later, President Kincaid was in the commandant’s office of the Fleet Academy meeting with Fleet Admiral Johnson, Governor Malleck, and Admiral Telleck.

“Do you think attacking the Hocklyn ship construction facility is wise?” asked Kincaid, worriedly. The Federation had almost returned to normal since the Hocklyns and the AIs had been driven from New Tellus.

“I don’t think we have any choice,” Admiral Telleck responded with a grim look upon his face. “We must hit them before they finish updating their entire fleet. As it is, they've probably updated hundreds if not several thousand of their warships already.”

“Will First Fleet and your fleet be enough?” asked Kincaid, knowing that once Fleet Admiral Streth made up his mind he was not going to be able to change it. He'd already learned that about the Fleet Admiral from the old Human Federation of Worlds.

“It should be,” responded Telleck, letting out a sharp breath. “This will be a hit and run raid; we’re not trying to destroy the system or keep control of it. We just want to jump in, smash their shipyards, and get out.”

“What type of losses is Fleet Admiral Streth expecting?”

“It depends on how many AI ships are present,” Telleck responded. “We'll jump several of our new long-range stealth scouts into the outer periphery of the system to take scans before we attack. It can always be called off if the opposition is too strong.”

“How long will it take the fleets to get to Kenward Seven?” Kincaid asked. He knew from the intelligence briefings that system was deep within the Hocklyn Slave Empire. No Federation ship had ever traveled that far into Hocklyn controlled space.

“A little over four weeks with the new systems the Altons have helped us to install in our ships. Our drives now have longer jump ranges and the drive cores will only need a one hour cool down time between jumps.”

“How many Alton ships are going with you?” Kincaid asked. He knew the more powerful Alton ships could be the key to victory.

“Twenty,” answered Telleck, promptly. “We have forty at our disposal and half of them will be remaining in the Carethian system to help in its defense if it becomes necessary.”

President Kincaid looked over at Fleet Admiral Johnson and Governor Malleck. “Do either of you see a problem with this attack plan?”

“No,” Fleet Admiral Johnson replied. “Both First Fleet and Admiral Telleck’s Fleet have been heavily reinforced. This is a prime target and we should take this opportunity to destroy it if we can. We don’t know how much longer our weapons advantage will continue.”

“I agree,” Governor Malleck responded. “Ceres has a few more ships that'll be returning with Admiral Telleck. I think we should take this opportunity to hit the Hocklyns and hit them hard.”

“Very well,” replied President Kincaid, leaning back in his chair and looking at the others. “Consider the plan a go. I won’t speak to the Federation Senate about it until after the operation has been launched.” Kincaid didn’t want to hear Senator Fulbright griping about the danger the two fleets would be in and how it might endanger the Federation if Fleet Admiral Streth were killed.

-

Admiral Telleck and Fleet Admiral Johnson were standing in front of the large granite obelisk upon the high ridge above the Fleet Academy. A short inscription carved into its surface read, “From this site, men from the planet Earth first gazed upon the Avenger. This discovery sent the Human race to the stars.”

“I try to come here every time I come to the Fleet Academy,” Karla said respectfully as she gazed at the ten-meter tall obelisk. “It helps to remind me where all of this started.”

“Admiral Jason Strong and Greg Johnson,” Glenn responded with a nod of his head. “They helped to found the Federation, and if we win this war with the Hocklyns and the AIs it will be because of them that the Human race survived.” Glenn knew that Greg Johnson was Karla’s distant relative and Katie’s father.

“Jeremy and Katie have some big shoes to fill,” commented Karla, looking over at Glenn.

“They’re living up to their expectations,” Glenn replied as he turned to gaze down at the sprawling Fleet Academy. “They've done everything expected of them and more. I suspect their parents would be very proud.”

The academy filled much of the crater with buildings that towered over thirty stories high. Yearly, it provided over one thousand new officers to the fleet and an additional five thousand trained fleet personnel. A large dome protected by an atmospheric energy shield allowed the academy and the surrounding area to have an Earth type atmosphere. Even the gravity had been adjusted to Earth normal.

“It was good for Jeremy and Kelsey to get married today,” Karla said in a soft voice.

Glenn reached over and took Karla’s hand. “Life must go on even in war,” he spoke. “Their marriage and commitment to one another as well as to this war will be good for the Federation.”

“We should be getting back,” Karla said, wishing they could stay at the monolith longer. It was so seldom that she and Glenn ever had any alone time together. “Ambassador Tureen is waiting and he's brought along several Alton scientists that want to speak with us.”

“I wonder what that’s about?”

“Only one way to find out,” Karla said, releasing his hand and starting back down the wide stairs that led down to the academy.

-

An hour later, they were inside a conference room with Ambassador Tureen and two other Altons. Karla was surprised to see President Kincaid come in through the door.

“This must be important,” Karla said as everyone sat down.

“It is,” President Kincaid spoke in a grave voice. “I will have Ambassador Tureen explain the purpose of this meeting.”

The tall white haired Alton ambassador stood up and looked over at Admiral Telleck and Fleet Admiral Johnson. “As you know there have been rumors that the AIs are building something next to the large black hole at the center of our galaxy.” His eyes gazed piercingly at the two fleet officers. “What you don’t know is that nearly twenty years ago one of our exploration cruisers made it to the galactic center and took long-range scans of what the AIs are building.”

“What?” Karla interrupted her eyes growing wide as she leaned back in astonishment. “Why were we not told of this before?”

“We are still analyzing the data,” Tureen explained calmly. “That is why I've brought two of our scientists with me today.” Gesturing to the other two seated Altons, Tureen continued. “This is Garan Mikow and Tanith Leeth, who've been working on the project. I will let Garan explain what our exploratory vessel found.”

Garan stood up and looked over at the Humans. “The ship DeepStar spent nearly three days scanning the constructs it found at the black hole. It had to leave when several AI spheres jumped into the area. It was thought they might have detected the ship’s sensor scans and at the time we didn’t want them to know that any Altons still survived.”

“What did you find?” Admiral Telleck asked with growing curiosity. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“This,” spoke Garan as he walked over to a holo projection table and inserted a computer flash drive.

Instantly, a massive structure appeared. In the background, the nothingness of the black hole was evident. Everyone in the room drew in sharp breaths as they realized the immensity of the structure.

“How big is that?” President Kincaid asked his eyes focusing intently on the holo projection. There were several AI spheres close to it and they seemed very small in comparison.

“It’s over one hundred kilometers in diameter,” Garan explained, “And this isn’t the only one. We estimate there are over one thousand of these massive structures in orbit around the black hole.”

“Over a thousand!” Karla exclaimed her eyes widening in shock. “What are they for?”

“We’re not quite sure,” Garan confessed. “However, Tanith is one of our leading theoretical physicists and she has some ideas.” Garan returned to his seat, nodding at Tanith to take over.

Tanith looked at the hologram for a moment and then turned her attention back to the others. “We've studied the data gathered from the sensor readings of the DeepStar for years,” she began. “It's only been recently that we have begun to comprehend what the AIs may be up to.”

“And what is that?” asked Admiral Telleck, worriedly. “Why would they build something so close to that black hole? From what I have read, the black hole at the center of our galaxy is massive.”

“It has the mass of over four million stars similar to the one at the center of this solar system,” Tanith replied. “It is highly compacted with a radius of less than fifty million kilometers.”

“And the AIs have built these structures around it,” repeated President Kincaid, feeling confused.

“We believe they are seeking to harness the power from the black hole itself,” Tanith continued her eyes gazing intently at the group. “They may be attempting to open a stable wormhole between our galaxy and another.”

“They want to spread out and add another galaxy or more to their Empire,” stated Admiral Telleck, not feeling surprised about the AIs using the black hole for something like this. “How are they dealing with the tidal forces from the black hole?”

“The constructs are all orbiting outside of the Schwarzschild radius of twelve million kilometers,” Tanith explained.

“Damn, that must take a lot of power,” Admiral Telleck spoke not even wanting to think about coming that close to a black hole, especially a super massive one like the one at the center of the galaxy.

“They may indeed want to travel to another galaxy, that is one of the possibilities,” Tanith admitted with concern in her voice. “But there is another one that is of even greater worry. Using the power from the black hole, the AIs might be able to broadcast a signal at FTL speeds that could destroy all organic life within our galaxy.”

“How?” President Kincaid burst out as he looked fixedly at Tanith. Surely he had heard wrong. Could the AIs actually be seeking to destroy all organic life?

“It would be similar to the explosion of a neutron star when it releases a gamma ray burst,” Tanith explained. “It would destroy higher organic life forms but leave most plant life intact.”

“What are you saying?” Karla asked her eyes growing wide in concern. “How much time do we have?”

“We estimate it will take the AIs at least two more years to finish their project,” Tanith replied as she gazed at the others. “We believe after their recent defeats they'll be rushing their project to completion. Once complete, all higher organic life within our galaxy will be dead within six months.”

“How can we stop it?” President Kincaid asked. He couldn’t fathom a weapon that could destroy all higher organic life in the galaxy. It was a concept that was almost too big to accept.

Tanith took a sharp breath before responding. “We have to destroy it,” she said in a steady voice. “We must go to the galactic core within the next two years and destroy those constructs before the AIs can activate them.”

Everyone in the room just looked at one another. How could they defeat the Hocklyns in the next two years and then launch an attack upon the AIs at the galactic core? President Kincaid looked at the others and then reminded himself to breathe. He wondered if he had just heard a death sentence being issued for the entire galaxy.

-

Kelsey and Jeremy had just arrived at the resort on New Tellus. They were both grateful that the resort and the nearby town had not been hit when the Hocklyns nuked the surface of the planet. The resort was just as they remembered it.

Kelsey pushed her blonde hair back from the front of her deep blue eyes and looked over at Jeremy. He was drinking one of those fruit drinks he so liked and his eyes and face had a blissful look. “I still can’t believe how you like those drinks!” she said, shaking her head playfully and smiling at Jeremy.

“They’re really good!” Jeremy said as he took another long drink.

“At least they’re healthy,” replied Kelsey, laughing. “Much better than Kevin and his hamburgers.”

Jeremy looked over at Kelsey, admiring how good she looked in the skimpy blue two piece swimming suit she wore. He sat the drink down on one of the small tables next to him and spoke suggestively, “You know, we could go to our room,” he hinted with a leering grin. “After all, we are on our honeymoon.”

“I thought you would never ask,” Kelsey said with a playful laugh. She stood up and took Jeremy’s hand. “I hope those fruit drinks have given you a lot of energy; you’re going to need it!”

The two left the beach and headed toward their room at the resort. They had a full week of leave to enjoy this special time of their life and both intended to live it to the fullest. Today, they were just two honeymooners madly in love. Next week, they would once more be loyal officers in the Federation fleet.

Chapter Fifteen

Jeremy was standing in the bustling Command Center of his new battleship. He looked around the large room seeing numerous familiar faces, as well as a few new ones. Kelsey, Kevin, Angela, and Katie were all at their posts and even Ariel was standing nearby. Inside the safe in the small office off the Command Center, Clarissa’s new green crystal was safely secured. Katie intended to continue her work bringing the second AI back to normal once they reached Careth. She'd brought all the equipment she might need to work on that endeavor.

“I like this new ship,” Ariel spoke with her hands on her hips, her dark black eyes focusing on Jeremy.

“It’s bigger and more powerful,” Jeremy said with a smile. “You should like that.”

“Everything is ready,” recently promoted Commander Kyla Malen reported. She was standing just in front of the command console between the four large tactical holograms. There were two on each side of her, displaying different information.

“Fleet has formed up and is ready for departure,” Kevin reported from his large sensor console.

“Fleet Admiral Johnson wishes us a safe trip and also requests that you don’t damage your new battleship too much,” Angela added.

“Battleship Careth is taking up its position on our port side,” Malen added.

A few months back, a group of Carethians had arrived to begin learning the systems in the battleship. All of the Carethians had space experience of some type, including flying their small warships. There were also a few Human crewmembers on board to assist.

“Take us out of the gravity well,” ordered Jeremy, as he sat down behind the command console. It was time to go back to Careth. He was looking forward to seeing Grayseth and the other Carethians he'd made friends with.

The large viewscreens on the front wall were showing views of New Tellus, New Tellus Station, and two battleships, the Careth and the new WarStorm. On the tactical displays were four fleets preparing to leave New Tellus. Jeremy’s, Admiral Sheen’s, a large supply fleet, and Rear Admiral Race Tolsen’s. Jeremy had been surprised when he had been told that Tolsen’s fleet had been reassigned to Careth. It made Jeremy feel as if there was something mysterious going on, some secret that he wasn’t being told. There were also twenty additional Alton battlecruisers going with them. Currently, the Alton ships were on convoy duty for the supply fleet. This had also been a surprise since he'd understood that originally the Altons did not want to send too many of their ships away from home and the Federation.

“We’re taking a lot of ships with us,” Kelsey spoke over their private channel. “Is there something going on?”

“I know it’s a lot of ships,” Jeremy replied as he gazed thoughtfully at all the green icons on the tactical displays. “I noticed that over the past several weeks there have been a lot of high level meetings between Fleet Admiral Johnson, President Kincaid, Governor Malleck, and even our alien allies. I have a feeling it's something big.”

“It all started back when Ambassador Tureen and the Alton scientists met with Kincaid, Johnson, and Telleck,” Kevin added. “I wonder what that was all about?”

“Whatever it was, it sure has everyone stirred up,” Kelsey said. She wondered if it had something to do with the AIs, particularly since it obviously involved the Altons. She and Jeremy had spoken about it in their quarters, but neither had any idea as to what was up.

“There’s no use speculating,” spoke Angela, looking over at Kelsey. “We'll know when they tell us.” Over the months since leaving Careth, she had fully recovered from her injuries.

“I suspect Admiral Sheen knows,” Ariel said as she stepped closer to Jeremy. “She's spent a lot of time in Fleet Admiral Johnson’s office recently.”

“You haven’t been spying again, have you?” injected Jeremy, looking sharply at the AI. He knew that at times Ariel’s curiosity got the best of her.

“No,” replied Ariel, sounding offended. “I've just intercepted a few communications requesting that she meet with Fleet Admiral Johnson. You should also know that in three of those meetings, Ambassador Tureen and at least one of the two Alton scientists were involved.”

“It has to concern the AIs,” Katie broke in from her position in front of the large computer systems panel she was sitting in front of. “It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

“Perhaps,” responded Jeremy, trying not to sound concerned. “Let’s focus on our mission for now. We have a new line of Alton communication buoys we’re laying between the Federation and Careth.”

The four fleets continued until they were clear of New Tellus’s gravity well and then began opening up blue white spatial vortexes. In a matter of a few minutes, all ships had jumped into hyperspace and were on their way to Careth. One other thing they knew was that Admiral Streth and Admiral Telleck would not be there when they arrived. They'd launched their mission to attack Kenward Seven.

-

Admiral Sheen gazed at the front viewscreens showing the dark swirling purples of hyperspace. She let out a heavy sigh and turned to the ship’s commander Marcus Diaz. “We’re on our way,” she commented.

“Finally,” Marcus responded with a nod. “The ship is operating well and if not for stopping to lay the FTL communication buoys, we could be in the Carethian system in record time.”

Amanda nodded; the new jump engines on the WarStorm were capable of hyperspace jumps of fifty light years with a cool down time of slightly less than one hour. They could also be retuned much faster than the old ones. They had used a combination of Alton and Human technology to adapt the new engines to Federation ships.

Amanda let out a heavy sigh as she turned and looked around the large Command Center. She and Richard had spent a final weekend at their favorite ski resort on New Tellus. They had both known that it might be many months before Amanda and the WarStorm made it back to Federation space.

“You could come out to Careth and help with their fortifications,” Amanda had suggested on their last night together.

“Perhaps,” replied Richard, pulling Amanda closer to him in the bed. “I still have a lot of work to do here rebuilding New Tellus’s defenses, particularly since two of our asteroid fortresses were destroyed in the attack.”

“What are the plans?” asked Amanda, feeling curious placing her hand on Richard’s chest. She could feel his heart beating steadily beneath her palm.

“We’re moving two smaller asteroids into orbit,” Richard responded, sliding his arm around Amanda. “It will still take us two years to emplace the offensive and defensive weapons that we have planned on them.”

Amanda didn’t reply; she knew from what Fleet Admiral Johnson told her that they might not have two more years, not if the AIs could activate their new weapon at the center of the galaxy, if it was a weapon. There were just too many unknowns about what the AIs were building. The Altons had a theory, but there was no way to confirm it without going to the center of the galaxy and taking close in scans of the constructs orbiting the black hole. That would be no easy task in itself since there were possibly thousands of AI ships guarding their creations.

Amanda shook her head and turned her attention back to the ship. Richard had promised to try to come to Careth as soon as possible. She just hoped he could and that she would be there when he did.

“What’s the ship’s current status?” asked Amanda, looking over at Commander Diaz.

“Power consumption normal, FTL drive normal, drive core showing only a slight heat buildup, and everything else is functioning within specs,” Diaz replied. “We have a good ship, Admiral.”

“We shall see,” responded Amanda, looking sharply at her second in command. “The WarStorm hasn’t been tested in combat yet.”

Diaz nodded and then went off to make his rounds of the Command Center. Amanda looked over at Lieutenants Stalls and Trask; it was comforting to see at least two familiar faces.

-

At Kenward Seven, High Leader Nartel was in the largest of the four massive shipyards that orbited the planet. He was meeting with Fleet Commodore Resmunt, Fleet Commodore Versith, Commodore Tantil, and Commodore Parco.

“How many ships do we have updated?” he demanded in his harsh, commanding voice.

“A little over two thousand,” answered Fleet Commodore Resmunt, recalling the latest figures. “We still have an additional four hundred to be updated in the next few weeks. Once they are done we shall have updated all of the warships in our region of space.”

“Excellent!” Nartel responded, pleased to hear that they were nearly ready to go back on the offensive. “The other shipyards in the different galactic regions of our Empire are reporting the same. All updates will soon be finished.”

“These updates have strengthened our ships' weapons and shields,” Fleet Commodore Versith spoke, his eyes focusing on the High Leader. “But the Human weapons and shields are still superior. We also have no idea how our recent upgrades will hold up against an Alton ship.”

Nartel stared at Versith, feeling aggravated. Versith was only a recently promoted Fleet Commodore and should not be doubting the strength of the new weapons. Forcing himself to remain calm, he had to remind himself that Versith was also perhaps their best strategist. It would be wise to take his words under consideration.

Pointing to one of the large viewscreens in the conference room showing a nearby AI sphere, Nartel responded, “The AIs currently have ten of their warships in this system. They're in the process of updating and building even more advanced warships of their own. They've assured me that when they are completed, the new ships will be able to handle the Altons.”

“That may be true,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt spoke cautiously. It made him nervous that the High Leader had come all the way out to Kenward Seven to oversee the updating of the Hocklyn fleet. “But what if the Altons are also updating the Humans' warships? War Leader Briton’s fleet was destroyed a few months back by a large Human fleet. From the reports from our other fleet in the system the Humans' weapons and shields seemed stronger than before. They annihilated War Leader Briton’s entire force with only minor losses to their own fleet.”

“As they nearly did ours,” added Fleet Commodore Versith, recalling the Human attack in system K-774.

“Even if they have further strengthened their weapons and shields, we will use our superior numbers to wear them down,” High Leader Nartel responded determinedly. “I have informed all of our fleets not to engage the Humans unless we have at least a two to one advantage in ships. The Human victories are about to come to an end, and soon we will once more begin expanding our Empire.”

“How soon until we start our new offensive?” Fleet Commodore Resmunt asked.

He'd been greatly concerned that the Humans would use the absence of Hocklyn warships in the outlying sectors to take over more Hocklyn slave worlds. For some reason that hadn't happened. The Humans seemed to be satisfied with staying in the system of Careth. Resmunt knew if the positions were reversed, the Hocklyns would have long since moved out and used their tactical advantage to conquer as many worlds as possible.

“We've waited a long time,” Fleet Commodore Versith stated, his large dark eyes focusing on the High Leader. “The Humans have been heavily fortifying Careth. It will be a difficult system to conquer.”

“I've made arrangements,” High Leader Nartel replied. “We'll have sufficient forces when the time comes to overwhelm Careth and continue on to the Human home worlds. This time we will not be defeated.”

The meeting ended with the commodores leaving. All wondered exactly what Nartel had meant by sufficient forces. Were the AIs going to commit a large number of their ships to this campaign?

High Leader Nartel watched the commodores leave with a smirk on his face. Several times since he had arrived at Kenward Seven, he'd taken his dreadnought and flown to a nearby star system, one that he'd made off limits to all other Hocklyn ships. In that system was the secret weapon he would use to annihilate the Human threat once and for all.

-

Admiral Streth was in the Command Center of the StarStrike. For weeks now, First Fleet and Ceres Fleet had been jumping steadily toward Kenward Seven. Before each jump, long-range stealth scouts were sent out to check the systems ahead. In order for this attack to succeed, it was essential that the Hocklyns not detect them. They were deep in Hocklyn space. It reminded Hedon of a previous mission he had been involved in with the original Human Federation of Worlds.

During that mission, he'd taken a portion of his fleet and gone deep into supposed Hocklyn space to determine just what type of enemy the Federation was facing. Much to his chagrin, he'd discovered an enemy that controlled a vast galactic empire, one the Human Federation of Worlds could not hope to defeat. It was when he returned home from that mission that he'd found the Federation worlds in ruin and most of the Human race dead. He'd gathered what survivors he could and fled with the fleet to Earth. Now here he was once again, deep in Hocklyn space. However, this time he would be the aggressor, not the Hocklyns.

“All ships have reported in,” Captain Duncan spoke from Communications. “All ship commanders are reporting their FTL drives are functioning normally and the drive cores are in the process of cooling down.”

“First Fleet ships are moving into screening positions around the StarStrike,” Colonel Trist reported.

“Same with Ceres Fleet,” Colonel Grissim added. “They are forming up around the battlecruiser Ceres.”

“One hour and then we jump again,” Hedon ordered. “We can’t stay too long in one spot or we run the risk of being detected.”

Hedon leaned back in his command chair and gazed across the Command Center. This mission to Kenward Seven had taken on added significance when Admiral Telleck returned from the Federation. Hedon had been shaken to the core when Glenn had informed him of his meeting with Ambassador Tureen and the two Alton scientists. He had less than two years to defeat the Hocklyns and then launch an assault against the AIs at the center of the galaxy. It seemed impossible, but somehow he had to find a way to do it or the entire galaxy might be doomed.

Glancing at one of the tactical displays, he contemplated all the friendly green dots that represented Federation and Alton ships. Both First Fleet and Ceres Fleet consisted of nearly one hundred ships each as well as ten Alton battlecruisers. All ships were updated and the battlecruisers, battlecarriers, and the strikecruisers carried the new particle beam cannons, which could be fired from the bow. They were primarily to be used against AI ships. The Altons had recently incorporated some Federation technology, which made the cannons even more dangerous.

The new Alton designed fusion reactors had greatly enhanced the Federation energy screens as well as the power beams and pulse lasers. For the first time, Hedon felt confident about going up against an AI ship. Another change made was to the Alton’s antimatter missiles. After consultation with some of the Federation’s leading military strategists, the yield had been increased to 100 megatons. The Altons had balked about going any higher as the weapons could become too dangerous to use. The Federation strategists and scientists had agreed. At 100 megatons a single sublight missile should be able to bring down an AI energy shield or at least knock a sizable hole in it. Only battleships, battlecruisers, and strikecruisers would carry this more powerful missile.

“Long range scouts are returning,” Captain Reynolds reported from his sensor console as several new green icons flashed into existence on his screen. Reynolds knew the scouts were not using their full stealth capability or his sensors would not have been able to detect them.

“Scouts are reporting the next two jump points are free of enemy activity,” Colonel Grissim said as she listened to the scouts report in over her mini-com.

Hedon nodded and let out a long sigh of relief. Two more jumps and they would be within range of Kenward Seven. He knew there was a good possibility that there would be several AI ships in that system and the sensors in the AI ships had a range of at least several light years. Federation scientists were not certain of the absolute distance, but it was estimated from previous observations of AI ship movements that their sensors had a range of between two to six light years.

He wished Amanda and Second Fleet were with them. She was an excellent commander and had a lot of battle experience. He took solace in knowing that both she and Admiral Strong would probably be waiting for them when they returned to Careth.

“What do you think we'll be facing when we jump into the Kenward Seven system?” Colonel Trist asked as he finished speaking to Engineering.

“A lot of updated ships,” Hedon replied evenly, his eyes looking over at his executive officer. “If we can stay undetected they won’t be expecting an attack. It should give us a brief tactical advantage.”

“We’re going to be heavily outnumbered,” Colonel Grissim commented as she stepped closer to the command console.

“I know,” Hedon responded. “I'll risk sending in two of our long-range stealth scouts to scan the system once we come within range. As soon as they return and download their data, we'll attack immediately. We will jump in as close to the planet’s gravity well as is deemed safe and launch our attack upon the four shipyards. We only need to get within twenty thousand kilometers to use our new antimatter missiles to destroy them.”

“If the AIs are on guard they might be able to intercept the missiles,” warned Colonel Trist with concern in his voice. “There are bound to be at least a few AIs present as important as this system is to the Hocklyn Slave Empire.”

“If they do, we'll just have to go in closer,” responded Hedon, calmly. “Those shipyards must be destroyed. They are the only military shipyards between Careth and the Hocklyns' home systems. In a single blow, we can cripple their war effort.”

“It’s a risk,” Colonel Grissim uttered with a concerned frown covering her face. She knew they were a long way from help if the battle went the wrong way.

-

Hedon was in the officers' mess eating a tuna fish sandwich and drinking unsweetened tea. He knew it would probably be the last time he'd get the chance to eat before the coming engagement. Sitting there alone, he thought back to the wonderful meals that Lendle used to cook for him and Taylor in the cabin by the lake on Maken. He really missed her home cooking.

“You should be eating something warm and more filling,” Janice’s reproachful voice spoke from behind him.

Turning his head, he nodded and gestured for her to sit down. “I never can eat a big meal before a battle,” he confessed as he laid his partially eaten sandwich down on his plate.

“Everyone’s feeling tense,” she said as she sat down across from Hedon. “This is really the first time, other than the Hocklyn fleet base, that we're going to attack one of their main systems. It'll be a major battle and we’re going to be seriously outnumbered.”

Hedon was silent for a moment; he wanted to tell Janice about what was going on at the center of the galaxy and how important neutralizing this system had become. However, he knew he could not; it would not be fair to saddle her with that added worry.

“Once we destroy the shipyards we will return to Careth to repair our battle damage. Admirals Sheen and Strong should be waiting for us when we return.”

“Then what?” Janice asked, her hazel eyes focusing on Hedon. She knew there had to be more to this than what Hedon was letting on.

“Then we return to the old Federation,” he responded, his eyes taking on a look of fire. “We free them from the Hocklyns and prepare for our next big step in the war.”

“What’s that?” asked Janice, feeling confused. She really hadn’t thought too much about what would happen after the old Federation worlds were freed. She'd supposed at some point in time the Hocklyns would grow weary of the war and agree to a truce.

“We attack the Hocklyn home worlds,” Hedon responded with conviction.

“Their home worlds?” Janice gasped her eyes growing wide in disbelief. “There are hundreds of billions of Hocklyns in those systems. How can we possibly attack them? It would be suicide! They’re bound to be heavily defended.”

“I have a plan,” spoke Hedon, carefully. “But first we must destroy the shipyards at Kenward Seven and then retake the Federation home worlds. Once that is done, we can move upon the Hocklyn home systems.”

Janice fell into silence. She didn’t know if Hedon was raving or dead serious. Either way, it sounded as if this war was just barely beginning.

-

High Leader Nartel was back on board his dreadnought, HammersHand, studying the fleet readiness reports. He'd also sent a report back to the High Council on Calzen as to the readiness of the fleet. If all went as planned, the Human menace would soon be over.

