Chapter One

The Ralift fleet was massive and leading it were two hundred giant AI fifteen-hundred-meter battle spheres. Nearly six thousand ships were in the fleet, ranging from small armed escorts to the giant fourteen-hundred-meter battleships of the empire. The fleet had improved weapons, sensors, better hyperdrives, and more powerful energy shields, all provided by the AIs. The Ralift were extremely confident they would achieve the goal of their mission.

After the destruction of the Great Project at the galaxy’s center, the remaining AIs fled to Ralift space to regroup and rethink their strategy for conquering the galaxy and then later expanding their empire across the known universe. The Ralift were the fourth of the proxy races the AIs were using to further their goal of galactic conquest. XB-247-RST was the highest ranking surviving AI and was responsible for the AI fleet. XB had been in charge of the Astral System. After hearing of the destruction of the Great Project by the Human Federation of Worlds and their allies the AI gathered all surviving AI ships and immediately departed.

“We will be entering Shari space shortly,” reported CR-135-DDV, the AI in charge of the ship’s sensors.

“Will the Shari resist us?” asked VR-634-ORL. VR was responsible for the ship’s tactical systems.

“Unknown,” replied XB-247-RST, now known as the Command AI. “There has been no communication with the Shari since the destruction of the Great Project. The Ralift report Federation warships have been active in Shari space around the Rylus Star Cluster.”

“The location of the Dyson Sphere,” commented AG-337-MMB, the science AI. “Reports indicated the Shari fleet in the system was wiped out by an unknown weapon. There has been no reported successful entry into the megastructure. Currently, there are Federation and Shari ships patrolling the cluster with no vessel coming closer than one light year to the system that contains the Dyson Sphere. I believe they are at a loss as to what to do next. It is obvious the science behind the structure is too advanced for them to comprehend.”

They seem to be working together,” stated the Command AI as it hovered six inches above the metal deck. “The Shari have forgotten their place in the grand scheme of things. They are one of our proxy races and subject to our rule, something we will remind them of very shortly. Once we travel deeper into Shari Space, we will demand they pull all of their forces out of the Rylus Star Cluster as we will be making it our new center of operations for this region of space.”

“That will still leave the Humans,” pointed out the science AI. “They will resist.”

The Command AI extended one of its six tentacles. “Then they will die.”

-

High Lord Droll sat upon his command chair in his flagship, the eleven-hundred-meter battleship Dark Victory. His fleet was on routine patrol of the border the Shari shared with the Ralift. Very seldom was a Ralift vessel encountered as the Avian species disdained contact with other species.

“High Lord, we have reports from the Jalab System of a large Ralift fleet entering our space,” said Lower Lord Malben with grave concern in his voice. “They have not responded to communication requests and are in direct violation of the treaty we have with them defining the border between our two empires.”

High Lord Droll’s eyes widened in surprise. “Have we confirmed the reports?” Sometimes the Lower Lords in charge of the areas of space close to the Ralift Empire tended to exaggerate threats. Droll was certain it was to ensure Shari fleet units were always in close proximity.

“Yes, a number of cargo ships and a few patrol ships have reported coming into scanning range of the fleet. There are also several unconfirmed reports that AI ships are accompanying the Ralift.”

“AIs?” responded Droll, feeling stunned. “There have been no sightings of AI battle spheres in years, not since the Humans and their allies destroyed their Great Project the machines were building at the galactic center. I was under the impression all of the AIs had been destroyed. The Altons have even taken back their ancestral home in the Astral System.” Droll knew Astral had been the AIs’ primary base.

“Well, it seems they’ve returned. What are your orders?”

High Lord Droll hesitated as he thought about the ramifications of the return of the AIs. Many things had changed since the AIs pulled out of Shari space. Even the subject worlds were being treated differently. The Shari Grand Council of High Lords was even preparing to sign a nonaggression treaty with the Humans. The Grand Council would not be pleased to hear of the return of the AIs.

“Send a message to the Grand Council asking for guidance. While our ships may be a match for the Ralift, we cannot so easily defeat the AIs. We must confirm the reports of the AI ships as they will represent a major threat.”

Droll stared thoughtfully at the large tactical screen in front of him. He had nearly three hundred ships in his fleet which was the largest Shari force currently operating in this quadrant of the empire. “Call in all of our patrol fleets. There is a possibility the council may order us to stop this incursion by the Ralift.” Smaller patrol fleets were spread throughout the quadrant. By calling them in, Droll could double the size of his fleet.

“The AIs?” asked Lower Lord Malben nervously. “What of them?”

“We are one of their former proxy races; perhaps they will not attack us.” Droll was not certain of that. He greatly feared there was a reason for the return of the AIs at the head of a large Ralift fleet. High Lord Droll had no desire for the empire to turn back to the days of AI rule.

“We have not been following their guidelines on the treatment of conquered worlds for a number of years,” Malben said, his eyes filling with worry. “They will not be pleased by our actions.”

“That is why we will gather the largest fleet we can. While it is true we have not been following their commands; we have also improved our weapons and energy shields. They may find us more difficult to defeat than they anticipate if they are coming for war.” High Lord Droll was trying to sound positive though he knew any battle with the AIs would not end well for his fleet.

“You would fight the AIs?” asked Malben nervously.

“If it comes to that.”

-

Lower Lord Malben nodded. He trusted the High Lord, but these were AIs, and only the Humans had been able to stand up to the machine people. Since the AIs had disappeared, the Shari Empire had been at peace except for an occasional problem with the Humans and more recently the Simulins at the newly discovered Dyson Sphere. Thinking about the Dyson Sphere, Lower Lord Malben realized that must be why the AIs had chosen this time to make a reappearance. If he was correct, this did not bode well for the empire. He was not certain the empire was ready to stand up to the AIs.

-

Nest Lord Alnod Creesth gazed at the nearest viewscreen. On it one of the fifteen-hundred-meter AI battle spheres was visible. Creesth was of avian descent with short feathers covering him almost like a second skin. He was slightly taller than the average Human with small ears and piercing eyes. On his back were a pair of vestal wings. In the past the wings had been larger and could be used to fly. However, as time passed and the Ralift no longer used them for flight, they had grown smaller and smaller. There was discussion that in a few more generations the wings would be gone completely. Cresseth’s arms were short, with three fingers and a thumb.

“The Command AI has sent orders for us to proceed to the Jalab System,” said Creesth, tilting his head. “An example is to be made to remind the Shari of who they owe their allegiance to.”

“I will pass on the orders to the fleet,” Second Nest Lord Alboin replied. “Is the system to be annihilated or subdued and brought into the empire as a slave world?”

“Annihilated,” replied Nest Lord Creesth coldly. “The entire system is to be scorched clean of all life and signs of civilization.”

“It is the will of the AIs, and we must obey,” replied Alboin, bowing his head slightly. “Is our empire to be expanded to include all of Shari space?”

“Possibly,” replied Creesth. “If the Shari are no longer willing to do the will of the AIs then it falls to us to take over their empire and enforce the master’s rule.”

“What of the Borzon?”

Creesth hesitated and then responded. “The Command AI believes the Humans will try to prevent us from taking the Dyson Sphere. Even as we speak Borzon fleets commanded by additional AI battle spheres are preparing to enter Federation space. The Humans and their allies will be forced to divide their forces. Against the Borzon, the AIs, and us they will fail.”

“Galactic war,” said Alboin, his eyes widening. “This will be much greater than the conflict the Humans had with the Hocklyns.”

“It will be war. When it is over the Dyson Sphere will be under the control of the AIs, and the former Hocklyn Slave Empire will be divided between the Borzon and us. The Shari Empire will be ours.”

-

Several hours passed and Lower Lord Malben turned with worried eyes toward High Lord Droll. “High Lord, we have reports the Ralift fleet has changed course and is now heading for the Jalab System. One of our battlecruisers managed to scan the fleet and has confirmed the presence of AI battle spheres.”

High Lord Droll called up a star map of the surrounding area of the galaxy. “The Jalab System has the largest Shari population within four hundred and twenty light years. There are over thirty-eight million of our people living on Jalab Four.” This greatly concerned the High Lord.

“It was only settled a few hundred years ago,” Lower Lord Malben said as he called up some information on a console. “It acts as the governing world for eighty-seven conquered star systems.”

“Systems which have been given increased autonomy since the AIs vanished years ago,” added Droll as he thought of the consequences of the return of the AIs. Their reappearance would have grave repercussions for the empire.

“What are your orders?”

High Lord Droll leaned back in his command chair, his face showing deep concern. There were no good choices. “Order all patrol fleets to meet us at the Jalab System. Perhaps we can speak to the AIs.”

“Only members of the Grand Council have ever seen or spoken to one of the machines,” countered Lower Lord Malben.

Droll knew Malben was correct. It would be several days before he received a reply to his message about the Ralift and AI fleets from the Grand Council. However, there were thirty-eight million Shari depending on his fleet for their protection. It was his duty as a High Lord to fulfill that responsibility. Even if it meant engaging the AIs in battle.

“Order the patrol fleets nearest the Ralift and the AIs to shadow them and keep us informed of any developments. I also need a precise time as to when they will arrive in the Jalab System.”

Lower Lord Malben sent the messages and then returned to the High Lord. “If we go into battle against this encroaching fleet of the Ralift we will be putting our empire at war. We cannot hear from the Grand Council in time to know their wishes.”

“It is why we have been trained to protect the empire,” Droll said evenly. “Inform all of our ships we may be going into combat shortly against the Ralift. We will not fire on the AI ships unless they fire first.” Droll had no desire to engage the AIs. He was going to try to avoid that at all costs.

High Lord Droll’s eyes shifted to the tactical screen. A few patrol fleets had arrived since the recall order had been sent. There were now nearly four hundred ships in his fleet. He hoped it was enough.

-

Nest Lord Creesth watched expectedly as the fleet exited hyperspace in the Jalab System. There were ten planets in orbit around the small yellow star with the fourth being inhabited.

“Sensor contacts,” reported the sensor officer. “There are a number of cargo ships in the system as well as a few warships.”

“Give me the type and weapons capability of the warships,” ordered Creesth. He knew the Shari ships were once on an even par with the Ralift. However, they had been apart from AI control for a number of years, and it was possible improvements had been made to their ships; the same type of improvement the AIs made available to the Ralift after the debacle at the Great Project.

“Shari battlecruisers and escort cruisers detected,” the sensor officer replied. “Detecting eighteen battlecruisers and twenty-six escort cruisers. We are still too distant to determine possible weapons improvements.”

“Nest Lord,” called out the communications officer. “I have received a message from the AIs. Their long-range sensors have detected a large Shari battle fleet inbound. It will arrive in two hours.”

“How many ships?”

“Four hundred and twelve,” replied the communications officer. “There are also a number of smaller fleet formations inbound as well.”

“This will be their primary fleet defending this quadrant,” said Nest Lord Creesth as he considered what destroying this fleet would mean. “If we defeat it, this quadrant will be ours.”

Second Nest Lord Alboin nodded his agreement. “It will be a good test of our new weapons.”

“Then we wait here,” ordered Creesth firmly. “Form the fleet into a globular formation with the AI ships in the center. Once the Shari fleets arrive, we will decide the best method to eliminate them.” At the very beginning, the Command AI had informed Creesth the Ralift would be expected to take the lead in any combat. The AIs would only become involved if the battle were in doubt. With the size fleet Creesth had there would be no need for the AIs to become involved.

-

High Lord Droll waited anxiously as the Dark Victory prepared to exit hyperspace. The long-range sensors were showing a fleet of close to six thousand Ralift warships waiting in the Jalab System.

“We can’t defeat a fleet of that size,” groaned Lower Lord Malben as he stared in disbelief at the tactical display. “That’s a war fleet, and it is aimed at our empire.”

“There’s a defense grid around Jalab Four,” Droll reminded the Lower Lord.

“But not much of one,” responded Malben, shaking his head. “A few defensive laser satellites and six missile platforms. They won’t add much to our firepower.”

Droll knew Malben was right. The defensive grid around Jalab Four was designed to discourage the occasional raider that preyed on these distant quadrants of the empire. “What about the patrol fleets; how soon before all of them arrive?”

“Two to eight hours,” answered Malben. “A few are already in the system in orbit around Jalab Four.”

High Lord Droll considered his options. None of them were good. If the Ralift were here to fight, then his fleet was doomed. There was a small chance the AIs were here to bring the Shari Empire back under their control, and this show of force was designed to accomplish it. If that were the case then they would want to talk and his fleet might survive.

“Hyperspace dropout,” called out the navigation officer.

Droll felt a slight wrenching sensation as the ship exited the spatial vortex into the Jalab System.

“Contacts!” reported the sensor operator.

High Lord Droll stared at the main tactical screen as it filled with red threat icons. There were so many the screen looked as if it held only one large contact spreading across nearly a quarter of it.

“I’ve never seen such a gathering of ships,” said Malben as he gazed at the screen. “They must be here for the Dyson Sphere in the Rylus Cluster.”

“Perhaps,” agreed Droll with a little doubt in his voice. “But why stop at the Jalab System? Why not just go directly to the Dyson Sphere?”

Malben hesitated and then spoke. “The Ralift are known for their cruelty. They destroyed many inhabited planets in their quest to conquer their region of the galaxy for the AIs. They also drastically lower planetary populations with nuclear bombardments forcing the survivors to work much harder and in harsher conditions.”

High Lord Droll knew about this. It was different from what the Shari did. When the Shari conquered a world, they destroyed all of the system’s warships and then set up strict population controls to lower populations to a more controllable level. All of that had ended when the AIs pulled out. The empire was now more at peace and was actually starting to work with a few of the more advanced conquered worlds to bring them into the empire someday. He agreed with the empire’s new policy of relaxing the restrictions. Many of the things the Shari had done in the past were directly related to the overpowering threat the AIs had posed. Now they were back.

“Take us in to Jalab Four at full sublight,” ordered Droll. “Try to contact the Nest Lord in charge of the Ralift fleet. I would rather talk to him first before attempting to communicate with the AIs. Keep the fleet at full battle alert.”

“Yes, High Lord,” Malben responded as he prepared to carry out Droll’s orders.

Droll settled back in his command chair, his eyes focused sharply on several of the large viewscreens on the wall in front of him. At full magnification was a sight he hoped he would never see again. A fifteen- hundred-meter AI battle sphere floated in a sea of stars. As far as he knew, no one other than the Humans and their allies had ever managed to destroy one.

-

“Shari fleet has arrived and is moving toward Jalab Four,” Second Nest Lord Alboin reported.”

Nest Lord Creesth nodded. “Allow them to do so. Once all of the Shari warships have gathered around their planet, we will move in and destroy them.”

“Nest Lord, I have a communications from High Lord Droll the commander of the Shari fleet requesting to speak with you,” reported the communications officer.

“Ignore it,” ordered Creesth. “The Shari have become weak and will shortly realize what it means to turn away from our masters. They shall soon know the power of the Ralift and what it means to fail the AIs.” Creesth did not understand the foolishness of the Shari, but they were about to pay for it.

Nest Lord Creesth gazed at the holographic tactical display his flagship was equipped with. It was another advanced piece of technology furnished by the AIs. The Shari warships were speeding across the system to Jalab Four where their other ships waited. The planet was protected by a weak defensive grid which was inconsequential. Once all the enemy were gathered in one location, the Ralift fleet would move in and destroy them as well as the planet they protected.

-

“There is no response to our hails,” reported Lower Lord Malben, turning his eyes toward High Lord Droll.

Droll frowned in concern. “Are they receiving our messages?”

Malben spent a moment speaking with the communications officer and then turned toward Droll. “Yes, communications are functioning normally. The Ralift are refusing to respond.”

High Lord Droll let out a long breath. The Ralift’s refusal to communicate was a bad sign. “Contact the planetary lord and inform him to send as many Shari as possible to the underground shelters. Tell him we believe the AIs and the Ralift are here to conquer the system.”

“Should we attempt to contact the AIs?”

Droll looked at one of the viewscreens showing one of the large fifteen-hundred-meter AI battle spheres. “Send a message requesting an audience. I doubt if we get a response.” Droll felt a cold chill run down his back. The size of the Ralift fleet and the presence of the AIs did not bode well for the Jalab System.

A few minutes passed and Lower Lord Malben turned back toward the High Lord. “We have received a response from the AIs.”

High Lord Droll felt relief. Perhaps it would be possible to speak to the AIs and avoid conflict. “What did the machines say?”

“It was only one word,” Malben replied in a low voice.

“What was it?”

Malben looked pale. “Surrender.”

“How many passenger and cargo ships are at Jalab Four?” asked Droll with growing concern.

“Not many,” Malben answered. “Our sensor scans indicate two passenger ships in orbit and sixteen cargo ships. All are docked to the planet’s orbiting space station and repair yard.”

High Lord Droll knew he had just run out of options. “Once we arrive at Jalab, place our fleet between the planet and the inbound Ralift fleet. We will not fire until they fire first. Send a message to the Grand Council informing them of the latest developments and my plan to defend the colony. There is no way I will surrender this fleet or Jalab Four to the AIs.”

Droll leaned back in his command chair as he thought about the reappearance of the machines. If the AIs and the Ralift destroyed his fleet, then this entire quadrant of the empire would fall. There were no other major fleet units close enough to respond in time. His eyes wandered back to the tactical display and all the red threat icons. He felt a moment of helplessness at the enormity of the task in front of him.

-

The Shari fleet quickly moved into position near Jalab Four, placing itself between the slowly advancing Ralift and the planet. For hours the Ralift fleet moved toward the planet as other Shari patrol fleets arrived in the system and took up positions in High Lord Droll’s fleet.