War Leader Caltrin came over to stand next to the command pedestal where the High Leader was. He waited patiently for the High Leader to recognize his presence.

Nartel looked down from the command pedestal at the waiting War Leader. Caltrin was one of Nartel’s relatives, a first cousin to be exact. “What's on your mind, War Leader?” Nartel asked in his raspy voice.

“When will you reveal to Fleet Commodore Resmunt what is in system C-215?”

“In time,” Nartel replied. “They may not like what I have done; the High Council will surely not. But it is necessary to ensure the Humans' defeat and the continuation of our Empire.”

“The Empire must be preserved,” Caltrin agreed, his reptilian eyes focusing intently on the High Leader. “Your wisdom will bring the Empire victory against the Humans. In time, we will begin to expand again until we reach the edge of the galaxy. It is our right.”

“If the AIs allow us,” Nartel responded his eyes narrowing. “While it is true that we control the Empire, never forget about who controls us.”

Both of their eyes went to a main viewscreens, which showed one of the 1,500-meter AI spheres floating a short distance away. Unlike other Hocklyns, Nartel preferred to keep an AI ship close by. It helped to ensure his own safety.

“The AIs are our masters,” Caltrin conceded. “They are powerful and must be obeyed.”

“Not as powerful as they once were,” Nartel reminded the War Leader. “The Humans and the Altons have the capacity to destroy AI ships, something that until recently was not considered possible.”

“What you have said is true,” Caltrin replied in his cold voice. “Perhaps when this war with the Humans is over the AIs will see us more as equals.”

“It's possible,” Nartel responded.

Particularly if he could get his hands on some of the weapons the Humans and Altons were using to destroy AI ships. If the Hocklyns had the same technology then the AIs would have no recourse but to recognize them as equals. It would also allow the Hocklyns to colonize more worlds and alleviate the growing population pressure in the home systems.

Nartel folded his sinewy arms across the chest plate of his dark gray battle armor. Yes, if he was successful it would bring about a new era in the Hocklyn Slave Empire, one that he would control. Nartel allowed his cold dark eyes to wander across the War Room. This was a handpicked crew and one he could trust. In just a few more days, he would be ready to order the attack on Careth and send forth his secret weapon. The Humans would fall before the onslaught and this war would finally and irrevocably be over.

Chapter Sixteen

The Command AI floated a few inches above the metal deck in the Control Center of the AI ship. Around it, other AIs operated the Sensors, Navigation, Communications, Engineering, Damage Control, and numerous other important ship systems. The AIs were in the Kenward Seven star system and had been directing the updating of Hocklyn warships. They detested contact with any of the organic races, but the Hocklyns were their proxies for this section of the galaxy and currently engaged in a war with the Humans and the AIs’ creators, the Altons.

“We have detected two sensor ghosts on the periphery of the system,” the AI in front of the sensors reported as it used its tentacles to adjust the sensors to a higher degree of sensitivity. “They just appeared.”

“They may be Human scout ships,” warned the AI at Tactical. “We have received reports from the outer regions of the Hocklyn Empire that the Humans have been jumping into and scanning numerous systems.”

“We are far from the frontier of the Empire,” the Command AI spoke, the glowing orb that served as its head glowing brighter. “It is highly unlikely that these are Human vessels. Run diagnostics on the sensor panel. There must be a fault somewhere in the system.”

“I am detecting a spike in energy readings indicating that active scans of the system are being taken,” the AI at the sensors reported in its mechanical, almost emotionless voice even as it began running diagnostics on the sensor system. The glowing orb above its body seemed to grow larger as it turned to face the Command AI. “I don’t believe these are sensor ghosts.”

The Command AI was silent as it contemplated what this might mean. From the latest report, the Humans were still at Careth. Pointing a long tentacle at Communications, the AI spoke again. “Contact Fleet Admiral Resmunt and see if he has any vessels in that area that might be experimenting with new equipment.”

The Command AI was well aware that the Hocklyns had launched their own weapons development program, and these sensor ghosts could be a part of that, particularly since their High Leader was in the system. If this was a result of new ship designs by the Hocklyns, this development would have to be reported to AI Command back in the galactic center. The Command AI was aware that the Great Project was nearing completion. The intensity of the work had been drastically increased since learning that the Altons had survived. If the project was completed as projected, then the Hocklyn’s new weapons program would be totally irrelevant. However, the AI had instructions to report any new developments.

A few minutes passed and the Communications AI reported back. “Fleet Commodore Resmunt denies having any ships in that area.”

“The scans have stopped and the sensor ghosts have disappeared,” the AI at the sensors reported as it studied the data coming over the screens. “Whatever it was is gone.”

“Should we increase our level of readiness?” the AI at Tactical inquired. Currently, the ship was at a low alert level with shields at minimum.

The Command AI was quiet as it contemplated what needed to be done. Due to the recent reversals that had been suffered at the hands of the Humans and the Altons, the Command AI had strict orders not to engage any Alton ships. While it was highly unlikely the recent contacts were a result of Human scout ships, it was prudent that the ten AI ships in the system not be put in danger.

“Power up our FTL drives and plot an emergency jump to system C-114 upon my command,” the Command AI ordered. “Bring our defensive systems to full alert status and be prepared to intercept inbound sublight missiles.”

“This is an attack then, by the Humans?” questioned the AI at the sensors.

“I calculate only a small possibility of that,” responded the Command AI, waving its tentacles. “More than likely it is nothing, but we should be prepared just in case.”

“Should we notify High Leader Nartel or Fleet Commodore Resmunt?” the AI at Communications asked.

“No,” the Command AI responded, as the glowing orb above its metal body grew visibly dimmer. “It is probably nothing.”

-

Two hours passed and High Leader Nartel was summoned to the War Room of the HammersHand by the ship’s War Leader. He made his way quickly through the corridors escorted by two heavily armed Protectors. Reaching the War Room, he went inside while the two Protectors took up positions outside the hatch, their hands held at their side next to their holstered weapons.

“What is it?” demanded Nartel, striding over to the command pedestal where War Leader Caltrin was standing speaking to his First Leader.

“It's just been brought to my attention that all ten AI ships have powered up their FTL drives as if they are preparing to jump out of the system. The strength of their energy screens has also increased.”

Nartel’s cold, black eyes glittered dangerously. “And how long ago did they power up their jump drives?” Nartel demanded. Did the AIs know something and were refusing to communicate that important information to the Hocklyns?

“Nearly two hours ago,” replied Caltrin, nervously. “I was only just made aware of it.”

“Contact the command AI ship and ask them why they are powering up their jump drives,” Nartel ordered, and then after thinking for a moment he added. “Power up our own jump drive. If the AIs know something and are preparing to jump away, so shall we.”

“Where to?” Caltrin asked. He knew the High Leader was angry at the AIs. Ever since the recent defeats by the Humans and the appearance of the Altons, the AIs had been even more difficult to deal with. Most of the time they even refused communication. He doubted if they would reply when asked about powering up their FTL drives.

“System C-215,” Nartel replied without hesitation. He knew if something were about to happen at least there he would be safe.

It was at that moment that the ship’s alarms sounded and red warning lights began flashing above the sensor console.

“What is it?” demanded War Leader Caltrin, staring in shock at the main sensor display, which was showing what seemed like hundreds of red threat icons materializing out of nowhere.

“It’s the Humans,” the Third Leader at sensors reported in astonishment. “They are jumping in with at least two full war fleets. There are also Alton ships in their formations.”

“Altons!” uttered Nartel, knowing they needed to leave immediately. “Jump us out of here now!” He couldn’t believe that the Humans would dare to attack here. Not at Kenward Seven, there were over two thousand Hocklyn warships in the system.

“It will take a few more minutes for the drive core to charge adequately for us to jump,” Caltrin replied as he ordered the ship to go to battle stations.

“AIs are jumping,” the Third Leader reported as the AI sphere on one of the main viewscreens vanished into a swirling white vortex. On the sensor display, all ten of the large green icons representing the AI ships quickly vanished.

“AIs are gone,” said Caltrin his eyes showing anger. “They didn’t even try to engage the enemy. At least now we know why they powered up their jump drives.”

“They have no honor,” spat High Leader Nartel, feeling abandoned by the machine race. “They leave us to fight their battles for them.”

He looked with worry at the tactical display, knowing the Humans had come to Kenward Seven. There could be only one reason why they had come here, to destroy the shipyards. Shipyards the Hocklyn Slave Empire could ill afford to lose.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s reptilian eyes snapped open when he heard the ship’s alarms go off. He'd just retired to his quarters and barely fallen asleep after his long shift in the War Room. His hand slapped the com button next to his bed as he quickly began dressing. “What’s going on?” he demanded, irked at being disturbed from his rest. This had better not be just a drill of some sort. Drills were not supposed to be scheduled without his prior consent.

“We have two large Human fleets that have jumped into the system,” First Leader Ganth reported calmly. “There are also twenty Alton battlecruisers intermixed with the Human warships. They've already opened up with a heavy missile bombardment on our fleet. Many of our ships have been caught with their shields down.”

“What are the AIs doing?” Resmunt asked as he fastened his chest plate armor and picked up the protective sheath that held his knife. They would need the AIs to combat the Alton ships. Alton ships here at Kenward Seven could be disastrous.

“They've jumped out,” Ganth reported in a cold voice. “They must have had their drives charged and on standby. They jumped within just a few seconds of detecting the Altons' ships.”

“They knew they were coming,” growled Resmunt in anger. “Bring all of our ships to full alert. Contact the shipyards and tell them to be prepared for combat!” If they had known beforehand that the Humans were coming, they could have smashed the Human fleets as they exited hyperspace. The AIs had no honor!

“The shipyards are only lightly armed,” First Leader Ganth reminded Resmunt. “They will not be able to stop the Human and Alton ships.”

“I warned them about that,” responded Resmunt, feeling irritation at the commanders of the shipyards for refusing to divert some of their resources to build adequate defenses. “I'll be in the War Room shortly. Contact Fleet Commodore Versith and tell him to begin organizing a defense. His first priority is to protect the shipyards.”

-

“How close are they to Kenward Seven?” Fleet Commodore Versith asked sharply as he studied the changing icons on the tactical display. There were several hundred red threat icons representing Human and Alton ships all heading toward Kenward Seven and its vulnerable shipyards.

“They jumped in just barely outside of the planet’s gravity well,” War Leader Trion replied. “They've already opened fire on our ships that were nearby.”

Versith glanced up at the one of the main viewscreens, which was already showing bright flashes of exploding weapons.

“We’re losing ships,” the sensor operator reported. “The Humans caught our fleets with their shields down and at a low alert level.”

“Move our fleet to a position between the Humans and the nearest shipyard,” Versith ordered. He knew what their ultimate targets had to be. It was the only reason they would dare come to Kenward Seven.

He watched as the Human ships entered the gravity well of Kenward Seven and turned toward the shipyards. “Order Commodores Tantil and Parco to gather all available ships and form up around the other shipyards. We can’t afford to let the Humans destroy them.” There were only four star systems in the Hocklyn Empire that contained shipyards such as these. It would be a disaster if the Humans could destroy the ones here at Kenward Seven. Versith let out a heavy breath as he watched the tactical display. The Human ships seemed so sure of themselves

At his weapons station, Jaseth allowed a wolfish grin to spread across his face. At last he was going to be allowed to kill more Humans. They'd come to him this time. He quickly prepared his missiles and energy beam weapons. The Viden had a few of the AIs' antimatter missiles. He would see how the Human shields held up under that type of attack. His hand strayed to the knife at his waist. It was time to spill more Human blood.

-

Admiral Streth felt the StarStrike shudder slightly as inbound weapons fire began to impact the energy screen. Every ship in the two Human fleets had launched numerous Devastator Three missiles upon coming out of hyperspace. The area of space around the Federation ships was full of dying and burning Hocklyn warships. They'd caught the Hocklyns flatfooted and they were paying a heavy price for their lack of preparedness.

“Six dreadnoughts, fourteen warcruisers, and seventy-two escort cruisers have been destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported from his sensor console. “No losses to ourselves.”

“The Hocklyn ships have raised their shields and are firing back,” Colonel Trist added as he spoke to Tactical over his mini-com, suggesting targets.

“The Hocklyns are beginning to recover,” Colonel Grissim stated as she studied the multitude of red threat icons on a tactical display. They were shifting madly about trying to get away from the two Human fleets' weapons fire and reorganize. “We shattered their fleet formations and they're still trying to recover. Most of their ships didn’t even have their shields up.” Someone had made a mistake in not being prepared for an attack, and now the Hocklyn fleet was paying for it. Anne allowed herself to smile as she saw another warcruiser fall to the StarStrike’s Devastator Three missiles.

“They’re up now,” Hedon said as he watched a power beam strike a Hocklyn dreadnought’s energy screen, which glowed brightly. “We've gotten the easy kills; the rest will be more difficult. They're also beginning to fire back.”

“We’re inside the gravity well of Kenward Seven and moving toward the shipyards,” Colonel Trist added as the ship shook again as a missile impacted the energy shield.

“Yes, but see how the Hocklyn ships between us and the shipyards are taking up defensive positions around our targets,” Hedon pointed out. “Someone recognized what we are up to and is responding quickly.” Hedon knew the fighting was about to get much more difficult, particularly if these Hocklyn ships had gone through major weapons refits. Taking a deep breath, Hedon leaned forward, watching the tactical displays intently.

“We won’t have an easy time getting back out of the gravity well,” Trist said evenly as he watched the swarming Hocklyn ships. “We’re going to have to fight our way free.”

“The confusion from our attack should give us an advantage for a few more minutes,” responded Hedon, looking over at his executive officer. “We need to keep pounding the Hocklyn fleet.”

“Thirty minutes until the first shipyard is in range,” Colonel Trist added as he ran the figures. Looking up at one of the tactical displays, it appeared as if they were surrounded by a sea of red threat icons. He turned slightly pale at seeing the number of Hocklyn ships around them. Jumping in had been easy; jumping back out would be a very different matter entirely.

“That gives them time to mount a defense and close up our exit point,” Colonel Grissim spoke as she studied the movement of the Hocklyn ships. She pursed her lips in a heavy frown. At least the AI ships had jumped out. That was one threat they didn’t have to worry about.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt entered the War Room and moved quickly to the command pedestal where First Leader Ganth relinquished control.

“We've suffered heavy losses from the Humans' initial attack,” Ganth reported. “Over one hundred warships have been lost thus far.”

“Human losses?”

“None,” Ganth replied in his cold raspy voice. “There has been no honor in this battle for our warriors. Many of our ships were caught with their shields down and paid the ultimate price.”

Resmunt studied the tactical display intently, seeing the Humans were already deep inside of Kenward Seven’s gravity well and moving rapidly toward the nearest shipyard, which was also the largest. It was twenty kilometers across and had forty bays capable of building or repairing ships. The other three shipyards were only slightly smaller. Resmunt took in a sharp breath. This was the only major fleet construction base between here and the home worlds. It was a system the Hocklyns could not afford to lose.

“The commanders of the shipyards are screaming for us to protect them,” added First Leader Ganth.

“Where is Fleet Commodore Versith?” demanded Resmunt, knowing they were on the brink of a major catastrophe. It aggravated him immensely that the AIs had fled so quickly. He could have used their ability to jump inside a planet’s gravity well. They would have been extremely useful in defending the shipyards. It angered Resmunt that the AIs had no honor.

“Fleet Commodore Versith is placing his fleet and several others between the Humans and the primary shipyard,” Ganth reported. “Versith has ordered Commodores Parco and Tantil to move to defensive positions around two of the other shipyards with as many ships as they can gather. He is still in the process of assigning ships to protect the fourth.”

Resmunt gazed intently at the tactical display, seeing more than two hundred red threat icons moving steadily toward Kenward Seven’s valuable shipyards. He knew from what Ganth had reported earlier that there were also twenty Alton battlecruisers in those two Human fleet formations, ten with each Human fleet. With dismay, he knew with a sinking feeling that he probably would not be able to save the shipyards. All he could do was make the Humans and Altons pay as heavy a price as possible for them. He had over two thousand ships in the system to make sure that happened. Unfortunately, all three of his commodores already had their fleets assigned to defending the shipyards. He'd have to make do with the available War Leaders to set up his counter attack.

“I want our ships formed up into two task groups of one thousand ships each,” he said as he thought out a plan to inflict as much damage as possible on the Human and Alton ships when they finished their attack run. Too many of his ships were too far away to intercept the Humans inside the gravity well of Kenward Seven before the Humans and Altons finished their attack on the shipyards.

“We engage the Humans when they are attempting to withdraw?” asked Ganth, wondering if the Fleet Commodore was giving up on trying to save the shipyards. “What about the shipyards? They are essential to the Empire!”

“We can’t reach the shipyards in time to make a difference.” Then, looking intently at First Leader Ganth, Resmunt asked. “Where is High Leader Nartel’s ship?”

“It just jumped out,” the Third Leader in front of the sensor console reported. He'd watched the ship vanish from his sensors as it jumped into hyperspace only a few moments earlier.

“Just as well,” Resmunt muttered, relieved he wouldn’t have to take orders from Nartel. “The High Leader has very little battle experience and none against the Humans. He would only be in the way here.”

“At least he'll be safe,” Ganth responded his large eyes focusing on Fleet Commodore Resmunt. He also knew that Resmunt was correct; the High Leader would be of no use in this battle.

-

Hedon gazed at a large viewscreen, which showed the nearest Hocklyn shipyard. It was larger than New Tellus Station. All four of the Hocklyns’ shipyards were.

“My God, that thing is massive,” Colonel Trist spoke as his eyes widened upon seeing the massive structure. “It must have taken them decades to build it.”

“It’s only lightly defended,” Colonel Grissim reported in amazement as she studied the scans coming in. “It has only very light point defense capability, just a few railguns and several missile interceptor batteries. ”

“They were not expecting an attack this deep into their territory,” Trist commented in the way of an explanation. At least they were not facing a heavily armed shipyard; it would make this part of the battle a little easier.

“That may be true,” Hedon responded as he looked at the myriad of red threat icons forming up between the two Federation fleets and their target. “But they have enough ships to make up for it.”

“That might work against conventional weapons,” Colonel Grissim said as she studied the growing horde of Hocklyn ships assembling around the shipyard. But it won’t work against sublight missiles.”

“I don’t want to use our new antimatter missiles or the particle beam cannons yet,” Hedon said after a moment. “We may need those for our escape.” Hedon activated his mini-com and quickly passed on the orders that Devastator Threes would be used to take out the shipyards. Admiral Telleck and Admiral Cleeteus quickly acknowledged.

“When do we launch?” Colonel Trist asked his eyes still focused on one of the main viewscreens, which was showing the Hocklyn shipyard. Whoever was in charge of the shipyard’s defense had pulled in nearly two hundred warships. They were setting up a defense in depth all aimed at intercepting any inbound missiles. That might work against conventional missiles, but not so well against sublight ones.

“We will launch at twenty thousand kilometers,” Hedon replied in a steady voice. “That is the maximum effective range for the sublight missiles. All ships will fire a full spread of Devastator missiles at the Hocklyn ships and two Devastator Threes each at the shipyard. Once the target is destroyed, we will move on to the next one.” Hedon hoped that would do it. He wanted to avoid any prolonged engagements with Hocklyn warships.

“Admiral, it looks as if the Hocklyns behind us are moving to block our exit, we’re going to have a real fight on our hands to get back out,” Colonel Grissim announced as she watched the Hocklyns adjust their formation outside of the gravity well into two distinctive fleets. She could feel her pulse racing as she realized it was going to be much harder getting out than getting in.

Hedon nodded, not feeling surprised. He knew it was a risky move attacking the Hocklyn shipyards, but it was a necessary one. He looked at one of the tactical displays and the myriads of red threat icons that were in rapid movement. Weapons fire had almost come to a stop as the Hocklyn ships outside of the gravity well refused to come in and the ones already inside were moving to take up defensive positions around the shipyards. For the moment, there was a brief lull in the fighting.

Hedon glanced over at Janice, feeling a warm feeling inside knowing she was there at Communications. Because of their growing relationship, he'd considered transferring her to another ship or to other duties at Careth. However, so far their relationship had been completely platonic and at times Hedon really needed her company.

The StarStrike and her two fleets continued to close with the main Hocklyn shipyard. Admiral Streth watched with calm nerves as the Command Center around him buzzed with increased activity. The Hocklyn fleet in front of him had formed into a dense cluster of ships in an attempt to block any missile attack. Hedon took a deep breath; he knew that some of the men and women in the two fleets would not be returning home. No matter how good the new shields and weapons were, there were just too many Hocklyn warships.

“Hocklyns are launching fighters,” Captain Reynolds reported as a swarm of small red threat icons began appearing on one of the tactical displays. The fighters were taking up a position in front of the massed Hocklyn warships.

“They’re going to be so thick our missiles might have a hard time getting through,” Colonel Trist spoke as he eyed the growing multitude of enemy fighters. “They may throw off the targeting computers.”

“That’s why we hit them with our regular Devastator missiles first,” Hedon answered evenly. “That should blow a big enough hole through their formation to allow the Devastator Threes to reach the shipyard.”

“Missile range,” Major Weir reported as missile targeting systems locked on and lights began turning green indicating target locks.

“Hocklyns fighters are launching interceptors toward us,” reported Captain Reynolds, looking confused. “I don’t understand; we’re out of their range.”

“They want to shoot our missiles down,” Grissim said her eyes narrowing sharply. “They’ve calculated our most likely launch time.”

“Launch Devastator strike,” Admiral Streth ordered through clenched teeth. This Hocklyn commander was a clever one. By launching his interceptors first, it would allow them to take out more of the slower moving Devastator missiles.

Instantly from the StarStrike, twenty-four Devastator missiles with ten-kiloton warheads left the ship’s launch tubes. Every ship in the two Human fleets released a full spread of missiles. In moments, space became full of fiery missile trails as they rocketed toward the Hocklyn fighter and fleet formation.

Over two thousand of the deadly Devastator missiles were inbound, but the Hocklyns had launched nearly a thousand fighters in an attempt to intercept them. Bright flashes began to occur between the two fleets as the missiles were intercepted and destroyed. Then several bright flashes went off in the center of the Hocklyn fighter formations.

Hedon closed his eyes briefly as a number of glaring nuclear explosions played out on one of the large viewscreens. Nukes were going off, destroying entire squadrons of Hocklyn fighters with each fiery blast. Others were beginning to reach the waiting Hocklyn fleet. Intense defensive fire was bringing down many of them, but now some were reaching the fleet and exploding against energy screens. Nuclear detonations became widespread as the nuclear strike slammed into the shields of the massed Hocklyn fleet.

“Fire Devastator Threes,” ordered Hedon grimly, seeing that the missile strike was not causing as much damage as he'd hoped. The Hocklyn defensive fire was just too heavy. Between the fighters and the warships, the Hocklyns had managed to intercept the majority of the Devastator missiles.

From the StarStrike and the other capital ships in the two Federation fleets, Devastator Threes launched. There was a brief blur in the missile tubes and then the missiles seemed to vanish as their miniaturized sublight drives kicked in.

On one of the main viewscreens, massive explosions began to pummel the Hocklyn fleet formation as Devastator Three missiles aimed at the shipyard impacted Hocklyn ships that were in their flight path. Then they were through and the Hocklyn shipyard became aglow with massive releases of energy as the missiles struck their target. Over two hundred Devastator Threes were launched. Seventy-two impacted the densely packed Hocklyn warships defending the station, the other one hundred and twenty-eight detonated on impact when they struck the metal hull of the shipyard. In just a matter of moments, the twenty-kilometer shipyard was turned into burning debris and shattered wreckage.

“Shipyard has been destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported as the large red icon on his sensor screen broke apart and begin showing as hundreds of smaller blips.

“They won’t be using that place to build ships again,” Colonel Trist grunted as he turned to face Hedon with a satisfied look on his face.

“Fire a second round of Devastator Threes at the defending Hocklyn fleet and then make for the next target,” Hedon ordered. He wanted to damage this fleet as much as possible so he wouldn’t have to worry about it later.

-

“Those damn hell weapons,” growled War Leader Trion in anger as he gazed at the burning ruins of the shipyard. He felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach as he watched the shipyard die. Over twenty thousand Hocklyns had been on board the station. Now they were gone, sent to find their final honor by the Humans.

“We have our own hell weapons now,” Commodore Versith replied his eyes focusing sharply on the tactical display. “Order all dreadnoughts and warcruisers to target the Human ships with our new sublight antimatter missiles.”

“We only have a few,” cautioned War Leader Trion. “Probably not enough to make a difference.”

“I know,” responded Versith his large dark eyes focusing on his War Leader. “But if we don’t cause this Human fleet to withdraw we are going to lose all of the shipyards. Order all ships to spread our formation and accelerate toward the Human fleets. Launch our new missiles as soon as we have a target lock. Concentrate our fire on their heavier ships.”

Second Leader Jaseth grinned in satisfaction. He'd just received the order to fire the new missiles. The Viden had six of the deadly new sublight missiles and Jaseth intended to make the best use of them. He quickly targeted the Human battleship. It had to be the Humans' flagship and he was going to destroy it!

-

Suddenly between the Human fleets and the advancing Hocklyn ships, several massive explosions occurred in open space. The viewscreens in the StarStrike instantly dimmed to cut down on the sudden influx of light.

“What the hell was that?” Hedon demanded his hands gripping the armrests on his command chair.

“I have Admiral Cleeteus online,” Captain Duncan suddenly spoke aloud. “He is reporting that the Hocklyns are firing antimatter sublight missiles. His ships are attempting to intercept them.”

“Crap!” oathed Colonel Trist his eyes widening in concern. “They must have got them from the AIs.”

Hedon leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. This was an unexpected development and could put the entire mission in jeopardy. It all depended on how many of those missiles the Hocklyns had.

-

In space, four of the fifty-megaton missiles struck the battlecruiser Trinity. Her reinforced shields flickered and then failed under the massive energy release. The next missile blew the valiant battlecruiser apart, killing all on board. Moments later, a light cruiser died in a fiery explosion as its shields were easily overwhelmed by the powerful missiles.

“Battlecruiser Trinity is down,” Captain Reynolds reported, his eyes wide with shock. “Light cruiser Archer is down.”

“Our next strike of Devastator Threes is going in,” Colonel Trist added his eyes glued to the tactical screen. “We’re in optimum combat range of the Hocklyn fleet.”

Hedon eyed the tactical display worriedly. He couldn’t afford to get tied down in a major fleet battle with the Hocklyns, not as badly outnumbered as he was. Just then, the deck heaved under Hedon and he found himself flung forward against the restraining straps holding him in his command chair. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and then things settled back down.

“Multiple breaches along the forward hull; we’re venting atmosphere,” the Damage Control officer reported. “Damage control teams are responding.”

“No reduction in combat efficiency,” Major Weir reported from Tactical.

“Shields are at sixty percent and climbing,” Colonel Trist informed Hedon with relief in his voice. “We took two hits to our screens from their missiles. They held, but just barely.”

“Firing power beams,” one of the tactical officers reported.

The space between the fleets was now full of flying ordnance. Railgun rounds, energy beams, power beams, pulse laser beams and flying missiles. The remaining Hocklyn fighters were hurrying to get out of the way of the embattled fleets. It was suicide to stay between them.

-

Jaseth swore in anger as he saw that his attack upon the Human flagship had failed. Two of his missiles had been intercepted; he guessed by the Altons. True, he had managed to damage the ship, but it was still fighting and he had only two of the new sublight missiles left. He quickly targeted a smaller escort ship as the Human flagship was now out of range. Firing the two missiles, he watched on a small viewscreen above his console as they struck the small cruiser, destroying it in a wave of fire.

Commodore Versith groaned in frustration as another one of his dreadnoughts died. It was quickly growing obvious that the Humans' energy screens and their weapons had been greatly reinforced. It was taking the combined firepower of ten Hocklyn warships to knock down the Humans' shields on their major ships.

“We don’t have the ships to win this,” Versith spoke in frustration, his cold dark eyes rapidly calculating the odds. The AI sublight antimatter missiles could knock down a Human ship’s shield, but they didn’t have enough of them to make a difference.

“We’re losing too many ships,” Trion agreed as he watched another Hocklyn dreadnought die a fiery death on one of the viewscreens. Every moment, more Hocklyns were being sent to find their final honor.

Versith knew that if Fleet Commodore Resmunt had come ahead with his gathered ships they could have pinned the Humans inside the gravity well and with their numeric superiority destroyed them. They'd have suffered horrific losses, but the Humans would have died and wouldn't have been able to attack the remaining shipyards. Now Versith’s ships were paying a steep price for Resmunt’s lack of foresight.

-

“Fire one wave of the new antimatter missiles,” Hedon spoke after a moment of thought. He couldn’t afford to keep taking fleet losses and this engagement with the Hocklyn fleet was costing him valuable time. He had to disengage and move on to the next target. Fortunately, the Alton battlecruisers were intercepting a large number of the inbound sublight missiles, which had shown to be deadly to Federation ships.

“Firing,” Tactical reported.

From the StarStrike, two of the new 100-megaton sublight missiles flashed from their tubes. Instantly, two violent explosions occurred in the Hocklyn’s formation as two dreadnoughts were torn apart. Now other Federation ships began to fire and Hocklyn ships began to die rapidly. A blazing fury of death marched through the Hocklyn fleet, devastating it and leaving behind shattered wrecks.

“Hocklyn fleet is disengaging,” Captain Reynolds reported with relief as the Hocklyns began to rapidly back away from the Human and Alton ships.

“What did we lose?” demanded Hedon, turning toward Colonel Grissim bracing himself for the news. The Hocklyns use of sublight antimatter missiles had caught them by surprise.

“Two battlecruisers, one battlecarrier, two strikecruisers, one Monarch, and six light cruisers,” Anne reported as she looked at the battle report on her console next to one of the tactical displays. “Hocklyn losses were eight dreadnoughts, sixteen warcruisers, and thirty-eight of their escort cruisers.”

“Colonel Trist, get us to the next target maximum speed,” ordered Hedon, feeling a knot growing in his stomach. He couldn’t keep taking losses like this, not if they wanted to escape this system. “From now on target the shipyards at long-range with our new sublight antimatter missiles.”

“That will cause us to use up most of them,” Colonel Trist warned, his eyes focusing on the admiral. “We may need them to escape.”

“I know,” Hedon responded with a sharp breath. “But the Alton battlecruisers are carrying full load outs of the missiles. We'll have to depend upon them to get us back out of the gravity well.”

-

Fleet Commodore Versith looked around the War Room of the Viden. The Humans had another new weapon, and this one was indeed a weapon from hell. Just a strike from one of those new missiles could destroy a Hocklyn dreadnought. He knew he was fortunate that the Viden had survived.

“Hold our current position,” he ordered. “All ships to begin repairs and then we will move out to join Fleet Commodore Resmunt.”

“There is no honor in this new weapon of the Humans,” War Leader Trion uttered in a harsh voice. “Many of our warriors found their final honor in this battle.”

“But we proved we can destroy the Human ships even after their upgrades,” Versith replied, his large dark eyes focusing on Trion. “From now on we will only target a few selected Human ships with all of our fleet’s firepower. Once that target is destroyed, we'll shift our fire to the next.”

“As you command,” Trion responded with a nod of his head. “I will pass on the order.”

Versith nodded. In order to effectively combat the Humans in the future, they would need a large supply of the AIs' antimatter missile. Versith just hoped the AIs would be willing to furnish them or future battles with the Humans could have disastrous outcomes.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt groaned in frustration as he watched the Humans destroy the large shipyard and then ravage Fleet Commodore Versith’s fleets. True, Versith had managed to damage the attacking Human ships, but not enough to turn them away from their next target.

“Humans are launching their new missiles from long-range at the next shipyard,” First Leader Ganth reported, his eyes red in anger. “The defending fleet is not being successful intercepting the missiles.”

Resmunt watched in silence as the second shipyard vanished as massive explosions of energy ate away at its structure. In just a matter of a few moments, all that was left was glowing wreckage. The Humans were destroying decades of work the Hocklyns had spent building the shipyards. True, they were built mostly by slaves, but they were still Hocklyn shipyards.

Resmunt clenched his fist in anger. He'd already passed the order that all of his gathered warships were to use their full allotments of antimatter missiles on the Humans as they exited the gravity well of Kenward Seven. He would make them pay a steep price for the destruction they were doing today.

-

For the next hour, Admiral Streth took First Fleet and Ceres Fleet from shipyard to shipyard, annihilating them. They stayed out of range of the Hocklyn defending fleets that seemed to have become hesitant to come out and engage the Federation ships. Hedon knew it was because of the new antimatter missiles. What commander would want to expose his ships to those?

-

The commodores in charge of the fleets defending the shipyards had witnessed what had been done to Commodore Versith’s fleet and had no desire to be on the receiving end of those deadly missiles. They tried instead to intercept the missiles using fighters, missile interceptors, and heavy weapons fire, but for the most part they were unsuccessful. At the end of the hour, all four Hocklyn shipyards lay in ruins.

-

Admiral Telleck let out a long and deep breath. The last hour had been trying on his nerves as the battlecruiser Ceres and its attending fleet had attacked the shipyards along with First Fleet. Losses had been light so far, but he knew that was about to change. The two fleets were now heading back out of the planet’s gravity well and two large Hocklyn fleet formations were waiting for them. Both fleets were setting right at the edge of Kenward Seven’s gravity well, ensuring that the Human ships could not jump without coming into combat range first. Of course, the Altons ships could jump to safety; they had the capacity just like the AIs ships to jump from inside a planet’s gravity well. However, they would need the Alton ships' antimatter missiles if they were to escape.

“Both fleets have formed up and we’re moving toward the edge of the planet’s gravity well,” reported Major Carnes.

Glenn looked over at his second officer and nodded. Major Carnes had taken over Kathryn’s Executive Officer duties since she had been reassigned temporarily to her envoy job on the Carethian space station. Major Carnes was doing an excellent job, but Glenn still wished that Kathryn were here. This would have been good experience for her. Of course, she was also safe back on the space station. There was no guarantee that the Ceres would survive the coming battle and make it back to Careth.

“Have all ships load their remaining antimatter missiles into the tubes,” ordered Telleck, wishing they had more. “We'll need them to break out of the gravity well and into open space. All ships are to jump into hyperspace as soon as they are clear.”

The Communications officer, Captain Travers, quickly passed on the message.

“There’s a lot of them,” Major Carnes commented as he studied the tactical display. He looked over at Admiral Telleck marveling at how calm the admiral seemed. “If they have more of those antimatter missiles they used at the first shipyard we may have a hard time getting away.”

“We can only do our best,” responded Admiral Telleck, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a deep breath.

On the main viewscreen, the StarStrike appeared. He could see the burn marks and gouges in the forward hull along the bottom of the bow. From his brief communication with Admiral Streth a few minutes earlier, he knew the damage was only minor, though it looked a lot worse.

“The fleets that were defending the shipyards are joining together and moving in behind us,” Carnes added with a worried look on his face. “If we slow up any, they might catch us.”

Admiral Telleck nodded. The Hocklyns had them trapped between their fleets. There was nothing more he could say. They would have to fight their way through the outer Hocklyn fleet and then jump to safety. Glenn had a sad feeling that many of his crews were not going to see Ceres again.

“Almost within extreme weapons range,” Captain Breen reported from Tactical.

“Prepare to fire,” Telleck ordered in a calm voice. He drew in a sharp breath as his eyes focused on the tactical screen. The fleets grew closer and then it was time.

“Fire!” ordered Telleck, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. It was time to see if they could escape from Kenward Seven.

Chapter Seventeen

Hedon gazed anxiously at the viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center. He took two deep breaths, wondering what he had gotten his fleets into. The Hocklyns were combining their fleets into one massive grouping of ships to prevent the Federation fleets from escaping Kenward Seven. The majority were just outside of the planet’s gravity well, but several hundred were well inside and already within extreme weapons range. Not only were those a threat but the defending ships from the shipyards had also formed up and were coming up behind the two Federation fleets.

“We’re facing over two thousand ships,” Colonel Trist reported, his face slightly pale. “Any ideas?”

“Just go shoot a Hocklyn ship,” Colonel Grissim spoke in a steady voice, looking over at Colonel Trist. “Any Hocklyn ship.”

Hedon smiled at Anne’s attempt at levity. “We have more powerful shields than they do and better weapons. All we have to do is maintain our fleet formation, fight our way to just outside the gravity well, and then jump out. All the Hocklyns are doing is giving us a good opportunity to destroy a lot more of their warships.”

Colonel Trist nodded. He knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as that. It never was. “Do we launch our fighters and bombers?”

“No,” replied Hedon, slowly. Then, looking at his two subordinates, he added, “Have the carriers in both fleets move to the center of our formations for maximum protection. We have a long trip back home and we may need them later.” He didn’t want his two subordinates to know how concerned he was. If these ships they were about to engage had a lot of the sublight antimatter missiles, it could be disastrous.

“What about the Altons?” Trist asked. He knew they would be the key to their escape. There were Alton ships in both fleet formations and they still had plenty of the large sublight antimatter missiles.

“Captain Duncan, contact Admiral Cleeteus,” Hedon ordered. “I need to speak with him.” They needed to come up with a battle plan and quickly. Already, the forward ships in both fleets were beginning to exchange weapons fire.

-

Commodore Versith gazed at the tactical display noting that if the Human ships did not slow down, his pursuing ships would not be able to catch them. Commodores Tantil and Parco had joined their ships to his command and he now had a sizable force with which to attack the Humans.

“Fleet Commodore Resmunt must slow the Human ships,” War Leader Trion rasped, his cold dark eyes looking inquiringly at Versith. “They are still far outside of our weapons range.”

“The Humans won’t slow down,” Versith said as he studied data on his command console. He knew that if he were in the Humans' situation, he wouldn’t.

His large eyes narrowed as he thought over his options. He could launch his fighters; they could probably catch the Human ships before they jumped into hyperspace. But he had nothing to arm them with that could cause any significant damage.

“Honor escapes us,” Trion spoke solemnly, knowing there was nothing they could do to change that. It would be disappointing to watch Fleet Commodore Resmunt engage the Humans knowing they would not be able to play a significant part in the battle.

“For today, honor will have to wait,” Versith agreed, as he watched the tactical display, noting that the Humans would shortly be in engagement range of the main part of Fleet Commodore Resmunt forces. He'd already sent Resmunt a message suggesting that multiple Hocklyn ships target individual Human vessels so as to be able to bring down their energy screens.

Second Leader Jaseth watched in frustration as the Human ships stayed just outside the reach of his weapons. He had no more of the powerful sublight missiles to throw at them, but he had lesser missiles that might do damage. His large reptilian eyes moved across his console, seeking a weapon that could reach the Humans, but there were none. His seething anger against the Humans would have to wait for another day to be fed.

-

In space, the Federation ships rapidly closed with the waiting Hocklyn fleet. At every moment, more Hocklyn warships were beginning to enter the gravity well of Kenward Seven in an attempt to stop the Human ships or, at the very least, slow them down so Commodore Versith and his fleets could come within range.

The Human fleets closed up their formation, gathering their battlecarriers in the center where they would be the most protected. Missile tubes were loaded and all targeting systems were active. Crews waited tensely as the fleets neared.

“Standby to fire,” Hedon ordered as he checked the tactical displays once more. “Concentrate our remaining antimatter missiles on the Hocklyn’s dreadnoughts and our Devastator Threes upon their warcruisers. I want all tubes reloaded as quickly as possible and fired again. Continue to do so until we are down to ten percent of our Devastator Threes.”

“Are you sure you want to use all of our antimatter missiles?’ Colonel Trist asked uneasily. “We won’t be able to replenish them until we return to Careth.”

“Yes,” responded Hedon, decisively. “I want to hurt the Hocklyn fleet as much as possible and the antimatter missiles are our best option.”

“Antimatter missiles loaded and Devastator Threes on standby,” Major Weir reported. “We'll be in weapons range of the main Hocklyn fleet formation in twenty seconds.”

Hedon glanced over at Janice; he could see that her face was full of worry. Hell, he didn’t blame her. He just hoped they were both still alive when this was over. There was obvious anxiety on a number of faces in the Command Center as they contemplated the massive Hocklyn fleet ahead of them. This fleet was larger than the one that had attacked New Tellus. They all knew what had happened there and the massive losses suffered by the Federation.

“Weapons range,” Major Weir reported.

“Fire!” ordered Hedon, gripping the armrests of his command chair and leaning forward.

“Antimatter missiles launching,” Tactical reported.

From the StarStrike and the other Federation capital ships there were brief blurs of movement in the missile tubes as the deadly sublight missiles launched. From every battlecruiser, battlecarrier, and strikecruiser the deadly missiles took aim at the Hocklyn fleet. From the Monarchs, Devastator Threes launched. Their targets were the large dreadnoughts and warcruisers that stood in the way of the fleet’s escape.

For several heart-stopping seconds, time seemed to slow, and then massive explosions began tearing apart the Hocklyn fleet formation as the powerful missiles started detonating. All twenty of the dumbbell shaped Alton battlecruisers were launching antimatter missiles in rapid-fire mode. Their Human crews were showing no mercy toward the Hocklyns as they rained death upon dreadnought after dreadnought. One hundred-megaton explosions rolled across the Hocklyn fleet, obliterating warships.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt seethed in anger as his ships died. Every fighter the fleet had was launching, but the sublight missiles were so fast they barely registered on the targeting systems before they struck their targets. On one of the main viewscreens, he watched as the dreadnought Anvil's Heart burned. The ship struggled for a few more seconds and then its self-destructs went off, finishing its destruction. Resmunt had formed both of his fleets into one massive formation in order to deny the Humans any possibility of escape.

“We’ve lost twenty-eight dreadnoughts and thirty-four warcruisers,” First Leader Ganth uttered in disbelief at the carnage ravishing the fleet.

“But they’re in range of our weapons now,” Resmunt responded his eyes glittering dangerously. “Fire all weapons, particularly any antimatter weapons our ships might still possess.”

Unfortunately, their AI antimatter missiles were few in number and not all dreadnoughts and warcruisers had them. Resmunt knew if his ships had more of the deadly missiles that the Human fleets advancing on his formation could easily be destroyed. As it was, once the few antimatter missiles they had were launched they would have to rely on more conventional weapons to destroy the Humans.

-

The fighting between the fleets grew more intense as the ships began to penetrate each other’s formation. Antimatter missiles from both sides were now knocking down energy screens with impunity. On the Humans’ side, a single missile would knock a screen down and often damage or destroy the unfortunate Hocklyn ship. On the Hocklyns’ side, it took several missiles to knock down a Human screen, which was then followed up by energy beams, standard nuclear missiles, and railgun rounds.

The battlecruisers Redstar and Harding were the current focus of the Hocklyn attack. Numerous 50-megaton antimatter missiles smashed away their shields and then energy beams and railgun rounds began tearing the hulls apart. Several well placed nuclear missiles finished the two battlecruisers off as nuclear fireballs reduced them to shattered wrecks.

-

“Battlecruisers Redstar and Harding are down,” reported Captain Reynolds, trying to sound calm. Those were not the first ships to be lost and he knew they wouldn't be the last. He swallowed loudly as he saw two light cruiser icons swell up and vanish from his screen. “Light cruisers Vanity and Serenity are down.”

“All ships, continue to fire,” Hedon ordered his face taking on a grim look. “All ships are to jump as soon as they clear the gravity well.” They had no choice but to bull their way through the blockading Hocklyn fleet and hope for the best.

“More Hocklyn ships are coming within range,” Colonel Trist reported as they neared the edge of the gravity well. “All antimatter missiles have been expended except those on the Alton ships. Switching over to Devastator Threes.” He looked intently at the tactical display nearest him as he designated targets to Major Weir. The tactical display was full of red threat icons.

The StarStrike rocked violently as several nuclear missiles detonated against her screens and multiple lights on the damage control board turned a worrisome amber. The ship's weapons continued to fire unabated.

“We could use the particle beam weapons,” suggested Colonel Grissim, holding on to one of the tactical projection tables as the ship shuddered violently once again and several lights on the damage control board turned from amber to red.

“Those are for the AIs,” replied Hedon, shaking his head. “Continue to fire Devastator Threes. They will be more effective against the Hocklyns than the particle beam weapons.”

Hedon’s heart was racing as his gaze shifted to each of the two colonels, he could see the growing worry on their faces. “We’ll make it,” he said determinedly. “Another few minutes and we'll be out of the gravity well.”

-

In space, weapons fire grew even heavier. Antimatter missiles, Devastator Threes, Hocklyn nuclear missiles, power beams, energy beams, pulse laser beams, and railguns were all in heavy use. The Hocklyn fighters had moved away from both fleets as the weapons fire was too intense to survive between them.

Four Hocklyn antimatter missiles struck the strikecruiser Dayton. For a brief moment, her shields resisted and then failed. Part of the ship’s hull became molten hot as her desperate crew rushed to bring the shields back online. Then railgun rounds began smashing into the vulnerable hull, tearing huge, jagged rents in the armor. There were screams throughout the ship as crewmembers were sucked out into the dark vacuum of space.

The ship’s commander saw the damage control board aglow with red warning lights. The Command Center was full of smoke and he knew his ship was dying around him. Two blue energy beams reached out from a nearby Hocklyn warcruiser, cutting deeply into the ship and wrecking Engineering. Moments later, the valiant ship died in a blaze of light as its nuclear self-destructs detonated.

In the Hocklyn fleet, the deluge of antimatter weapons had decreased as the Human ships ran out, but now the Humans were launching Devastator Threes, which were almost as bad. The death of Hocklyn ships had slowed some, but space was already full of burning and dying ships.

-

“Strikecruiser Dayton is down,” Captain Reynolds reported in an emotionless voice. Too often in the last few minutes, he'd reported the death of Federation warships. He knew that each time he called out a ship’s name it meant that hundreds of Federation fleet personnel had died.

“Our forward ships are starting to exit the gravity well,” Colonel Grissim informed Admiral Streth. She felt relieved that some of the ships were finally reaching safely. Now if just the rest of them could make it.

Suddenly, another alarm sounded on the main sensor console. Immediately a multitude of alarm klaxons began to sound and red lights began to flash.

“What is it?” demanded Hedon, looking intently over at the sensor console and Captain Reynolds. Were the AIs jumping back in?

“We have numerous spatial vortexes opening just behind the Hocklyn fleet,” Reynolds stammered as he tried to make sense of his sensor readings. “There are large ships exiting hyperspace, but they’re not in our data base.”

“Another alien race?” Trist asked his face looking concerned.

“It can’t be another alien race,” Colonel Grissim uttered as she gazed at the new threat icons appearing in the display feeling a knot growing in her stomach. Just when she thought they might escape to safety, they were now facing another new and unknown threat.

“I have an emergency message from Admiral Cleeteus,” Captain Duncan interrupted. “He reports the new aliens are Borzon. They are one of the other proxy races that serve the AIs in another sector of the galaxy. He says their ships are better armed than the Hocklyns and they possess a rudimentary sublight missile.”

“We need to get out of here!” Colonel Trist spoke with conviction, his eyes focusing on Hedon. “We’re out of antimatter missiles and even the Altons are beginning to run low. We can’t fight this new fleet as well as the Hocklyns.”

“I know,” Hedon replied, his eyes turning toward one of the main viewscreens showing one of the new ships. It was slender in design, and sensors estimated it at 1,200 meters in length. “Order all ships to break off contact with the Hocklyns and to go to max acceleration. We need to get out of the gravity well and jump into hyperspace.”

He knew that by breaking off contact it would allow the Hocklyns a better opportunity to fire upon his fleet as it fled. He looked uneasily at the new alien ship displayed on the screen. Where had they come from and what did this mean for the war? He let out a long breath, realizing he had been thrown another curve ball.

The orders were hurriedly passed and the Federation and Alton ships quickly accelerated, fleeing toward the edge of the gravity well and safety.

“The new ships are firing,” Colonel Grissim reported as flashes of light could be seen on the hulls of the Borzon ships. She braced herself against the holographic plotting table, not sure what to expect.

-

The Borzon targeted the Alton battlecruisers. Hundreds of sublight missiles began hitting the shields of the Alton ships. The shields became covered in glowing energy as missile after missile detonated. The Human crews, with the help of the Altons, were intercepting over sixty percent of the inbound missiles, but that still allowed large numbers to reach their targets. On one of the Alton ships, a small hole in the shield developed and a Borzon sublight missile flashed through to explode against the hull. Instantly, hundreds of tons of armor and metal were vaporized and the ship’s shield failed completely. More missiles arrived and the Alton ship died as it was consumed by nuclear fire.

“Alton ship Starlight is down,” Captain Reynolds spoke in a breathless and stunned voice. He had not expected to see an Alton ship destroyed.

“We’re crossing the gravity well,” Colonel Trist reported.

“The new aliens are targeting the Alton battlecruisers,” Colonel Grissim reported as she studied the data coming across her screens. “They’re trying to overwhelm the Alton shields!”

“Initiating jump,” the Navigation officer reported.

Moments later, a blue-white spatial vortex formed in front of the StarStrike and the battleship jumped into the safety of hyperspace. Around her, the rest of the Federation ships and the Altons did likewise. Weapons fire ceased and a sudden eerie silence filled the ship. The viewscreens were now filled with the swirling deep purples of hyperspace and the battle was over.

-

High Leader Nartel smiled in satisfaction at the success of his attack. The Borzons had managed to destroy three of the supposedly indestructible Alton battlecruisers. Of course, it had taken the entire firepower of their fleet to do it.

Nartel turned to War Leader Caltrin and spoke. “Contact Fleet Commodores Resmunt and Versith. I want to meet with them and all of the other commodores immediately.”

He gazed in anger at the tactical display, seeing that all four of the shipyards were gone, destroyed by the Humans and the Altons. All that remained of years of work were shattered ruins. He would look closely at the battle report from Fleet Commodore Resmunt to ensure that everything possible had been done to protect those valuable assets.

The Empire had other shipyards, but Kenward Seven had been the largest and closest to the home worlds. He would order more slaves brought in immediately. The mining operations still existed, and new shipyards could be built. It would be time consuming, but it would be done. He knew many slaves would die, but the Empire had billions at its disposal. Nartel’s right hand reached down to touch the knife at his waist. The Humans may have won a victory today, but they were soon to face their final defeat.

-

The StarStrike exited hyperspace in system C-315 as numerous other space vortexes opened around her, expelling more Federation and Alton ships.

“Jump complete,” the Navigation officer reported.

“Report all contacts,” barked Hedon as his eyes snapped toward the four tactical displays.

“Picking up only Federation and Alton ships,” Captain Reynolds reported.

“I have Admiral Telleck on the com,” Captain Duncan informed Hedon. “He says he has a number of damaged ships that will need repair time before they can jump again.”

“What about the Alton ships?” Hedon asked as an Alton battlecruiser was displayed on one of the main viewscreens. The ship had a hole in its side as if it had been struck by a giant hammer.

“They lost three battlecruisers with another six damaged,” Colonel Grissim reported. “The Borzons concentrated their attack on the Alton ships, trying to overwhelm their shields.”

“What were the losses to First Fleet and Ceres Fleet?”

Anne took a moment longer to reply as she studied the data coming in on her console. “We lost five battlecruisers, four strikecruisers, six Monarchs, and eighteen light cruisers. Numerous other ships are reporting various degrees of damage.”

Hedon winced at hearing the losses. He'd hoped with the new screens and weapons to get out of Kenward Seven with much lighter losses. There were so many more men and women to haunt his dreams at night. He let out a heavy sigh. Hedon blinked his eyes and looked around the Command Center, taking stock of the situation. For the most part, everyone seemed calm and were going about their jobs.

“We'll stay here for four hours, and then we need to plot a jump to put more distance between us and Kenward Seven,” spoke Hedon, reaching a quick decision. “Once that jump is complete, we'll take a full day to work on repairs and see to our wounded.”

Looking up at the viewscreens, more damaged ships were shown. There was a Federation battlecruiser with most of its bow gone; a battlecarrier had a deep scar across its upper hull where an energy beam had struck. For a moment, Hedon wondered if the attack on Kenward Seven had been worth it.

“Any estimate on the Hocklyn losses in the last battle?” he asked.

“From our latest figures, the Hocklyns lost thirty-eight of their dreadnoughts forty-two warcruisers and one hundred and eighteen of their escorts.”

“We took a hell of a lot of them out,” spoke Colonel Trist relieved the fighting was over. “With the ships we destroyed earlier, the four shipyards, and now these ship numbers, we scored a significant victory today.”

“That may be,” Hedon conceded. “But we lost a lot of good people doing it. We also lost three irreplaceable Alton ships and I’m not sure how they’re going to take that.”

“It had to happen eventually,” responded Colonel Grissim. Anne walked over closer to the command console and then continued, “Our attack will severely hamper the Hocklyn’s ability to build and repair ships. It could be the turning point in this war.”

Hedon was silent. He hadn’t told his command staff about the news that Admiral Telleck had brought back from the Federation. They had slightly less than two years to win an impossible war or all organic life in the galaxy might come to an abrupt end. They also had a new enemy to face, the Borzon. Hedon let out a deep sigh. Once again, this war had taken a new and dangerous turn.

Chapter Eighteen

Hedon looked at the latest reports from the long-range scouts that were keeping track of the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets in the Kenward Seven star system. For a full three weeks, both Federation fleets and the surviving Alton ships had been jumping back toward Careth. It would be another four weeks before they arrived.

“They’re coming after us, aren’t they?” Colonel Grissim asked in a calm and steady voice. She looked at Hedon expectantly for an answer.

“It looks that way,” Hedon replied as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the other two officers. Both Colonel Trist and Colonel Grissim were with him in the small office off to the side of the Command Center.

“We've probably really ticked them off taking out those shipyards,” Trist spoke with deep satisfaction in his voice. “We also destroyed several hundred of their ships in the process, most of them their big capital ones.”

“From the scans we managed to take, many of those ships are the same ones that attacked New Tellus,” Anne said, looking meaningfully at the two men. “That means the Fleet Commodore that was instrumental in the attack at their fleet base as well as at New Tellus was probably in that system. He won’t take kindly to what we did. He may feel it is a matter of honor to return the favor.”

“I thought some of the attack patterns looked familiar,” Hedon commented as he arched his eyebrows in thought. “As for that honor system of theirs, I don’t know how that will play into this.” There were many things in this war that didn’t make a lot of sense. It was particularly difficult since they had never been able to capture a live Hocklyn for interrogation.

“The scouts are reporting that additional AI ships have jumped into the Kenward Seven system,” Trist said worriedly. “I wonder why?”

“Resupply,” Anne responded, her eyes shifting from Colonel Trist to Admiral Streth. “Just as the Altons are supplying the new antimatter missiles to us, I would guess the AIs are doing the same thing for the Hocklyns.”

“Once they’re resupplied they will be coming after us,” Trist said, his eyes narrowing. “They can’t afford to let us continue to use Careth as a base against them, not after what we just did.”

“I wonder if the AIs will come with them,” said Hedon, taking a deep breath. “Our stealth scouts will have to start back tomorrow or they won’t be able to catch up to us.”

“We could slow down, give them more time on station,” Anne suggested. She knew the new scouts were capable of long jumps with little cool down time needed for their drive cores.

“No,” responded Hedon, shaking his head. “We need to get back to Careth and get prepared for an attack. I’ve already sent a message to Grayseth explaining what to expect. He’s relaying the information on to the Federation.”

“Admirals Strong and Sheen should be in the system when we get there,” added Trist, feeling relieved that more Federation ships would be at Careth. “That will at least give us a large fleet presence along with our allies.”

“It’s a good thing we laid that line of Alton communication buoys,” Anne stated. She knew those buoys transmitted messages nearly ten times faster than the ones the Federation deployed.