-

“Why are they waiting?” asked Lower Lord Malben, gazing at a viewscreen. “Why haven’t they attacked? They have the superior numbers.”

“For all of our ships to get here,” Droll answered, his eyes narrowing sharply. “If they destroy our fleet then there’s nothing else to oppose them in the entire quadrant except a few small planetary defense fleets. By destroying our fleet, they’ll control everything within sixteen hundred light years of Jalab Four.” Droll took a deep breath; this was forming up to be a major disaster. The Ralift fleet would roll across the quadrant with the Shari able to do nothing to stop them. Millions would die!

Malben nodded his head in understanding. “There are only four other Shari colony worlds in the quadrant. None as large as Jalab.”

High Lord Droll studied the tactical display for a long moment. “Send out a general broadcast on all fleet frequencies warning of possible aggression by the Ralift. Make sure to mention the appearance of the AIs as well.” Droll hoped by doing this the larger Shari worlds deeper in the empire could prepare themselves. There were some major Shari fleet formations between the Ralift and the heart of the empire. Perhaps other Shari fleet units would be able to stop this fleet if it continued deeper into Shari space. Some of the worlds with large Shari populations also possessed formidable defense grids.

“The Ralift fleet will be in engagement range in twenty-two minutes,” the sensor officer reported. “They are maintaining their current rate of speed.”

High Lord Droll had pulled his fleet back to just inside the gravity well of Jalab Four. With the improvements to Shari hyperdrives, it was now possible to jump into the outer regions of a gravity well, but still not too close to the planet. He didn’t know if the Ralift had made the same improvements to their drives as well. One thing he did know; the AI ships were not affected by a planet’s gravity well. They could jump almost inside a planet’s atmosphere. Droll hoped the AIs stayed out of this battle.

“All ships report ready for combat,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “The planetary lord of Jalab Four has sent as many Shari as possible to shelters. However, many are still exposed on the surface with nothing more than their homes to protect them.”

High Lord Droll had a decision to make. His fleet stood no chance in battle against the massive Ralift fleet coming slowly toward them. To stay would mean the total destruction of his fleet. However, there were the thirty-eight million Shari on Jalab Four and he couldn’t just abandon them. With a heavy sigh, he made his decision. It was a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“We will engage the Ralift to test their weapons. If ours are superior, we will stay and engage their fleet. If we find there have been improvements to their ships and they are on an equal par with us, we will withdraw.”

“Withdraw?” questioned Lower Lord Malben, his eyes widening in shock. “If we withdraw the Shari upon Jalab Four will be enslaved by the Ralift!”

“We must preserve our fleet. We are the only major fleet between here and the main part of the empire. It may be necessary for us to fight a number of delaying actions to give the Grand Council time to respond to this crisis.”

Lower Lord Malben understood. “Should I warn the planetary lord we may withdraw?”

“No. Unfortunately the Shari upon Jalab Four are on their own.”

-

Nest Lord Creesth gazed coldly at the waiting Shari fleet. As a Ralift, he seldom displayed emotions. “We will fire as soon as we reach engagement range. I want this battle to be quick and decisive.”

“Fleet is prepared to fire. Sensor scans indicate the Shari fleet is holding position just inside the gravity well of Jalab Four.”

“Curious,” Creesth responded. “It would seem to indicate they believe we cannot jump inside the planet’s gravity well.” This was no longer true, as the AIs had improved the Ralift hyperdrives so they could now jump close to a planet without fearing damage to the ship’s drive system.

“What of the planet?”

Creesth looked over at Second Nest Lord Alboin. “The AIs have instructed us to remove all Shari from this quadrant of their empire. Once we have destroyed their fleet, we will bombard the planet with nuclear missiles. We will leave nothing living.”

Alboin stood quietly and then responded. “One we cleanse this planet of Shari life we will be at war with the Shari Empire. There will be no turning back.”

Nest Lord Creesth pointed toward the viewscreen showing one of the AI battle spheres. “It is by their command and we must obey.”

“The AIs are the masters,” replied Alboin, nodding in agreement. It was as it had been for thousands of years and would continue to be.

“Engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“Weapons lock,” confirmed the tactical officer.

“Fire,” ordered Nest Lord Creesth. It was time for the war to begin.

-

In space, hundreds of energy beams flashed out to strike the powerful shields of the Shari warships. The shields glowed brightly as they struggled to resist the onslaught. Several energy beams penetrated a battlecruiser’s shield, ripping into the top section of the ship and sending debris flying through space. A sixty-megaton antimatter missile darted through the momentary opening in the ship’s energy shield, impacting against the hull. In a massive explosion, the Shari battlecruiser vanished as nuclear energy consumed it. Across the Shari fleet, other ships were suffering a similar fate.

-

High Lord Droll was nearly thrown from his command chair as the Dark Victory shook as if had been struck by a mighty hammer. Alarms were sounding, and frantic voices were coming over the ship’s comm system.

“Energy beam strike above the med bay,” reported Lower Lord Malben as he checked the damage control console. “We have a number of compartments open to space and we’re streaming atmosphere. Repair crews are enroute. Emergency bulkheads have sealed off the affected areas. We lost one missile tube and three defensive energy turrets.”

“We’ve lost the Dark Horizon, Anvil’s Hand, Glowing Victory, and the Falton,” reported the sensor officer. All four ships were battlecruisers.

“Launching sublight missiles,” stated the tactical officer. “All ships are returning fire.”

On the viewscreens, brilliant explosions swept across the Ralift formation.

“Energy beams firing,” added the tactical officer. Then, after a moment, he reported back. “Enemy screens are more powerful than previous reports. The Ralift are also using sublight antimatter missiles in the sixty-kiloton range.”

On one of the viewscreens, a Ralift missile slammed into the stern of a Shari escort cruiser. The ship vanished in a fiery explosion.

“Are our weapons having any effect?”

“We’ve taken out four of the smaller Ralift armed escorts,” the sensor officer reported. “We’ve only managed to damage a few of their larger vessels.”

The Dark Victory rocked again as a Ralift sublight missile exploded against her energy screen.

“Energy screen is down to 68 percent,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “We can’t take much more of this.”

On another screen, the Shari battlecruiser Cromd was under heavy attack. Several Ralift sixty-megaton warheads exploded against the ship’s energy shield. Moments later over twenty heavy energy beams struck the shield; all focused on a small area. One beam and then two penetrated, cutting deep into the hull of the ship. A brilliant explosion suddenly tore the hull open, hurling debris away from the vessel. Secondary explosions began to shake the battlecruiser and then it blew apart.

“One of those beams penetrated to Engineering,” reported Lower Lord Malben in dismay. “They never stood a chance.”

High Lord Droll let out a frustrated breath. “Order the withdrawal. We will rendezvous in the Micron System.” Looking at the tactical display, he could see green icons representing Shari ships flaring up and vanishing in growing numbers. The same couldn’t be said of the red icons representing the Ralift fleet. His fleet was defeated.

“Message sent to all ships,” reported the communications officer.

“All ships to implement withdrawal immediately,” ordered Droll. He looked over at the helm and navigation officer. “Get us out of here!”

Moments later Droll felt a wrenching sensation as the Dark Victory opened up a spatial vortex and made the jump into hyperspace. Leaning back in his command chair he felt the blood draining from his face as he thought of the consequences of having left Jalab Four. The thirty-eight million inhabitants were now at the mercy of the Ralift and the AIs.

-

Nest Lord Creesth watched in satisfaction as the Shari fleet fled the scene of the battle. “They flee,” he said, looking over at Second Nest Lord Albion. “They have grown soft since the AIs left this section of the galaxy.”

“Their weapons are only slightly weaker than ours. We lost three battlecruisers and nine armed escorts.”

“What of the Shari?”

“Fourteen battlecruisers confirmed destroyed and thirty-two of their escort cruisers. They also demonstrated their hyperdrives have been updated as they jumped from inside the planet’s gravity well.”

“It’s unfortunate the majority of their fleet escaped. It will only delay their ultimate destruction.” Nest Lord Creesth felt certain the Shari would continue to resist his fleet as it moved deeper into their empire. In time, his fleet would reach the Rylus Cluster where the supposed Dyson Sphere was located. The AIs were determined to conquer the cluster and take the Dyson Sphere for themselves.

“Fleet is moving into orbit in preparation for nuclear bombardment,” reported Albion. “The orbiting space station has also been destroyed as well as all the vessels docked to it. Weapons fire has also eliminated the weak defense grid, which surrounded the planet. Should we begin the bombardment?”

“Do so,” ordered Creesth. “The sooner this system is annihilated, the sooner we can move on to the next target.”

-

From the orbiting Ralift ships, missile hatches slid open and nuclear missiles began falling toward Jalab Four. Over the capital city, a nuclear warhead detonated. In moments a towering mushroom cloud rose up as the blast incinerated every living being within a kilometer of the explosion. The blast wave radiated outward, knocking down buildings and throwing vehicles high into the air. Two kilometers away from the blast the heat burned away flesh and sucked the air away. Across the city, multitudes of Shari died where they stood or in their homes. A second and then a third nuclear warhead detonated above the city, turning the largest metropolitan center on the planet into a raging inferno.

Across the planet, the missiles continued to fall. Ash, smoke, and pollutants rose up into the atmosphere, blotting out the sun turning day into night. From space, the bright flashes of nuclear explosions marked the death of the planet. For nearly an hour the missiles continued to fall until not a single structure built by the Shari still stood. The planet had become a barren wasteland.

-

“The planet has been annihilated,” reported AG-337-MMB, the science AI. “It will be centuries before life appears there once more.”

The Command AI was silent as it gazed upon the death of a world. Throughout this entire quadrant, every inhabited Shari world would meet this same fate. It would be a message to the Shari Grand Council to surrender and return control of their empire to their masters, the AIs.

“The other two Ralift fleets should be entering Shari space shortly,” reported VR-634-ORL from Tactical. Two other fleets of four thousand Ralift ships each would be entering the empire with their own set of targets.

“Contact Nest Lord Creesth,” ordered the Command AI. “It is time for us to go to our next destination.” If all went as planned in a few months’ time the AIs would once more control all of their former empire. At this very moment on the far side of Human space, the Borzon were launching an all out attack on the Human Federation of Worlds. The first galactic war had begun.

Chapter Two

Admiral Race Tolsen had been summoned to Earth to meet with Fleet Admiral Nagumo. Nagumo was the highest ranking fleet officer in the Federation. As Race entered the Fleet Admiral’s office aboard the Federation fleet flagship Luna, Race couldn’t help but wonder what the meeting was about. Race had been visiting his parents on Ceres. Thinking about Ceres, he felt a shudder go through his body. Months back nearly the entire population of the planetoid vanished. Not only that but a large group of people had disappeared from New Tellus as well. Rumors were rampant that Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong was somehow involved. However, that was impossible as Jeremy was in the Triangulum Galaxy with no way to return home. His parents confided in Race that Governor Barnes and Admiral Kalen made an announcement that Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes was at Ceres and the entire population was needed to fight some obscure menace in a far away galaxy. Race felt his parents knew more but were not willing to confide in him. Whatever their reasons, he didn’t push it.

Ceres was currently being resettled with people from New Tellus as the two worlds held a special kinship in being colonized by the survivors of the original Human Federation of Worlds. Already nearly two hundred thousand people had moved into the planetoid. The massive shipyards and fleet facilities in Ceres were essential to the defense of the Federation. They were only just now beginning to get them back online. Not only that but new crews had to be found for the over one hundred deserted warships orbiting the planetoid.

Two Marines were standing in front of the hatch to Fleet Admiral Nagumo’s quarters, and one of them stepped over smartly to the hatch and opened it, indicating for Race to enter. Stepping inside, Race was surprised to see Fleet Admiral Nagumo, Admiral Lankell, Admiral Stoddard, Alton Fleet Admiral Baasil, his sister Vice Admiral Massie Tolsen, and Alton Ambassador Tureen.

“Have a seat, Admiral,” Nagumo said, gesturing toward the single still empty chair. “We have a lot to discuss today.”

Race sat down, curious as to why nearly all the admirals who had been involved in the Dyson Sphere incident were gathered here. To Race this looked ominous.

Nagumo’s face took on a grim look. “It will soon be announced by President Malle that the Human Federation of Worlds is at war with both the Borzon and the Ralift. The Senate Council has already approved a declaration of war resolution.”

“What?” several of the admirals said, their faces showing shock. They looked at each other, wondering what was going on. The Ralift and Borzon both controlled huge areas of the galaxy. Tens of thousands of inhabited worlds were enslaved by the two slaver cultures.

“War,” said Race confused. “How can we be at war with the Ralift? They’re on the far side of the galaxy. We have no points of contact.”

“We do now,” Nagumo said pointedly. “Three large Ralift invasion fleets entered Shari space a little over a week ago. They’ve been laying waste to every Shari inhabited world in two quadrants. It’s the opinion of the military the Ralift fleets are heading toward the Dyson Sphere.”

“How did they find out about the megastructure?” asked Massie, her eyes showing concern. “It’s not generally known what we found in Shari space.”

“It’s worse than that,” Nagumo said as his face took on a haunted look. “There are confirmed reports from the Shari that a number of AI battle spheres are with all three Ralift fleets. We’re not sure how they found out about the Dyson Sphere, but it’s evident they have.”

“AIs,” said Stoddard, his face turning pale. “I thought we destroyed all of them.”

“No,” responded Ambassador Tureen. “It seems as if a large number of AI battle spheres were in the Astral System when their Great Project was destroyed. These battle spheres and perhaps others vanished immediately after the battle at the galactic center. We have known from the very beginning that the ones in the Astral System were missing. We just didn’t know how many there were or where they went.”

“Now we know,” said Stoddard with a deep frown. “They must have gone to Ralift space, and now they’ve learned of the Dyson Sphere. If the AIs can gain access to it, the entire galaxy may be in danger. The technology on that megastructure is far more advanced than anything in the galaxy, including the Altons.”

“In the beginning, we thought it best to keep it a secret that a few AIs had escaped,” Nagumo said. “We thought at the most we were only speaking of a few dozen. There was also the chance they had fled into deep space and just shut down as so many AIs did in the Astral System.”

“They can’t be allowed access to the Dyson Sphere,” Ambassador Tureen said. “It would permit them to reverse all the gains we have made since the war with the Hocklyns and the AIs. Thousands of worlds have been freed, and they’re only now beginning to accept their slavery is over.”

“The AIs can’t create more of themselves without their Master Codex,” stated Race as he thought over the situation. He was very familiar with Astral and what was under the City of Light. “If the AIs have returned, at some point in time they will try to take back the Astral System to gain access to the codex.”

“That won’t happen,” Ambassador Tureen said reassuringly. “We are doubling the size of the Alton fleet in the system. We are also rigging the Master Codex so if the AIs succeed in retaking the system it will be destroyed. There will be no more AIs created in this galaxy. The ones here now will be the last.”

“We’re also sending more Marines to Astral,” added Admiral Nagumo. “We don’t want to lose access to the computer center under the City of Lights. There’s just too much knowledge there that can be beneficial to every race in the galaxy.”

“What’s the plan?” asked Race. He had a strong feeling he would soon be going back into battle.

Nagumo’s face took on a serious look. “Your dreadnoughts have been updated and will be returned to your command. In addition a few more have been built to replace the ones you lost in battle.”

Race felt surprised. The dreadnoughts had been returned to the Altons after he returned from the Dyson Sphere mission. The Altons felt they were too advanced to be used in the Federation and unnecessary for the missions the Human Federation of Worlds was currently carrying out.

“All the former crews of the dreadnoughts are being transferred from their current vessels back to the dreadnoughts,” added Nagumo. “The entire Federation fleet is being placed on alert. The ships in the reserve are being reactivated. We’re also in the process of informing all of our allies of the declaration of war. We’re going to need them in the coming conflict.”

Race took a deep breath. The Altons, Carethians, Zanths, Darvons, Kessels, and New Providence were the primary Alliance worlds. There were other worlds that were once controlled by the Hocklyns, which had joined the Alliance, but it would be years yet before they had fleets of sufficient size to be of use in a major battle. “What are our orders?” Race had hoped his days of serious fighting were over; it now seemed he was wrong about that.

“The Ralift seem to be the biggest threat,” answered Nagumo. “However, the Borzon have entered Federation space in four separate locations and are pushing deeper into what was once the Hocklyn Empire. We’re still scrambling to put sufficient forces in front of them to slow down or stop their advance.”

Race knew since the defeat of the empire, the Human Federation of Worlds had taken over and freed all of the former slaver worlds. The Hocklyns still controlled a small area of space around their primary worlds and that was all. However, even the Hocklyn’s primary worlds had seen a major reduction in population due to the collapse of their empire. Unfortunately, in order to maintain peace in former Hocklyn space, major portions of the Federation fleet were scattered across tens of thousands of light years giving assistance.

“Are there AI ships with the Borzon?” asked Massie.

Fleet Admiral Nagumo hesitated briefly and then nodded his head. “A few, not as many as there are with the Ralift. We believe the attack by the Borzon is an effort to tie up Federation fleets while the Ralift move on the Dyson Sphere.”

“We all saw the defenses the Dyson Sphere is equipped with,” said Race, his eyes narrowing. “If the Ralift or the AIs approach too close it will destroy them.”

Fleet Admiral Nagumo was silent for a long moment and then spoke. “Are you suggesting we allow the AIs and the Ralift to approach the Dyson Sphere?”

“There are Humans on the megastructure,” Race pointed out. “We know some of our Marines and a science team were inside it when it fired on the Shari fleet. I spoke to Reesa Jast a few minutes before and she indicated the Dyson Sphere would activate automatic defenses if it was fired upon. We all saw what it did to the Shari fleets. Our people inside the megastructure will surely explain to the AIs controlling the Dyson Sphere what the battle sphere AIs represent and who the Ralift are.”