“They will have sufficient warning,” Hedon said. He had sent a number of recommendations to Grayseth, preparing him for a possible attack. “If the Hocklyns and the Borzons attack together along with the AIs, we'll be facing many more ships than we did at the battle of New Tellus.”

Anne’s face turned pale as she added up the numbers. “Over three thousand ships plus the AIs,” she uttered in a worried voice. “I’m not sure even the defenses of Careth will stand up to that.”

“No,” Hedon responded in agreement. Then he looked intently at the other two. “But what if we could find a way to destroy those three thousand ships; what would that mean for the war?”

“It would be a game changer,” Trist spoke in a low voice as he drummed his index finger on the desk looking thoughtful. “The Hocklyns would no longer be in control of the war, we would!”

“But how do we destroy three thousand enemy warships?” Anne asked, not seeing how it could be done. Not even Hedon could work that type of miracle.

“I don’t know yet,” Hedon admitted, his eyes narrowing in deep thought. “But there has to be a way, we just need to find it!”

-

Janice was in her quarters taking some time to relax. She knew Hedon was having a meeting with Colonel Trist and Colonel Grissim about their current situation. If things continued as they were, they should be able make it safely back to Careth without any problems. That was one of the good things about being responsible for communications on the StarStrike; at least she knew what was going on.

Janice stepped out of the shower and paused in front of the large mirror on the wall of her bedroom. She ran her hands over her full breasts and across her stomach. Turning, she gazed at her profile in the large mirror. She had all the curves in the right places and her intense workout schedule kept the fat off. She knew that Hedon had noticed. She'd caught his looks of interest from time to time and knew that he did think of her in other, more romantic ways occasionally. The problem was getting him to do something about it.

Perhaps when they got back to Careth she could talk him into taking a few days off and going down to the planet to one of the resorts. It would be nice to spend some alone time with him. If something more intimate happened, she wouldn’t object. Perhaps it was time for their relationship to move to the next level. Just the thought made her feel excited. She hadn’t pushed this relationship; instead, she'd let it develop on its own.

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

Leaning back, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh of resignation. How could you attack something so close to the black hole? A ship’s jump drive wouldn’t even function so close to such a massive gravity source. Opening his eyes, he leaned forward. The AIs could evidently jump in. He knew their jump drives allowed them to jump in close to planets, ignoring the limiting factor that gravity had on Federation ships. For that matter, Alton ships had the same ability.

He looked once again at one of the massive structures displayed in the photo the Altons had furnished. He noticed what looked like numerous small objects around the structure. Curious as to what they could be, he called up the same photo on the computer on his desk and zoomed in on the small objects. His breathing nearly stopped as he gazed at an AI sphere. There were hundreds of them around the structure, and there were hundreds of structures. Hedon felt a sudden chill run down his back. He'd known there were a lot of AI ships at the galaxy’s center; it was just chilling to see that knowledge confirmed.

-

Weeks passed and Hedon was back in the Command Center. The next jump would bring them back to Careth and safety, assuming you could be safe from three thousand pursuing enemy ships. The long-range scouts had observed the massed Hocklyns and Borzon fleets leaving Kenward Seven. They'd also reported that there were thirty AI ships in the enemy fleet formations as well. Hedon estimated they had a little over five weeks before the enemy arrived. It all depended on how far the AIs had updated the Hocklyn ships FTL drives and what the Borzon ships were capable of.

“Almost back to Careth,” Colonel Trist commented as he turned away from the tactical display and looked over at the admiral. “Are we going to allow the crews some leave time? They could sure use it.”

“Yes,” Hedon answered with a nod. “We know we have some time before the next attack, anywhere from four to six weeks. When we get to Careth, I plan to give all the crews two full weeks of leave. Many of our ships need to have some repairs done anyway. I want our people at top efficiency when the Hocklyns and their new friends get to Careth.”

“What about you, Hedon?” Colonel Trist asked in a quieter voice. He'd known the admiral from the very beginning and very seldom called Hedon by his first name. “You need some rest also.”

“Maybe a few days,” conceded Hedon, looking over at Janice at Communications. “There’s a lot of planning I need to do and work that has to be taken care of if we want to survive the coming attack.”

“Take the days off, Hedon,” Trist said simply, glancing over at Captain Duncan. “Take Janice with you.” Colonel Trist turned and returned to his duties.

He was well aware of the discreet relationship between Hedon and Janice; it was one he approved of. He knew from all the years of serving with the admiral that he had very seldom let a woman get close to him. It was good to see the Fleet Admiral to finally let his guard down with someone.

Hedon looked at his executive officer’s back, knowing that Trist had given him some good advice. Perhaps Trist was right; a few days of rest and maybe he would be able to view this with a new perspective. He looked over at Janice. He knew if Taylor or Lendle were around, they'd be telling him to do it. There was no way to know what the future might hold. Because of their positions as fleet officers, it would be wise not to be intimate, but they could still spend some time together. The decision made he would speak to Janice as soon as they got off duty. He hoped she would say yes.

Chapter Nineteen

Admiral Streth gazed out over the calm ocean waters of the seaside resort where he and Janice were staying. After two weeks of frantic work helping Grayseth, Admiral Telleck, and others design a defense strategy for the Carethian system he'd finally allowed himself a few days off. Admiral Telleck was still aboard his flagship coordinating the defense effort.

“This is nice,” Janice spoke as she leaned back in her lounge chair and stretched. She was wearing a black two piece that only accented her figure even more. She smiled to herself as she noticed Hedon’s eyes focus on her body. It made her feel warm inside knowing he was attracted to her that way. Now, if she could only get him to do something about it!

“A few days away from the war,” said Hedon, smiling. He knew Janice was hoping for something more intimate, and Hedon was highly tempted, but it was wiser for them to wait. How could he expect others to obey fleet regulations if he didn't?

“It’s so relaxing here,” Janice spoke as she reached for the suntan lotion and handed it to Hedon.

Sitting up, he began to slowly rub the lotion over her skin. He had a strong suspicion that Janice was doing everything she could to encourage more physical contact. Her soft skin felt wonderful under his hands. He knew if it wasn’t for the war, she would easily have her way with him. It was all he could do to resist her charms. She was becoming someone very special in is life and he wanted to share that experience with her.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Hedon replied as he found himself spending more time than necessary applying the suntan lotion. “I’m happy we’re doing this. At least it gives us some time together away from the ship.”

“But not the marines,” Janice added with a laugh. At a discreet distance, two female marines stood, keeping a protective eye on the two. Even here at the resort, a minimum of security was required for the Fleet Admiral.

“It goes with the job,” Hedon sighed. He finished applying the suntan lotion and reaching over, picked up the fruit drink on the small table.

“At least they’re keeping their distance,” Janice replied as she lay back down on the lounger. She slid the straps of her bathing suit off her shoulders and tucked them into the top piece so she could get a better tan. She noticed Hedon watching her. “The Carethians have really done a great job building these resorts.”

“I understand from speaking to Grayseth that they are in the process of building several additional resorts for our allies,” Hedon added as he lay back down and looked out across the ocean.

It reminded him a lot of the calm, peaceful lake at the cabin. There were even a few seabirds lazily circling in the air. He hoped fervently that someday he could rebuild that cabin and retire there. If he did, he hoped that Janice would be a part of his retirement. However, a lot had to happen before that dream could become a reality.

Janice watched Hedon out of the corners of her eyes. She knew this time off was good for him even if they didn’t become intimate. She let out a small, disappointed sigh, knowing that if she had to wait longer she would.

-

Admiral Telleck was in the large space station working with Grayseth, Daelthon, and Colonel Malang to increase the defenses around Careth. They were currently studying a large holographic display, which showed all of the current weapons systems.

“We have all twelve of the Alton battle stations online as well as the five hundred particle beam satellites,” Grayseth commented in his powerful voice as his large brown eyes stared at the display. “We’ve also deployed seventy-two of the type two battle stations with updated screens and full loads of Devastator Three missiles.”

“All of the laser satellites and missile platforms have also been put in place,” added Daelthon, folding his large, powerful arms across his chest. “Nearly sixty percent of the original ones were destroyed in the last attack.”

“The planet is very well defended,” conceded Admiral Telleck as he walked around the display studying it from different angels. “I'm pleased to see the space station has completed installing the twenty particle beam cannons the Federation sent.”

“As well as the new power beam batteries,” Colonel Malang added. “We've also installed one of the new fusion reactors, which will greatly increase the strength of the station’s energy shield. We’ve had engineering teams working around the clock to get everything finished.”

“How soon before Admiral Strong and Admiral Sheen arrive?” asked Grayseth, looking inquiringly at Admiral Telleck. “They should have already been here.” He missed Jeremy and his crew and was anxious to see them. Even Rear Admiral Susan Marks was greatly missed. She'd helped train many of the original fighter and bomber crews.

“Their fleets have taken up station in a nearby star system,” Telleck responded evenly, his eyes focusing on Grayseth. “Their fleets will be used to hit the enemy from the rear once the battle begins.”

“Pinning them between our two forces,” Grayseth said with approval. “It will be a good hunt and many of the evil ones will die.” It meant it would be a bit longer before he could see Jeremy, but he understood the reasoning.

“It will be a good hunt indeed,” Admiral Telleck responded. “How many fighters and bombers with Carethian pilots will you be able to deploy?”

“We will have over one thousand fighters and nearly twelve hundred bombers when the time comes,” Grayseth boasted, pleased with the numbers. The Federation had furnished large numbers of both, and one of the large fleet repair ships was equipped to produce additional fighters and bombers and had been doing so since it arrived. “Many of the squadrons will be based on our new shipyard.”

Admiral Telleck looked at the large green icon, which represented the shipyard. Already, four construction and repair bays were operational. Multitudes of Ceres' spider robots were swarming over the shipyard, adding to it hourly. In addition, four of the large fleet repair ships were also assisting in its construction. It was also being heavily armed with defensive satellites and a number of type two battle stations in orbit around it.

“Will it be enough?” Colonel Malang asked in a concerned voice. She knew what they were up against. They'd put up a good fight, but could anything they do stop three thousand warships plus the AIs? “We’re going to be heavily outnumbered even with our allies’ ships.”

“I guess we'll find out,” Admiral Telleck spoke. He hoped Hedon had some brilliant plan up his sleeve. They were certainly going to need it.

-

Jeremy was pacing impatiently in his quarters. For weeks, they'd been stuck in this nameless star system, waiting. What for, Jeremy wasn’t exactly sure. It made no sense for them to attack the Hocklyns and Borzons from the rear. They just didn’t have enough ships to make that big of a difference. To him it made more sense if their fleets were used in conjunction with the planetary defenses of Careth.

“Sit down, Jeremy,” Kelsey admonished with a long sigh. She'd been watching Jeremy pace back and forth for quite some time. “There’s nothing you can do; we have our orders.”

“Strange orders,” uttered Jeremy, stopping and turning to face Kelsey. “They make no sense.”

“That we know of,” Kelsey reminded him. “Admiral Sheen knows what she’s doing. If these orders were wrong, do you really think she would allow our fleets just to set here?”

“No,” Jeremy admitted. He knew Admiral Sheen knew enough about tactics that if this strategy was unsound she wouldn't go along with it.

“Come sit down,” Kelsey said, patting the spot next to her on the sofa.

Jeremy sat down obediently and leaned back, closing his eyes. He wanted so badly to take the Avenger and go to Careth. Grayseth was depending on him returning and he'd promised the large bear he would. He wondered if this was how Admiral Streth had felt when his return with the relief fleets had been delayed.

Kelsey placed her hand on Jeremy’s chest and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Everything will work out,” she said gently. “I just know it will.”

Jeremy put his hand over Kelsey’s and squeezed it gently. He tried to allow himself to relax. Surely Kelsey was right; he just wished he knew what was going on.

Ariel had been watching the two in silence. She turned off the monitors to Jeremy’s quarters and began studying the recent communications between Admiral Sheen and the Federation. There was no doubt something big was up. These weren’t normal fleet reports or just casual conversations. All of them were highly encrypted and flying back and forth almost hourly. Knowing she shouldn’t, she activated a special program she'd put together just for this type of situation. In less than ten minutes, she'd broken the encryption and was reading the messages. She knew if Jeremy found out, he would be highly upset with her.

If her hologram had been activated, its eyes would have widened in shock. No wonder Admiral Sheen was being so secretive about what was going on! Jeremy would be thunderstruck if he knew what was being planned. The next big question was should she tell him? She knew the answer had to be no. She'd known Admiral Sheen for a very long time and didn't want to violate her trust. No one must ever know she'd read the messages. But it did give her some ideas. She had some tactical plans to work up. At least she could do something constructive and when the time came, she would be ready.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt looked at the tactical display with deep satisfaction. At last, he had the forces he needed to destroy the Humans. Three thousand warships and the thirty AI ships he had originally had grown to sixty. Evidently, even the AIs believed the new fleet was unstoppable.

“High Leader Nartel is demanding to know how soon we will begin jumping again?” First Leader Ganth said as he walked over from Communications.

“Shortly,” Resmunt responded.

It would take them another week to reach the system of Careth, but he was going to pause long enough to allow all of his ships to retune their drives back to top efficiency. They would linger in this system for a full day and then begin making their final jumps toward their target. For once, not even the AIs were complaining.

“There is much honor ahead of us,” First Leader Ganth rasped as he touched the blade at his waist. “The Humans and their allies will fall before our fleets.”

“This time they will,” Resmunt agreed with a nod. “Inform the High Leader that we will stay in this system for a full day and then resume our course.”

He looked around the War Room with his large, dark eyes. He felt the cold blood in his veins grow warmer at the thought of the impending victory. The High Leader would see his ability as a Fleet Commodore and once the Humans were destroyed, Resmunt would be able to rise high in the Hocklyn Hierarchy. Perhaps even to the rank of High Councilor. His family would become flush with honor and prestige. Limitless wealth would come his way.

First Leader Ganth turned away from Fleet Commodore Resmunt. Honor for the flagship would be great. When this battle was over, he would take his rightful place as a War Leader.

-

Second Leader Jaseth looked over at all the green icons in the main sensor display. Surely, this was the greatest fleet ever gathered in the entire galaxy! He felt excitement knowing that very soon the Human threat would come to an end. He touched the sharp blade at his waist. The only blood it had ever known was that of Hocklyns in honor duels. He hoped that in the coming battle he could find some way to drench it in Human blood.

Jaseth looked around the busy War Room. Fleet Commodore Versith was at the command pedestal speaking to War Leader Trion. If Jaseth could score enough kills with his weapons, then a position of First Leader or perhaps even a War Leader was possible. Someday he would return to Calzen and reclaim his family’s honor and even the family’s ancestral habitat above Anlesh.

-

The Command AI of the AI fleet floated a few inches above the metal floor in the Control Room of the massive sphere. Around the AI was an intense amount of activity as various AIs worked analyzing the tactical situation. Battle scenarios were being run of the attack on Careth and its probable outcome. In every scenario so far, the Humans and their allies had been defeated with relative ease.

“We will achieve victory at Careth,” the AI at the main computer terminal reported, satisfied with the latest results. “The computer is predicting a ninety-two percent probability of victory.”

“Yes,” the Command AI spoke in its authoritative voice. “But what about afterward? Will we still possess the ships to continue on and destroy the Human home worlds?”

“The latest projected loss figures show we will still have a Hocklyn and Borzon fleet of over two thousand ships,” the AI responded. “That should be sufficient to destroy the Humans, though not the Altons.”

“With the Humans removed, the Altons will not be a threat,” the Command AI spoke. “They will retreat to their world or worlds and not venture forth again.”

“The Great Project will be completed and the organics will cease to exist; even the Altons,” the AI at the computer station responded. “Our mechanical race will be supreme.”

“Yes, we will be supreme,” responded the Command AI. “There will be no threats to stop us from spreading throughout this galaxy and others. Someday, in the future, this entire universe will be ours. A universe of AIs.”

Chapter Twenty

Admiral Streth was in the busy Command Center of the battleship StarStrike. Anxiety in the room had just skyrocketed as warning alarms on the sensor console began sounding. The FTL sensor buoys were detecting massive amounts of spatial vortexes forming in system K-829, signaling the arrival of the Hocklyns and their friends. Already, the FTL buoys had recorded over fifteen hundred FTL events and more were still occurring.

“They brought everything but the kitchen sink,” Colonel Trist mumbled from his position in front of one of the tactical displays where he was watching intently as more red icons continued to appear.

“I think they even brought that,” Colonel Grissim spoke as the FTL buoys began recording larger warp vortexes opening, indicating the arrival of the large, 1,500-meter AI spheres. “The AIs are beginning to jump in.”

“They’re six light years away,” Hedon informed them as he studied the displays. “We'll have at least an hour's warning when they launch their attack.” That was how long the hyperspace transit time was from system K-829 to Careth. “Contact Colonel Malang on the space station and order her to dispatch two of the long-range stealth scouts to the system. I want to know exactly what we’re up against. Have the scouts determine how many AI, Hocklyn, and Borzon ships are in the system. I want ship types and any other pertinent information they can come up with.”

“Will two scouts be enough?” Trist asked as he began contacting the station. He knew they were asking a lot of just two of the small ships.

“Perhaps not,” Hedon responded with an unhappy frown. “But I don’t want to risk any more. The AIs may be able to detect them.” Then, turning toward Colonel Grissim, “Cancel all leaves and bring up all of our fleet personnel from Careth. Inform our allies to go to Condition Three and expect an imminent attack. Let them know they'll have an hour's notice.”

Hedon knew they still had time to finish their preparations; they didn’t need to panic. “Captain Duncan, send an FTL message to Admiral Sheen that our enemy has arrived and we are expecting to be engaged in combat shortly.”

Janice nodded and began activating the FTL transmitter. This would be an encrypted message and it wouldn’t take Admiral Sheen long to receive it as her fleets were nearby.

Hedon leaned back in his command chair and thought about the coming battle. He'd received an encrypted message from Fleet Admiral Johnson a week earlier detailing the plan that Admiral Nagumo had come up with. It was daring and highly risky, but it was also something that Hedon himself might have proposed.

-

All across the fleet, crews raced to their battle stations. On the ships, the space station, the shipyard, the Alton battle stations, and the type two battle stations everyone prepared for battle. At Condition Three, which was a heightened alert level, the crews knew they still had time. Guns were checked, missiles loaded into their tubes, targeting systems were run through tests, everything was being done in preparation for combat. Every Human, Carethian, Alton, Kessel, and Darvonian knew the Hocklyns, Borzon, and AIs were here for one reason and one reason only, to kill or be killed! One side would win and the other would be annihilated.

Aboard the Kessel and Darvonian ships, the anxiety level was higher. So far in this war, they'd not seen any actual combat. This would be their first battle and the crews were determined to show the Humans they had what it took to be part of the alliance.

The Darvonians had one hundred and forty warships, including seven of light cruiser strength. The rest were similar to Federation destroyers. The Darvonians had been given the task of helping to protect the seventy-two type two battle stations orbiting Careth and their fleet had been split accordingly. They had one destroyer-sized warship assigned to each station with the rest divided up into seven fleets of nine to ten each. The seven small fleets would help protect the areas where the enemy were concentrating their attack. The fleets would operate inside the satellite defensive grid where they could do the most good.

The Kessels had a smaller overall fleet, but it was much more powerful with ten battlecruisers, twenty heavy cruisers, and fifty light cruisers. The catlike Kessels had been assigned to protect the new shipyard and their ships were clustered around it. Along with the laser satellites, missile platforms, and four type two battle stations that orbited it, the shipyard was well protected. In addition, the shipyard's energy screen was functional as well as ten power beam installations and twenty pulse laser batteries.

Freighters that had been traveling between mining sites in the system redlined their sublight drives as they raced for Careth. They needed to get beneath the satellite grid before the battle started. All mining sites throughout the system began powering down and started sending their staffs to deep underground bunkers. They would be silent until they received the all clear signal that the battle was over.

On Careth itself, the huge underground cities began shutting the massive airlocks that protected them from the outside world. Thousands who'd been outside began to hurriedly make their way back to the hidden locations. On the surface of the planet, interceptor missile batteries turned toward the sky, and highflying interceptor aircraft were moved out of their hangers in preparation for launch. Carethian troops began taking up defensive positions around the larger cities in preparation to defend them if necessary. If the Hocklyns landed their Protectors, they would find an armed fortress awaiting them.

Inside the cities themselves, Carethian civilians began moving in an orderly fashion to prepared underground shelters. Emergency response centers became active and were soon coordinating the movement of civilians to areas of safety. All of this had been practiced numerous times in the past year, and now was the time to put what they'd learned into effect.

-

Colonel Kathryn Barnes stepped into the Command Center of the battlecruiser Ceres. Admiral Telleck had ordered her back to the flagship for this battle.

“Thanks for calling me back,” she spoke gratefully as she stepped into the familiar room.

“It’s good to have you back,” Admiral Telleck responded with a friendly smile. “You'll do more good here during the battle than in your envoy position on the space station.”

Kathryn nodded and took her place in front of the tactical display, relieving Major Carnes, who immediately headed for the emergency Command Center deep in the heart of the ship.

“Sir?” asked Kathryn, looking quizzically at the admiral. “What happened to your hair?” The Admiral was completely bald, his thick dark hair gone.

Admiral Telleck laughed and pointed at his head. “Accident in Engineering yesterday. I got singed pretty good and decided to shave it off. Do you like the new look?”

“It’s different,” replied Kathryn, smiling. “At least you weren’t hurt.”

Looking at the tactical display, Kathryn turned pale at what it was displaying. There were thousands of red threat icons. This was data being received from the FTL buoys in system K-829.

“I think we’re outnumbered,” she spoke aloud, looking back over at Admiral Telleck, who was sitting behind the large command console.

“Slightly,” Telleck replied with a wizened grin. “It just gives us more targets to shoot when they jump in.”

“They’re coming in all at once, aren’t they?” asked Kathryn, already knowing the answer. It was what she would do, jump in and try to overwhelm the defenders.

“Yes,” Telleck responded, his voice switching to a more somber tone. “After our recent battles, I'm sure that’s what they’re going to do. They will try to overwhelm our defenses in one massive assault.”

“How many AIs can we expect?” Kathryn was relieved they still had thirty-seven Alton battlecruisers in the system. Since their return from Kenward Seven, the Alton ships had been given first priority in the repair bays. She felt certain the Altons could handle the AIs. They'd already demonstrated that at New Tellus.

“Unknown,” Telleck responded. “We’re sending two stealth scouts to scan the system to determine the makeup of the fleets we'll be facing. We know some have jumped in, we’re just not certain as to how many.”

“What’s the plan of battle?” Kathryn asked her eyes focusing intently on Admiral Telleck. She felt certain Fleet Admiral Streth had probably made the plan with input from Admiral Telleck.

“We'll wait for them to enter the gravity well and then engage them in a massive fleet battle. First Fleet and ours will go in together as one unit.”

“What about Admiral Sheen and Admiral Strong; when will they engage?” Kathryn knew that both admirals and their powerful fleets were nearby waiting.

“As soon as the enemy jumps into the system, Admiral Sheen will begin her first jump. They will jump into a nearby system, establish communications, and then jump in under the recommendations of Fleet Admiral Streth and myself.”

Kathryn nodded. She wondered what her father would think if he knew the danger she would soon be in. It was a lot different than playing politics.

-

Hedon looked carefully at the tactical displays. Over the last several hours, the Kessel and Darvonian fleets had taken up their defensive positions. In addition, First Fleet and Ceres Fleet had moved closer together and nearly merged. With both fleets combined, Admiral Streth had nearly two hundred Federation warships at his disposal as well as thirty-seven Alton battlecruisers. For the time being, Hedon had assigned three of the Alton battlecruisers to the space station and four to the partially constructed shipyard. The other thirty were merged, with the two Federation fleets waiting for combat.

“We’ve done everything possible,” said Colonel Trist, coming to stand next to Hedon. “Do we know for sure how many ships Admiral Sheen and Admiral Strong have?”

Hedon knew the two admirals had over one hundred and sixty ships between them. In addition, Rear Admiral Race Tolsen was in the same system with an additional fifty-five ships. There were also twenty more Alton battlecruisers with the three waiting fleets. Everything else depended on whether or not Admiral Nagumo’s plan worked. Hedon hadn’t revealed that to anyone. He also hadn't heard from Admiral Nagumo.

“Nearly one hundred and sixty plus twenty more Alton battlecruisers,” replied Hedon, carefully.

He hated keeping secrets, but he was under strict orders from Fleet Admiral Johnson not to reveal any of Nagumo’s plans or that Rear Admiral Tolsen’s fleet was also available. Hedon didn’t like the secrecy, but there was concern about the AIs intercepting and decrypting Federation communications.

“This is gong to be one hell of a battle!” Trist spoke his eyebrows arching in thought. “The question is will it be enough?”

“It has to be,” said Colonel Grissim, walking over and joining in on the conversation. “All of our ships are updated and Careth is almost as heavily defended now as New Tellus.”

Hedon said nothing in reply. This battle was going to determine the fate of the galaxy. If the Federation prevailed, then it might allow them to move on with the Altons and attack the AIs at the center of the galaxy before they could finish their massive construction project. If they lost, then all hope for survival would be over.

Hedon looked over at Janice at Communications. For the first time in a long while, he actually had a reason to survive the war. The thought of dying in combat had always been comforting, knowing that he would be joining Taylor and Lendle. But now he had a reason for living. He had to find a way to beat the Hocklyns and the AIs if he wanted that new future to come into being.

Colonel Grissim looked over at Hedon, seeing the faraway look in his eyes. She felt confident that the legendary admiral would find a way to win. After all, they'd all been taught as children that the great admiral would awaken from cryosleep to lead the Federation to victory. Who was she to doubt a legend?

-

Grayseth was in the Command Center of the large, heavily armed space station. Carethian fighter and bomber crews were on standby, as well as their small, heavily armed spaceships. He had nearly three hundred of the small ships in the expanded flight bays of space station and the shipyard. Each ship would be carrying ten modified Shrike missiles with twenty-kiloton warheads. Plans were for a massed bomber and fighter strike with the small warships clearing the way.

“Should I and the other females prepare to go to the surface?” Malith asked as she stepped over closer to Grayseth, who towered over her. It was customary for females of the Carethian species not to partake in actual combat.

Grayseth turned and studied Malith with her deep brown fur and her friendly eyes. She'd made many friends amongst the Humans and was an excellent Communications and Navigation officer.

“No,” Grayseth spoke after a moment. He looked at Malith with a very serious gaze. “If we are to fight the evil ones and their masters, then I think that both our males and our females are going to have to be a part of this. For this battle, all females that wish to stay on board either the space station or the shipyard will be allowed to do so.”

“I will stay,” answered Malith, quickly. If the females amongst her Human friends were not afraid to fight, how could she do any less? She turned and went back to her station. She had some fighter patrol routes she needed to set up.

Grayseth watched her go. He knew that what he'd just decided went against tradition, and Carethians valued their traditions highly. However, this was a matter of survival, and half the Carethian race could not be told they couldn’t fight, not if they wanted to survive this and build a new future.

Colonel Malang had listened to the conversation with interest. The female part of the Carethian crew on the space station numbered about ten percent, while the female portion of the Human crew on the station was closer to thirty percent. There was no doubt in her mind that Grayseth was making the correct decision.

“I would suggest that we begin deploying our marines to all key positions in the station,” said Malang, turning to face Grayseth, who was only a few meters away. “It also wouldn't hurt to deploy some of our damage control teams to the more critical areas of the station.”

“Those are two wise precautions,” Grayseth replied in his loud booming voice. The Carethians also had armed troops that could be deployed along with the Human marines.

-

“Hocklyn, Borzon, and AI ships are jumping,” Colonel Grissim reported grimly from her position in front of one of the tactical displays. The display was being updated continuously with new information being sent from the two stealth scouts. “Estimate contact in fifty-four minutes.”

“They’re coming,” Trist breathed, his eyes focusing on Admiral Streth.

“Bring all military units to Condition Two and stand by for combat maneuvers,” Hedon ordered as he sat down in his command chair and looked around the large Command Center. The room was humming with activity and he could see no signs of increased anxiety over the imminent attack. “Captain Duncan, send an encrypted FTL message to Admiral Sheen informing her that the enemy have jumped.”

“Yes, Sir,” Janice replied as she began powering up the FTL transmitter.

“Navigation, begin moving us away from the station to a point forty thousand kilometers out from the planet,” Hedon ordered. “I want room to maneuver.”

In space, the two Federation Fleets and thirty Alton battlecruisers began moving away from Careth and the space station. Energy screens were being activated and weapons were being powered up. Crews waited anxiously at their weapons for a target to show up. Fighter and bomber crews, both Carethians and Humans, sat in their ready rooms waiting for the orders to prepare for combat. They all knew many of the pilots around them would not be coming back from their attack runs. They were quiet as them contemplated the future that awaited them.

Time seemed to pass slowly as the military forces in the system waited. All eyes were focused on the sensor screens, which would show the first signs of enemy forces. Then the time arrived, and the first red threat icon flashed into existence, then ten more, and soon after that they were arriving by the hundreds. It took nearly ten minutes for all three thousand enemy warships to drop out of hyperspace and exit the swirling white space vortexes, which everyone associated with Hocklyn, or AI hyperspace drives. Shortly afterwards, sixty larger space vortexes opened and out stormed the massive AI spheres of war.

-

“Range, two million kilometers,” Captain Reynolds reported from his sensor console. “Jumps have stopped.”

“Bring all military units to Condition One,” ordered Hedon, taking in a sharp breath. “Prepare to launch fighters.”

Instantly, the red Condition One lights began to flash and klaxons began to sound. Hedon allowed that to go on for thirty seconds before he ordered them to be turned off. The crew was already at battle stations, but the lights and alarms would ensure that everyone was aware combat was imminent.

“They're moving into combat formations,” Colonel Grissim reported as she watched the tactical display. “Ship counts are as follows. Twenty two hundred Hocklyn, nine hundred and seventy Borzon, and sixty AIs. Hocklyn ships include one hundred and twenty dreadnoughts, four hundred and seventy warcruisers, and one thousand six hundred and ten escort cruisers. That matches what the scouts reported. The Borzon have only one ship class and those are all of battlecruiser size, and then of course there are sixty AIs.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of enemy ships,” Colonel Trist muttered as he gazed at the swarm of red threat icons shifting around on one of the tactical displays. “I hope you have a plan to deal with them.”

“I always have a plan,” Hedon replied with a tightlipped smile. He just didn’t know if Admiral Nagumo’s part of it was going to come through. If not, then they'd all probably die here in the Carethian system. Hedon allowed himself a quick glance at Janice. No, he wouldn’t allow that to happen. Even without Nagumo, he had to find a way to win this battle.

-

Admiral Sheen gazed at the most recent message from Hedon. The enemy had arrived in overwhelming numbers. There was no doubt in her mind that they would try to overpower Admiral Streth’s forces and then launch nukes at Careth to purge its surface of life. She shuddered at the thought, recalling how the original Federation worlds had been nuked from orbit, killing the majority of the civilian populations, as well as the defending military.

Amanda turned toward Lieutenant Trask and ordered her to notify all commands to stand by to jump. They would jump to within six light years of Careth and then message Admiral Streth as to the situation in the system. At that point, they would make their final plans to hit the enemy fleets from the rear. Letting out a long sigh, Amanda allowed her thoughts to momentarily think about Richard back in the New Tellus system. If they survived this coming battle, she would ask him to come to Careth to spend a few weeks.

Benjamin and Angela looked knowingly at each other as the WarStorm prepared to jump into hyperspace. They were about to go into battle again. Last time, the battlecruiser WarStorm had been lost when Commander Evans rammed an AI sphere, causing the destruction of both.

“Benjamin,” Angela began in a serious voice. “If we survive the coming battle, we need to decide if we're going to stay with the Fleet.”

“I know,” responded Benjamin, looking over at Angela and nodding. “Once this battle is over, we'll discuss it.”

-

On board the battleship Avenger, Jeremy waited as the large ship moved toward the swirling blue-white spatial vortex in front of the ship. For this battle, at least, all five of them would still be together.

“Vortex entry in six seconds,” Ariel spoke in a calm voice from his left side where she stood with her hands on her shapely hips.

“I wish I'd taken the time to eat,” moaned Kevin over their private channel.

“Hamburger and fries?” Angela teased with a smile from her Communications console.

“As always,” Katie chimed in. “I think someday he’s going to turn into one.”

“He had two for supper last night,” Kelsey reminded them. “Next thing you know he'll be having hamburgers for breakfast.”

“Breakfast!” responded Kevin, with a thoughtful look upon his face.

“No!” Katie said emphatically. “At least one meal a day you’re going to eat something healthy.”

“But I don’t like fruit for breakfast,” whined Kevin.

“Jumping,” Ariel spoke as she listened to her friends talk. She knew this battle was probably the last time they would all be together on the Avenger. Kelsey and Katie were being reassigned to the bears' space station.

Jeremy felt the normal queasiness associated with a jump into hyperspace and glanced at one of the main viewscreens showing the dark, swirling purples of hyperspace. Glancing over at Kelsey, he smiled. Their married life so far had been wonderful; more than he'd expected. Hopefully, soon Kevin and Katie would be tying the knot. Even Angela was getting serious about her marine captain. For the Special Five, life was changing. They'd come so far since their days at the Fleet Academy and the disastrous New Horizon mission. Jeremy wondered what else was waiting in their future. However, before they could have a future, they had a battle to win.

-

Fleet Commodore Versith gazed at the tactical display as it began putting up the disposition of the Human forces. There were other ships being displayed that were plainly not Human or Alton.

“We have identified two other distinct ship types around Careth,” War Leader Trion spoke, his large, dark eyes showing confusion.

“Two more alien races have joined in the fight,” Versith responded as data concerning the new ship types began to come across a data screen in front of him.

“This becomes more dangerous for the Empire daily,” Trion rasped, his cold eyes focusing on the commodore. “If this threat is not stopped soon, even more alien races may align themselves with the Altons and the Humans.”

“We have the Borzon with us,” Versith reminded Trion. “There are also two more races that the High Leader can call upon for aid.”

“Insects!” swore Trion, shaking his head. “The Borzon are insects and do not think as we do. To them there is only service to their queens, and their queens serve the AIs. I don’t believe the word honor even exists in their language.”

Versith nodded in agreement. The Borzon made him nearly as nervous as the AIs. They stood well over two meters tall with wide, multifaceted eyes upon their strangely shaped heads. A pair of long, narrow wings adorned their backs, and their bodies were covered with a fine, stiff short hair of some sort. They stood on two legs that were bent strangely and had four double-jointed slender arms capable of grasping and operating machinery. Versith had been in a very short meeting with the leader of their fleet along with one of the AIs, High Leader Nartel, and Fleet Commodore Resmunt. It was not one he wanted to dwell upon.

The Borzon had only come to the Empire’s aid after High Leader Nartel had pointed out that the Humans could someday even become a threat to them. Nartel had carefully pointed out it was better to fight the Humans now together than later separately. Even the AIs had not been aware of the High Leader’s request to the Borzon for aid. The AI in the meeting had spoken little, just confirmed that the Humans and the Altons had to be eliminated.

“Fleets are nearly in formation,” the Third Leader reported from his position at the ship’s sensors.

“We will launch all of our war wings when we enter the planet’s gravity well,” Versith ordered.

He'd spoken with Fleet Commodore Resmunt and half the fighters were being armed to fight the Human fighters. The other half were being armed with four small high explosive missiles to use against Human ships. There were even a few tactical nukes being used as warheads. That should be a surprise for the Humans. Versith doubted if the missiles would have any affect against the Altons' more advanced ships.

“This will be a powerful attack,” Trion uttered as his cold, dark eyes turned toward the tactical display. “We shall overwhelm our enemies and bring much honor to our warriors.”

“Even so, I fear many of our warriors will find their final honor in this battle,” added Versith, knowing that large numbers of Hocklyn ships and warriors were going to die. The Humans and their allies would not go easily.

Trion felt confident. Fleet Commodore Versith had worked closely with Fleet Commodore Resmunt planning this attack. Versith was a brilliant tactician and Trion couldn’t see the attack failing. They had two thousand Hocklyn warships plus the Borzon and the AIs. Never had a more powerful fleet been gathered in the long history of the Empire.

Versith gazed across the War Room. He could sense the growing anticipation for battle in his warriors. He looked back at the main viewscreen, showing one of the Alton ships in the Human formation. He knew there was nothing ever certain in war.

Second Leader Jaseth felt a hot rush of blood in his veins as he prepared his weapons. He'd long waited for this battle. The Humans would soon die in the thousands along with their allies. His burning thirst for revenge would at last be partially quenched. The Viden had a full load out of the AI’s powerful sublight antimatter missiles and Jaseth planned on making the Humans pay dearly for his family’s loss of honor.

“Move us into the gravity well,” ordered Fleet Commodore Versith as he stood upon the command pedestal. “Launch the war wings.”

-

Hedon gazed impassively at the large viewscreens displaying various enemy ships. What concerned him most were the Borzon and their nearly one thousand battlecruisers. This would be a battle of attrition, particularly once Admiral Sheen and Admiral Strong arrived with their fleets. Looking over at Janice, Hedon just hoped that would be enough along with the new weapons.

“Hocklyns are launching their fighters,” Colonel Grissim reported from where she was standing next to one of the sensor displays. Anne knew their own fighters would be heavily outnumbered.

“As I expected,” responded Hedon, folding his arms across his chest. “All Federation ships are to launch their fighters except for the battlecarriers. Theirs will be used to cover the bombers on their attack runs. Inform Grayseth he is to hold his fighters back for now. They'll go in with their bombers and small warships.”

Hedon leaned back and let out a long, deep breath. “Move us toward the enemy at ten percent sublight. That'll give us some additional maneuvering room.”

“Passing the order to all ships,” Colonel Trist replied. Then, looking at one of the tactical displays and its myriad of red threat icons, he added once again, “This is going to be one hell of a battle!”

Chapter Twenty-One

The Hocklyn fleet entered the gravity well of Careth with determination, intent on finally annihilating the Human ships that were waiting for them. There would be no retreat this time. Thousands of fighters were launching and taking up defensive positions in front of and around the fleet. The war wings continued to launch, filling open space with their small, sleek, deadly forms. Half the fighters were armed to take on their Human counterparts, the rest were armed with small high explosive missiles as well as tactical nuclear warheads to use against the Human warships.

The Borzon followed closely behind the Hocklyns. With nine hundred and seventy battlecruiser sized ships, the commanding Fleet Leader was confident the Humans could easily be defeated. Once their home worlds were reduced to rubble, he would return home to the Borzon Empire with higher standings. Perhaps he would even be allowed to mate with a queen.

The AIs began moving their ships into the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formations. Their shields were at their highest level and weapons were ready. Each AI sphere had extra antimatter missiles to use against the Altons. They had strict orders from AI Command at the galactic center that there would be no withdrawals from this battle. Careth and its defenders had to be annihilated.

-

“Our fighters are going to be heavily outnumbered,” Colonel Trist reported as he gazed with worry at the tactical display nearest him. “There are over thirteen thousand Hocklyn fighters in that formation. We have a little over nine hundred unless we order the carriers to launch.”

“Sensors indicate some of those fighters are carrying missiles with tactical nuclear warheads,” warned Captain Reynolds from his sensor console where a red warning light was flashing, indicating nuclear ordnance had been detected.

“Damn,” Hedon muttered, not pleased to hear that. In the past, the Hocklyn fighters had only been armed with high explosive missiles. Turning to Colonel Trist, he passed on a new order. “Contact the carriers and have them launch all of their fighters except one squadron each. That one squadron is to be kept back to help protect the bombers on their bombing runs.”

“That will give us two thousand more fighters,” spoke Colonel Grissim, grim faced, knowing a lot of pilots wouldn't be coming back to the flight bays. “We’re still going to be outnumbered five to one.”

“We’re always outnumbered,” replied Hedon gravely, wishing things were different.

“We could send the bear fighters in,” Anne suggested. She knew the bears had over one thousand fighters at their disposal. “It would help even up the odds some.”

“No,” responded Hedon, shaking is head. He knew Colonel Grissim was trying to keep the pilots alive as long as possible. “We need to save them to go in with the bear bomber strike. If we’re going to win this battle, the bomber strikes have to be successful.”

“That’s a lot of Hocklyn fighters to send the bombers through even with fighter support,” spoke Colonel Trist. “If all of those Hocklyn ships have been updated, the bomber strikes might not be as successful as we’re hoping.”

“It’s a risk we have to take,” replied Hedon, knowing Trist was right.

“Ten minutes to optimum firing range,” reported Major Weir at tactical.

“Fighters are beginning to launch from the carriers,” added Colonel Trist, turning to face Hedon. “They’re not going to last long if the Hocklyns decide to make a fight out of it.”

“They have a job to do,” Hedon replied, his eyes never wavering. “They’re Federation pilots and they know what’s expected of them.”

-

Major Galvin Brice looked out the cockpit window of his Talon fighter. Everywhere he looked, he could see other fighters forming up into their squadrons. He glanced down at his sensor screen and felt a brief moment of panic. He'd never seen so many red threat icons before; the screen seemed to be a solid mass of red. He fought to control his breathing even as his pulse raced. Human fighters were better that Hocklyns fighters and had better weapons, but these were impossible odds! He wondered how many members of his squadrons wouldn't be returning to the carrier. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. After a moment, he opened them and knew he needed to speak to his pilots.

“All fighters form up and proceed on intercept course,” he ordered, trying to sound calm and confident to his six squadrons from the carrier Essex. “All carrier groups will be going in together. We have four Hunter interceptors on our wings. I want two fired as soon as we are in range to help even up the odds. We’re going to hit the edges of the enemy fighter formation. That will help to even up the odds. Stay away from the center; there’re just too many of them.”

“They’re so thick we can close our eyes and fire our guns and probably hit a target,” one of the younger pilots spoke sounding nervous.

“You’re aims no good anyway,” another replied with a laugh. “Look at it on the bright side; we’re all going to become aces today.”

The two large groups of fighters continued to close. At the last minute, the Human fighters broke into two distinct groups and accelerated rapidly toward the wings of the Hocklyn formation.

“Fire missiles!” ordered Major Brice, pressing the missile release button on his small control console. Instantly, a two-meter Hunter interceptor dropped loose from his starboard wing, igniting and arrowing away toward its Hocklyn target. A bright burst of light indicated it had hit its mark. Hundreds of other missiles were being fired from the Human fighters at the densely packed Hocklyn war wings; very few were missing. Fiery fireballs rolled across the Hocklyn formation, indicating dying fighters.

“Vampire, vampire!” screamed one of the pilots in the squadrons as numerous Hocklyn interceptors launched at the inbound Human fighters.

“Break!” ordered Brice, tersely. “Stay with your wingman and engage. Don’t get too far away from your squadron and don’t take unnecessary risks. Return to the carriers to rearm when your ammo starts to run low.”

Brice winced as a sudden fireball engulfed a nearby Talon fighter, annihilating it. He could see other fireballs rolling across the Human fighter formations as Hocklyn missiles found their wildly dodging targets. On both sides, fighters were being blown away in brilliant bursts of light. Dropping in behind a Hocklyn fighter, he pressed the button on his flight control and twin lines of bright, 30mm tracers reached out and struck the Hocklyn in its engine. The small fighter exploded and Brice automatically ducked as several small pieces struck his cockpit window. Letting out a deep breath, he pressed his flight control forward, forcing his fighter to angle down at a steep angle. Glancing outside, he saw his wingman was still hanging close. “All fighters engage targets of opportunity.”

A massive swirling dogfight was growing between the two fleets. The Human fighters were faster and more agile, but the Hocklyn had the numbers. Human fighter after Human fighter died as they fell before the massed Hocklyn fighter formation.

-

“We’re losing a lot of fighters,” Colonel Trist reported brusquely as more green fighter icons vanished from the tactical display. “We can’t sustain these types of losses for long.”

“I have an FTL message from Admiral Sheen,” Janice reported from Communications.

Hedon nodded; he'd been waiting for this message. “Tell Admiral Sheen to jump immediately and exit hyperspace behind the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formation. Their exit point should be one million kilometers outside the gravity well. I will contact them again once they exit hyperspace.”

“Yes, Sir,” Janice replied as she quickly sent the FTL message to Admiral Sheen.

“That’s still another hour,” Colonel Grissim pointed out. “We could lose a lot of ships in that time. We may not have any fighters left at all.”

“I know,” responded Hedon, letting out a sharp breath. “We'll engage the enemy fleet, and then began a slow withdrawal back toward Careth where we can use the firepower from the orbital defenses as well as the space station and the shipyard. I want the Hocklyns and the Borzon trapped in the gravity well when Admiral Sheen arrives.”

“Nearing engagement range,” Major Weir reported from Tactical. “Weapons are locking on enemy targets.”

“Fighters are beginning to move out of the way,” announced Captain Reynolds, seeing the fighters on both sides moving from between the two fleets so as to avoid the ordnance that would soon be prevalent between the two.

Hedon looked at his fleet disposition. Both First Fleet and Ceres Fleet had joined into one massive formation of warships. He had the StarStrike, which was the only battleship in the system, twenty-one battlecarriers, twenty-seven battlecruisers, thirty-two strikecruisers, thirty Monarch cruisers, eighty light cruisers, and thirty Alton battlecruisers. He wondered how many of those ships, if any, would be left after this battle. The important thing was that Careth itself survived.

“Engagement range!” Major Weir called out.

“Fire all weapons!” Hedon ordered over his mini-com to all the ships in the fleet. “Maneuver six, ten percent sublight, now!”

Instantly the StarStrike and all other ships in the fleet turned to starboard to hit one side of the enemy fleet formation.

“Admiral Bixby,” Hedon spoke over his mini-com to the recently promoted admiral on the battlecarrier Essex, who was in charge of all fleet fighter and bomber operations. “Launch your bomber strike.”

“Flight bays will be clear in five minutes,” Bixby replied.

Hedon leaned back and let out a deep breath. It was dangerous sending the bombers in this early, but he had to slow down the enemy fleets. Bixby would be launching over sixteen hundred Anlon bombers, each armed with four nuclear tipped Shrike missiles. They would have four hundred fighters as escorts.

“Enemy fighters are coming in on their attack runs,” Captain Reynolds warned as thousands of red icons began accelerating toward the Human fleets.

Hedon nodded. He knew the fleets’ Hunter missiles and defensive laser turrets would make it difficult for the enemy to reach their targets. The more powerful energy shields should also protect them from the missiles the fighters were carrying. The only problem was there were so many of them.

-

From the Federation capital ships, hundreds of sublight antimatter missiles with 100-megaton yields vanished from their launch tubes as they launched toward their targets. From the Monarchs and light cruisers, hundreds of Devastator Threes erupted from their launch tubes as they accelerated toward their targets in the enemy fleet. Power beams began to flash as well as powerful pulse lasers. Hunter missiles launched toward the inbound fighter strike and defensive laser fire began to reach out destroying additional inbound targets.

Across the Hocklyn formation, massive explosions smashed against newly strengthened energy screens. Many failed under the onslaught of the energy released by the powerful antimatter missiles. There was not a screen devised that could stand up to a direct hit from one of those ship killers. Hocklyn escort cruisers vanished in fiery explosions as their screens were annihilated and hulls were melted away. In many instances, more than one missile targeted a ship. Warcruisers and dreadnoughts were blown apart as the missile attack washed across the targeted section of the Hocklyn fleet formation.

Borzon shields were no more successful than the Hocklyns' at standing up to the antimatter ship killers. Over a dozen Borzon ships vanished under the onslaught as their screens failed and their battlecruisers were blown into oblivion. Even two of the AI ships were severely damaged by the attack and quickly finished off by watchful Alton ships that were targeting the large 1,500-meter spheres.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt blanched at the devastation being levied against his fleet, but now his own missiles and energy beams were striking the Human and Alton ships. With satisfaction, he saw a Human battlecruiser die under multiple explosions from the antimatter missiles the AIs had provided. Then another and another as more of the powerful weapons found their targets.

Resmunt grabbed onto the command console as the Liberator shook violently when a nuclear warhead detonated against his flagship’s energy shield.

“Shield is holding at forty percent,” First Leader Ganth reported as he picked himself up from the deck. “Minor damage to the outer hull.”

“Continue the attack,” Resmunt ordered, his eyes glowing with fire. This time he would destroy the Humans; defeat was not an option.

-

Fleet Commodore Versith was hurriedly turning his section of the fleet. His ships were in the center and the Humans had concentrated their attack on one of the flanks. It was a good strategy considering how badly the Humans were outnumbered. However, it would only take him a few minutes to maneuver his section of the fleet to attack range.

“Honor comes for many of our warriors,” War Leader Trion muttered as he watched Hocklyn and Borzon ships both fall to the Human and Alton attack. Even two of the deadly AI spheres had succumbed.

“We have the numbers,” Versith commented as he quickly passed orders to the other ships. “The Humans and the Altons will lose in the end.”

Second Leader Jaseth seethed in silent rage. His hands hovered over his weapon controls. His cold, dark reptilian eyes were full of fury as the Humans remained just outside of the range of his weapons. However, he knew that wouldn't last for long. Already the Viden was turning as well as the other warships around it. Shortly the Humans would be within range and Jaseth could rain death down upon their ships. The Viden had a full load out of the AIs' antimatter missiles, and he intended for the Humans to pay a full price in blood.

-

Hedon felt the StarStrike shake slightly as weapons fire impacted the ship’s energy screen. It was deep within the fleet formation and not an easy target for the enemy warships.

“Battlecruisers Canth, Lisbon, Trinity, and Boston are down,” Captain Reynolds reported in a pained voice.

“We’ve also lost two battlecarriers, four strikecruisers, three Monarchs and twelve light cruisers,” reported Colonel Grissim, grimly. “Hocklyn losses are much higher, but they have a lot more ships.”

“Their fighter attack is pulling back,” Colonel Trist reported as he studied one of the tactical displays. “We took some hits and lost a few ships, but our defensive fire was too much for them. They don’t have anything like out defensive laser turrets.”

“They’re joining back up with their other fighters,” Captain Reynolds added.

“Bomber strike is going in,” Colonel Trist spoke as he watched the sixteen hundred Anlon bombers beginning their attack run from above the massed Hocklyn and Borzon fleet where they were temporarily safe from all the weapons fire going on.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt frowned with concern when he heard the Humans were launching their small fighter sized bombers. He had no doubt that he was about to lose more ships, but for every Human fighter, bomber, and warship his ships destroyed the more outnumbered the Humans became. It was a battle of attrition, and he had the superior numbers. He forced himself to ignore the growing number of dying Hocklyn ships.

“Ask the AIs if they can help destroy the Human bombers,” Resmunt instructed Third Leader Grodno in front of Communications. “Also, order some of our fighters to break off from the current battle and engage the inbound bomber strike.” He wanted to destroy as many of those inbound bombers as possible before they launched their deadly missiles.

“The Humans are losing a lot of their fighters,” First Leader Ganth reported, pleased with the way the battle was going. True, many Hocklyns were finding their final honor in death, but the Humans were suffering heavily too. On one of the viewscreens, he watched as another Human strikecruiser exploded under the onslaught of Hocklyn weapons fire. “I will order some of the war wings to engage the Human bombers.”

“Continue to press them,” Resmunt ordered, not wanting to give the Humans time to reorganize and set up an effective defense.

It was obvious the Humans had hoped their hell missiles would drive the fleet back. This time, it wasn't going to work. He'd also noticed that Fleet Commodore Versith was nearly within attack range with his section of the Hocklyn fleet.

Resmunt winced as a viewscreen showed a nearby dreadnought exploding. Two of the Humans' antimatter missiles had blown away the ship’s energy screen, allowing more missiles to strike the ship. A glowing field of flaming debris was all that remained.

-

Hundreds of Hocklyn fighters peeled away from the swirling dogfight and headed toward the inbound bomber strike. Major Brice swore as he saw the number of Hocklyn fighters disengaging and turning toward the bombers. He was helpless to do anything as all of his squadrons were heavily engaged. He could only hope that the escorting fighters could stop the Hocklyns from ravaging the bomber formation.

Darting his Talon fighter downward, he hit his turbos and swiftly accelerated toward another enemy fighter. Pressing down on the button that controlled his twin, 30mm cannons he stitched the Hocklyn ship from bow to stern. It instantly exploded in a reddish orange fireball.

-

The four hundred Talon fighters protecting the bombers broke away and headed to intercept the inbound Hocklyn threat. Missiles launched and soon the Hocklyn fighter formations were full of dying ships as Hunter interceptor missiles found their targets. The Hocklyn fighters were short on missiles as they had used most of theirs in the dogfight. However, they had the numbers, and soon their cannons began blasting away at the Human ships. The Human fighters were determined to keep the Hocklyns away from the bombers. More fighters on both sides died and then the bomber strike slipped past, leaving the dueling fighters behind.

Hocklyn and Borzon ships opened up on the inbound bombers, destroying them by the dozens with interceptor missiles, railgun rounds, and energy beams. The Human strike continued in, oblivious to its mounting losses. They had to get in close so their missiles wouldn’t be intercepted. Then the nearest AIs spheres opened up with their energy beams and the Human losses increased substantially. The Human bomber formation was full of exploding ships as enemy fire continued to intensify.

-

“We’re losing hundreds of our fighters and the same with the bombers,” Colonel Trist reported as he watched the green icons fading away on the tactical display. He felt a pain in his gut, knowing the sacrifice the fighter and bomber crews were making. “The energy fire from the AIs are taking a lot of them out.”

Hedon nodded as he kept his eyes glued to the tactical situation. His eyes moved from one display to the next as he attempted to keep track of the battle. “Begin moving us back,” he ordered calmly as the bombers neared launch range of their missiles. Hedon knew that if he survived this battle he'd be in for a lot of sleepless nights.

“Bombers have launched their missiles,” Captain Reynolds reported breathlessly as his sensor screen suddenly lit up with hundreds of fresh contacts.

“Order the bombers back as soon as all missiles have been launched,” ordered Hedon, knowing he was going to lose most of them. They hadn’t wavered in their attack run and most would not be coming back to the waiting carriers.

“Six hundred and forty bombers have launched their missiles and are attempting to withdraw,” Colonel Grissim said as she watched the bombers beginning to break off contact. Her eyes coaxed each one to escape and make it back to the safety of the flight bays. She felt a deep sadness as more of the friendly green icons continued to vanish. Not many were going to make it back.

-

Even as the bombers attempted to reverse course many were being destroyed by the heavy fire from the enemy warships. The fire suddenly began to slacken as the Hocklyn and Borzon ships began switching over to intercept the more than twenty four hundred Shrike missiles that were now inbound. The AI spheres had not been targeted, as the Shrike missiles didn’t have the firepower to knock their shields down.

The surviving bombers could now withdraw as the enemy was no longer focusing on them. The remaining squadron leaders felt numb at seeing so many bombers from their squadrons no longer showing up on their sensor screens. Each knew that they themselves had been lucky to survive.

-

Resmunt watched in silent fascination as the Human missiles steadily came closer. Every second, more vanished as they were intercepted and destroyed by non-stop defensive fire.

“We’re not going to get all of them,” First Leader Ganth reported in his harsh and grating voice. The Humans had launched from an extremely close range.

Resmunt only nodded as the first missile reached the fleet and detonated against a light cruiser’s screen.

Over the next minute, six hundred and forty three more explosions rolled across the front of the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formation. When it was over, another eighty-seven Hocklyn ship crews had gone to find their final honor. The Borzon lost twenty-three of their cruisers.

-

The Federation and Alton ships began to fall back with the Hocklyns, the Borzon, and the AIs in close pursuit. The Federation ships steadily retreated until they were within range of the heavy weapons from the Alton battle stations, the space station, and the shipyard. Missile platforms launched their Devastator missiles, and the space station unleashed its power beams. With the addition of the heavy firepower from these installations, the Hocklyn advance slowed and came to a stop. Then the Hocklyns pulled back slightly to just outside the range of Careth’s powerful defenses.