“That’s what concerns me,” Fleet Admiral Nagumo said uncomfortably. “We have two different sets of AIs that will be speaking to one another. There’s no way to know how that conversation will turn out. What if the AIs in the Dyson Sphere side with the other AIs against us?”

“I don’t believe that will happen,” Race said. “Reesa talked as if the AIs inside the sphere were similar to Humans. Keep in mind these AIs were built and programmed by the Originators. They have nothing in common with the ones we’re familiar with.”

“Let’s hope not,” Nagumo said, sounding unconvinced. “However, we’re not going to take that chance. We’ll be sending out a major fleet to deal with the Ralift. Admiral Tolsen, you will command the fleet from the Command Center of the WarHawk.”

“What about the Borzon?” asked Alton Admiral Baasil.

“We will fight a delaying action against the Borzon until the Ralift have been dealt with. There’s a lot of space between the Borzon Empire and our own worlds. For a time it may be necessary to allow them to conquer some of the former Hocklyn slave worlds.”

“The Borzon are of insect descent and are known for their cruelty,” spoke Ambassador Tureen with grave concern. “Every effort should be made to prevent them from conquering any worlds. There will be much suffering if they do.”

Fleet Admiral Nagumo let out a deep sigh. “While I agree with your assessment, we just don’t have the forces to fight two galactic empires at the same time. If we allow ourselves to fight simultaneously in two major theaters of war, we risk defeat.”

“I am willing to take my fleet to face the Borzon,” spoke Fleet Admiral Baasil.

“As am I,” added Massie.

Fleet Admiral Nagumo looked flustered by the disagreement to his plan. “You don’t have enough ships. The Borzon fleets have thousands of warships.”

“I believe I can talk my people into substantially increasing the size of the fleet units assigned to both Admiral Tolsen and Fleet Admiral Baasil,” said Alton Ambassador Tureen. “My people will not want to see these worlds taken and their inhabitants tormented by the Borzon.” The Altons had pulled many of their warships back after the war with the AIs. They still possessed their powerful battlecruisers and battleships though the crews had been allowed to return home. “We will need Federation crews to help fill the rosters of our warships.”

“I see you’re leaving me with no choice,” said Fleet Admiral Nagumo. “I’ll see if I can find some additional Federation forces to strengthen Vice Admiral Tolsen’s fleet.” He looked over at Ambassador Tureen. “I believe I can arrange for sufficient crews to help operate your warships. The Fleet Academy has a large class, which just went through graduation. We also have former crews in the reserve that can be called up if necessary.”

-

The meeting lasted for several more hours as the logistics of the two planned operations were hammered out. Other fleet officers were called in and issued orders. This was going to be the largest mobilization of Alton and Federation forces since the battle at the galactic center.

When the meeting was over everyone was allowed to go except Admiral Tolsen. He looked inquiringly at Fleet Admiral Nagumo.

“Race, before I send you out on this mission, you need to know what happened at Ceres.” Nagumo was holding a small thumb drive in his right hand.

“You know!”

“Yes, the president and several others have always known. This message is from Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong.”

“So Jeremy was involved in what happened at Ceres.” This didn’t really surprise Race too much. He just wished Jeremy were here to help in this present crisis. His tactical skills would be a great asset.

“Not just Ceres, over one million people left New Tellus and nearly two million Altons left as well. It’s been kept a closely guarded secret, but most of the Alton scientists at the City of Light went also. General Wesley elected to go and he took nearly twenty-two thousand of his marines with him.” Nagumo gestured toward the thumb drive. “This message was left by Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes and was delivered to me by Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth. Hedon was active in helping to arrange this mass exodus. Go play the message and see what you think. It could have some bearing on what happens at the Dyson Sphere. Keep in mind what’s on that thumb drive is top secret. It might cause a panic if it got out. What it deals with makes our problems with the Ralift and the Borzon seem insignificant.”

Race nodded. He was insanely curious as to what Jeremy and Kathryn were up to. They had taken millions of people from the Federation and a large number of Altons also. He was beginning to suspect why his parents had been so quiet when asked about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the people of Ceres. Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth’s involvement also implied the seriousness of the situation. Race strongly suspected he wasn’t going to like what was on the thumb drive.

-

Fleet Commander Lanton of the Borzon gazed at the nearest tactical display as his fleet exited hyperspace into System H-387-2B. Lanton stood well over two meters tall with wide multifaceted eyes upon a strangely shaped head. A pair of long, narrow wings adorned his back, and his body was covered with a fine, stiff short hair. Lanton stood on two legs that were bent strangely, and he had four double-jointed slender arms capable of grasping and operating machinery.

“No Federation ships are showing on the short-range sensors,” reported the sensor officer.

“Our own ships and the AIs’?”

“All present.”

Lanton took a moment to examine the viewscreens with his multifaceted eyes. Hundreds of Borzon battlecruisers were visible as well as two of the eight AI battle spheres that were with his fleet.

“We have come sixty light years into the former Hocklyn Empire and have not yet been challenged,” said High Nest Leader Asdoth. “I would have thought the Humans would have appeared by now. Perhaps they fear engaging a fleet as powerful as ours.”

Lanton turned his attention to Asdoth who was the commander of the ship. “Don’t forget the Ralift are attacking the Shari Empire. The Humans may be unsure of what our purpose is or those of the Ralift. The fact that AI ships are in all of our fleet formations as well as those of the Ralift may be causing some confusion and panic among their military leaders.”

“Fleet Commander, long-range sensors are picking up a Federation patrol fleet. It is inbound toward our position and should arrive in twenty minutes.”

“So they have found us,” said High Nest Leader Asdoth.

“We were expecting this,” replied Fleet Commander Lanton. “That is the reason we came to this system. It is near two former Hocklyn slave worlds the Humans have been working with.”

“Should we launch our fighters?”

Since becoming aware of how the Humans used small ships to attack damaged vessels it had become imperative for the empire to develop their own small fighters. “Shortly,” replied Lanton. There were twenty spacecarriers in the fleet. Each one held two hundred of the new fighters.

-

The Borzon fleet held motionless in space waiting for the small Federation patrol fleet to make its appearance. The minutes passed by and suddenly blue-white spatial vortexes began to form. Out of each vortex, a Federation ship exited until twenty-eight warships were in the system.

-

“Report!” ordered Admiral Cynthia Knot. She was on board the battleship Hercules that was serving as her flagship. Cynthia was a relatively new admiral with little combat experience. She had been sent out to this section of the former Hocklyn Empire along with two Alton science ships to see about uplifting a number of previous slave worlds into a semblance of civilization.

“There are twelve hundred Borzon battlecruisers, twenty large unknown ships, possibly a carrier of some type, and eight AI battle spheres,” the sensor officer informed the admiral.

“AIs?” repeated Admiral Knot fear flashing through her eyes. “Where did they come from?” She thought all the AIs had been destroyed.

“Unknown,” replied Captain Marsh. “None were known to have survived the battle at the galactic center.”

“We should have known we didn’t get them all,” muttered Knot, wondering what to do. It would take days to get a message back to Fleet Command at Earth or New Tellus. “Contact the Borzon in charge of that fleet and demand they leave Federation space immediately.”

“They don’t recognize this as Federation space,” Captain Marsh reminded the admiral.

“Nevertheless send the message.”

A few minutes passed and Captain Marsh turned toward the admiral. “They’re not responding.”

Admiral Knot let out a deep breath. Her fleet would stand no chance against the fleet arrayed against her. She had one battleship, one battlecarrier, eight battlecruisers, six strikecruisers, and twelve light cruisers. A powerful task group in most cases but not in this one.

“Order the Potemkin to launch her full complement of fighters and bombers. Bombers are to be armed for a shipping strike.”

Captain Marsh looked questionably at the admiral. “We can’t fight a fleet of that size.”

“I don’t intend to,” replied Admiral Knot, folding her arms across her chest. “Perhaps if we show them we won’t back down, they’ll withdraw rather than risk war with the Federation.”

“There are rumors of other Borzon fleets active in other quadrants along the border,” replied Captain Marsh. “Are you sure it’s wise to adopt this posture? They may look at the launching of the fighters and bombers as a form of aggression.”

Admiral Knot slowly nodded. “If we pull back, this fleet will move deeper into Federation space. We must show them we mean business. We’ll have to take the risk.”

“Very well, Admiral. I’ll contact the Potemkin and have Captain Braddock launch his attack craft.”

-

Fleet Commander Lanton watched as the Humans launched their small attack craft from their lone carrier vessel. “They are trying to intimidate us.”

“The Borzon cannot be intimidated,” responded High Nest Leader Asdoth.

“Close the range with the Human fleet.”

“Shall I give the order to fire when we’re in combat range?”

“No, let’s see what else these Humans do. We have an overwhelming force. When it’s time to destroy them, we shall.”

-

Admiral Knot watched in silence as the Borzon fleet drew nearer. Additional messages were being sent demanding they withdraw from Federation space. No responses were forthcoming. The fighters and bombers had formed up in front of the Federation fleet. It was somewhat comforting seeing the several hundred small green icons between the fleet and the approaching Borzon. However, she knew the pilots wouldn’t feel comfortable in their current position.

“Borzon fleet is now in combat range,” warned the sensor officer.

“Still no response to our messages,” added the communications officer.

“They can hear us, but they’re refusing to respond,” said Captain Marsh. “I don’t like this at all.”

“Energy shield is at full power and weapons are charged,” reported the tactical officer. “Missiles are ready to launch.”

Admiral Knot took a deep breath. “Fire four Devastator Three missiles at the Borzon fleet. Set the warheads to detonate twenty kilometers in front of the lead ships.”

Captain Marsh cocked his eyebrow. “They may perceive that as a threatening move.”

“It’s a shot across their bow. We’re telling them if they continue to advance the next missiles well be aimed at their ships.”

“Do it,” ordered Captain Marsh to the tactical officer. “Fire four missiles and detonate them in front of the Borzon fleet formation.”

Several moments passed and then the tactical officer turned toward the admiral. “Missiles launched.”

On one of the main viewscreens, four brilliant explosions lit up space just in front of the Borzon fleet.

-

Fleet Commander Lanton stared at the four explosions on the central viewscreen.

“Fifty megatons,” reported High Nest Leader Asdoth. “Those are warning shots.”

“Do we have their ships targeted?”

“Yes.”

Fleet Commander Lanton gazed with his multifaceted eyes at the viewscreens, which covered the front wall of the Command Center. “Destroy them!”

-

From hundreds of Borzon battlecruisers, white beams of energy flashed out to strike the shields of the Human ships. Sublight missiles with forty-megaton warheads began slamming into the shields as well. Heavy energy beam fire began to penetrate the weakening shields of several ships. The top section of a battlecruiser exploded and debris started drifting away from the vessel. A forty-megaton missile struck the hull, turning the ship into a glowing field of debris and plasma. A Borzon energy beam penetrated the weakened shield of another battlecruiser, blowing an energy beam turret to shreds and blasting out a huge hole in the hull. Defensive energy beam turrets began firing on the fighters and bombers. Small fiery explosions marked their deaths as they were rapidly blown apart.

-

“Charleston, Cambridge, and Krall are down,” reported the sensor officer. “The fighters and bombers are also being targeted and are suffering massive losses.”

The ship rocked as several missiles struck the energy screen. Suddenly alarms began blaring, and the battleship shook violently. “Multiple breaches along the forward hull, we’re venting atmosphere,” the damage control officer reported. “Damage control teams are enroute.”

Just then, the deck heaved under Admiral Knot and she found herself flying through the air. Struggling to stand, she stumbled back to her command chair. Looking around, she saw smoke and sparks everywhere. Alarms were screaming from the damage control board as red lights were rapidly blinking on.

“We’ve suffered severe damage,” reported Captain Marsh gravely. “Multiple decks are open to space, and we’ve lost both our sublight drive and hyperdrive. Most of our weapons are offline. We won’t be leaving from here.”

“The fleet?”

Captain Marsh shook his head. “Under heavy fire. We’ve already lost a number of ships, and others are severely damaged. The Potemkin is attempting to recover her fighters and bombers. She’s at the back of our formation and has only suffered minor damage so far.”

Admiral Knot looked at the viewscreens. Her eyes watched in horror as several nearby battlecruisers and a strikecruiser were blown apart.

“Order all surviving ships to jump now!” she ordered. “Captain Braddock is not to wait around to recover his fighters and bombers; if he does he will lose his ship.” She knew she was signing the death warrant of those crews. Better to lose a few hundred than the several thousand on the battlecarrier.

-

Fleet Commander Lanton watched the viewscreens as the Human fleet was annihilated. In brilliant explosions, the Human ships died. Their commanding officer had been a fool to bring the Federation fleet so close to a superior Borzon fleet. For that error, the Humans were paying the ultimate price.

“Their carrier vessel and four small escorts have jumped out,” reported High Nest Leader Asdoth. “The rest of the Human fleet has either been destroyed or will be shortly. All of their remaining vessels are heavily damaged and only a few are still firing on us.”

“Finish them off,” ordered Fleet Commander Lanton coldly. “The Humans must learn that to oppose us means death.”

-

Admiral Knott sat in her command chair. Heavy smoke was in the air, and a number of consoles were shorted out or on fire. Damage control teams were hard at work trying to bring everything back under control but the damage was too severe.

The tactical display flickered and then came on. It showed a devastated Federation fleet. Only three vessels remained: two strikecruisers and her battleship. Even as she watched the two green icons representing the strikecruisers flared up and then vanished.

Taking a deep breath, Admiral Knott wondered what she had done wrong. She was still thinking about it when the sensor officer screamed out a warning.

“Inbound missiles!”

The ship shook violently and then everything went dark.

-

“Human flagship has been destroyed,” reported High Nest Leader Asdoth. “Only five of their ships escaped.”

“A fine victory for our fleet,” answered Fleet Commander Lanton. “Let us proceed to the next target. Much of this quadrant is free for the taking. Only a few small Federation fleets are rumored to be in the region. Once the quadrant is secure, we will call in occupation forces and claim all of the former Hocklyn worlds for our empire. It is a great day for our people.”

-

In space, all that remained of the shattered Federation fleet were several glowing debris fields. Soon the glow dissipated, leaving no sign that a Federation fleet had ever been here.

Several light years distant, the Potemkin and her four light cruiser escorts exited spatial vortexes. The commander hastily sent off a message reporting the loss of the majority of the fleet. Captain Braddock greatly feared this was only the beginning.

Chapter Three

Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong stood atop the balcony in the tall building, which was the new headquarters for the military and civilian government. He looked around at the towers and high walkways connecting the different buildings. It was a city from the future. There were wide thoroughfares and pedestrian sidewalks, numerous green parks, and everything one might expect to find in a super-modern city. It had been eight months since their arrival on the Originator Dyson sphere at the Communications and Transport Hub. There were four of the huge megastructures near the transport hub and the Originators and their AIs had agreed to build brand new cities for the Humans, Altons, and Carethians to live in.

“The new ships are ready,” commented Kevin, walking up to stand next to Jeremy. “What the Originators and their AIs have built is absolutely amazing. The Simulins would have no chance against these vessels. However, we don’t know about the Anti-Life.”

“Then it’s time.” Jeremy turned and walked back into his office. Sitting at a large conference table were Governor Barnes, Admiral Kalen, Admiral Vincent Pence, Alton Admiral Lukel, Rear Admiral Barnes, Rear Admiral Susan Marks, Rear admiral Hiru Akira, Rear Admiral Braedon Cross, and Grayseth. In addition, Leeda, Camlin, Kazak, Zafron, and Bartoll were also seated at the table.

Jeremy took his spot at the head of the table, looking at the others. “I understand some of the new ships are completed.”

The ships had gone through numerous design changes before everyone was satisfied with the finished product. These ships had to be capable of flying between galaxies and going on extremely long deployments. They also had to be able to protect their crews and get them back home again.

“Yes,” replied Commander Zafron of the Dominator. “We have completely redesigned a new series of warships especially suited for Humans, Altons, and Carethians. The ships will not need large crews as most of the maintenance and repairs can be done by the ships’ repair robots. There are also special mechanical nanites, which can be used to seal major hull breaches and repair critical systems. However, the use of the nanites will be controlled by one of our AIs. We would suggest a few AIs be placed upon each ship to aid in their operation as well as to help train your crews. We’ve sent the designs to the other Shrieels and some of the shipyards on each have been dedicated to constructing this new design. In just six to eight weeks we will have hundreds of the vessels available.”

“I don’t see a problem with having AIs on the ships,” answered Jeremy. Besides, he wanted his crews to learn as much about the ships they were operating as possible. “I’m glad to hear so many of the new ships will be ready so shortly.” He had watched in amazement how new ships were constructed in the Originator shipyards. It was almost unbelievable.

“What about the new exploration ships?” asked Admiral Kalen. Jeremy had made Kalen his second in command. It took a load of work off Jeremy’s shoulders and Kalen was a quite capable officer. He had commanded the Ceres fleet as well as the defenses of the planetoid.

“Finished,” replied Bartoll. “There are ten of them. We would like to begin searching the Triangulum Galaxy immediately for any signs of the group of Originators who left that galaxy’s Shrieel. Somewhere there must be evidence of where they went.”

“If we wish to fight a war against the Anti-Life and drive them back to their home galaxy, the finding of these other Originators is essential,” added Zafron. “Even though we have the help of all three of your races, we need our people for research. While our AIs do an adequate job at research, they don’t possess the intuition an actual living being does.”

Jeremy nodded. He had already discussed this with a few of the other admirals. “Rear Admiral Barnes, that will be your assignment. You will take the Distant Horizon and the new squadron of exploration vessels and return to the Triangulum Galaxy to initiate a search for these missing Originators.”

“How soon should I depart?”

“You will have your pick of crews for your ships. We have a large number of fleet personnel from Ceres as well as New Tellus. If we want to be able to match or surpass the Anti-Life in science and technology, it is essential we find these Originators. As soon as you’re satisfied with your crews you have my permission to depart on your mission.”

“The Distant Horizon has been modified only slightly,” Kathryn said. “However, the other crews will need several weeks to familiarize themselves with their ships.”

“The Dominator is ready to go as well,” commented Kazak. “We have a joint crew of AIs, Humans, and Altons. Quarters have been modified to accommodate each race.”

“I would like to be part of the crew of the Distant Horizon,” spoke Camlin.

“I accept that offer,” replied Kathryn. She knew Camlin was still trying to make up for her treachery at Ornellia.

“We have a number of crews that have been involved in the ship construction,” added Admiral Kalen. “While they didn’t do any actual work they have been inside the ships learning as much as they can about the technologies used. I would suggest you choose your crews from those who have been involved in the project. If my numbers are correct, we have enough semi-trained crew personnel to fill the rosters on over four hundred ships.”

“I’ll get to work on it immediately after this meeting,” replied Kathryn. Her own crew was on the Distant Horizon training with a number of Originator AIs. She currently had the best-trained crew in the fleet.

Jeremy nodded his approval. For eight months the survivors from Gaia and the volunteers Rear Admiral Barnes brought from the Federation had been living a life free from the threats of war. Now that was about to end. “Governor Barnes, what’s the current status of our people?” He knew it had taken a while for the people to acclimate to all the new and strange technology.

Governor Barnes smiled. “The technology made available to us in the three cities is amazing. Our children are going to schools specifically designed to familiarize them with Originator technology. Not the more advanced technology, but still far ahead of what was available in the Federation or on the Alton worlds. We have 4.3 million Humans, 2.1 million Altons, and half a million Carethians. All are in their own cities designed specifically for the three different races we have here. We have set up a large university where all three races attend together to learn even more advanced technology and science. These university classes are being taught by Originator AIs specially trained for instruction. In a generation our children should be very familiar with the technology used in our ships and in our cities. What we look at in amazement, they will take for granted.”

“What about the new Fleet Academy?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Rear Admiral Susan Marks. It had been one of his main priorities to get the Academy up and running to train new crews and officers for the fleet.

“We set it up very similar to the one we had on Gaia,” replied Marks. “Only it’s much larger. We expect to graduate ten to twelve thousand new fleet personnel each year once the first class reaches graduation. The Originators have made available considerable training material on their technology. We even have a number of simulators as well as small craft to practice with. I believe you will be very satisfied with the results.”

“Bartoll, has there been any indications of the Anti-Life being active in any of the galaxies where there is an Originator Dyson Sphere?” Jeremy was still confused as to the reason the Anti-Life were staying away. The Anti-Life had to know of the pathogen that struck down the Originators.

“No,” Bartoll answered. “All Shrieels are now required to stay in constant contact with the Communications and Transport Hub. They are monitoring communications in all of their galaxies. Most of them have a few advanced civilizations. Hyperspace communication is quite common and we are monitoring it. There has been no report of any Anti-Life vessels or attacks.”

“Do races in some of those galaxies know of the Dyson Spheres?” asked Kevin.

“In a few of them,” admitted Bartoll. “In those rare cases, the AIs in charge of the Shrieels have warned them off and told them not to return to the system the Shrieel is in.”

“We have also created more combat AIs,” added Kazak. “They are similar in ability to me and are perfectly capable of defending all the Shrieels from attack. If any Anti-Life ships are detected in a system containing a Shrieel, they will be fired upon and we will be informed immediately.”

Jeremy leaned back, looking thoughtful. “I still don’t understand why they have stayed out of all the galaxies where there are Dyson Spheres. Why haven’t they moved in and tried to take possession of those galaxies?”

“We believe they are concerned about the AIs we created long ago to help operate and maintain the Shrieels,” replied Bartoll. “When we fought our war against them, we were already using military AIs though not as advanced as Kazak. They may fear any type of attack will result in massive retaliation by the AIs.”

“We believe the Anti-life have been conquering the galaxies surrounding those we have Shrieels in,” said Commander Zafron. “It is their way of containing us. It is also highly likely at some point in time they will turn their vast war machine on our galaxies once they are confident of victory.”

Jeremy was quiet for a moment. “We need to send out a mission and try to find out what the Anti-Life are up to. I believe we need to explore several of the galaxies just outside the periphery of those where there are Dyson Spheres. We need to have an idea of the military strength of the Anti-Life and the type of weapons they use.”

“The only way to confirm that is to find a vessel of the Anti-Life and engage it,” Kazak said. “I will volunteer to lead such a mission once we return from our search.”

Jeremy looked questionably over at Commander Zafron since the Dominator was his ship.

“We’ve installed all the new weapons upgrades and have completely updated the ship,” Commander Zafron replied. “I believe the Dominator could handle an Anti-Life vessel without serious risk of harm.”

“We also need to take care the Anti-Life doesn’t discover that a few of us are still alive,” Bartoll said. “For that reason, it might not be wise for Commander Zafron to go on this mission.”

“I can handle the ship,” Kazak said evenly.

“I agree with Bartoll,” said Jeremy. “For the time being the Dominator will return to the Triangulum Galaxy to help in the search for the missing Originators.”

-

The group spent considerable time planning strategies and discussing what needed to be done to get the Humans, Altons, and Carethians ready to operate the new warships the Originators and their AIs were building. When everyone was satisfied they had done as much as possible Jeremy turned toward General Wesley. He was in charge of the forty thousand Marines at the large military base built just outside the city.

“General Wesley, how is progress on driving the remaining Simulins out of the Control Centers of the Dyson Spheres progressing?”

“Slowly,” General Wesley replied. Wesley had been in charge of the Marines in the Astral System but had volunteered to come with Rear Admiral Barnes. “The Simulins by now must be aware of what we’re doing. Every time we recapture one of the Control Centers, they lose contact with that particular galaxy. We’ve taken six so far and resistance is getting stronger. The Simulins have placed more troops and Conqueror Drones at each Control Center. Captain Wilde is currently trying to retake another even as we speak.”

Jeremy looked over at the general. “We probably should promote her to major with as many Marines as she’s commanding.”

“I agree,” responded General Wesley. “I’ve already started the paperwork.”

“There is still the matter of what to do about the galaxies the Simulins control,” Kelvin said with a deep frown. “In some of those galaxies there are probably still inhabited worlds the Simulins haven’t taken over. Every day there are countless innocent beings being torn apart by Conqueror Drones. We can’t allow that to continue.”

“We could use the same tactic I used in the Triangulum Galaxy,” suggested Kazak.

Jeremy felt a shudder run through his body. Kazak had annihilated a number of Simulin worlds using dark matter missiles. It had forced the Simulins to capitulate or face total annihilation.

“I would prefer not to do that,” responded Jeremy. “It would make us as bad as the Simulins.”

“We have fleets of warships in all of the Shrieels,” pointed out Commander Zafron. “They can be remotely controlled by our AIs and sent out to destroy all Simulins ships they encounter. Large numbers of them have already been updated.”

“That makes me nervous,” said Jeremy with a deep frown. “What if one of those ships becomes disabled and the Simulins gain access to it?” There was no way Jeremy wanted the Simulins to have access to such advanced technology.

“The ships can be set to self-destruct if they become disabled or compromised,” stated Kazak. “I estimate if we use the Originator warships in the Shrieels we could clear all the Simulin warships out of all the galaxies they control within six months. The only problem would be their home galaxy which they must control completely and probably has a huge Simulin population.”

“What about dealing with the Conqueror Drones?”

“I have been discussing that problem with some of the other survivors of my race,” said Bartoll. “We would like to build a combat robot capable of destroying these drones. We could drop them on any planet with drones and the combat robots will destroy them.”

“Could the drones destroy the combat robots?” asked Kevin.

“No,” replied Bartoll, shaking his head. “We are familiar with the Conqueror Drones from damaged units Captain Wilde has brought back. Our combat robots would be impervious to their weapons. Even on worlds where the drones have cleared all intelligent life a few hundred combat robots could be dropped. Over a number of years they would be able to remove the drones.”

Jeremy leaned back with a deep sigh. He realized there was so much that needed to be done. He felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders but instead of the world, it was actually galaxies.

“Build a few of the combat robots so I can see them in action. It sounds like a reasonable method to deal with the Conqueror Drones. We might even be able to assign some to Captain Wilde to use in clearing out the remaining Simulin controlled Control Centers.”

-

After the meeting, Jeremy and Kevin were alone in Jeremy’s office.

“What we’re being asked to do seems impossible,” Kevin said worriedly. “The Hocklyns, Simulins, and AIs don’t come close to what we may be facing in the Anti-Life.”

“We have the resources of over two hundred Dyson Spheres plus the Communications and Transport Hub,” responded Jeremy. “There are tens of thousands of Originator warships stored in those megastructures as well.”

Kevin was silent for a long moment and then spoke. “But we don’t know what resources the Anti-Life have. They might control thousands of galaxies. They could have hundreds of thousands or even millions of warships. We know from what Bartoll told us the Anti-Life escaped their galactic prison over one thousand years ago. With superior technology they could control thousands of galaxies, and all of those galaxies could be building ships.”

This worried Jeremy as well. The Anti-Life might already have expanded to the point they couldn’t be driven back to their home galaxy. “That’s why I want to send an expeditionary force to find out what we’re up against.”

Kevin looked Jeremy directly in the eyes. “When do we leave?”

“A few more weeks,” Jeremy said. “I want the crews to be as familiar with their new ships as possible. The new ships have the same weapons as the Dominator except for the particle beam cannons. The weapons research we found in the Dominator’s data files has greatly increased the power of the weapons we’ve placed on our warships. However, we have no idea what the Anti-Life have developed in all this time. They may make our weapons seem like wet firecrackers.” Jeremy had decided to lead the mission himself. Due to its importance, he didn’t trust anyone else with the responsibility.

“What about Katie and Kelsey?” Both girls were listed currently as crewmembers on the Distant Horizon. Kelsey had resigned her commission as commander as she didn’t feel comfortable being in charge of a warship. “They may want to go on the Distant Horizon on the search for these missing Originators.”

“They’re stubborn,” Jeremy said, thinking about their wives. “I think it’s best if we leave it up to them.” He would prefer Kelsey and Katie stay on the Dyson Sphere, but he wouldn’t stand in their way if they elected not to.

“What about Angela?” Angela had a young child and would most likely not want to go off on a warship.

“She seems to be satisfied working here in the communications center. From what I understand she has pretty well taken over.”

Kevin grinned. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Jeremy stood up. “Let’s go home. I’m sure Katie and Kelsey will both have a lot of questions for us.”

Kevin stopped and looked at Jeremy. He had a serious look on his face. “Jeremy, both the girls want children. That might be a way to ensure they stay here where it’s safe.”

“Kelsey and I have talked about children,” admitted Jeremy. With the Dyson Sphere being so safe, it was hard not to go ahead and start a family. “It’s a decision we need to make before we start this war with the Anti-Life. Both Katie and Kelsey could work here at the Command Center inside this building.” It would be a load off Jeremy’s mind not having to worry about the two women.

“It would be comforting knowing they’re safe,” admitted Kevin.

“The five of us have been through a lot over the years,” Jeremy said, thinking back to their days at the Fleet Academy on the Moon. That was hundreds of years in the past.

Sometimes he felt like an anachronism out of time. The five of them should have long become dust but they were still alive. He knew there were others in the home galaxy that were the same, including Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth who had slept in cryosleep even longer than they had. There were others too but Jeremy wasn’t sure how many of them had survived all the battles of the last few years.

“We better go before Ariel or Clarissa come looking for us.” The two overly protective AIs still had a habit of keeping a close eye on all five of them. Jeremy suspected they always would.

-

Captain Brenda Wilde ducked as a Simulin in full battle gear fired his weapon at her, setting off an explosion behind her. “Spread out!” she yelled as her Marines entered the Control Center for the intergalactic vortex. She had two full companies of Marines with her, and they had been fighting constantly as they neared their target. Conqueror Drones were in every corridor and had to be blown apart before the Marines could continue to advance. The drones were crab-like metallic robots about ten feet across with numerous legs and four appendages with large and dangerous looking claws used to tear their victims apart. Even knowing the drones were there a few Marines had met hideous deaths. Their screams still echoed in the back of Brenda’s mind.

The Simulins had barricaded themselves inside the Control Center and it had been necessary to blow the hatch to gain entry. The room was crowded with Conqueror Drones and Simulins firing from behind consoles.

Brenda felt a weapon’s round strike her armor, knocking her down. She felt a sudden sharp pain but the round didn’t penetrate. The Originator AIs had improved the armor worn by the Marines, making it nearly impervious to weapons fire. However, the Marines were armed with the new pulse rifles, which had been modified by the Originator AIs, substantially increasing its firepower.

“Stay down, Captain,” yelled Sergeant Metz. He was standing over her firing his pulse rifle repeatedly into the Conqueror Drones trying to reach the Marines. She heard a piercing scream from somewhere and knew a Marine had fallen victim to the powerful claws of one of the drones. Once a drone managed to grasp a Marine there was little that could be done to save the individual.

More Marines crowded into the Control Center firing their weapons into the mass of Conqueror Drones and Simulins who were frantically trying to push the invaders back.

The room quickly filled with smoke and the sounds of battle. A few explosive rounds were even being used to disable the drones. Brenda knew if they could destroy the drones the battle would be over. She rose up on her knees so she could see better. Spotting a Simulin firing from behind a computer console, she raised her pulse rifle and shot him in the head. He dropped to the floor and didn’t move.

Looking around she saw a number of her Marines were down, some having fallen victim to the Conqueror Drones and others to the explosive rounds the Simulins were firing.

She saw Corporal Metz fire half a dozen bolts from his pulse rifle into the carapace of a Conqueror Drone, causing it to collapse to the floor. Her Marines were gradually pushing further into the room. Standing up, she moved behind a computer console, which afforded a limited amount of cover. The surviving Simulins were backed up against the far wall of the room with a few Conqueror Drones in front of them. A barrage of explosive rounds suddenly blew the drones apart, leaving the Simulins unprotected. Pulse rifle beams quickly finished off the Simulins. There was no offer for them to surrender.

“Room’s clear!” called out Corporal Haggard. The corporal was standing in the midst of the destroyed drones. Several of his Marines were moving from drone to drone putting additional rounds into the carapaces where the CPUs were located. Others were checking the Simulins to make sure they were all dead.

Brenda made a quick tour of the large Control Center and then spoke into her comm. “Inform Rakell he can enter.” Rakell was from the Dyson Sphere back in the Milky Way Galaxy. He had joined Brenda’s team and was responsible for deactivating the captured Control Centers for the intergalactic vortexes. He was also an Originator AI.

Rakell entered the room under the protective escort of half a dozen Marines. He walked over to the main control console and inserted a small metallic gold colored globe. The panel activated and he quickly entered a set of commands. Nodding, he removed the globe and put it back securely into his pocket.

“That does it. All the vortexes on this Shrieel are now back under our control.”

“What about any Simulin ships inside or on the outside of the Dyson Sphere?” asked Brenda. She knew most of the time there were a number of patrolling Simulin warships around.

“Destroyed,” answered Rakell. “Kazak took care of that several months ago. He activated the defensive systems on all the Shrieels and instructed them to destroy any Simulin ships within range. From what I was told, the Simulins lost several thousand vessels when the defenses powered up. We also now have at least one military AI in each Shrieel. The Simulins won’t be a threat again. We’ve pretty well isolated them to their individual galaxies. As long as we destroy all of their ships that approach they can’t even use the intergalactic vortex Control Centers they control.”

Brenda nodded. They still had thirteen more Dyson Sphere Vortex Control Centers to take back from the Simulins. At each one the resistance was stronger than the last. It was obvious the Simulins trapped on the Dyson Spheres were pulling back to the corridors and rooms around the Control Centers in the hope that somehow they could bring in reinforcements. So far that hadn’t happened.

Turning to Corporal Metz, she asked the question she always dreaded hearing the answer to. “How many did we lose?”

“Thirty-two,” he replied, holding a jumble of dog tags in his hand.

Brenda looked around. The smoke was just beginning to clear. “Let’s bring the reserve companies in and begin a search of the area to make sure we didn’t miss any Simulins or their drones. With the Control Center back under control of the Originator AIs, it would now be safe to bring more Marines in. All the corridors and areas the Simulins had control of would be meticulously searched to make sure none had escaped.

-

Jeremy stepped into the spacious home on the outskirts of the towering city where he and Kelsey lived.

“Jeremy!” an excited young woman’s voice spoke as he shut the door behind him. The voice came from a gorgeous woman with dark hair and eyes.

“Ariel,” replied Jeremy, surprised to see her at the house. Ariel normally spent most of her time at the Command Center in the new headquarters building or on the new Avenger which was now complete. “What are you doing here?”

“Clarissa’s babysitting with Clair and Angela’s picking out clothes at the mall, and I wanted to come over and speak to you about some information I managed to find in the Dominator’s computer files.” Clair was Angela’s daughter and had been named after Clarissa.

“Where’s Kelsey?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” his wife called out. “You need to hear what Ariel has to say.”

Jeremy went over and sat down on a comfortable sofa. “What’s Kazak done now?”