“It’s time,” Admiral Streth said looking at a timer that was running on one of the tactical displays.

-

Moments later, Second Fleet, Fourth Fleet, and Rear Admiral Tolsen’s new Third Fleet dropped out of hyperspace amid a sudden appearance of blue-white space vortexes. In all, two hundred and fifteen Federation warships and twenty Alton battlecruisers appeared just outside of Careth’s gravity well.

“Status!” barked Admiral Sheen as she waited impatiently for the tactical displays to begin putting up their information.

“Fleet Admiral Streth has withdrawn to the inner defenses,” Commander Diaz reported as the holographic tactical displays suddenly blinked to life with information. “The Hocklyns, Borzon, and the AIs have followed him in.”

“As planned,” Amanda said, feeling her heart beginning to race. “Order all ships to form up on Second Fleet and follow us in. Fighters and bombers are to be prepared to launch upon my orders. Rear Admiral Marks will coordinate and command the fighter and bomber attack. It’s time we reminded our enemy what it’s like to fight the Federation. Order all Alton ships to concentrate their fire on the AIs. I want them either destroyed or forced to withdraw.”

“Admiral Streth is ordering us to engage immediately,” Lieutenant Trask reported. “He's suffered massive fighter and bomber losses and is using the planet’s defenses to hold the Hocklyns at bay.”

Amanda nodded; she wasn't surprised by this.

“The Alton commander is volunteering to jump all of their ships into the gravity well and engage the AIs,” Lieutenant Trask spoke, her eyes widening. “He feels he can destroy a large number of them if you give the go ahead.”

Amanda hesitated for a moment. Most of the crews on those twenty Alton ships were Human. There were fewer than thirty Altons on the individual battlecruisers. She also knew the AIs needed to be eliminated. So far, it looked as if they were staying inside the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formation safe from attack.

Amanda looked over at Commander Diaz meaningfully; they both knew that sending the Alton ships that deep into the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets could result in losing them. However, if the AIs could be forced to withdraw, it might be work the risk.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Amanda passed the order. “They have permission,” she said. “However, I want them to withdraw if they begin to lose ships.”

-

“Report!” snapped Fleet Commodore Resmunt as alarms suddenly began sounding on the main sensor console. His cold, dark eyes instantly transfixed on Third Leader Torlan working the console.

“More Human and Alton ships have jumped into the system,” the Third Leader reported.

“How many?” demanded Resmunt, growing alarmed. He should've known this battle wouldn’t be easy since the Humans were involved.

“Over two hundred Human warships and twenty more Alton battlecruisers,” Torlan replied in his rasping voice.

“Alton ships are jumping,” warned First Leader Ganth as the Alton ships suddenly vanished from the sensor display.

“Where are they going?” barked Resmunt his large eyes focusing intently on the tactical display.

“The AIs,” Ganth spoke in a stunned voice. “They’ve jumped inside our fleet formation and are attacking the AIs!”

-

The Command AI looked with concern at the main tactical display. Alton ships were jumping in close to some of the AI ships and launching attacks. On several large viewscreens, AI ships could be seen under assault from the Alton battlecruisers.

“Order all ships, including the Hocklyns and the Borzons, to concentrate their fire on the Alton ships,” the Command AI ordered. “This may be our opportunity to destroy them. Even their shields cannot withstand the firepower from a fleet of this size.”

The AI at Communications extended its tentacles and began sending the messages to the Borzon and Hocklyn fleet commanders. The same orders also went out to all AI spheres to focus their attacks on the Alton ships.

“It’s time our former masters learn they should not attack our ships,” the Command AI spoke, the glowing orb above its metal body glowing even brighter. “Today they shall die.”

-

In space, the Alton ships fired their deadly particle beam weapons as well as multiple 100-megaton antimatter missiles at the nearest AI spheres. Space was aglow with immense explosions and AI ships began to die. First one and then two of the huge spheres blew apart as their energy shields were overwhelmed and antimatter missiles struck their armored hulls.

But now, return fire began impacting the Alton battlecruisers’ screens. They became aglow with exploding ordnance, including fifty-megaton sublight missiles launched by the AIs and the Hocklyns. Energy beams and railgun rounds were smashing into the shields, trying to bring them down. One of the Alton ships suddenly saw its shield overloaded, and then it suddenly collapsed. The Alton battlecruiser ceased to exist as the fire from over one hundred enemy ships annihilated it.

Three more AI ships died as Alton particle beam weapons tore holes in their energy screens, allowing sublight antimatter missiles to blow the spheres apart. Then another Alton ship died. The center of the Hocklyn and Borzon formation became lit up with massive explosions as the battle intensified.

-

“What’s going on?” Colonel Trist demanded as his tactical display began showing the orange icons of AI ships vanishing. On one of the main viewscreens, titanic explosions could be seen inside the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formations.

“It’s the Alton ships with Admiral Sheen,” replied Hedon, knowing they were taking a huge risk. For a moment, he considered ordering Amanda to pull them back, but he understood why they'd launched this attack. If the AIs could be forced to withdraw, it could easily change the outcome of the battle. “They jumped inside the Hocklyn and Borzon formations and are attacking the AIs.”

“I’m showing twelve AI spheres destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported as another orange icon representing an AI ship swelled up and vanished from his sensor screen. “We’ve also lost five Alton battlecruisers.”

“Alton ships are jumping back out,” Colonel Grissim reported grimly. “The enemy firepower is just too great for them. If they'd stayed too much longer, they might have lost all of their ships.”

“It was a courageous act,” Trist stated, his eyes focused on the tactical display.

“The AIs are not jumping out,” Captain Reynolds added as the remaining orange icons continued to advance along with the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets.

“Admiral Sheen’s ships are entering the gravity well and making for the enemy ships,” Colonel Grissim reported, her eyes turning until they were focused on the admiral. “We’re still vastly outnumbered.”

“Have our bombers rearmed,” Hedon ordered with a heavy sigh. This battle was far from over. “They'll go in with the Carethian bombers. Contact Rear Admiral Bixby and have him coordinate the attack with Grayseth and Rear Admiral Marks.”

Hedon looked around the Command Center with calm nerves as the crew carried out his commands. He leaned back in his command chair, feeling the StarStrike vibrate sharply from a nuclear missile detonating against her energy shield. They were still outnumbered nearly six to one and Hedon knew he'd have to depend on the defenses around Careth to help even the odds. The only problem was he wasn’t sure that even those powerful defenses would be enough.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Fleet Commodore Resmunt stared at one of the main viewscreens showing the shattered remains of an AI sphere. He felt a cold chill pass through his reptilian body upon realizing once again just how deadly the Alton battlecruisers were. He was just relieved they'd focused their attack on the AIs and not the Hocklyn or Borzon fleets.

“Fleet Commodore Versith is requesting orders,” First Leader Ganth reported, his large eyes focusing on Resmunt. He had a tremendous amount of respect for the Fleet Commodore and was confident he would lead them to victory in this battle.

Resmunt looked at the tactical display, seeing that the Human and Alton ships ahead of him were pulling back toward the heavy defenses that surrounded the planet. What concerned him the most was the Humans were pinning his forces between them. The newly arrived Human ships were already entering the gravity well of the planet and would soon be within effective combat range. He still had a huge advantage in numbers, and he fully intended to exploit that.

Turning toward Third Leader Grodno at Communications, Resmunt quickly passed on new orders. “Contact Fleet Commodore Versith and tell him to engage the new Human ships with his segment of the fleet. We will continue on to the planet with the Borzon and the AIs and destroy the ones there.”

“Should we split the fleet?” Ganth asked, his large eyes growing even wider. He was unsure if this was a wise decision. Perhaps it would be best to stay together and let the Humans come to them.

“We have the numbers,” Resmunt spoke, his cold black eyes glittering dangerously. “The new Human ships should have fled instead of seeking to engage us. Now they will die also!”

-

Hedon watched the main viewscreens as the enemy ships came closer. He leaned back in his command chair and took a deep breath. There was so much riding on his decisions. In just a few more moments, the next bomber strike would be launched. For every warship the bombers destroyed, it was one less his outnumbered fleet would have to face in combat. It just bothered him that so many pilots would have to die in order to give the fleet a chance.

“Rear Admiral Bixby is launching the strike,” Colonel Trist reported as numerous green icons began appearing around the carriers, the space station, and the shipyard. He knew that only four hundred Anlon bombers had survived from the original strike. They would be reinforced by one thousand bear bombers as well as nearly fourteen hundred bear fighters.

Looking at one of the tactical screens, Hedon saw the small number of green icons leaving the carriers. It pained him that so few bombers and fighters were exiting the Federation flight bays. He sighed deeply, knowing that more pilots were about to die.

Carethians are launching their small warships,” Colonel Trist added. Anne knew that the small, one hundred-meter ships would go in with the bombers to give them additional covering fire. Each of the Carethian warships was carrying ten Shrike missiles with twenty-kiloton warheads. It would be a very unpleasant surprise for the Hocklyns.

-

Jeremy watched the viewscreens intently as the Avenger and Fourth Fleet continued into the gravity well of the planet. He knew that somewhere up ahead Grayseth was waiting for his return. But first, he had to get through nearly three thousand enemy warships and over forty of the deadly AI spheres. It would be no easy task; it seemed almost impossible. Jeremy hoped that Admiral Sheen had some tricks up her sleeve.

“The odds of us winning this battle are not good,” Ariel commented from Jeremy’s side where she was studying the tactical displays as well as the latest data coming in on her sensors.

She was very concerned for the safety of her friends as well as herself. For the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, she checked the new firewalls that Katie had installed to protect her from another attack by the AIs. So far, there had been no sign of an attack or attempt to insert a virus into the Avenger’s systems.

“When have the odds ever been in our favor?” asked Jeremy, looking over at the gorgeous AI. Ariel was in her standard dark blue fleet uniform without any insignia.

“We should have brought Grayseth’s battleship with us,” added Ariel, looking pointedly at Jeremy.

“The crew’s not trained and it’s serving us well enough protecting the ammunition ships we left behind,” Jeremy responded. “If we have to withdraw, we'll need the missiles on those ships.”

“Besides, what would Grayseth say if we got his new battleship destroyed?” Kevin added with a grin.

“Boys and their toys,” spoke up Kelsey over their private channel, turning her head and glancing at the three.

“I'll just be glad to get back to Careth,” Angela said, joining the conversation. “I just wished we didn’t have to fly through a Hocklyn battle fleet to get there.”

Jeremy was silent for a moment as he looked at one of the viewscreens focused on the planet. Careth filled a large part of the screen and it looked so peaceful with its blues, greens and browns which indicated a living planet. He knew the view was deceiving, as even from here a bright flash occasionally erupted close to the planet where its defenders were waging a bitter battle.

“Returning would have been better if it wasn’t in the middle of a battle,” Katie reminded them. She was watching the ship’s computer system closely for any sign of a new virus attack on Ariel. This time she was prepared to ensure the friendly AI remained unharmed.

“Do you have any ideas how to win this battle, Ariel?” Kevin asked his eyes focusing on the AI. He knew she'd been running numerous battle scenarios seeking an advantage.

“No,” Ariel admitted with a long frown. “I wish I did. I just don’t see any way to get through the enemy fleet without suffering substantial losses.”

“We’re launching our fighters and bombers,” Kevin reported suddenly as myriads of small green icons began appearing on the tactical screens. He knew that Rear Admiral Susan Marks was coordinating the attack along with Rear Admiral Bixby on the Essex.

“This is it,” Jeremy spoke as he looked over at Kelsey and smiled reassuringly.

-

From the three new Federation fleets, thirty seven hundred fighters and nearly two thousand bombers launched. They quickly formed up into their respective squadrons and began advancing on the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets.

“Here we go,” Lieutenant Sanders muttered unhappily from the second seat of her Anlon bomber as they began moving toward the waiting Hocklyn ships.

Major Arcles grinned and nodded. “I knew you'd be excited to be back in a bomber again. It lets us see the action up close and personal.”

“I can see the action just fine from my fighter,” replied Lacy, frowning. “Why are we back in a bomber?”

Karl sighed, knowing Lacy was not pleased. “They needed all the experienced pilots they could get,” he responded. “Too many of the pilots in the fleet are new with little battle experience.”

“You owe me,” Lacy replied in a determined and threatening voice. “If we survive this you have to promise to go and do whatever I ask at the resort of my choice.”

“I promise,” responded Karl, wondering what type of resort she was going to drag him to. He'd nearly broken his leg when she'd taken him skiing. Trees just seemed to naturally get in his way.

Lacy nodded. She had something special planned and Karl had no idea what he was in for if they survived this battle. Looking at her sensor screen and seeing the large number of Hocklyn fighters that were forming up to oppose them, she knew the odds of collecting were not very good. She let out a deep sigh, praying they would be able to return safely to the carrier when this was over.

-

Fleet Commodore Versith watched with deep concern as the Humans launched a massive fighter and bomber strike toward his ships. The Hocklyn fighter strength had already been greatly depleted. Now the remaining fighters were split between the Human bomber attack coming in toward his fleet from the new ships and the one launched from the Carethian’s space station and shipyard.

“They’re going to break through in large numbers,” War Leader Trion warned as he studied the tactical display. The Hocklyns still had an advantage in fighters, but they wouldn’t be able to stop this Human attack wave.

“I know,” Versith responded, his large dark eyes looking at the tactical display. “Have all ships load interceptors in their missile tubes. We'll have to deal with the Human bomber strike before we can engage their warships.” Versith leaned forward on the command pedestal and looked closely at the data on a small screen. Even after the Human bomber attack, he would still have sufficient ships left to destroy the Human fleets.

“More of our warriors will soon find their honor,” Trion uttered in his cold voice.

“Honor is with all of us today,” Versith responded in agreement. He just hoped the Humans had no other tricks waiting for them. This battle was going to be costly enough as it was.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt waited defiantly as the Human and Carethian bomber strike came in toward his section of the fleet. Already Hocklyn fighters were engaging, and he could see numerous bright explosions on the main viewscreens as Human bombers and fighters were being destroyed. He also knew some of those dying ships were Hocklyns finding honor in death.

“Our fighters are running low on ammunition,” First Leader Ganth warned with concern in his voice. “They will need to return shortly to rearm. The Carethians have also launched their small warships; they're coming in with the bombers from the station and the shipyard.”

“See to the rearming of our fighters immediately,” Resmunt grated out, his dark eyes locked on the viewscreens. “The fleet will continue to advance; I want to close the range with the remaining Human ships.”

“The defenses around the planet are very powerful,” cautioned First Leader Ganth. “There are twelve large battlestations as well as the space station and the shipyard. All are heavily armed.”

“We have the ships!” replied Resmunt, sharply. “We will destroy their ships, their orbital defenses, and then the planet!”

-

In space, the battle raged. Major Brice groaned as he saw more bombers being destroyed around him. Already, he'd accounted for two more Hocklyn fighters with his Hunter missiles but enemy fighters seemed to be everywhere. It was taking everything the Human fighters could do to protect the bombers and the small Carethian warships, but even then some Hocklyn fighters were getting through.

“The bombers are nearly in range,” one of the pilots spoke over the com channel. “Do we turn back?”

“No,” replied Brice, grimly. “This time we go in with them. The more targets the Hocklyns have to shoot at the more likely the bombers and the warships will get through.”

“Just like shooting fish in a barrel, but we’re the fish,” moaned a female voice over the com. “Someone is buying me a big steak when this is over.”

“You’re on,” a male pilot replied.

“Cut the chatter,” Brice ordered as he moved his fighter in toward another Hocklyn. He pressed the button on his flight control and twin lines of glowing tracers reached out, striking the other fighter’s engine. Almost instantly the Hocklyn exploded, flinging debris in front of Brice. Turning up sharply, Brice managed to avoid most of it.

-

The bombers, small warships, and fighters continued to go in. Hocklyn and Borzon ships opened up with a massive hail of interceptor missiles and railgun fire. The AIs added to it with a heavy barrage of energy weapons. Bombers, warships, and fighters were exploding in fiery deaths everywhere. The AI energy beams were annihilating everything they touched. Even a few unfortunate Hocklyn fighters that got in the way of the incoming ordnance died.

Fourteen hundred Human and Carethian bombers had launched from the flight bays. Eight hundred survived to fire their missiles and then turned to flee back toward the fleet and safety.

There were thirty two hundred Shrike missiles inbound toward the massed Hocklyn and Borzon fleets. Defensive fire manage to bring down over twenty two hundred of them, the others found targets and detonated against energy shields. Numerous shields failed, allowing other missiles to impact the heavily armored hulls of Hocklyn and Borzon warships. A warcruiser was hit by multiple missiles, causing its screen to weaken and allowing two other missiles to strike the armored hull. Two bright nuclear fireballs incinerated much of the ship, leaving a floating hulk, which was totally annihilated as its nuclear self-destructs activated. Hocklyn and Borzon ships began to die as their formations were covered in blazing nuclear explosions. Sixty-two Hocklyn ships were destroyed as well as twenty-six Borzon battlecruisers in the space of just a few minutes.

The Carethian commander of the small warships smiled, baring his sharp teeth at the viewscreen in the ship’s Command Center. His warships had not turned around when the bombers did. They'd continued to close the distance and now they launched from nearly pointblank range. Only one hundred and ninety of his small warships still survived, but each one launched ten nuclear tipped Shrike missiles at the massed enemy fleets. Every missile contained a twenty-kiloton warhead.

More nuclear explosions rolled across the Hocklyn and Borzon shields from this new attack. A Hocklyn dreadnought vanished under a series of powerful nuclear explosions; other ships around it also began to die.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt stared in silent fury at the most recent losses to the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets. Additional dreadnoughts, warcruisers, and escorts were gone and the Borzon had lost more of their battlecruisers.

“Almost within engagement range,” First Leader Ganth reported. They'd been staying just outside of the range of the heavy weapons on the orbiting stations while they divided the fleet to take on the new Human warships. Now they were ready to go back on the offensive.

“Take us in,” Resmunt ordered, his eyes glowing with fire. “All ships are to advance and engage the enemy.” He'd already lost more ships than he'd planned. He felt anger at the Human commander for ruining his battle plan. Now he would send that commander to his death.

The Hocklyn and Borzon ships entered engagement range and instantly fell under fire from the shipyard and the space station. Power beams, pulse lasers, and Devastator Threes struck the Hocklyn and Borzon fleet formations. The Alton battlestations began firing as well as the Human fleets. Space became filled with deadly ordnance. The few fighters still engaging instantly turned and fled the suddenly hostile space. No fighter could survive long between the two fleets.

Then the space station as well as the Alton battle stations opened up with their particle beam weapons. Bright blue beams struck Hocklyn shields, cutting through them like butter. Shields failed and each time one did, a Devastator Three was fired to finish off the enemy ship.

“What was that?” Resmunt screamed in anger as several dreadnoughts were blown out of space.

“The space station has a number of weapon installations similar to the ones the Altons have been using to destroy the AIs,” First Leader Ganth responded. “Our ships have no defense against those beams. The AIs have reportedly said that it is some type of highly advanced particle beam weapon. The battle stations have the same weapon.”

“Order Commodore Tantil to target that station!” Resmunt ordered his eyes showing growing fury at the way the battle was going. “All other ships are to keep firing their antimatter missiles at the Human ships. I want them destroyed! Resmunt could feel a growing rage inside of him. He would not be defeated by the Humans this time!”

-

Federation ships began to die as sublight antimatter missiles damaged or knocked down shields. A battlecruiser saw its shields stripped away and then was battered by multiple railgun rounds, which tore through the armored hull. Finally, the ship's self-destructs detonated destroying it in twin fireballs of nuclear fire. Monarch cruisers and light cruisers were suffering the same fate. The entire sky above Careth was aglow with exploding weapons and dying ships.

-

“Battlecruisers Houston, Wayne, and Eternity are down,” Captain Reynolds reported, his throat feeling dry.

“We’re losing a lot of ships,” Colonel Trist warned as the StarStrike shuddered violently, nearly throwing him to the deck.

“The Hocklyns and Borzon are losing more,” Colonel Grissim responded as she studied the tactical displays intently. “The battlestations, shipyard, and the space station are hurting them badly. They have no defense against the particle beams.”

Even as Hedon turned his attention to the main viewscreens, a series of bright explosions swept over the nearby space station. When the screen cleared, two of the type two battlestations were gone and a section of the space station had a jagged wound in the hull.

“Grayseth reports a nuke penetrated the energy screen,” Janice reported from Communications her face looking pale. “The screen's back up and they're sending repair crews to the damaged part of the station. Their weapons are still functional.”

Looking at the tactical display, Hedon saw that Amanda’s bomber strike was going in against the outer Hocklyn fleet. It didn’t take him longer than a few moments to realize he wasn’t going to be able to hold Careth. His ships were too badly outnumbered, even with the addition of Amanda’s fleets. For a moment, he toyed with the thought of ordering Amanda to retreat and jump back to Federation space. The Federation couldn’t afford to lose so many ships in just one battle, not with all that was at stake. But he didn’t; he had a strong suspicion that Amanda would disobey that order. He knew that Admiral Strong would, Jeremy had come to relieve Careth, and he would die in the attempt if it was necessary. Hedon let out a heavy sigh as he searched for a possible solution to the dilemma he was in.

The Federation had some great admirals, and today some of them were going to die. A bright light suddenly filled one of the viewscreens as an Alton battle station exploded. It had been under attack from four AI spheres.

“All capital ships are free to use their particle beam cannons,” Hedon spoke. He knew that even with the addition of these powerful weapons it wasn’t going to be enough. Already, the particle beam satellites they had placed around the planet were firing steadily. Their brilliant blue beams were everywhere on the ship’s viewscreens.

Type two battlestations, laser satellites, and missile platforms were also adding their fire to the fleets in a valiant attempt to hold back the advancing Hocklyn, Borzon, and the AIs. On another screen, Hedon could see a strikecruiser under heavy attack. For a moment, it seemed as if it was going to survive, then several Borzon battlecruisers appeared and battered down its weakening shields. Moments later, all that remained was glowing wreckage. Then a number of blue beams from the particle beam satellites struck the two Borzon ships, annihilating them. The screen was clear of ships, other than burning wreckage.

-

Major Arcles drew in a sharp breath as his bomber narrowly missed being struck by an incoming interceptor missile. Bright explosions dotted space as Human fighters and bombers died.

“This isn’t going well,” Lacy spoke with a hint of fear in her voice. “We should've stayed in our fighters; at least we could dodge better. This thing handles like a truck.” She pressed several buttons, sending off glowing countermeasures away from the bomber in an attempt to keep incoming interceptor missiles away from them.

“We’ll make it back to the carrier,” Karl responded. “I promise. At least in the bomber we have a forward energy shield.”

The Anlon bomber shook violently and several warning lights came on in the cockpit.

“We’re losing power,” Lacey reported worriedly as she scanned her controls. “Forward shield has been reduced to twenty percent. We might not be able to make it back to the Endurance.”

A set of green lights suddenly lit up on one of the tactical displays. “We have target lock,” Karl said as he flipped the four switches releasing the Shrike missiles. “I’m turning us around.”

All bombers were launching, and hundreds and then several thousand missile trails headed toward the massed Hocklyn fleet.

“We’re still losing power,” Lacy warned as the controls in the cockpit began to go dead. Then the steady vibration from the bomber’s engines faded away to eerie silence. “Engines are off. All we have is life support on the emergency batteries.”

Karl said nothing; they were drifting in space without power. He knew they would be an easy target. At least they were moving away from the Hocklyn fleet. He leaned back and closed his eyes. The odds of rescue were very slim, and he knew they only had life support left for a few precious hours. He'd promised to keep Lacy safe; he felt gut wrenching anguish knowing he'd failed.

-

‘The bombers really hurt them,” Commander Diaz said, looking over at Amanda. “Initial reports say we got over ninety confirmed kills.”

“Hocklyns are entering engagement range,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as he watched the approaching Hocklyns on his sensor screens.

Amanda nodded. They were still so badly outnumbered that a Federation victory was doubtful. However, she had an ace up her sleeve, and now was the time to play it. The Hocklyns and Borzon were heavily engaged and so far inside the gravity well that escape would be impossible. “Lieutenant Trask, send the encrypted FTL message.”

-

Just outside the Carethian system, Admiral Nagumo waited with the combined Federation fleet from fourteen worlds. It had been a challenge to get the Federation Senate to commit the ships to this battle, but in the end, with some help from the Altons, they'd been persuaded. He had over one thousand warships under his command. Every available ship from the Federation, except the Inactive Reserve ships, had been called forth and sent on this mission. The only modern warships still back in the Federation were those being built in the shipyards. In between the waiting Federation ships and the Carethian system, a number of advanced stealth scouts had deployed jammers to ensure the AIs would not be able to detect the fleet. Besides the Human ships, there were another forty Alton battlecruisers. They had larger than normal Alton crews, as the Human part of their crews weren’t fully trained.

Admiral Nagumo looked at the latest sensor data being transmitted from the WarStorm. He quickly designated jump coordinates to the Alton ships. They would jump in and engage the remaining AIs. His own fleet would jump in as close to the gravity well as possible and attempt to trap the Hocklyn and Borzon fleets. If it worked, none of the enemy ships would escape.

Nagumo looked across the large Command Center of the battleship Luna. “Jump,” he ordered. It was time to go into battle.

-

The first hint Fleet Commodore Resmunt had that something was wrong was when more Alton ships suddenly jumped into his fleet formation and began attacking the AIs. At the same time, space just outside Careth’s gravity well lit up with hundreds of blue-white spatial vortexes.

“More Human ships,” First Leader Ganth reported, his voice sounding strained. “Hundreds are dropping out of hyperspace.”

“How many?” demanded Resmunt his voice sounding alarmed. Where had they come from? Why were the Humans committing so many ships to this battle?

“We’re detecting over one thousand vortexes,” Third Leader Torlan reported as the information began coming in over his sensors.

Resmunt looked up at a viewscreen just in time to see an AI ship die in a massive antimatter explosion as an Alton ship flashed by. The odds had suddenly evened up and the Humans had the planet’s powerful defenses on their side. For a moment, Resmunt felt as if he was back at his fleet base when he had thought his entire fleet was going to find honor in death. Now that feeling was back again.

-

“Where did all those Federation ships come from?” Colonel Trist yelled in sudden excitement. He couldn’t believe all of the bright green icons that were now showing up on the tactical displays.

“It’s Admiral Nagumo, and he brought the entire Federation fleet,” replied Hedon, feeling sudden relief. “Order all of our Alton ships to jump and engage the AIs. I don’t want any of them escaping!” Hedon hadn’t known if Admiral Nagumo was going to make it or not. The last he'd heard the final decision for committing the entire fleet to this battle had not been made.

-

Jeremy looked in shock at the tactical displays and the primary viewscreens. They were full of battlecarriers, battlecruisers, strikecruisers, and other Federation ships. There was even another battleship.

“That’s the Luna,” Ariel reported as she studied the data from her sensors. “It’s Admiral Nagumo’s flagship.”

“It’s the entire Federation fleet,” Kevin uttered in amazement as he stared at the large number of friendly green icons now on his sensor screens. “I can’t believe this.”

“Admiral Sheen must have known,” Angela stated as she gazed in awe at the ships on the viewscreens.

“There’s obviously something big going on,” Ariel commented with her hands on her hips. “It might explain all of the highly encrypted messages between Admiral Sheen and the Federation over the last few weeks.”

“Whatever it is, I’m just glad to see them,” Katie said, her green eyes looking around at the others. “We might just survive this after all.”

“Hocklyn ships are in engagement range,” Kevin reported as he continued to watch his sensor screens.

“All weapons, fire!” ordered Jeremy, fervently. “I don’t think Admiral Streth will be pleased if any of the enemy ships escape. Not with the arrival of Admiral Nagumo and the entire Federation fleet.”

“This battle could decide the war,” Kelsey said, her eyes growing wide in sudden realization. Even the Hocklyns couldn’t afford to lose this many ships.