“It’s not Kazak. I’ve been studying some of the files on the scientists who were on the Dominator when it left the dark matter Dyson Sphere. It seems for the first several years of their voyage one of them was in routine communication with another ship.”

“Another ship?” Jeremy had been under the impression that once the Dominator left the Dyson Sphere, there had been no further communication. “Was Kazak or Commander Zafron aware of this?”

“No, this information was in an obscure file dealing with a failed line of research.”

“What was this scientist communicating to this other ship?”

“Some of the weapons research as well as pertinent research on the pathogen.”

Jeremy looked confused. “How could this scientist use the ship’s communications without being detected by the command crew?”

“I checked his quarters on the Dominator. He had his own communication device hidden in his personal items. It was specifically designed so communications from it would not be detected by the ship.”

“Any clue as to why he was doing this?”

“I believe he was connected to the group who fled the Dyson Sphere that Kazak eventually went searching for. From what I’ve been able to gather, this communication went on for over forty years.”

Kelsey came walking into the room brushing her blonde hair away from her deep blue eyes. “I think we need to inform both Zafron and Kazak. They would have known this individual and might be able to tell us more about him.”

“Is there any clue as to where the missing group of Originators went?”

Ariel shook her head. “No, just some vague references to something call The Plan.”

“Tomorrow I’ll have Kazak, Zafron, and Rear Admiral Barnes come to my office to discuss this. Ariel, you need to be there as well since you found the information.”

“Let’s eat,” Kelsey said. “I’ve spent hours cooking, and I don’t want it to get cold.

Ariel looked confused. “That’s strange; you only started cooking thirty minutes ago, where did the extra time come from?”

Kelsey shook her head looking flustered. “I was only joking.”

Ariel nodded. “I understand. Jokes are still something that after all of these years Clarissa and I still struggle with.”

“You can stay if you want,” suggested Kelsey.

“No,” Ariel replied. “You and Jeremy need your private time. There may not be a lot of that soon.” With that the beautiful AI left.

“What did she mean about not having much private time?” Kelsey’s brow furrowed in a deep and concerned frown as she gazed at Jeremy.

Jeremy took a deep breath. He wasn’t surprised Ariel knew what had been discussed in the meeting. Very few secrets could be kept from the inquisitive AI. “We’re about to start getting involved in the search for the missing Originators and checking on the Anti-Life.”

“Then the new ships are ready?”

“Yes,” Jeremy answered. “We’re already beginning to assign crews.”

“Is the Distant Horizon leaving?”

Jeremy hesitated. Both Kelsey and Katie felt as if they were part of the exploration dreadnought’s crew. “Yes, Rear Admiral Barnes will be departing on her mission in a few more weeks. She’ll have ten exploration ships under her command as well as the Distant Horizon and the Dominator.”

Kelsey was silent for a long moment. “Jeremy, I know we’ve been discussing starting a family but I would really like to go on this mission with Rear Admiral Barnes. I suspect Katie will feel the same. This might be our last opportunity to do some exploring.”

“I thought you would say that,” Jeremy answered. “If that’s what you and Katie want to do then contact Rear Admiral Barnes and let her know.” That was one of the things Jeremy loved about Kelsey. She was never one to shirk her duty.

“First thing in the morning,” replied Kelsey smiling. “Now let’s eat; you’re going to need your energy for later.”

“For later,” Jeremy said, feigning confusion.

Kelsey grinned. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Jeremy smiled. Kelsey looked so radiant and alluring when she grinned like that. “Let’s eat then, I’m starving.” Even after all of this time together, he was still looking forward to later.

Chapter Four

Jeremy was back on board the Avenger. It had taken the Originators several months to build his new flagship. Instead of a battleship, he now had a heavy dreadnought. The new Avenger was 3,200 meters long, 450 meters across at its widest point, and 400 meters from the top of its heavily armored hull to the bottom. The ship was powered by three antimatter chambers and was equipped with an ion cannon, gravitonic cannons, antimatter projectors, and particle beam cannons. It had numerous power beam turrets scattered across its outer hull for defense. The ship’s sensors could reach out thirty light years in all directions. There were other enhanced weapon systems as well. Jeremy was going to miss the old Avenger and all he had been through on the ship. However, it hadn’t been practical to upgrade its technology. It was simpler to build a new and larger flagship.

Stepping into the Command Center, Jeremy had to pause. The new Command Center was far different from the one on his old flagship. A huge viewscreen now covered three walls and had additional capabilities. Eight consoles were in a semicircle just in front of the upraised command dais. Behind the dais was Tactical. It had been reduced to the point where Major Preston and two other officers could now control all of the ship’s weapons and energy shields.

“Admiral on deck!” called out Commander Kyla Malen.

Everyone stood at attention facing Jeremy.

“As you were,” Jeremy said with a huge smile. It was good to see all the familiar faces.

Ariel suddenly appeared in front of Jeremy looking flustered. “I didn’t know you were coming to the Avenger or I would be there.”

Ariel had a real AI body but could still use holograms of herself wherever holographic emitters had been installed. She had made sure the emitters were installed in every corridor and compartment on the new dreadnought as well as the Tower. The Tower was what they were calling the large government and military building in the center of the city.

“I only decided myself a few minutes ago,” replied Jeremy as he looked around the spacious Command Center. “If we’re leaving in a few weeks I want to make sure the ship’s ready. I just came on board to speak with Commander Malen about a few details.”

Jeremy had informed Commander Malen and the other admirals he would be leading the fleet going off to investigate the Anti-Life. There had been some strenuous objections, including some from Admiral Kalen and Governor Barnes about Jeremy putting himself in such danger. Admiral Kalen finally suggested Jeremy take more ships and another admiral. Jeremy relented and agreed to take Grayseth, who would command a second fleet of the new warships.

“She’s ready,” assured Commander Malen. “We’ve checked every system out hundreds of times, and everything works just as the Originator AIs said it would. I’ve been running drills every day to get the crew up to speed.”

Jeremy sat down in his command chair, feeling it instantly conform to his body. He didn’t know if he would ever get used to that. “I want you to take the ship out on a shakedown cruise in two days. Check out the weapon systems and everything else on this ship. I want us ready for combat.”

Commander Malen nodded. “I’m still not comfortable with the size of the crew. We’re depending on too much automation and the repair robots. I’m not sure what would happen if we were to suffer some serious damage.”

Jeremy was silent for a moment. He well understood Commander Malen’s concerns. The crew had been reduced from 2,500 to 450, and the Marine complement had been reduced from 400 down to 150. It was necessary as they had a limited number of trained crews that would have to be spread across hundreds, perhaps thousands of warships. On the other dreadnoughts, the crews would be reduced even further.

“Bartoll has promised to provide as many Originator AIs as we need to operate the ship.” Jeremy knew they were going to have to get used to the smaller crews and the AIs being on board in larger numbers.

“The repair robots can handle almost everything,” Ariel said, folding her arms across her chest. “I understand from what happened with Camlin on the Distant Horizon, the reluctance to place too many Originator AIs on board. However, I can assure you there will be no problem with any of them. With the arrival of the Originators, the AIs are now unified.”

“There are ten that have been working with the engineering crew,” Commander Malen said after a moment. “Those ten would be fine.”

Jeremy looked up at the huge viewscreen. It was similar to the one on the Dominator. It was going to take some getting used to. When the screen was on it would seem as if you’re floating in space surrounded by stars.

“Admiral, you’re wanted in the Command Center at the Tower,” reported Lieutenant Shayla Lantz.

Jeremy was surprised. His meeting with Kazak, Zafron, and Rear Admiral Barnes wasn’t for a couple of hours yet. “Tell them I’ll be there shortly.”

Jeremy took a moment to lean back in his command chair, thinking about everything that needed to be done. He wasn’t too concerned with the mission he was sending Rear Admiral Barnes on; there was nothing in the Triangulum Galaxy that could be a threat to her ships. However, the mission he was planning for the Avenger and Grayseth could easily be a different matter. So far, the Anti-Life had left all of the galaxies containing an Originator Dyson Sphere alone. That might change if they realized the status quo had altered with the awakening of the small group of Originators from the Dominator. There might also be a response to Jeremy’s fleet entering their space. There was no doubt in Jeremy’s mind that sometime in the next few months or years they would be involved in a full-blown intergalactic war with the fate of the known universe hanging in the balance. It was almost too frightening to comprehend.

-

An hour later Jeremy entered the Command Center deep inside the Tower. The room was massive, and the walls were covered with hundreds of viewscreens. Consoles with Originator AIs, Humans, Altons, and even a few Carethians covered the floor. From here every Originator Dyson Sphere could be monitored. Using the Originator’s advanced technology, there were now small intergalactic communication vortexes which remained open inside of each sphere so instant communication was possible. This was a development that had been made at the Communications and Transport Hub and had only recently been put to use. Jeremy knew that Angela had been heavily involved in this. Until the threat of the Anti-Life such communication was not deemed necessary.

“Admiral Strong,” said General Wesley, walking to where Jeremy was standing. “We have a situation developing in one of the Dyson Spheres.”

“What’s going on?” Jeremy wondered if the Anti-Life had finally made an appearance.

“Let’s go over to the control station for sphere 114.” They had given each sphere a number to better identify them. The Originators had their own ID system but it was much too complicated.

Jeremy followed the general over to the indicated control station where a Human and two Originator AIs were sitting.

“An hour ago the Simulins managed to jump a small fleet near the Dyson Sphere and launched over a thousand shuttles toward the surface. They must have had them attached to the hulls of their ships. The military AI responsible for the Dyson Sphere activated the defenses and destroyed the small fleet and 88 percent of the shuttles. That still left over one hundred which managed to land near an entry port the Simulins control. Long-range observations indicate the small shuttles were crammed full of additional Simulins, Conqueror Drones, and some type of equipment.”

Jeremy looked over at General Wesley. “This is a good example of why we need those new combat robots.”

General Wesley nodded. “Yes. If we had the combat robots, they could be used to repel boarders like what we have here. What concerns me is all the equipment the Simulins are unloading from those shuttles. It must have a purpose.”

Jeremy looked at one of the viewscreens showing Simulins and the Conqueror Drones carrying large crates into an open hatch. “We need a few crewed warships in each Dyson Sphere. They would make short work of attempts to land like this.” This was an oversight Jeremy would immediately correct. He would speak with Admiral Kalen and have him make the necessary arrangements. Enough Originator warships had been modified so that by placing a small crew on board with a military AI the danger of this type of an attack happening in the future would be eliminated.

General Wesley turned toward Jeremy. “We weren’t scheduled to retake the vortex Control Center on this Dyson Sphere for another few months. I think after this development the schedule needs to be moved up.”

“How soon can Major Wilde be ready?”

“A couple of days,” replied Wesley. “She lost thirty-two Marines in the last attack on a Control Center, with a number of others injured.”

“Jeremy looked at the viewscreen showing the Simulins on the surface of the Dyson Sphere. “I need to talk to Bartoll and a few others. It’s obvious the Simulins are up to something. We’ve only been using Major Wilde to retake the Simulin Control Centers since we didn’t want to risk them gaining control of one of the gold control keys. I’m going to suggest we set up another team.”

Wesley nodded his agreement. “I’ll get to working on it immediately. From the reinforcements the Simulins managed to land, the taking of this Control Center is going to be a bitch.”

-

After leaving the Command Center, Jeremy took a turbolift up to the floor his office was on. Stepping inside he saw Zafron, Kazak, Rear Admiral Barnes, Reesa, and Ariel.

“I’m sorry, Admiral,” Ariel said. “Reesa has been doing research into the crew of the Dominator, and I thought it would be useful to have her here.”

“That’s fine,” Jeremy said as he took his seat. “How is your research going, Reesa?”

“Fantastic,” Reesa replied, her eyes showing her excitement. She was an Alton with an appetite for adventure and discovery. “There’s so much to learn here on the Dyson Sphere. I’ve been really curious about the original crew of the Dominator as it consisted of some of the brightest minds from all of the Originator Dyson Spheres. A few of them even came from the Communications and Transport Hub.”

“There were scientists from all of the Shrieels,” confirmed Kazak.

“We hoped to find a cure for the pathogen,” Commander Zafron said with a sad look. “Many of them were friends, and only a few managed to survive.”

“That’s the reason we’re here today,” Jeremy said, looking at a folder on the desk in front of him. Ariel had sent it to him earlier that morning. “Commander Zafron, what do you know about a research scientist called Jankel who was on board your ship?”

Zafron looked puzzled and then answered. “Jankel was a brilliant geneticist though a little odd.”

“Why odd?” asked Jeremy.

“The man kept to himself,” answered Zafron. “In all the years he was on the Dominator he never made any close friends.”

“Are you aware that for forty years he kept in secret contact with a group of Originators on another ship that was trailing the Dominator?”

“What?” stammered Commander Zafron, looking confused. “That’s impossible!”

Jeremy’s eyes focused on Zafron. “We found a hidden file in the Dominator’s computer as well as communication equipment in his quarters.”

Commander Zafron looked over at Kazak, expecting an explanation.

Kazak’s eyes seemed to freeze for a moment and then his shoulders slumped. “I’ve confirmed it. Ariel showed me the file and I’ve just gone back searching the sensor records of the Dominator. There was a communications line on an obscure frequency, which did indeed link to a second ship. It seems Jankel was routinely transmitting data on certain fields of research being done on the Dominator. He was sending information on the pathogen and also some of the advanced weapons research. There are vague references to something called The Plan.”

Commander Zafron looked confused. “The Plan? I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“I have,” Kazak replied. “There are several references to something called The Plan in the files I recovered from the dark matter Shrieel when I returned to it. This involves the group of Originators that left the Shrieel. It’s possible the message I found was directed to the group responsible for the ship following the Dominator.”

Jeremy nodded. Kazak was referring to the message he had found that said ‘We’re safe and we’ll wait for you.’

“It makes sense,” said Commander Zafron. “If we’d found a cure Jankel would have transmitted it back to the other ship, which in turn would have given it to the other group of Originators.”

“That means the other ship must have known where these missing Originators were going,” said Jeremy. “If we hadn’t blown up the dark matter Dyson Sphere then we might have been able to determine who comprised this group and possibly where they went or even where this mysterious ship came from.”

“The destruction of the Dyson Sphere was necessary to stop the Simulins,” Kazak said. “I would have done the same.”

“I will speak to Bartoll about this,” Commander Zafron said. “If this exodus did occur I can’t help but believe it would have involved Originators from other Shrieels as well. Surely somewhere there is additional information.”

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes looked thoughtful. “Is there any clue as to the type of ship we’re talking about?”

“A Class One exploration vessel,” replied Commander Zafron. “It’s the only ship we have that is designed for such a prolonged mission and would be able to follow the Dominator. The crew would have been around eight to nine hundred depending on how many families went along. I’m also guessing they had stasis chambers on board as well.”

Reesa looked surprised. “So there might be a second ship out there in the Triangulum Galaxy with more Originators in stasis.”

Zafron’s eyes narrowed. “It’s possible. We survived our long sleep on board the Dominator; others could have on the second ship as well.”

Jeremy looked over at Kazak. “When you accessed the computer records on the Dyson Sphere did you find any reference to a ship of that class departing on any type of an exploratory mission?”

“Those times were very hectic,” replied Kazak, with a haunted look in his eyes. “The pathogen was killing millions of Originators daily across all the Shrieels. Communication was growing sporadic and the sharing of information less and less. A number of Shrieels launched missions seeking help finding a cure. Most of those never returned as their crews succumbed to the pathogen.”

“An exploration ship,” said Kathryn thoughtfully. “I will need the specs on such a vessel. I’ll have the ships in my fleet scan for it in our search.”

“The ship will most likely not be in space controlled by the Simulins,” Ariel informed them. “There are no signs of any technological advances by the Simulins based on Originator technology. If the ship still exists, it’s most likely in the outlying regions of the Triangulum Galaxy.”

“That’s still a big section of space to search,” pointed out Kathryn. “It may take years.”

“Our ship’s hulls are composed of a special alloy,” Commander Zafron said. “If that alloy is detected in your searches it will either be the ship or where the missing Originators are hidden.”

“All ten of the new exploration ships, as well as the Distant Horizon and the Dominator, have been equipped with special sensors which can detect that alloy as well as several other metals used exclusively by the Originators,” Ariel informed Rear Admiral Barnes.

“That will make our search easier, but it’s still going to take awhile to cover the sections of the Triangulum Galaxy the Simulins never made it into.”

“I’ll speak to Bartoll about scanning the records of the other Shrieels during the time period of the pathogen to see if there are any records indicating where this ship might have come from and who was responsible for it,” said Commander Zafron. “As Kazak said, those times were hectic even for my race. The records may not have been kept.”

“At least this strange ship gives us other options for finding the missing Originators,” said Kathryn. “I’ve finished choosing the crews for the ships, and we’ll be ready to depart in two weeks. We’re placing twenty Originator AIs on each exploration ship to help acclimate the crews to the new technology. Most have been working on the vessels, which helps.”

Jeremy leaned back in his chair looking at the others. “It looks as if we all have our jobs cut out for us. We need to find these missing Originators and also discover what the Anti-Life are up to.”

Jeremy didn’t know who had the toughest job. Kathryn had the dubious task of finding the missing originators who had remained hidden for several million years. He had to face the Originator’s greatest enemy to find out just how big a threat they were. Both missions were essential, and neither could afford to fail.

-

Kelsey and Katie were on board the Distant Horizon. Both had decided to go on the mission to the Triangulum Galaxy. There was a good chance this would be their last opportunity to be on the exploration dreadnought if they decided to go ahead and start their families. Rear Admiral Barnes suggested they should both go on board and familiarize themselves with the ship. Each had served on board the Dominator so it shouldn’t take long for them to get up to speed on the changes to the Distant Horizon. They had also been on the Distant Horizon during the harrowing battle at Gaia.

Stepping inside the Command Center, their eyes lit up upon seeing Andram and Mikow.

“Are both of you going?” asked Kelsey.

“Yes,” Andram replied. “I’ll be serving as science officer.”

“It looks as if Katie and I will be responsible for the ship’s computer systems,” added Mikow.

“As will I,” said Clarissa, stepping around a console. Clarissa was a young petite blonde and was also an AI. “I’m so pleased both of you are coming. It’s like having our old crew back once more.”

“Are you going to be able to tear yourself away from Clair?” asked Katie. “Every time I stop by to see Angela, you’re there.”

“Clair’s training has started,” Clarissa said defensively. “I see her several times a day for a brief period as her attention span is still very short.”

Kelsey eyed Clarissa for a moment. “Does Angela know how often you’re coming over?” Clarissa had an artificial body but she could still use the holo-emitters to appear almost anywhere. There were holo-emitters in Clair’s nursery.

“Yes,” Clarissa replied. “Angela agreed to allow these shorter visits.”

Katie let out a deep sigh. “I can only imagine what you’re teaching her. Remember Clarissa, she’s only a one-year-old.”

“A very bright one,” Clarissa replied smugly. “You would be surprised at what she has already learned.”

“Who’s going to be in charge of her training while we’re gone?” asked Katie.

“I’ve set up an automatic program which will activate several times a day and before you ask, yes, Angela is aware of it and knows how to turn it off.”

Kelsey looked over at Katie. “Well, that’s an improvement.” Both Katie and Kelsey were well aware of how their two AI friends could be impulsive and overprotective at times. They both still had a lack of understanding where privacy was concerned. Both AIs had a habit of popping in at awkward moments.

Katie took a deep breath. “Well let’s get started and see what’s been changed.”

“Not as much as you would think,” Clarissa said excitedly. “The main thing that’s been done is an update to the weapon systems. Most of the consoles are still the same as the last time you were on board. There have been a few refinements, and I can show you what they are.”

Listening to Clarissa, it was hard to imagine she was actually hundreds of years old. She still acted in many ways like a teenager or young woman. At least in her new AI body her figure was more reasonable. There had been a time as a hologram when she was constantly adjusting her figure to see what type of reaction she could get out of the male crewmembers. Several times Katie had to tell Clarissa to tone things down a bit.

-

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes was sitting in her office inside the Tower. All of the admirals had offices in the huge building. She was currently reviewing her mission plan. She had ten exploration dreadnoughts plus the Distant Horizon and the Dominator. All had the same capabilities and could handle any threat that might pop up. The Simulins had pretty much been disarmed throughout the Triangulum Galaxy. Admiral Jackson was still at Ornellia with a number of fleet units. He was involved in clearing out the Conqueror Drones from all of the Ornellian worlds and transporting the surviving Ornellians to Ornellia where they could rebuild their civilization. Kathryn had already decided to make Ornellia her base of operations.

There was also the subject of the Ornellian evacuation fleet. By now they were well on their way out of the galaxy and to the star cluster they were going to make their new home. Perhaps it was time to pay that fleet a visit and see if they wanted to return to Ornellia instead. Using Originator technology, it wouldn’t be that difficult to get the fleet back to Ornellia. There was currently an Accelerator Ring in orbit above the planet, which linked the Communications and Transport Hub with Ornellia making it possible to travel between the two very quickly.

“So it’s back to Ornellia,” said Commander Anne Grissim.

“Yes,” answered Kathryn. “If we use the Accelerator Ring we can be there in two weeks. We’ll spend a few days in orbit and then begin our mission. We have twelve ships. We’ll divide up into four groups of three. That should also give us sufficient firepower in case we stumble across a Simulin fleet.” Kathryn didn’t expect that to happen, but there was always the chance a few Simulin warships had escaped.

“Any idea on where to start our search?”

“In the area we found the Dominator,” replied Kathryn, cocking her eyebrow. “I doubt if we’ll find what we’re looking for there as Kazak spent thousands of years traveling around the galaxy. I’ve already accessed the files on the Dominator detailing the areas Kazak searched. It’s amazing the area he managed to cover.”

“This is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack,” muttered Anne.

“A very big haystack,” replied Kathryn. “At least with the new sensors being able to scan for that special alloy and the other exotic metals the Originators use in their ships it will make it easier.”

“The ship’s ready and all the supplies are on board. At least we can use Ornellia as a base to work from.”

“I’m sure Admiral Jackson will be glad to see us,” said Kathryn. It would also be interesting to see the progress being made on the planet. Kathryn would like to go down to the surface if there was time.

“I have a few more items to take care of before we depart,” Anne said, standing up. “It may be awhile before we get back here.”

Kathryn watched Anne leave, before they left she wanted to pay a visit to her father. It was nice to be able to talk to him again. In the last eight months they had managed to spend a lot of time together; much more than in the past. Her father being here made living in the Dyson Sphere feel more like home.

Chapter Five

Nest Lord Creesth stared at the tactical display, watching the growing number of red threat icons. The Shari were massively reinforcing the fleet that had been badgering him since the battle in the Jalab System. The other Ralift fleets were reporting increased resistance to their advances as well. It was obvious the Shari were trying to keep the Ralift fleets away from their core systems.

“These harassing tactics by the Shari are becoming tiresome,” said Second Nest Lord Alboin as he gazed at the tactical display.

There had been numerous small battles, with the Shari jumping in, firing off a few missiles and energy beams, and then jumping back out again. This was by far the largest fleet they had put in front of the Ralift yet. For once it seemed the Shari might be attempting to force a major battle in an effort to turn back the Ralift. However, the Ralift still had a massive advantage in sheer numbers.

Creesth watched the tactical display as the Shari fleet formed up into its battle formation. They were creating a broad front ten lines high and over one hundred ships long with two hundred more ships held back in reserve. It was a formation difficult to englobe and allowed the Shari to turn and flee at a moment’s notice if the battle wasn’t going their way.

“I tire of this delaying tactic,” Creesth said, turning toward Albion. While this time it appeared the Shari were seeking a major engagement, it would not surprise him if they turned and fled after briefly engaging his fleet. “Order Third Nest Lord Ovath to jump his portion of the fleet directly behind the Shari formation as we discussed earlier.” Creesth had come up with a plan to inflict serious damage to the Shari fleet. “He’s to jump within weapons range and engage immediately. Perhaps the two of us can pin the Shari fleet between our two forces and annihilate a large number of their ships before they can flee.”

“I will send the order, Nest Lord.”

“All ships prepare to engage,” Creesth sent over the ship-to-ship comm.

He knew by ordering Third Nest Lord Ovath to jump within weapons range it would briefly make his ships vulnerable to attack until their shields stabilized after exiting the vortexes. However, it was a risk Creesth was willing to take if he could cripple this Shari fleet and put an end to its troublesome delaying tactics. At the worst, Third Nest Lord Ovath’s ships would only be vulnerable for a few seconds and the ships in the rear of the Shari fleet were only support cruisers.

-

The Command AI floated closer to the tactical display. The Shari had finally put a major fleet in front of the Ralift. The AI was curious as to the Ralift’s response. So far Nest Lord Creesth had faced little opposition.

“Twelve hundred Shari vessels,” reported the AI at the sensors. Four hundred and twelve battlecruisers and 802 support cruisers.”

“A substantial fleet,” said the AI in front of the tactical station. “The Ralift still have a decisive advantage in ships and firepower.”

“Our other fleets are also reporting increased resistance,” reported the AI in front of Communications. “More Shari ships are arriving every hour.”

“We must destroy these fleets,” the Command AI said, the basketball-sized globe of energy which served as a head glowing even brighter. “If we can, then the way to their core systems will be open. We cannot allow these Shari fleets to continue to be reinforced. It is essential we reach the Dyson Sphere as soon as possible and take possession of it.” The Command AI spent a moment studying the tactical display. “We will send sixty of our battle spheres into battle. They will jump above and below the Shari formation at the same time the Ralift move into engagement range. We will end this resistance by the Shari now. It is time we demonstrate our power.”

-

High Lord Droll stared intently at the tactical display. He had set a trap for the Ralift. He had one thousand ships in an offensive formation with two hundred more in reserve directly behind his fleet. The two hundred in reserve were using special stealth technology, which made their battlecruisers appear as support cruisers. It was Droll’s hope the Ralift would jump a fleet directly behind his in an effort to pin his fleet between the two forces. Already the trailing ships had adjusted their course so they could attack any ships that appeared behind the fleet. For the first time Droll felt he had the ships needed to inflict substantial damage to the Ralift fleet, perhaps enough to force it to withdraw or at least slow its advance toward the core systems.

“Ralift fleet is nearly in engagement range,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “All ships are ready for battle.”

“Inform Lower Lord Camval to standby,” ordered Droll. Camval was the Lower Lord in charge of the two hundred battlecruisers trailing the fleet. “If the Ralift jumps a fleet behind us, it’s essential he strike them with subspace missiles as they’re emerging from the vortexes.” It would be a brief few moments of opportunity, but one that could inflict major losses on the Ralift. The few seconds it took to raise their shields and power their weapons would allow Camval to destroy the Ralift vessels. It was a daring plan and one Droll needed to work.

“Message sent,” reported the communications officer. “Lower Lord Camval is prepared to launch his missiles as soon as any spatial vortexes are detected.”

“Part of the Ralift fleet is entering hyperspace!” called out the sensor officer.

High Lord Droll shifted his eyes from the tactical display to the viewscreens, which were focused on the space directly behind the fleet. He leaned forward, waiting expectantly

Almost instantly alarms began sounding as glowing spatial vortexes started opening exactly where he had hoped the Ralift would attack. From each vortex a Ralift ship appeared. He felt his pulse race and his heart beating faster. The Ralift had fallen into his trap.

“Lower Lord Camval is launching sublight missiles,” reported Malben excitedly. The sublight missiles were very fast and only took a few seconds to reach their targets. “The Ralift won’t be able to raise their shields in time!”

On the viewscreens in the Command Center, bright flashes of light began to appear. They were forty-megaton explosions erupting nearly as soon as the Ralift ships exited their vortexes. The Ralift had made a serious tactical error, and High Lord Droll was going to make they pay for it. For once he had the Ralift exactly where he wanted them.

“It worked!” cried out Lower Lord Malben. “I’m getting reports of dozens of destroyed Ralift ships. Numerous others have been damaged.”

“Main Ralift fleet is in engagement range,” reported the sensor officer.

“All ships fire!” ordered High Lord Droll, switching his attention back to the enemy fleet in front of him. He would inflict as much damage as possible and then jump away to safety.

-

In space, the last spatial vortex faded away leaving a shattered Ralift fleet behind the Shari formation. Shari forty-megaton missiles exploded with increasing regularity, but now Ralift energy screens were coming up and there was some return weapons fire. Dozens of ships had been destroyed, and numerous others had suffered major damage and now lay vulnerable. There were no energy shields protecting them and some shields were so weak as to provide little defense against inbound weapons fire.

The Shari were focusing on the ships with obvious damage. A Ralift battlecruiser exploded in a giant fireball, which quickly dissipated. The only remains were twisted and melted metal. A pair of Shari energy beams drilled deep inside a Ralift armed escort, cutting it in two. All across the broken Ralift formation damaged ships were quickly being eliminated as the two hundred Shari battlecruisers turned and hammered the Ralift ships with forty-megaton missiles and powerful energy beams. The Shari fleet under the command of Lower Lord Camval began moving in for the kill.

-

Nest Lord Creesth looked in anger at the viewscreens as Third Nest Lord Ovath’s ships died. The Shari had set a trap and he had fallen for it. Bright flashes of light indicated dying Ralift warships. His plan to badly damage this Shari fleet was in danger of coming apart.

“Those trailing ships are all battlecruisers,” reported Second Nest Lord Alboin. “They were running their power systems at a low level and using some type of stealth field to disguise their ships. Third Nest Lord Ovath reports he has lost nearly half of his fleet. Should I order him to withdraw?”

“Nest Lord, some of the AI ships are jumping,” reported the sensor officer.

Second Nest Lord Alboin’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are they doing?” The AIs hadn’t involved themselves in any battle before.

On the tactical display, AI battle spheres began appearing below and above the Shari formation. Almost immediately enormous explosions began to wrack the Shari fleet as the AIs fired their powerful energy cannons. The beams were cutting directly through the Shari energy shields as if they were nonexistent.

“They’re attacking!” said Creesth in elation. “All ships, push forward, it is time to destroy the Shari; our masters are leading the attack!”

-

The Ralift fleet surged forward, weapons blazing and missiles launching in sprint mode. In the Shari fleet formation, ships began to die. Two Shari battlecruisers vanished as sixty-megaton missiles blew them apart. Energy beams darted through already overtaxed shields, blasting out huge sections of ship hulls opening them up to space. On numerous Shari vessels, klaxons sounded as crews rushed to repair the damage or escape compromised compartments. More than one Shari crewmember was sucked out into space to die instantly in the heartless vacuum.

-

High Lord Droll felt the Dark Victory shake violently. Klaxons were sounding, and red lights were appearing on the damage control board.

“Report!”

“We have four compartments open to space from an energy beam strike,” reported the damage control officer. “Bulkheads have sealed off the area and fires are under control.”

Droll looked up at a viewscreen just in time to see a support cruiser being torn apart by internal explosions. “What’s the damage to the fleet?”

“Not good,” replied Lower Lord Malben. “We’ve lost seventy-three battlecruisers and one hundred and seventeen escort cruisers, mostly from the AI battle spheres. Their energy beams are penetrating our shields.”

Droll gazed angrily at a viewscreen showing one of the hated AI ships. The fifteen-hundred-meter behemoth’s energy screen was lit up from the missiles detonating against it. Droll knew they had nothing that could destroy the AI vessels. Only the Humans and Altons had ever managed to destroy one of these monstrosities. He quickly activated the ship-to-ship comm so he could speak with the other commanders of his fleet. “The AIs have entered the battle. We have no choice but to withdraw. All ships are to jump to the Challis System immediately. We’ll regroup there.”

High Lord Droll looked over at Lower Lord Malben. “Jump us out. This battle is lost.” It was disappointing. He had hoped to hand the Ralift a sizable defeat. Now, with the involvement of the AIs, that was not possible. If he stayed he could easily lose his entire fleet. He was gravely concerned for the future of the empire now that the AIs had taken an active role.

-

In space, countless spatial vortexes opened as the Shari fleet fled. While they were a match for the Ralift ships, the AI vessels were another matter entirely. Unless a way could be found to stop the AI vessels, the Ralift fleets would carve a path of destruction through the highly populated core systems of the Ralift. Billions would die.

-

Near the border of Shari space, Admiral Race Tolsen studied his latest orders from Fleet Admiral Nagumo. The Shari had requested help from the Federation in dealing with the attack by the Ralift and the AIs. The Shari had stated it was their belief the purpose of the attack on their empire was to take possession of the Dyson Sphere.

Race had stopped by the Alton’s current homeworld and picked up his dreadnoughts. On his last mission, the Altons had furnished twenty of the massive vessels. Now he had forty-one of them. Not only that, they were much stronger after having been updated with some Originator technology. He had been amazed at how quickly the Altons had acquired the new tech. Ambassador Tureen had confided the information in a private meeting on the WarHawk.

-

Ambassador Tureen sat in front of Admiral Tolsen’s desk with a gentle smile on his face. The Alton Ambassador was humanoid in shape and nearly seven feet tall. His skin was very pale with a slight blue tinge and the hair on top of his head, while thick, was a solid white. His eyes, nose, and ears were very similar to a Humans but the eyebrows were very thin; almost nonexistent.

“You should know I met with Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes while she was at Ceres,” Tureen began.

Admiral Tolsen’s eyes widened in surprise. The only person he knew who had seen and talked to Rear Admiral Barnes was former Fleet Admiral Streth. “I wasn’t aware of that.”

“Only a few know,” replied Tureen. “Fleet Admiral Nagumo, President Malle, and one or two others in your Federation. A number of my people know as we sent a large number of volunteers to help Fleet Admiral Strong in his war against the Anti-Life.”

“I’m still confused about that,” confided Tolsen. “If I understand it correctly, the Anti-Life are also Originators.”

“Originators who have taken a dark path,” answered Tureen. “A path that endangers our very universe. Nearly two million Altons volunteered to go and take part in this great conflict.”

Tolsen leaned back in his chair, feeling astonished. He had only thought a few thousand Altons had gone at the most. “This makes our conflict with the Ralift and the surviving AIs seem almost minuscule in the grand scheme of things.”

“I don’t believe we need to fear the AIs or the Ralift if they attempt to take control of the Dyson Sphere. It has defenses and beings in charge now who will make certain it’s an impossibility. Rear Admiral Barnes indicated the Dyson Spheres are now preparing for war.”

“Then why not let the Ralift fleets through to the Dyson Sphere and allow it to destroy them?”

“It’s the carnage they will cause on their way to the Dyson Sphere we fear. We have an opportunity to bring the Shari over to our side. Already they have on their own begun to relax many of the restrictions on their slave worlds. Together, we could free all the worlds in our galaxy still under the yoke of the AIs and their two remaining subordinate empires.”

Admiral Tolsen shook his head. “I wish Rear Admiral Barnes had left us some of the tech of the Originators they’re involved with. It would have been of great use in what’s ahead of us.”

Tureen’s smile grew broader. “They did.”

“What!” exclaimed Tolsen, his eyes widening. “What did they leave?”