-

Amanda looked at the tactical display as Second Fleet began to engage the Hocklyns. They had the enemy trapped in the gravity well of the planet. It was about to become a very unhealthy place to be.

“All ships, fire on targets of opportunity,” she ordered over her mini-com. “Admiral Tolsen, Admiral Strong, we will be using formation Beta Seven for this engagement.” Formation Beta Seven would put all three fleets in a triangular formation, which allowed them to cover one another.

“Weapons firing,” Captain Kimura reported from Tactical as he fired the ship's particle beam cannon at a nearby Hocklyn dreadnought. The beam struck the dreadnought’s energy screen, penetrated, and then blasted a massive hole in the ship’s hull.

“Hocklyn ships have stopped their advance,” Lieutenant Stalls added.

Amanda looked at one of the four tactical displays; it was obvious the Hocklyns were taken aback by the arrival of Admiral Nagumo and the large number of Federation warships that he'd brought.

The WarStorm shook slightly as several Hocklyn nukes struck its powerful energy shield. The shield glowed slightly and the damage control board stayed clear.

On one of the main viewscreens, a Hocklyn dreadnought burned. Powerful explosions ravaged its hull, blasting huge glowing rents in the armor. Moments later, the dreadnought’s self-destructs initiated, blowing the ship into a thousand pieces.

“Admiral Nagumo is launching his bomber strike,” Colonel Leon reported as she listened to the orders coming in over her mini-com. “That should cut the Hocklyns and Borzon down to size.”

Looking at the tactical display near Petra, Amanda could see hundreds of new green icons appearing. Admiral Nagumo was launching nearly four thousand Anlon bombers, all armed with nuclear tipped Shrike missiles. On another of the tactical displays, four orange icons swelled up and faded away; the Alton battlecruisers were at work on the AI ships. Amanda allowed herself a vengeful smile. They had the Hocklyns in the same situation that the Hocklyns did against the old Human Federation of Worlds fleets so many years ago. For those tens of thousands of ancient dead, vengeance had arrived in the hands of the new Federation.

-

The Viden’s hull rang loudly as it was struck by a nuclear missile. Alarms sounded and the damage control board came alive with flashing red lights.

“FTL drive is down,” War Leader Trion spoke loudly as he tried to get damage reports from Engineering. “Most of our weapons are offline.”

“What about the sublight drive?” demanded Fleet Commodore Versith, his eyes growing wide at the myriad of Human bombers sweeping in toward his fleet. He didn’t have time to recall the remaining Hocklyn fighters and rearm them before the bombers arrived. The bomber strike was going to be devastating to his fleet.

“Still functional,” Trion replied, his cold dark eyes showing growing concern. “However, the energy shield is down to twenty percent and we don’t have sufficient power to regenerate it.”

“Fall back to Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s position,” ordered Versith, grimly. He knew the battle was lost. The Human bomber strike, along with the new ships, would be the end of them. Their numerical advantage was now a thing of the past.

War Leader Trion turned to gaze in disbelief at Fleet Commodore Versith. “If the Humans and the Altons destroy our fleets, what will become of the Empire?”

Versith was silent for a long moment as orders were sent for all ships to fall back. “We still have thousands of ships scattered across the Empire,” he finally answered. “But I think our time is over. The Humans and the Altons will see to that.”

“Then we will go to our final honor today,” Trion spoke, his large eyes focusing on Versith.

“If that is our destiny, then we shall,” Versith responded with a heavy sigh.

Second Leader Jaseth’s eyes were ablaze with anger. The Humans had laid another of their traps, one that might destroy the largest fleet the Hocklyns had ever gathered. He looked down at his weapons console seeing that several lights were glowing red. He no longer had power for his energy weapons. All he could do was fire the railgun turrets, which had no chance of penetrating a Human ship’s shields without help from the Viden’s heavier weapons.

He clenched his fist and then moved his hand to the hilt of his blade. Looking over at Fleet Commodore Versith, there was no doubt in Jaseth’s mind that today he might die. His blade would never know the taste of Human blood. He would never be able to redeem his family’s honor.

-

The Command AI gazed resolutely at the data coming in from the ship’s sensors. The battle was lost. The Altons were decimating the AI spheres and AI Command had been strict that there would be no withdrawal from this battle. On one of the large viewscreens, an Alton battlecruiser exploded as three AI ships brought their weapons to bear on the cornered ship. Then four Alton battlecruisers appeared and moments later, all that was left of the three AI ships were burning debris and glowing gases.

The Command AI quickly passed the order for all the remaining AI ships to form up around the command vessel. For several long moments, the Command AI considered the available options. To remain meant almost certain destruction, to jump out of the system was to disobey AI Command. The glowing orb at the top of the AI’s body glowed brighter and brighter as it weighed its options. They would remain and fight, only when the battle was nearly over would they jump away to safety and report back to AI Command in the center of the galaxy. It would be a violation of orders, but AI Command needed to know what had transpired in the Carethian system.

-

Near the shipyard, ten Borzon battlecruisers were attempting to knock down the powerful energy shield, which protected it. The Kessel fleet was determined that the Borzons would not succeed. Space was full of exploding ordnance as the Kessel battlecruisers and heavy cruisers hammered the attacking Borzon ships with every weapon they had. Energy beams and nuclear missiles pounded the shields of both sides. In addition, the heavy power beams from the shipyard added their fury to the battle.

A Borzon cruiser suddenly exploded as a Devastator Three from one of the defending type two battlestations penetrated a weakened screen. Seeking to take advantage of the sudden loss, the Kessel fleet surged forward, closing to pointblank range. Missiles, energy beams, and railgun fire covered the energy screens of the Borzon battlecruisers. Two more died as their screens failed. However, the Kessels were not undamaged. One of their own battlecruisers and two heavy cruisers died in violent explosions as Borzon energy beams tore through the ships.

Two Devastator Three missiles struck a Borzon battlecruiser, causing massive damage. A Kessel battlecruiser instantly targeted it, blowing it apart. The intense battle continued until the last Borzon ship was destroyed. The Kessels were jubilant, as they had succeeded in defending the valuable shipyard and proving their worthiness to the Federation.

-

The Hocklyns, Borzon, and remaining AIs had formed up into one massive fleet and were still coming in toward Admiral Streth’s position. Close behind them, bomber strikes from Admiral Sheen and Admiral Nagumo’s carriers were nipping at the edges of the enemy fleet formation. Admiral Sheen and Nagumo’s fleets had joined up and were well inside the gravity well. Already, long-range weapons fire, primarily sublight Devastator Three and antimatter missiles, were striking Hocklyn and Borzon energy shields. Occasionally a shield would fail and a glowing release of nuclear or antimatter energy would announce the death of an enemy ship.

The battle continued to intensify as the cornered enemy ships let loose with every weapon at their disposal. They even fired sublight antimatter missiles at Careth, which were intercepted by the Alton battlestations in orbit.

“Admiral Nagumo and Admiral Sheen are now within optimal firing range,” Colonel Grissim reported. “The Hocklyns are having trouble maneuvering.” Anne knew the battle would soon be coming to an end.

“Keep the fire up,” ordered Hedon, sensing that victory was close at hand. “Warn all ships to be prepared for possible attempts at ramming once the Hocklyns determine the battle is lost.” There was no doubt that the cornered Hocklyn fleet would do just that. They were in a losing situation and their crazy honor system would demand their sacrifice.

“Message sent,” replied Janice from Communications. She sensed Hedon was vastly relieved Admiral Nagumo had shown up with the entire Federation fleet. She could see that the stress lines had mostly faded from his face.

-

“I have Grayseth on the com,” Angela said with a big smile. “He wants to know what took you so long to get back.”

“Tell him we came back to rescue him once again,” Jeremy responded, pleased to hear from his friend.

“Grayseth says to hunt well and he'll be waiting for you on the space station,” Angela informed Jeremy.

The Avenger shuddered violently and several amber lights appeared on the damage control board.

“Antimatter missiles struck the energy shield,” Ariel reported as she checked the ship for damage. “Shield is holding at sixty-three percent and regenerating. We have slight damage to the hull in several sections, but all compartments are still airtight.”

“Continue the attack,” Jeremy ordered as he studied one of the tactical displays.

“Strikecruiser Gladiator is down,” Kevin reported as the green icon representing the ship vanished from his sensor screen. “Light cruisers SureFire and Sydney are also down.”

Jeremy took a sharp breath. Even though they were now winning the battle, the Federation fleets were still suffering losses. Glancing at one of the main viewscreens, he saw with satisfaction another AI sphere explode under the heavy particle beam fire of two Alton battlecruisers.

“Only six AIs remain,” Kevin informed Jeremy, seeing the destroyed AI on the viewscreen. “The fleets also lost fourteen Alton battlecruisers.”

“The enemy are concentrating their fire on them,” Colonel Malen reported as she checked the tactical data on one of her screens.

“Jeremy, Admiral Streth is warning everyone to be aware of possible suicide runs by the Hocklyns,” Angela said in a concerned voice.

“Pass the word,” Jeremy ordered. He agreed with Admiral Streth. The Hocklyns would try to ram once they knew they could not win the battle or escape.

-

Fleet Commodore Resmunt felt himself flung violently forward against the command console. Looking down, he saw a large dent in the chest plate of his battle armor. “Report!” he barked. The War Room was becoming full of smoke from several consoles that had shorted out.

“We can’t escape,” First Leader Ganth rasped. “Too many of our ships have been destroyed or damaged. Even the Borzon report they are helpless to stop the Humans.”

“Then we die!” Resmunt spoke, his voice shaking with rage. “Today we go to find our final honor. Order all ships to go to full sublight and ram the nearest Human vessel. We will take as many of the Humans with us as possible.” Resmunt knew that his dreams of rising in the Hocklyn Hierarchy perhaps even to the exalted rank of High Councilor were now over.

“Honor comes for us,” replied First Leader Ganth solemnly as he passed on the commands to Navigation to ram the nearest Human ship.

-

Hundreds of surviving Hocklyn ships suddenly accelerated and headed toward First Fleet and Ceres Fleet. This was what Admiral Streth had expected, and suddenly every missile tube in the Human capital ships belched forth Devastator Three and antimatter missiles. Hocklyn ships began to die as massive explosions obliterated their energy shields, leaving their armored hulls vulnerable to attack.

The space station, shipyard, type two battlestations, particle beam satellites, and the Alton battlestations joined in, firing every weapon and missile in their tubes. Numerous missile platforms launched their remaining Devastator missiles in an attempt to stop the deadly charge. However, there were just too many Hocklyn ships. Some began to make it into the Human fleet formations. Battlecruisers began to die, strikecruisers tried to dodge out of the way but to no avail. When a Hocklyn ship struck a Human ship’s energy screen the Hocklyn ship usually exploded violently. The released energy and the ship debris then impacted the Federation ship, destroying it.

-

“We’re losing ships,” Colonel Trist spoke, his eyes wide in shock at the devastation the Hocklyn suicide attack was causing. On the tactical displays, Federation ships were dying faster than he could track.

On the main viewscreen, a charging Hocklyn escort cruiser exploded in a fiery blast as an antimatter missile destroyed the ship just short of the StarStrike. The ship’s shield glowed brightly as debris from the destroyed ship struck it.

“Ceres Fleet is taking the brunt of the attack,” Colonel Grissim warned as she watched green icon after green icon vanish from the tactical screens.

Hedon quickly passed the orders for First Fleet to move closer to Admiral Telleck’s command.

“Sir, the Ceres!” yelled Captain Reynolds, pointing to one of the main viewscreens.

Four Hocklyn escort cruisers were bearing down on Ceres Fleet’s flagship. One of the cruisers exploded followed quickly by a second, but then the other two struck the battlecruiser’s energy screen, obliterating it. For a moment, the Ceres vanished as a brilliant light surrounded it. When the light faded, a riddled wreck was all that remained on the screen.

The crew in the Command Center of the StarStrike were stunned speechless. Everyone’s eyes were focused on the viewscreen and the heavily damaged ship.

“Admiral Telleck!” exclaimed Colonel Trist his face turning pale.

Hedon knew that if any of the crew on the Ceres survived it wouldn’t be many. He was surprised the ship’s self-destructs hadn’t activated. “Have two strikecruisers move over to cover the Ceres.” He hoped Admiral Telleck had survived. It would be a devastating loss if Admiral Telleck had been killed. Hedon tried to put that worrisome thought out of his mind, he still had a battle to finish.

For the next few minutes, the devastation continued. One Hocklyn warcruiser managed to ram the space station, damaging a major portion of it. A dreadnought and two light cruisers struck the shipyard, annihilating two of the construction bays. Three Alton battlestations died in fiery explosions from suiciding Hocklyn ships. Finally, it was over and all that remained were three AI ships and several hundred Borzon battlecruisers. Admirals Nagumo and Sheen were already beginning to engage them with additional bomber strikes clearing the way.

-

On board the Ceres, Admiral Telleck was busy evacuating the survivors out of the Command Center. The ship was severely damaged and he greatly feared that the self-destructs could activate at any second. “Everyone get to the flight bay, we need to abandon ship!”

“What about you?’ demanded Colonel Barnes, seeing Admiral Telleck hesitate and look around the wrecked Command Center. It was full of smoke with numerous small fires burning. Kathryn wasn’t going anywhere without the admiral.

A sudden explosion jarred the ship and Admiral Telleck grabbed Kathryn pushing her out of the hatch. At the same moment, the reinforced ceiling collapsed. Admiral Telleck felt a sharp pain in his chest as a massive beam pinned him to the floor.

“Admiral!” screamed Kathryn, running back into the burning Command Center. She kneeled down next to the admiral.

“Save yourself,” ordered Telleck, coughing up blood. “I’m finished. Tell Fleet Admiral Johnson I’m sorry, and it just wasn’t meant to be.” The admiral closed his eyes and was gone.

Kathryn stood up, not believing that the admiral was dead. How could this happen? With tears in her eyes, she ran out of the Command Center toward the flight bay. She would make sure the Fleet Admiral got Admiral Telleck’s last message.

-

The Command AI studied the ship’s sensor screens carefully. The Hocklyn suicide attack had markedly weakened the defending Human ships, but not enough to allow them to attack the planet. The remaining Borzon ships were under heavy attack from the incoming Human warships.

“Jump us out,” ordered the Command AI, reaching a decision. “We must report the results of this battle to AI Command.”

The Command AI knew that, after the report, AI Command would give even more importance to finishing the Great Project. It was now obvious that the Humans, along with their allies, would in all probability defeat the Hocklyn Empire. Only by committing a major portion of their fleet could the AIs turn the tide of this war. However, those ships were needed for the Great Project at the galaxy’s center. The Hocklyns would be left on their own. The survival of their Empire would be up to them.

-

Admiral Sheen watched the main viewscreens as the last Borzon battlecruiser died under the heavy fire from the WarStorm’s power beams and its particle beam cannon. Looking at the remains of First Fleet and Ceres Fleet, she knew the Federation had paid a steep price. Over half of the ships in both fleets had been destroyed. Even worse, she'd just received word that Admiral Telleck had been killed on the Ceres as he tried to evacuate the crew out of the ship’s Command Center. A falling beam had ended the valiant admiral’s life as he pushed the last crewmember out of the hatch.

Her own fleet had taken substantial losses. She knew that the total losses to the Federation fleets would be over four hundred vessels plus thousands of fighters and bombers. However, the Hocklyns had been defeated. The Borzon fleet had been destroyed and the last few remaining AIs had jumped away. Amanda knew that this battle was a turning point. From now on, the Federation would be on the offensive.

-

Hedon looked over the latest casualty lists, feeling numb. Not only had they lost Admiral Telleck, but Rear Admiral Bixby and the battlecarrier Essex were gone too. They'd paid a heavy price in personnel and ships, but they had won the battle.

“We survived,” spoke Colonel Trist, surprised they were still here.

“But we paid a high cost,” Hedon responded with a heavy sigh. He knew he would have to send a personal message to Fleet Admiral Johnson and Governor Malleck about Telleck’s death. He would be sorely missed.

-

Out near the edge of Careth’s gravity well, the Hocklyn dreadnought Viden drifted. Its hull was torn open in numerous places and most of its weapons had been destroyed. In the War Room, Jaseth struggled to stand. Looking around, he saw with shock that everyone else was dead. Commodore Versith and War Leader Trion had died when several large beams crashed down from the ceiling, crushing them. Both had gone to find their final honor. The room was full of smoke and small fires were burning in several consoles.

Jaseth staggered over to Navigation and saw with surprise that the FTL drive was now showing as functional. There must still be someone alive in Engineering. Sitting down in front of the Navigation console, he began entering the coordinates to a nearby star system. He was going to jump the ship, but they were still within Careth’s gravity well. Jaseth knew it was a gamble, but it was the only chance he had to survive.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and pressed the FTL activation button. Moments later, the Viden jumped into hyperspace amongst the sound of tearing metal. Jaseth reached down and touched his blade. Perhaps if he survived, his blade might still someday know the taste of Human blood. Around him, the Viden shuddered and shook as hyperspace attempted to tear the dreadnought apart. Jaseth took another breath. He had survived and someday he would return to extract revenge on what the Humans had done.

Chapter Twenty-Three

High Leader Nartel was back on Calzen in the chambers of the High Council. Once he had been satisfied that the attack would succeed, he'd ordered his dreadnought and escorts to return to Kenward Seven. He'd been waiting at Kenward Seven for an FTL message from Fleet Admiral Resmunt. While he waited, he had been busy directing the rebuilding of the shipyards and the bringing in of tens of thousands of new slaves to work on the construction. He had been stunned when the dreadnought Viden had returned in its stricken condition and under the command of its Second Leader. The news that Resmunt had been defeated was a major shock.

Nartel immediately left the system to return to Calzen and the High Council. The war had taken a dangerous and ominous turn, which might not find the Hocklyn Slave Empire victorious in the end.

“The Borzon defeated, our own fleets in ruins, and the AIs driven back to the galactic center,” Councilor Ruthan growled as he looked accusingly at High Leader Nartel. “You brought the Borzon in without even consulting us!”

“I did it to ensure our victory,” responded Nartel defensively, not liking the tone of the council. “If I had gone through the council, there was a good chance the decision to involve the Borzon would have been voted down.”

“And what good did it do?” Ruthan spat back in anger. “Counting the Borzon and the losses at Kenward Seven, nearly four thousand ships have been destroyed. What are we going to do when the Humans and their allies come here?”

“It is a logical course of action for them,” High Councilor Berken added with a heavy frown. “They will come for our home worlds just as we came for theirs.”

“We must recall our fleets,” Ruthan demanded, his large eyes glowing with fire. “The home worlds must be protected at all costs!”

“With our massed fleets, the Humans and their allies will fail in their attack upon our worlds,” High Councilor Jarles added. “Once the Humans have been defeated then we can move swiftly to reclaim our Empire.”

“I agree,” added High Councilor Desmonde. Several others nodded their consent.

“It shall be done,” replied High Leader Nartel, knowing he had no other choice. He'd taken a gamble and it had failed. “I will recall our fleets.”

Nartel knew they would not be able to count on the AIs or the other three races that controlled different sectors of the galaxy for help. An AI ship had entered Calzen space the day before and summoned Nartel for an immediate audience. The Command AI had informed him that the AIs were pulling back to the galactic center and would no longer be involved in the war against the Humans. It had also warned Nartel not to seek out the other three proxy races for assistance.

Looking around the council table, Nartel knew that, for once, the Hocklyns were truly on their own. He wondered just what would happen when the Humans came for them. He was not as confident as the others that their massed fleets would be able to stop them. The Humans were coming for revenge and they would show no mercy, just as the Hocklyns had shown no mercy when they had wiped out the original Human Federation of Worlds.

-

Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson was standing upon a large balcony overlooking the Aquaria Habitat inside Ceres. Admiral Telleck and she had spent many hours standing here discussing the war, the Federation, and occasionally future plans. She felt a tear roll out of her eyes, knowing she would never be able to speak with him like that again.

“He was a good man,” Governor Malleck spoke from where he was standing at her side. “He would have wanted us to continue and finish this war.”

“I know,” answered Karla, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice that was so close to spilling out. “It’s just so difficult to accept that he’s really gone. I keep expecting to see him come into my office or to receive a com message informing me he's on his way.”

“We’ve lost a lot of people over the last few years,” Malleck said in a voice that sounded tired. “If what the Altons have told us is true about what the AIs are building at the center of the galaxy, we have to find a way to stop them. Glenn would have wanted that. He would have expected it out of us.”

“You’re right,” Karla said with a deep sigh, turning to face the governor. “He always seemed to know what needed to be done.”

“I spoke to Admiral Kalen yesterday,” Malleck continued in a steady voice. “He’s now in charge of the Ceres Fleet. We hope to have all of our losses replaced with new construction by the end of the year.

This caused Karla to raise her eyebrows. No one really knew what the ship building capacity was inside Ceres. It was a secret they had always insisted on keeping.

“Admiral Streth will be moving to retake the old Human Federation of Worlds shortly,” she said. Already, the necessary defensive stations and satellites were being built for placement around New Providence. “The next attack against the Hocklyns will be launched from New Providence as soon as Admiral Streth has the forces he needs for success.”

“As it should be,” Malleck responded with a nod. “From what Admiral Kalen has told me, Fleet Admiral Streth is already planning the attack on the Hocklyn home worlds.”

“The Hocklyn home worlds and then the AIs at the center of the galaxy,” Karla said. She took a deep breath and turned back to look out over the habitat. It was so beautiful with all the flowing rivers, lakes, small forests, and the modern city at its center. “I just can’t help wondering how all of this is going to end.”

Governor Malleck didn’t respond. He stood next to Karla, looking out across the habitat. The survivors of the old Human Federation of Worlds had settled Ceres centuries in the past. Now, at last, they were at war with the Hocklyns, a war they might just win. However, the AIs were another matter. He felt a cold chill run up his back as he thought about the metal monstrosities created by the Altons so long ago. He too wondered just what awaited them at the galaxy’s center.

-

Karl Arcles was in a room at a very fancy resort on New Tellus. Looking around, he saw only one bed and as far as he knew, Lacy had not reserved another room. Perhaps there'd been a mix up. As soon as Lacy came out of the shower, they would go downstairs and get everything straightened out.

Karl heard the shower turn off and then a few minutes later the door opened and Lacy stepped out. His eyes popped open upon seeing the black see through gown she was wearing. “Lacy,” Karl stammered, not sure what to say or what to do.

Lacy walked over to Karl with a seductive smile on her face. She reached up, tilted his head, and kissed him deeply. “You said I could have anything, and this is what I want!”

Karl allowed Lacy to lead him over to the large, king-sized bed. He was extremely glad that a rescue shuttle had found them after the battle before their air ran out. As Lacy undid the buttons on his shirt, he wondered where this new relationship would lead.

Six Months Later

Jeremy and Kelsey stood in front of a small house on Careth in the suburbs of the capital city. It was located in a new neighborhood built by the bears for their Human benefactors.

“It’s beautiful,” Kelsey said as she looked around. It was close to the spaceport and she could easily take a shuttle up to the space station where she was currently assigned.

“I hear that Kevin and Katie are finally talking about getting married,” Jeremy said with a grin. “They’re looking at a house a few blocks over.”

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” responded Kelsey, taking Jeremy’s hand. “You, Kevin, and Angela will be on the Avenger fighting the war against the Hocklyns. There will be months when we won’t be able to see one another.”

“I'll send you a com message every day,” Jeremy promised. He knew it was going to be difficult for them to be apart.

“I heard that Grayseth’s people have finished their first warships in the new shipyard.”

“Yes,” Jeremy answered. “He’s spending a lot of time in his new battleship, training the crew and getting ready to take the war to the Hocklyns. When we go out, he'll be going with us.”

“How soon?” asked Kelsey. She knew plans were being made. Every day, new warships arrived from the Federation and their allies and then after a day or two, were sent on to Admiral Streth.

“Probably another six months yet,” Jeremy responded with a sigh. “The Federation Senate is demanding all of our losses from the battle here at Careth be replaced by new construction before we take on the Hocklyn home worlds. They are also building up the home fleets.”

Kelsey nodded. At least they still had some time to spend together, and she planned to make the most of it. “Let’s go inside and see our new home.” It would be the first time since they had gotten married that they actually had a place to call home. A few moments later, the door shut behind them; for a while, they could actually be like a normal married couple.

-

Amanda and Richard were in the Command Center of the WarStorm. The battleship was currently in orbit around New Providence along with the rest of Second Fleet. They were in the star system ensuring its safety as new and powerful defenses were put in place. Strangely enough, they'd encountered no Hocklyn resistance at all. It almost seemed as if the Hocklyns had pulled back from this area of space.

Between Careth and the old Human Federation of Worlds, they'd found very few Hocklyn ships. Many of the slave worlds had been abandoned and left on their own. Already, the Federation was making plans to contact a number of them and see if they could be brought into the alliance.

“It’s hard to believe that so many people survived on New Providence,” Richard said as they watched an Alton battle station being assembled on one of the viewscreens.

“General Allister succeeded beyond his wildest dreams,” responded Amanda, recalling those days so many years ago when the original underground bunkers had been built.

“Yes, he did,” answered Richard nodding his head.

Amanda turned to look at her husband. He would be working with the New Providence military setting up the new defenses for the planet. There was little doubt in Amanda’s mind that they would be making New Providence their new home. “When we get the chance, I'd like to take a quick trip to Aquaria,” she said. “I want to see what Krall Island looks like.”

“I doubt after all this time if your parent’s vacation home is still there,” Richard said, glancing at his wife. “Too much time has passed.”

“I know,” responded Amanda, feeling sad knowing that the family vacation home she'd been raised in as a child was probably gone. “But someday, when this war is over, I'd like to rebuild it.”

Richard nodded. He could well understand why Amanda wanted to return there. Its pristine white beaches and nearby coral reefs had been sensational the two times he'd visited.

“When this war is over, we shall,” promised Richard, taking Amanda’s hand. “But we still have a war to finish first.”

“I know,” Amanda replied with a heavy sigh. “I spoke to Admiral Streth before he left for Maken. He already has a tentative plan for taking the Hocklyn home worlds. It’s daring and risky, but it just might work.”

“Admiral Andrews, Senator Arden is requesting your presence down on the planet,” Lieutenant Angela Trask informed him from Communications. “They want you to meet with several of their military leaders to discuss the deployment of the defensive satellites they've built over the years.”

“Go,” said Amanda with an understanding smile.

They still had a war to win with the Hocklyns and eventually a final confrontation with the AIs at the center of the galaxy. There was no way to know if they'd ever be able to rebuild the family home on Aquaria, all Amanda could do was hope.

-

Hedon looked out over the lake on Maken. It was much smaller than he remembered. With a heavy sigh, he turned and walked back to the site where Taylor and Lendle’s cabin had once stood. All that was left was a cracked foundation and a few rotting timbers.

“It’s beautiful here,” Janice said as she looked out over the calm waters of the lake, watching several brightly colored birds skimming the water looking for an evening meal.

“The dam has eroded in several places,” responded Hedon, coming to stand next to her. “I’ve assigned a number of work robots to begin repairs. In a few years, the water level should be as I remember it.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Janice replied with a nod. Looking around, she continued. “I can see why your brother and his wife built their cabin here; the three of you must have had some great times.”

“We did,” confessed Hedon, recalling the fishing Taylor and he had enjoyed on the shores of the lake. Those were memories he would always treasure.

Janice reached out and took Hedon’s hand. “What’s next for us?”

“We have to finish the war,” he replied evenly. He would love to rebuild the cabin and settle down here and not have to worry about the safety of the Federation, perhaps even with Janice. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her. “Our biggest battles are still ahead of us; the Hocklyn home worlds and the AIs. We have to find a way to defeat both or the galaxy is doomed.”

“I have faith in you,” Janice responded.

Hedon nodded. “Let’s get back to the StarStrike; we have a war to win.”

Janice nodded; there was no doubt in her mind that Hedon would find a way. He always did. 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. Who was she to doubt a legend?

The End

If you enjoyed Galactic Conflict 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 Galactic Conflict and being so supportive.