“It’s on the forty dreadnoughts and the WarHawk,” Tureen answered. “They left the designs for an advanced fusion power plant, two times more powerful than the Fusion Five’s we’re using now on our warships. In addition, they gave us the plans for a more powerful energy screen. Both of these upgrades are on all forty-one of the dreadnoughts.”

“Anything else?” asked Race, thinking about what the added energy might mean to the ship’s weapons. They had been powerful before, now they would be nearly unstoppable.

“Yes, they also left behind the plans for a new sensor system capable of reaching out nearly thirty light years in all directions as well as a faster method to communicate through hyperspace.”

“Once the system is up and activated we will be able to communicate with any system in the Federation or former Hocklyn space in a matter of hours instead of days. Alton ships have been busy for several weeks now, placing new communication buoys for this system across the areas of space we’re currently operating in. We already have a secure line running from the Shari homeworld to here.”

Race nodded in understanding. “That explains how Fleet Admiral Nagumo knew so quickly what’s occurring in Shari space.”

“That’s correct, Admiral,” Tureen replied. “We’ve been furnishing him with the information. The communication lines from here to Earth and New Tellus should be finished in the next two days.”

“What are the restrictions the Shari have placed on my fleet?” Race was certain there had to be some. He couldn’t imagine them allowing Federation and Alton warships to operate without close monitoring in their space.

“None,” Tureen answered. “The Shari are desperate. They have no way to destroy an AI battle sphere. Without our assistance, they are in danger of losing a number of their core systems and billions of lives. If we’re successful in destroying the surviving AIs and turning back the Ralift fleets, the Shari are willing to initiate normal diplomatic relations with the Federation as well as some very lucrative trade agreements. They will also aid us in future conflicts against the Ralift and the Borzon.”

“Will there be any Shari vessels with my fleet?”

“No, you have full autonomy in how your fleet operates in Shari space. All they ask is that you assist whatever Shari fleets are in the sector you’re operating in. They have already suffered some major losses both in ships and in worlds. The invading Ralift fleets and AIs have the capability to destroy the Shari Empire.”

-

That’s where the meeting ended with Race immediately taking command of the forty-one dreadnoughts. The WarHawk was considered to be a battle dreadnought as it was the largest of the forty-one ships. It was three thousand meters in length and six hundred meters in diameter. The forward section was a globe eight hundred meters in diameter and the engines in the stern flared out to seven hundred meters. The ship’s primary weapons were two particle beam cannons and four power beams mounted on the bow. There were secondary weapons scattered across the hull as well as forty-eight missile tubes for Devastator three missiles and the more deadly sublight antimatter missiles. The other dreadnoughts were two thousand meters in length and only slightly less powerful than the WarHawk.

After leaving the Alton home world, the fleets under Race’s command had set out immediately for Shari space. That’s where they were now sitting, just on the border.

“This feels strange,” said Commander Madelyn Arnett as she gazed at an auxiliary viewscreen showing a star field. Hundreds of unwinking stars were visible. “Last time we were here we were fighting the Shari. Now we’re here to save them.”

“Times change,” commented Colonel Brice Cowel, the executive officer. “That’s how war is.”

Race nodded, recognizing Brice was taking a pragmatic view. He looked up at the large viewscreen showing numerous Federation warships. After much consideration, Fleet Admiral Nagumo had decided the Federation would fight a holding action against the Borzon until the Ralift had been dealt with. As a result both his sister, Rear Admiral Massie Tolsen, and Fleet Admiral Baasil had brought their fleets. Massie’s fleet now consisted of twenty battlecarriers, ten battlecruisers, and forty-six strikecruisers. Alton Fleet Admiral Baasil had seventy Alton battleships and one hundred and forty Alton battlecruisers. Alton Admiral Lankell had one hundred and twenty battleships under his command. In addition, Admiral Stoddard had twelve battleships, forty battlecruisers, and seventy strikecruisers. In Race’s own fleet, he had the forty-one Alton-built dreadnoughts, forty-four battleships, one hundred and ten battlecruisers, and two hundred and twenty strikecruisers. There were also forty fleet supply and six repair ships to support the fleet. It was a massive fleet by any measure, but the Ralift fleet they were going to face was even larger.

“How far into Shari space are we going?” asked Commander Arnett.

“To the far side of their core systems,” Race replied. Fleet Admiral Nagumo and he had spent a lot of time discussing where the best location to meet the Ralift and AIs would be. The only concern was that this put them within two thousand light years of the Dyson Sphere. While Race was now confident the Originator AIs and the few Humans on the sphere would destroy any Ralift or AI ship that approached, he would prefer not to take the risk.

“Will there be a Shari fleet going into battle with us?” asked Brice. “It would be nice to know who their commander is.”

“There is a High Lord currently in charge of the main fleet who has been fighting a delaying action against the Ralift. His name is High Lord Droll and from what I’ve been able to learn he is an able Fleet Commander. He hasn’t hesitated to engage the advancing Ralift and AIs on a number of occasions. He’s been careful not to risk major losses though I understand in the last battle the AIs became involved and he lost a number of warships before he could disengage and jump to safety.”

“The AIs have a tendency for doing that,” Commander Arnett said. She had fought against them numerous times in the war with the Hocklyns.

“We will proceed to the Marlode System where we will rendezvous with High Lord Droll. From there we will make plans to engage the advancing Ralift fleet.”

“There are several other Ralift fleets currently sweeping through Shari space,” commented Colonel Brice. “What if they all form up into one large fleet?”

Race let out a deep breath. This was one of his major concerns. If the Ralift were intent on taking the Dyson Sphere, it only made sense that at some point all their invading fleets would join together.

“We’ll deal with that possibility after we join up with High Lord Droll. He’s supposed to make available to us all his recorded data on engagements against the Ralift and the AIs.”

“We have one hell of a fleet,” said Commander Arnett, gazing at several battlecruisers on the large viewscreen. “There are over nine hundred ships we’ll be taking into battle. While that seems like a lot, we could easily be facing over ten thousand Ralift warships.”

“Our job is to take the AIs out,” Race replied. “If we can do that, then the Shari can handle the rest of the Ralift fleet.” It would be a huge task for the Shari, but they had a large fleet which could be brought to bear. Many of those ships were currently protecting the Shari core worlds in case a Ralift fleet or AI battle sphere showed up.

“We have the next jump plotted,” reported Colonel Brice. “We can jump as soon as you’re ready.”

“No point in delaying,” said Race. The sooner he could get his fleet to where the AIs and the Ralift were, the more ships the Shari would have to aid in the battle. “Let’s jump the fleet into Shari space.”

Race leaned back in his command chair. Once again he was about to lead a major Federation and Alton fleet into battle. He had come to accept this was his destiny in life. It seemed as soon as one threat was dealt with it was only a short time before another popped up.

-

In front of the WarHawk, a glowing spatial vortex appeared. Without hesitation the navigation and helm officer took the mighty battle dreadnought into the heart of the swirling vortex. A few minutes later the last ship had made the jump and the vortexes faded away to nothing, leaving no evidence of the large fleet which had been in the system.

-

Race gazed at the shifting colors of purple raging across the massive viewscreen in the Command Center. Once again he was off to war.

Chapter Six

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes watched anxiously as the three-thousand-meter-long Distant Horizon exited the large space doors of the shipyard and into space. On the main viewscreen, numerous structures became visible. All around the area of space where the Originator Communications and Transport hub was located were hundreds of titanic structures. Many of them were massive ship construction yards and others giant manufacturing facilities that processed the raw material the Originators and their AIs needed to maintain the megastructures. There were also research centers where the AIs worked nonstop advancing the science of their creators. The largest constructions were the four Dyson Spheres capable of housing trillions of beings.

“All ships have exited the construction yard and are prepared to enter the Accelerator Ring,” reported Commander Grissim. “The Dominator has taken up its position on our left flank.”

Kathryn nodded. Kazak and Commander Zafron had felt it important for them to be part of this mission just in case the missing Originators were located. They also had a large supply of the antidote to the Originator pathogen on board; all the ships did. They had no idea how many Originators they were searching for. It could be a few thousand to hundreds of thousands. Bartoll and Zafron were hoping it was the latter.

The large viewscreen shifted to show a view of the ring. It was one hundred and ten kilometers across and capable of sending an entire fleet into hyperspace at speeds that made intergalactic travel possible. The Accelerator Ring could send a fleet to any of the galaxies containing a Dyson Sphere in a relatively short time, even faster than the intergalactic vortexes on the Dyson Spheres themselves. It was also capable of sending ships to galaxies where there were no Dyson Spheres though in that case, the ship would have to use its own intergalactic hyperdrive to get back to the nearest Dyson Sphere. That could take anywhere from a few weeks to months.

“Course plotted,” reported Kelsey as she sent the coordinates over to the Helm.

“I’m prepared to take the ship into the ring,” added Sible, who was an Originator AI. Sible was now a full member of the crew as she loved flying the giant exploration dreadnought.

“All systems functioning within set parameters,” reported Clarissa with an excited smile. “This trip is going to be an adventure!”

“Only if we find the lost Originators,” replied Camlin, who was standing close to Rear Admiral Barnes. “If we do it will make a huge difference in our war with the Anti-Life.”

“Activate the ring,” ordered Kathryn. She was ready to get the mission started. She was also curious to see everything Admiral Jackson had accomplished at Ornellia.

“Activating the Accelerator Ring,” said Sible as she pressed several icons on her screen. Then she seemed to concentrate as she linked her mind to the ship’s helm and hyperdrive controls. Sible had a neural implant, which allowed her to link with any system on the ship. “Preparing to activate hyperspace drives.” The use of the drives was necessary to keep the original speed boost from the Accelerator Ring intact.

In front of the Distant Horizon and the other eleven ships in the small fleet a massive glowing spatial vortex appeared. It was dark blue and seemed to shimmer and swirl as if beckoning the ships to come forward. Sible was controlling the gravity drives on all twelve ships, and with a simple mental command the ships accelerated rapidly and entered the vortex. Gravity was one of the prime forces in the universe and present in every corner. The drive simply reversed polarity to either propel the ship or slow it down. It was capable of reaching a speed nearly half that of light. As the fleet entered the vortex, Sible activated the hyperdrives.

Kathryn felt a sudden twinge, her eyes blurred, and then everything returned to normal. Her eyes shifted to the large viewscreen and the raging colors of deep purple flowing across the screen. It was almost as if they were at war.

“I am pleased to report our successful entry into the intergalactic vortex. We will arrive in the Triangulum Galaxy in two weeks, one day, and seventeen hours,” reported Sible, looking pleased with herself. This was the same announcement she had made the last time they had traveled to the Triangulum Galaxy.

“Turn the screen off,” ordered Kathryn. The raging colors of purple were causing her stomach to twitch. “We don’t need to stare at that for two weeks.”

Andram reached forward on his science console and deactivated the screen.

“I can adjust the screen to show star patterns,” Sible said, looking back at the admiral.

“How?” asked Kathryn. Sible hadn’t mentioned this the last time. Anything would be better than what was on it before.

“It’s actually quite simple. We know the coordinates of all the nearby galaxies and rogue star clusters. I can correlate our travel through hyperspace and the change in their coordinates compared to our rate of travel. I can then place that on the viewscreen and you can watch the galaxies as we fly past them.”

“Do it,’ ordered Kathryn. She was curious as to what the screen would show.

Almost instantly a star field appeared. Thousands of distant white dots filled the screen. Kathryn knew these were not stars but actual galaxies. Due to the speed of the ship, a few of them seemed to be slowly moving. One galaxy, which was closer than the others, actually showed a spiral shape.

“That’s much better,” said Kathryn, pleased with the change to the screen. It also made her realize just how small the Distant Horizon was in the vastness of intergalactic space.

“How about this?” said Andram, reaching forward and making some adjustments on his science console.

Almost instantly, the screen was filled with color. Reds, blues, yellow, white, and others.

“I activated some filters on the screen. You’re now seeing those galaxies as they would look if the vacuum of space was transmitting the actual colors of the stars and nebula.”

Kathryn gazed in awe at the screen. It was as if the universe had come alive with color.

-

Jeremy was inside his office standing at the large window looking out over the city the Originators had built for the slightly over four million Humans who now called it home. The Humans, Altons, and Carethians had each been given a full habitation square. All three bordered one another and thanks to the transportation the Originators had made available, going from one city to another was relatively quick and easy.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow,” said Kevin, who was standing next to Jeremy. “We’ve got a long ways to go.”

“Kelsey and Katie left a few minutes ago,” Jeremy replied. He and Kelsey had spent a long night of lovemaking since it would be awhile before they saw one another again. Jeremy suspected Katie and Kevin had done the same considering how he kept yawning as if he had little sleep.

“Angela and I watched on one of the screens down in the Communications Center,” replied Kevin. “I hope they find the missing Originators.”

“They have eleven exploration ships, plus the Dominator,” Jeremy replied as he watched numerous vehicles moving about on the city streets below. “At least this time we don’t have to fear for their safety.” The Simulins in the Triangulum Galaxy had been disarmed by the Dominator and a fleet of AI warspheres immediately after the cataclysmic battle above Gaia.

“Admiral Jackson is at Ornellia with a sizable fleet,” remarked Kevin. “At least they have a safe harbor if they need one.”

“Jeremy,” a soft female voice spoke from behind them.

Turning, Jeremy saw Ariel dressed in her normal dark blue fleet uniform. She was using one of her holograms as she was on the Avenger making final preparations for departure.

“Bartoll and the others are waiting for you in the main conference room.”

“Thanks, Ariel,” answered Jeremy. He wanted to have one final meeting with the Originators before setting out to investigate the Anti-Life.

“I wonder what we’re getting into?” said Kevin, his eyes narrowing slightly. “We have no idea how powerful the Anti-Life are or how big a threat they are to the Originator Dyson Spheres.”

Jeremy nodded. “We’re about to find out. That’s the purpose of this meeting. Let’s go meet Bartoll and the others and see what else we can find out about the Anti-Life.”

-

A few minutes later, Jeremy and Kevin entered the briefing room where Bartoll and several other Originators were waiting. There were also a few of their AIs in the room. They had awakened all twenty-three Originator adults and over the last few months finished awakening the two hundred and forty-seven children. The children ranged in age from ten to early adult.

“Greetings,” Bartoll said as he stood up. Bartoll was the senior surviving Originator scientist and as a result had been elected to be their leader. “I saw the Distant Horizon and her fleet depart a short while ago.”

“Yes,” replied Jeremy as he and Kevin took their seats and everyone sat down. “Our fleet will be departing tomorrow.”

Dazon Fells, an Originator scientist who specialized in the Anti-Life, stood up. “I suspect you want as much information on the Anti-Life as possible.”

“Yes,” answered Jeremy. “We know a lot of the basic facts but I would like to know exactly what we’ll be facing when we enter their space.”

“You already know due to our extremely long life spans that as an Originator becomes older our emotions become less pronounced. While we still feel emotions, they are not a driving force like they were in our younger years. This has aided immensely in our research as it causes fewer distractions. The Anti-Life on the other hand have used mechanical nanites to modify their bodies so certain emotions have been vastly reduced and others greatly augmented. The emotions of love, empathy, and compassion have been nearly eliminated. They have turned into a more logical race but are still driven by what we call the darker emotions. They crave power and dominance over all others. They believe themselves to be superior as the use of mechanical nanites has given them superhuman strength and lives even longer than our own. There is much infighting amongst the Anti-Life as the weak are eliminated, and only the strong remain. Their leaders are the most powerful and ruthless of their race.”

“How did you defeat them in the first place?” asked Kevin.

“It was a long and brutal war,” answered Nomar Krill. “We were fortunate to have vaster resources than the Anti-Life. Even so, we lost tens of thousands of warships and their crews. It took us decades to push the Anti-Life back to their home galaxy and then place the hyperspace interference stations around it. Even as we were emplacing the stations vast Anti-Life fleets resisted us. In the end, we managed to activate the interference field and bring the war to a close.”

“What prevented the Anti-Life from destroying the stations?” asked Jeremy.

“The stations are far enough outside their galaxy to make traveling to one longer than even the Anti-Life could live once the field was activated. They’re heavily fortified as well.”

“There is also redundancy built in,” added Bartoll. “We put in place four times more than were necessary with overlapping interference coverage.”

“And a little over one thousand years ago they managed to take down the hyperspace interference and escape their galaxy once more,” said Canton Ophrey, who was an astrophysicist. “We don’t know if they succeeded in destroying a sufficient number of stations to allow them access to hyperspace or if they found a way to get around the interference altogether.”

Jeremy nodded. “I’ve seen videos of the battles between your fleets and the Anti-Life. What type of weapons can we expect if we come across some of their vessels in our explorations?” This was one of Jeremy’s concerns. There was no way to tell if the weapon updates on the new ships would be of the same level as the weapons used by the Anti-Life.

“We’re uncertain,” Bartoll said, his voice showing a trace of concern. “Their society exists in a nearly constant state of conflict. Battles between opposing factions is not uncommon. In those situations, weapons development is often very rapid.”

“Your ships have been equipped with weapons more advanced than what the Dominator had originally,” said Nomar Krill. “However, the energy shields that protect your vessels are the most powerful we can provide. We’re confident the shields are at least on an even par with the Anti-Life if not more so. We believe they should be able to withstand an attack by Anti-Life vessels to allow you to escape if necessary. You should also have an advantage with your stealth energy shield. This is an area the Anti-Life will be less developed in as they prefer frontal attacks and have probably done little to develop stealth technology. They would view stealth technology as a cowardly way to do battle.”

“We hope,” said Jeremy. The purpose of this mission was not to engage the Anti-Life but to ascertain just how big a threat they were. Even the ships they would be using were designed similarly to what was used by the Federation and not the Originators. It was hoped that even if they were detected the Anti-Life would not realize where the ships had come from. It was essential that at least for a few more years the Anti-Life not realize there were still living Originators.