The Slaver Wars: Endgame will be out in October. It is the planned ending to the series. For those that would like to see the series continue, there will be a special announcement at the end of the story.

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)

-

Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars

Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening

Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon

-

Star One: Tycho City: Survival

Star One: Neutron Star

Star One: Dark Star

-

Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction

-

The Slaver Wars: Endgame!

Coming October 2014

Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence

Coming August 2014

-

Turn the page for a brief introduction to Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction

Galactic Empire Wars

Destruction

Chapter One

Mason Randle gazed out of the cockpit window at the approaching mass of gray rock. Vesta was one of the larger planetoids in the ring of asteroids that existed between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid was approximately 326 miles in diameter and contained the headquarters for the Smithfield Mining Corporation. Mason was the current CEO and majority stockholder in the company originally founded by his grandfather.

“We will be landing in ten more minutes, Sir,” the pilot commented as he reached forward and turned on several instruments on the complicated control panel. His copilot mirrored his movements as they prepared to land.

“It will be good to get back home,” Mason responded as he leaned back in his acceleration couch and stretched. He had come up and taken a seat in the cockpit to watch the approach and landing.

They were in an interplanetary cargo ship that normally traveled between Earth and Vesta. The Smithfield Mining Corporation owned twenty-seven of the versatile three hundred-meter ships carrying refined metals to the company’s large space station in orbit around Earth. From there they were sold to various Earth companies for a very lucrative profit.

“I know how you miss Vesta,” Captain Sanders replied with a smile as he made several minor adjustments to the controls. “Smithfield will be a welcome relief after spending the last two weeks at Holbrook Station.”

Mason nodded; he was thirty-four years old and had gone to Earth to sign several important contracts with a number of companies wanting metals from the company. Smithfield was the only corporation currently with the money and the resources to mine the asteroid field and make money doing it. Several others had tried and failed, losing nearly everything in the attempt.

“Airlocks are opening,” Captain Sanders reported as the ship’s LIDAR system scanned the asteroid, giving real time data to the flight computer as the ship dropped steadily down toward the asteroid’s pockmarked surface. It was large enough to generate a slight gravity field of its own, but the powerful engines of the cargo ship had no trouble compensating for it.

Mason looked ahead at the asteroid, feeling glad to be home. He had been raised inside Vesta in the artificial world his grandfather had created and his father and he had added to. He could see the flashing lights on the surface, which designated the location of the main airlock.

The massive airlock doors slid open and the cargo ship flew smoothly inside, finding itself in a long and brightly lit tunnel two hundred meters in diameter. For another twenty-five kilometers the ship flew, passing through several more massive airlocks as it descended deeper and deeper into the asteroid. It finally entered a large chamber nearly two kilometers across and half a kilometer high. There were a number of berthing docks on the floor and the cargo ship dropped down smoothly toward an empty one, settling gently down on its landing struts. Moments later, the engines shut off and the ship became quiet.

“Good flight and landing, Captain,” spoke Mason, feeling anxious to leave the ship. His quarters on the ship had been comfortable, but Vesta was special. He knew that Captain Sanders was one of the best pilots in the company and had gone out of his way to accommodate him on this trip.

“It was a pleasure to have you aboard, Sir,” Sanders replied with a friendly nod.

Mason left the cockpit and made his way to the hatch, finding the docking tube already connected to the ship. Walking through it, he went into a smaller airlock and then exited to find two people waiting for him. One was his close friend, Drake Thomason, and the other was his secretary, Adrienne Lynn.

“Mason, it’s good to have you back,” spoke Drake, reaching out and shaking Mason’s hand. “How was your trip to Earth?” Drake was an expert mining engineer and second in command behind Mason.

“Very good,” Mason responded with a pleased smile. “I signed several lucrative contracts for the delivery of ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum with our two biggest rare metal contractors.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Drake, feeling excited that Mason had managed to sign contracts for the precious metals. “How did you accomplish that?” Drake knew they would make some good money for the delivery of the rare metals. It would also please a number of the prospectors.

“It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find the metals on Earth, and they have finally had to turn to us,” Mason replied with a satisfied smile. “We stand to make a good bundle off the new contracts.”

“Enough to pay for your new exploration cruiser?” teased Adrienne, referring to the unfinished hulk of the five hundred-meter Phoenix that was in the landing bay. Adrienne had blonde hair and deep blue eyes that made most men swoon.

“Perhaps,” Mason responded with a grin. She was always teasing him about all the money he was putting into the new ship. It was a big investment, but he knew in his heart that someday it would pay off.

Adrienne was the most efficient secretary he had ever had; things seemed to run very smoothly with her around. She was twenty-eight years old, extremely attractive, and somehow still managed to stay single. She also kept good track of the work being done on his pet project, the Phoenix.

The Phoenix was supposed to be the first interstellar exploration ship to leave the solar system. The ship would be the largest and most modern spacecraft ever built once it was finished. The only problem was the star drive. The scientists had still not managed to come up with a workable star drive that could break the speed of light barrier. Until that happened, the ship would remain unfinished. Even so, other systems were being installed and tested. Her new sublight drive would be the fastest one ever placed in a spaceship. Mason couldn’t wait to test it out and see if they could break the system speed records. There was no doubt in his mind that they could do so easily.

The three walked down several corridors until they reached a large transit station. Once again, they passed through an airlock to find themselves upon a large platform, similar to a subway station back on Earth. A number of other people were present as they were going to and from work. They made their way to a waiting transit car and sat down. The cars could hold up to twenty people at a time, ran on electricity, and were extremely comfortable.

“How are Larcy and Madison?” asked Mason, looking over at Drake as they waited for the car to begin moving. There were still a few people taking their seats. Larcy was Drake’s wife, and Madison was their twelve-year-old daughter.

“They’re doing great,” Drake responded, pleased that Mason had asked. “Madison is doing excellent in school. They’re supposed to be interviewing someone for a school project and I believe she has chosen you as her victim.”

Mason laughed. He loved kids, his sister had two of them, and he never got tired of being around them. “Tell her to come by the office and we can do it; have her check with Adrienne first to make sure I’m there.”

The car began moving, rapidly accelerating to its top speed of sixty kilometers per hour, and entered a narrow tunnel. After traveling twelve kilometers, the car began to slow and finally pulled into another transit station.

“We’re here,” spoke Adrienne, smiling. “Are you going to the office or the Control Center?” She knew that Mason would want to check on everything to see how things had run during his absence.

“The Control Center,” Mason replied after a moment of thought. “I want to check on several of our current mining operations as well as what our stock levels are on the precious metals I just signed contracts for.”

“Your sister wants you to come over for supper tonight,” Adrienne added. She knew being around his sister’s two young children was something Mason really enjoyed.

“Tell her I’ll be there,” Mason responded with a smile. Just thinking about his sister’s cooking make him feel hungry. Susan was a good cook, and her husband Michael was one of the top asteroid prospectors in the company. A home cooked meal sounded great after eating the MREs on the cargo ship.

“Don’t be late,” warned Adrienne, folding her arms across her more than ample chest. “You know how your sister gets if her food gets cold.”

“I won’t,” Mason promised, as he didn’t want to upset Susan. “Is Michael home, or is he out prospecting?”

“I believe he’s out at one of the mining operations,” answered Adrienne, recalling one of the reports she had read earlier in the day that detailed the current status of the prospectors. She tried to stay up to date on everything just in case Mason asked.

“He is,” Drake confirmed as the three stepped out of the transit car and onto the brightly lit platform. “He left yesterday and will be gone for three days. He took some new mining equipment out to one of his newer claims.”

Mason nodded. Over one hundred licensed prospectors worked for the Smithfield Mining Cooperation out of Vesta and were responsible for setting up mining operations on any asteroid they filed a claim on. The minerals were mined and sent back to Vesta to be refined, and each prospector received a lucrative paycheck, which he used to pay for his mining operation and deposit in his bank account. Most of the miners worked numerous claims to bring in as much cash as possible.

The three walked down a short corridor and passed through yet another airlock. This was the last one as they stepped out into the massive habitat that had been created inside of Vesta to house the employees of the Smithfield Mining Corporation. For thirty kilometers, the habitat extended. As far as the eye could see were trees, grasses, streams and a few small lakes.

The city of Smithfield itself was in the center and contained seventy thousand people. The habitat was twelve kilometers wide and two kilometers high. It was like a miniature Earth but free of pollution. Birds and other abundant wildlife were allowed to roam free in most areas. Special wildlife rangers kept a close watch on the animal species, making sure they didn’t get out of balance and that they remained healthy. Mason’s grandfather had begun the construction of the habitat and Mason’s father and he had finished it. It had been a massive, expensive project and Mason was extremely pleased with what had been built here. Nothing else like this existed anywhere else in the solar system.

Many people had felt it was a boondoggle to build something like this so far from Earth. However, once his grandfather and father had begun exploiting the available resources to be found in the asteroids, many people soon came to change their mind. Families flocked to Smithfield to find their fortune and soon found that they had found a home instead. The population had swelled until they had to put restrictions on who could come and live here. Now only the best and brightest were even considered. Construction of a larger habitat had already begun as Mason had ideas for the future that would allow their lucrative mining operations to be greatly expanded. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn beckoned, and Mason intended to be the first to plant mining operations on each one of them.

The three took an electric car to the city and after dropping Adrienne off at the office, the two men soon made their way to the underground Control Center that monitored the habitat as well as the ongoing mining operations. They had to take an elevator down to the Control Center, as it was located six levels beneath the city of Smithfield.

Entering the Control Center, Mason let out a deep breath. They were in a large room where over sixty men and women were busy at work. On all four walls, massive viewscreens showed views of the inside of the habitat, Smithfield, as well as some of the nearby mining operations. Everyone was dressed in a standard dark blue uniform, which was the normal dress code for company employees while they were on the job.

From the Control Center, all of the outgoing prospecting missions were monitored as well as the current mining operations on numerous large and small asteroids. Mining on an asteroid was a dangerous business, and the company had long since come up with stringent guidelines to maximize safety. Many of the operators in the Control Center were busy monitoring and speaking to different ongoing mining operations. Each operation had to report back to Vesta on a daily basis.

“Mason, I’m glad you’re back,” Pamela Cairns said, hurrying over to where Mason and Drake were standing. She had a look of confusion in her eyes. “Something interesting is coming in over our communication feeds from Holbrook Station and Luna City; you need to see it!”

Holbrook Station had been named after Mason’s father and was the large company space station in orbit around the Earth. Pamela was thirty-two-years-old, married, with dark black hair, which she normally kept cut short. She also had a ten-year-old son that constantly got into everything.

“What is it, Pamela?” asked Mason, feeling curious. There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary mentioned on the media channels when he had been down on Earth or on Holbrook Station. He had just left the station four days ago; he couldn’t imagine anything that could have changed in that short amount of time.

“You need to come to the main communications console,” Pamela said, gesturing for the two men to follow her. “We just started receiving this a few minutes ago and we’re not sure what’s going on. You’re not going to believe this!”

They made their way across the room to the main com console. There were four communication specialists sitting in front of the large console. From here, they could keep track of their twenty-seven cargo ships as well as the one hundred and five smaller prospector ships. They could also communicate with Earth, Luna City, or Mars Central if need be.

Fortunately, thanks to a communications breakthrough on Earth, faster than light communication had been discovered. So far, the principles that allowed communications to bypass the light barrier hadn’t found its way into ships yet. When it did, the Phoenix would be ready and Mason would be off to Alpha Centauri on the first interstellar trip. He already had a team of engineers and scientists looking into that aspect of the new communications technology.

“What do we have?” asked Mason, looking over at Pamela curiously. She was showing a lot of concern on her face, which was unusual. Even her shortly cut black hair looked slightly ruffled.

“Put it up on the main screen,” Pamela instructed Jessica Lang, one of the communication specialists.

The young woman pressed several icons on her computer screen, and the image she had been observing was transferred to one of the big viewscreens on the wall above her.

Instantly an image appeared on the screen. Mason and Drake stopped breathing at what was being shown. They hadn’t been expecting anything like this.

“Where is that?” demanded Mason, stepping even closer to the screen, staring at it in disbelief. Surely, this had to be a joke of some kind.

“That image is being broadcast from Luna City,” Jessica replied as she checked the video feed. “We just started receiving it a few minutes ago. Holbrook Station has confirmed it.”

Upon the screen was a massive spacecraft, larger than anything Mason had ever seen before or even believed to be possible. He had thought the Phoenix was huge, being five hundred meters long and ninety meters across, but the Phoenix would look like a gnat up against this monstrosity.

“How large is that thing?” Drake asked in a stunned voice. He knew there was not any way that ship had originated in the solar system. This could mean only one thing; aliens had found the Earth!

“LIDAR readings from Luna City indicate that it’s eight thousand two hundred meters across, and one thousand meters thick,” Jessica replied as she glanced at a computer screen showing additional data that Luna City was transmitting. “It looks like a giant black disk.”

“Contact Holbrook Station and inform them to halt all traffic,” ordered Mason as he tried to grasp what was happening. “I don’t want any launches until we know what this thing is and why it’s here.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jessica replied. Then she glanced at Mason with a frightened look upon her face. “Sir, is that an alien spaceship?” Several of the other communication specialists paused as they waited expectantly for Mason’s answer.

Mason was silent for a moment. “I think so,” he finally replied. “I don’t know of anyone on Earth that could have built something like that. That’s why I want all launches halted. I don’t want them to misconstrue the movements of our ships as being threatening.”

Jessica nodded and turned back to her console to begin transmitting Mason’s orders to Holbrook Station. “I just hope they’re friendly,” she commented in a strained voice, her heart racing.

“So do I,” Mason said as he continued to look at the screen. “Pamela, I want you to send a message to all of our mining operations, as well as all prospector and cargo ships. Until further notice, all communications are to be halted. Only in the case of an extreme emergency is anyone to send a message. Tell them an alien craft is approaching Earth and we’ll keep them informed as we get more information.”

“Yes, Sir,” Pamela replied as she stepped over to her command console and began speaking rapidly over her com unit to all the operators in the large room. There were lots of messages that needed to be sent out as rapidly as possible. Even as she passed on the orders, her eyes kept glancing nervously up at the viewscreen and the alien ship. She could feel the rising tension in the large Control Room.

“What do you think they want?” Drake asked as he gazed uneasily at the alien ship. His wife would be scared to death when she saw this thing on the news. Hell, a lot of people were going to be!

Luna City was now sending some close-ups of the ship, and it was evident that it was heavily armed. Large weapon turrets were visible upon the hull of the ship as well as numerous hatches that were now opening. Drake was glad that his family was here inside Vesta. His parents, his brother, his wife, and daughter were all safe in Smithfield.

“That thing’s armed,” Mason spoke, not liking what he was seeing. “Why would an exploration ship be covered in weapons?”

“We never even considered putting weapons on the Phoenix,” Drake responded as he looked intently at the weapon turrets on the alien ship.

He shook his head in worry, knowing he needed to call Larcy soon. He was sure it was only a matter of time before this breaking news was all over the major media outlets, most of which could be received in the homes of the people who lived in Smithfield.

“Sir,” another one of the operators broke in. “The United States government has been attempting to contact the aliens.” She paused for several moments as she continued to listen. “They are reporting that there has been no reply from the alien ship to any of their communication attempts.”

“I don’t like this at all,” muttered Drake, shaking his head.

They continued to watch as over the next half hour the alien ship continued its approach to Earth, finally settling into orbit twenty thousand kilometers above the planet. From several of the large open hatches on the ship, smaller vessels could be seen leaving and heading toward Earth.

“The United States has just raised their defense status,” Pamela reported uneasily as she monitored the main communication console and talked to the four communications specialists. “The U.K., Russia, Germany, France, China, Australia, Canada, and several others have followed suit. They are also launching interceptor aircraft, and the U.S. and the U.K. have just activated their missile defense grids.”

“This could get serious fast,” Drake said with a concerned look upon his face, looking over at Mason meaningfully. “Why won’t they speak to us, and where are all of those small craft going? What if a fighter jet shoots one down?”

“I don’t know,” Mason responded as his eyes gazed fixedly at the main viewscreen. He didn’t like the way this situation was developing. There were too many things that could go wrong.

For several heart-stopping minutes, they waited for additional information. At any moment, they expected to hear reports of one of the smaller alien ships being shot down.

“A special report is being broadcast over all media stations confirming the approach of the alien ship,” Pamela informed them with a pale look upon her face. “The people are being told to remain indoors and not to panic, that the world governments have the situation under control.”

“Like hell they do,” commented Drake, shaking his head. “They’re just as scared as we are.”

He knew he should go make a call to his wife and tell her not to worry. Larcy had a bad habit of overreacting to situations at times. It might not be a bad idea to ask his parents to go over to the house to help keep her calm.

Mason remained silent. He was looking at the alien spacecraft, noting that there was no visible sign of what type of propulsion it was using. The size of the craft, the obvious presence of numerous weapons, and its continued refusal to communicate worried him. This was a situation that could go south in an instant if anyone overreacted, and the small ships that were flying into the Earth’s atmosphere might just cause that to happen. All it would take would be for one of the fighter jets to shoot one down and they might find themselves in an interstellar war.

“How many of the small craft did Luna City detect leaving the ship?” Mason demanded as his eyes focused back on Pamela.

“Over thirty,” she replied as she checked a computer screen. “Luna City is reporting that each of the small ships is nearly two hundred meters across and similar in build to the mother ship.”

“I think I saw this movie a while back,” commented Drake dryly, glancing over at Mason. “It didn’t end well.”

“Pamela, contact all of our cargo ships that are currently in transit to Earth and turn them around,” Mason ordered after thinking the situation over. He was getting a bad feeling about this. “I want our ships to stay away from Earth space for the time being until we know more about these aliens.”

“Is there anything we need to do here?” asked Drake, raising his eyebrows. “What if one of their small ships heads out our way?”

Drake knew that all the major weapons that might be a threat to the aliens were located on Earth; none had been allowed to go out into space due to numerous treaties. Those treaties were aimed at keeping the solar system weapons free.

“Make sure all the airlocks are secure, and place armed guards at the ones in the transit stations and a few in the spacedock,” Mason ordered as he thought about what they could do. “I want Vesta locked down tight until we better understand what’s going on.” He knew the thick metal airlocks would make it virtually impossible to break into the inhabited sections of the asteroid.

For once, he wished he had a larger security force. Crime was almost unknown in Smithfield. His security force only consisted of thirty men and women with light weapons such as pistols and small caliber assault rifles. They were all the treaties allowed.

“Where have those small craft gone?” demanded Mason, looking back at the viewscreen. The way those ships had headed toward Earth looked ominous. This was not how he had visualized a first contact situation.

He could hear people talking in the Control Center as they speculated about what the aliens wanted. He couldn’t blame them; this was making him nervous also. This would be their first contact with an alien species and from the look of their heavily armed ship; Mason wasn’t sure just how friendly they were going to be.

“We don’t know,” reported Pamela worriedly, turning around to face Mason. “Luna City and Holbrook Station lost track of them when they entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and it seems that no one on Earth can track them either. The United States has just upped their defense status to the next level and we can expect the others to do so shortly. They’re scrambling more fighters to find and intercept the alien ships that have entered the atmosphere. The United States government has ordered the fighters not to let the alien ships land unless they initiate communications first.”

“All we need is for someone to start shooting,” Drake muttered, his eyes growing wide at the developing situation on Earth. “We don’t need to start an interstellar war! If these aliens can build ships of that size, who knows what type of weapons they possess.”

“A shuttle is being dispatched from the International Space Station to attempt to make contact,” Pamela added as new information appeared on her screen. She was staying busy trying to stay on top of everything as it occurred.

Mason nodded. The new International Space Station was much larger than the previous one that had been built back around the turn of the century. It currently had a crew of nearly seventy and was mostly a research facility. He wondered what that crew thought about the aliens.

Drake stepped over closer to the communications console so he could read some of the data coming in over the numerous screens. Most of it was from Luna City, and it was evident that they were feeling panic. The majority of Luna City was built deep underground, and was similar in many ways to Smithfield but on a much smaller scale. Instead of one large underground habitat, there were a dozen smaller ones. Over twenty-two thousand people called Luna City their home. Drake knew it had to be frightening for them, knowing how near the alien ship was. He also knew that there were very few weapons at Luna City. They were much like Vesta with a small police force equipped with only light weapons.

For the next hour, they continued to monitor the situation. The alien craft was still refusing to communicate, and no trace could be found of the thirty smaller ships that had entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Somehow, the ships were able to avoid or neutralize all of the Earth’s sophisticated detection equipment. Radar, LIDAR, and other sensor equipment could detect nothing. It was as if they had vanished.

“The shuttle from the International Space Station is nearing the alien ship,” Pamela reported anxiously. She turned to face Drake and Mason with a concerned look upon her normally calm face. “They are halting their approach at twenty kilometers and will attempt to communicate. Some of the scientists on Earth have suggested several different methods to initiate communications. A few feel the aliens may not have understood our first attempts. They will be transmitting a language primer based on numbers. It will contain several universal concepts and should form a basis for allowing the aliens to learn our language.”

“Why do I think it’s a waste of time?” muttered Drake, shaking his head doubtfully. “As large and advanced as that ship is they are bound to know how to communicate with us if they wanted to.” He shifted his weight over to his other foot. He had called his parents and they should have made it over to his house by now. He hoped Larcy was doing all right; he probably should give her a call when he had a chance.

“I think you’re right,” Mason said in agreement. “This whole thing seems kind of odd. If their ship is as advanced as it looks, they should have a method for initiating communications in first contact situations. Surely we’re not the first race they have come across.”

For several minutes, they waited tensely as Luna City and Holbrook Station monitored the communications attempts from the shuttle. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the aliens to reply, wondering what the alien’s first words would be.

“Nothing,” reported Pamela after several minutes had gone by with no response. She shook her head in growing worry. “They still will not communicate, and the crew of the shuttle have tried over half a dozen different methods of communication that the linguists down on Earth suggested.”

“They even tried flashing lights,” Jessica added as she looked at additional information on a data screen. “There was no response to anything.”

“Now what?” asked Drake, folding his arms across his chest as he looked over at Mason. “Do we just let them sit there?”

“There are reports of riots breaking out in several cities,” Jessica continued as she listened to a number of media feeds that were coming in over several of her screens. Her eyes took on a frightened look. “There is panic buying going on, with people stocking up on food, water, and other essentials. All the stock exchanges across the world have been closed down to prevent panic selling from devastating the markets.”

“It’s only going to get worse the longer the aliens go without communicating,” commented Drake, shaking his head.

“Pamela,” one of the other communications specialists broke in. “The communications shuttle is being ordered to back off to one hundred kilometers as a safety precaution. They don’t want the aliens to feel the shuttle is a threat.”

“The shuttle,” laughed Drake, arching his eyebrows. “I suspect the aliens don’t consider the shuttle to be a threat at all. They are just ignoring it like everything else.”

“I just wish we knew what those smaller craft are up to,” spoke Mason, worriedly. He had a bad feeling about all of this and those small craft concerned him. What were they doing down on Earth, and why couldn’t they be detected?

-

One of the small alien ships was flying low over the ground in the United States as it scanned the cities and towns below. The crew of the ship knew it was invisible to any of the primitive detection technology available to this world. It was dark below, and none of the sleeping populace knew what was flying above them. Finally, the crew found what they were seeking. The ship slowly circled as its powerful computers confirmed that they had found what they had been sent to retrieve.

The ship slowed and came to a stop five thousand meters above its intended target. Several small hatches opened, and powerful paralyzing beams shot out and played over the area below, knocking all forms of life unconscious. Once the crew of the alien ship was satisfied that all life forms below had been rendered helpless, the ship landed. It was time now to complete the primary part of their mission.

Airlocks opened and ramps descended to the ground. The crew emerged and began spreading out across the small military base. They were dressed in dark suits of combat armor and stood nearly ten feet tall. Only a few were armed, as they expected no resistance due to the paralyzing beams. They began loading hundreds of unconscious Humans into the ship. They carried them into the ship two or three at a time since the suits of battle armor gave the wearers nearly superhuman strength. The small craft could hold over one thousand of the targeted Humans they had been sent to find. Once they were finished, they would return to the command ship, unload their unconscious Human cargo, and come back for more.

-

Mason had finally gone to his sister’s home to eat. There had been no further developments with the alien ship; it remained in orbit around the Earth and was still not communicating. Luna City had reported that they had spotted several of the smaller ships return and then later leave again. This made Mason nervous; he wondered what they could be up to. Drake and Pamela were still in the Control Center and would contact him if anything new developed.

“What’s going on, Mason?” Susan asked as she placed the food on the table. She was deeply concerned about the alien ship.

News about it was on all of the media stations, and the fact that her husband had gone off to one of his mining ventures didn’t help. She was concerned about Michael’s safety and didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him.

“No one knows,” Mason replied as Susan sat down across from him. “The aliens are not communicating, so everyone is still in the dark as to why they’re here.”

The two children had eaten earlier and gone over to a neighbors to play. Mason and his sister were very close, and she worked several hours a day at the main office reviewing the contracts that Mason managed to get signed. She had several business degrees and enjoyed working during the day while the kids were gone to school.

“I wish Michael were here,” she said as she began eating her salad. She didn’t have much of an appetite. “I don’t like him being gone while something like this is occurring.”

“The alien ship is at Earth,” Mason responded as he buttered a roll. His sister was an excellent cook, just as their mother had been. “We’ve cut off our communications with everyone except an occasional tight beam message to Luna City and Holbrook Station. The aliens may not even know that we’re out here.”

“I hope not,” Susan replied as she reached for the salad dressing. “I spoke with Larcy earlier, and she’s really frightened. Drake’s parents came over to stay with her until he can come home.”

“Drake was afraid this would frighten Larcy,” Mason responded as he took a bite of his roll. “So far the aliens are not communicating even though Luna City has reported seeing a number of small craft leave the larger ship, go to Earth, and then return only to leave for Earth again. Drake is still in the Control Center with Pamela. He should be going home in another hour or two if nothing new develops.”

Susan stopped eating her salad and gazed across the table at Mason. “Why?” she asked, looking perplexed with her eyes focusing on her brother. “What are they up to? It almost sounds as if they’re hunting for something.”

“I thought about that also,” confessed Mason, still feeling uneasy about the situation. “But I doubt if that’s the case, and if it is, why don’t they just tell us? If they need something, I’m sure the world governments would be willing to help.”

“Is it true the ship is armed?” Susan asked in a lower voice. She had heard about this on the news earlier. One of the media stations had shown pictures of what looked like weapon turrets on the alien’s ship.

Mason hesitated, but he knew there was no point in keeping that fact a secret from his sister. “Yes, it’s armed. Pretty heavily from the information that Luna City has sent us.”

“What about Holbrook Station?” Susan asked with growing concern in her eyes. “What are they doing?”

Susan was concerned because her brother-in-law was in charge of the large station where their cargo ships docked and unloaded their cargo for distribution to Earth. There were also nearly six hundred crewmembers on the space station as well.

“I’ve ordered the station to do nothing,” answered Mason, knowing Susan was concerned and why. “I’ve stopped all traffic to and from the station as well as ordered all of our ships currently in transit to Holbrook to turn around and return here until we know more about what’s going on.”

Susan nodded as she resumed eating her salad. It sounded to her as if Mason had done everything he could. “You don’t think they will come here, do you?”

“I don’t know,” Mason replied evenly, not wanting to frighten his sister any more than she already was. “I’ve locked everything down and placed security guards at the main airlocks. If they do come, they will have a hard time getting in.”

Mason had already wondered what he would do if the aliens were to show up at Vesta. He knew it might be wise to make a brief broadcast to the people in Smithfield telling them there was no reason to panic and to let them know that they were monitoring the situation at Earth.

Mason finished eating his meal and then spent some time talking to his sister before telling her good night and heading back to the Control Center. He would make a short announcement to the people in Smithfield, and then if nothing was occurring with the aliens he was going to turn in for the night. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be hectic, and he might not get a lot of sleep.

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