“We’ve done everything we can to ensure your ships can survive a battle with the Anti-Life,” added Bartoll. “When will you be departing?”

“Tomorrow,” answered Jeremy. “We’ll leave tomorrow and make our way to what we believe is Anti-Life space. I want to investigate several galaxies we believe they control. We want to know how they go about conquering planets and what kind of forces they leave behind. I would also like to get a general idea of their overall ship strength.”

The meeting lasted for several more hours as they went over in detail the mission as well as more information on the Anti-Life. In the end, Jeremy and Kevin left the building feeling overwhelmed by what they would be facing. The Anti-Life appeared to be a threat far greater than they had imagined.

-

As the two walked out on the street, Kevin stopped and turned toward Jeremy.

“What have we gotten ourselves into? If we just leave the Anti-Life alone, it could be thousands of years before they venture our way.”

“Maybe,” Jeremy responded. “However, right now we have Originator technology available to us. In all of the Dyson Spheres the fleets are being updated with new weapons technology and command systems where we can control them if need be.”

“Still,” argued Kevin, running his right hand through his red hair. “We may be like a mouse poking its head into a mouse trap. If the Anti-Life realize we’re using Originator tech they may come hunting for us. I don’t know about you, but I’ve enjoyed the last few months of not having to worry about whether I’m going to be alive tomorrow or not. We have a great home here and it’s safe. Aren’t we endangering all of that?”

Jeremy had to agree Kevin had some good points. “The Dyson Spheres have some very strong defenses as well as thousands of warships in each one. Not only that, I talked to Commander Zafron, Kazak, and Bartoll recently and all the defenses on the outer hulls of the Dyson Spheres are being strengthened. Kazak feels pretty confident none of the Dyson Spheres are in danger of falling to the Anti-Life. You must remember that the reason the Originators allowed us to send Rear Admiral Barnes back to our home galaxy was to bring back the people necessary to fight the Anti-Life.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Kevin admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “I spoke with Angela earlier while we were watching the Distant Horizon leave. She really enjoys running the communication section of the Command Center.”

“I wish Kelsey and Katie would accept jobs there. They could be really useful with their experience.” It would also be one less worry for Jeremy.

“So do I,” replied Kevin. “Maybe when they get done with this search for the missing Originators they’ll do just that.”

Jeremy nodded his head. “Kelsey did mention that when she returns she might want to look at starting a family. With everything going on there’s never going to be an ideal time.”

“Katie mentioned that also,” confided Kevin. “I think Katie and Kelsey have been discussing it between them.”

Jeremy and Kevin got into a waiting vehicle. Jeremy leaned back relaxing as the driver headed toward Kevin’s home. He wondered what it would be like to have a child around. Angela and Brace seemed to be enjoying Clair and it wasn’t affecting their careers. Then again, there were Ariel and Clarissa. Both had stated very plainly they wanted at least five children to train. The future Special Five or even Special Six as they sometimes called them. One thing was certain, the future still held a lot of surprises in store for all of them. Some of those surprises would doubtlessly involve children. Often Jeremy questioned how his dad had found time for a family. Jeremy’s father, Jason Strong, had been one of the founders of the new Human Federation of Worlds. He had managed to do that and still have a wonderful home life. Jeremy wondered if he would ever be able to do the same.

-

It was early morning and Jeremy was in his office visiting with General Wesley, Major Wilde, and Leeda.

“What’s the current status of removing the rest of the Simulins from the Dyson Spheres?” This operation was going to continue while Jeremy was away on his mission to Anti-Life space. He was particularly concerned about sphere 114 where the Simulin shuttles landed.

“We’ve taken back seven of the Shrieels the Simulins were using to invade other galaxies,” replied Leeda. Leeda had been instrumental in bringing Major Wilde to the Communication and Transport Hub as well as the events that had occurred on the Distant Horizon when they had gone in search of the Dominator. “Of course they haven’t been able to send ships through since we activated the defenses. Every time they do, the military AI’s responsible for the Shrieels’ defenses blows them apart.”

“That leaves the three most difficult ones and sphere 114,” stated General Wesley. “The Dyson Sphere in the Simulin’s home galaxy probably has thousands of Simulins and Conqueror Drones around the Intergalactic Vortex Control Center. There are two others in galaxies we believe the Simulins control completely that may be just as bad. All three galaxies have trillions of Simulins scattered across thousands of worlds. We’re still not certain about what’s going on at sphere 114. The military AI there reports no obvious changes at the vortex Control Center as far as he can tell. ”

“I think we should make sphere 114 our next target,” stated Major Wilde with an intense look. “We don’t dare let them regain control so they can send fleets through. They could reverse all of our gains.”

“The military AI at sphere 114 has assured us that won’t happen,” General Wesley said. “In addition, in another week we’ll have five crewed Originator warships on station at that Dyson Sphere in case they’re needed. With their weapons I’m confident we can stop any surprises the Simulins may have for us.”

“How many other Dyson Spheres have Simulins on them?” asked Jeremy, recalling a previous meeting where they had discussed the Dyson Spheres and galaxies the Simulins were involved in.

“There are twenty others with small Simulin detachments where they were planning future operations,” replied Leeda.

“Those should be relatively easy to deal with,” added Major Wilde. “That’s why we have been saving them for last.”

Jeremy looked thoughtful and then spoke. “What type of fleets do the Simulins have in those twenty galaxies?”

“Small exploration fleets,” Leeda answered promptly. “From the reports the Originator AIs on those Shrieels have sent us, there are anywhere from forty to several hundred Simulin vessels exploring those galaxies. The ships are staying away from the Shrieels as the military AIs are now destroying them anytime one comes within range.”

Jeremy didn’t like the idea of any Simulin ships roaming free in any galaxy. “Once we’ve taken those Dyson Spheres, I want to send a fleet of our modified Originator warships out to eliminate those Simulin ships. The worlds in those galaxies don’t need to suffer as so many others have.”

“They may be difficult to find,” said General Wesley with a deep frown. “However, I’ll get with Admiral Kalen and see what type of arrangements can be made.”

“Some of the galaxies where we’ve retaken complete control of the Shrieels have large numbers of Simulin warships as well as colonized Simulin worlds,” added Leeda, her eyes focusing on Jeremy. “What are we going to do about them?”

“While I’m gone on this mission, Admirals Cross and Lukel will be training crews for the new warships that have been built for their fleets,” answered Jeremy. “Once Admiral Kalen is satisfied they’re ready, we’ll send them to the Dyson Spheres in the affected galaxies and have them begin clearing out all Simulin warships. Any Simulin worlds we find will be given the same ultimatum as we did to the Simulin worlds in the Triangulum Galaxy. Either disarm or face total destruction. If necessary, we’ll set off a dark matter warhead to demonstrate we have the power to do what we say. Once that’s been taken care of, then we’ll decide what to do in their home galaxy as well as the other two they’ve heavily colonized. We may have no choice but to quarantine them and keep an eye on the Simulin’s activities using the Dyson Spheres.”

“We’ll begin making plans to take back the vortex Control Center in sphere 114,” said General Wesley.

“We’ll have the new combat robots ready in another week,” added Leeda. “We used combat robots in the past so it’s just a simple matter of building them and setting up their programs. We could use them on sphere 114.”

“And these robots will be able to take out the Conqueror Drones?” asked Jeremy. It might prevent some of Major Wilde’s Marines from being torn apart. She lost a number of them in every assault on a vortex Control Center. He had watched some of the videos of the battles and they were quite gruesome.

“Yes,” Leeda answered. “The robot’s armor will be impervious to the weapons the Conquer Drones normally wield. They should have no problems in dealing with these primitive automations of the Simulins.”

“We’ll hold back on attacking the vortex Control Center in sphere 114 until the combat robots are ready,” said General Wesley.

“Once the robots are finished we’ll launch our attack immediately,” added Major Wilde. “If they work as we hope, it should not take long to eliminate the Simulins in all of the remaining Dyson Spheres where they have a presence.”

Jeremy stood up looking at the group. “Perhaps when I get back we’ll be ready to deal with the three main Simulin galaxies.”

“We should be,” answered General Wesley.

-

After leaving General Wesley, Jeremy took a transit tube to the large spacedock the new Avenger was in. He was just about to enter when he heard a loud booming voice.

“Jeremy!” called out Grayseth, striding up in his long gait. “It is good to go out on the hunt again.”

Jeremy tried to smile as Grayseth came up and gave him a huge bear hug, driving the breath from his lungs. The enormous Bear was very powerful, and Jeremy knew Grayseth could have just as easily crushed him. The big hug was a Carethian’s way of greeting a fellow clan member. Many years ago Grayseth had made Jeremy an honorary member of his clan.

“It will be a long journey,” remarked Jeremy, catching his breath. “We have no idea what’s out there.”

“I have no fear,” Grayseth replied. “With the new ships the Originators have made for us we will be victorious in this hunt and all others.”

“To the hunt,” replied Jeremy, knowing how important this was to Grayseth and to all Carethians.

“I just came from the new Warrior’s Pride,” boomed Grayseth. “The Originators have done an unbelievable job making it the type of vessel any Carethian would be proud to serve on.”

“You did keep your crew down to a minimum?” asked Jeremy. He knew the Bears preferred large crews on their ships as they all wanted to go on the hunt. Grayseth and Jeremy had met several times in the last few months discussing this.

Grayseth let out a huge sigh and nodded his large furry head. “Yes, it was not easy as we have so many more of my people here than we did on Gaia.”

“In time all who want to will be given the opportunity to go on the hunt,” replied Jeremy. He knew once the real war against the Anti-Life began everyone would be needed.

“That is true,” agreed Grayseth. “My people are already training for that day.”

“Then let us go to our flagships,” Jeremy said. “It’s time for the hunt to begin.”

“To the hunt,” roared Grayseth, showing his huge incisors.

-

A few minutes later Jeremy stepped into the Command Center of the Avenger. The rest of the crew was already on board.

“Admiral on deck!” called out Commander Malen.

“As you were,” answered Jeremy, indicating for everyone to go about their duties.

“All ships report all systems operating normally and are prepared to exit the spacedocks,” added Commander Malen.

Jeremy walked over to the command dais and took his seat. The main viewscreen was on showing the inside of the massive spacedock. This single chamber was over twenty kilometers long, ten wide, and seven high. What was amazing was the fact there were thirty other such spacedocks in this shipyard plus other maintenance and construction facilities. What was even more astonishing was the fact the shipyards outside the Dyson Sphere were even larger.

“We are cleared for departure,” reported Aaliss the Originator AI assigned to the Command Center of the Avenger.

Jeremy acknowledged the message. “Take us out, Lieutenant Striker.”

Moments later the Avenger began moving down the center of the massive spacedock. In the distance, two huge space doors opened. An atmospheric retention field made sure the air inside the spacedock didn’t escape.

Letting out a deep breath, Jeremy watched the viewscreen as the Avenger cleared the spacedock and slid out into space. Commander Malen had already taken the ship out on a short shakedown cruise and briefly tested the ship’s weapons.

“It feels good to be going back out again,” said Ariel, who was standing slightly behind Jeremy and to his left. This was her customary position in the Command Center. She was also using her actual AI body the Originator AIs had built for her.

“We’re clear,” reported Kevin. “Other ships are exiting the other spacedocks.”

Jeremy nodded. Grayseth was leading a fleet of ten warships and Jeremy was leading a fleet comprising thirty ships. All were the same size as the Avenger. In this coming war with the Anti-Life, smaller ships would be inconsequential due to the forces being used.

“Accelerator Ring is ready to activate,” reported Aaliss.

“Activate it,” ordered Jeremy, his eyes focused on the large ring being displayed on the viewscreen. “Lieutenant Striker, link the two fleets to the Avenger’s nav computer. Take us through the vortex.”

On the main screen, the huge vortex ring activated creating a dark blue spatial vortex. The two fleets were traveling to the Dyson Sphere closest to Anti-Life space. Once there, Jeremy intended to take a week to work with the fleets and then use their intergalactic drives to travel to a galaxy Bartoll and the other surviving Originators believed was under Anti-Life control.

“Entering the vortex,” called out Lieutenant Striker.

Moments later, Jeremy felt the familiar gut-wrenching sensation as the Avenger made the jump into intergalactic hyperspace.

“All systems operating normally,” reported Ariel smiling. “We’re on our way.”

Jeremy nodded. It was time to go find out just how big a threat the Anti-Life were.

Chapter Seven

The Distant Horizon and her fleet dropped out of hyperspace in the Ornellia System. They were instantly challenged by Federation forces patrolling around the planet.

“Send our ship IDs,” ordered Kathryn, settling back in her command chair.

“We have a flight of Talon fighters on rapid approach,” reported Captain Reynolds.

“Giving us the once over,” Commented Commander Grissim approvingly.

“How many ships does Admiral Jackson have?” asked Major Weir, the tactical officer.

“Many of his ships have been recalled to the Communications and Transport Hub where their crews are being retrained to handle our new ships,” answered Commander Grissim. “However, he still has a pretty powerful fleet. All of the surviving AI warspheres and the fifteen-hundred-meter battle spheres are here.”

“ZED’s in charge of all the AIs now,” added Kathryn. “From the last report, there are 138 warspheres and 12 battle spheres remaining.” In some ways it was sad the AIs would someday all be gone. However, for many who remembered the evil they had done in the home galaxy that day couldn’t come soon enough. Perhaps it was best ZED had elected to help the Ornellians and the fight against the Conqueror Drones. It gave the AIs a worthy cause to dedicate themselves to.

“They don’t have any way to create new AIs,” added Andram, recalling the sadness ZED had shown when the AI realized there would be no more of its kind. “The Master Codex on Borton was destroyed in the battle with the Simulins. ZED said it’s just as well. ZED believes their AI civilization had no viable future. For the rest of their days they have elected to defend Ornellia and help destroy the Conqueror Drones that infest the Ornellian worlds and so many others.”

“What about Admiral Jackson. Did any of his fleet remain?”

“Some,” answered Commander Grissim. “He has six Human battleships, fourteen battlecarriers, and fifteen strikecruisers. There are also six Alton battleships helping to clear away the radiation and pollutants in Ornellia’s atmosphere.”

“He’s using the battlecarriers to launch strikes against Conqueror Drones on the other Ornellian worlds,” added Kathryn. “They clear out an area and land Marines and Ornellian soldiers. Survivors are brought to the safe zones and then to Ornellia using the colony ships we provided them.”

“The planet has nearly been cleared of radiation,” reported Clarissa, who was studying the sensor scans of the planet. “That’s why the Alton battleships are still here. They’ve been removing the radiation from the destroyed cities.”

“We’ve been given permission to go into orbit,” reported Captain Travers.

“Sible, put us into orbit two thousand kilometers above the planet,” ordered Kathryn. On the tactical display were numerous green icons orbiting the planet including one large one which was the new shipyard being constructed. A number of fleet repair ships were still in the system and were helping to build the new station as well as assist the Ornellians.

She wondered how Dax was doing. Dax was an Ornellian she had met when she first came to Ornellia. He had been in charge of a small shelter where a number of Ornellians were trying to hide from thousands of invading Conqueror Drones. Kathryn had used airstrikes to destroy the drones and promised Dax that someday she would return. Unfortunately, events got in the way and Admiral Jackson had been the one to return and save Ornellia from the vengeful Simulins.

“How long will we be staying here?” asked Camlin.

“I know you’re anxious to begin the search,” Kathryn said. “But I want to visit with Admiral Jackson and perhaps go down to the surface of the planet. We’ll only stay two days and then we can begin our search for the missing Originators. We’ll be using Ornellia as the center of our operations.”

“I have been working out a set of search parameters,” reported Sible. “Lieutenant Strong has been assisting. It should allow us to cover the most likely locations in only a matter of a few months.”

“We assumed the Simulins, using their probes, have covered the central regions of the Triangulum Galaxy,” added Kelsey. “This will allow us to cover the rest of the galaxy in a little over eight weeks.”

Kathryn nodded. “You’re assuming the missing Originators are hiding where they can easily be found. I have a strong suspicion if that were true they already would have.”

“But we know what alloys to search for,” Sible said. “Our new sensors can scan clear to the center of a planet or even a star. Even if they are well hidden we should be able to find them.”

“We have twelve ships,” Kathryn said. “Set the search up for four groups of three. While the Simulins might no longer be a threat, we don’t know what we may find out there.”

Kathryn’s eyes shifted to the large viewscreen showing Ornellia. She smiled as she saw the large green areas around the mountains. On her last visit those had been very small as the planet had been dying. Now that had been reversed. The atmosphere was clearer, almost back to normal. The Altons had performed miracles restoring the fragile ecology of the planet.

“It is amazing what your people have done here,” Camlin said as she gazed at the viewscreen. “Sometimes I forget you come from a technological civilization. While not nearly as advanced as the Originators, it is still one to be reckoned with.”

“Captain Reynolds, contact Admiral Jackson and request a meeting. Once I’ve met with the admiral I intend to go down to the surface.”

Kathryn was anxious to go and see the world they had saved from the Simulins.

-

The next day Kathryn was in a shuttle descending toward the city of Dorman, now the new capital of Ornellia. Admiral Jackson was in the seat next to her. Outside the window, she noticed a large Indomitable Class battlestation.

“How many of those were you able to salvage from Gaia?” She knew most of the battlestations in orbit had been destroyed in the battle.

“Only two,” replied Jackson. “We were able to recover thirty-one of the Type Two stations. We’ve also built a few more. We currently have the two Indomitable stations, sixty Type Two battlestations, and over twelve hundred particle beam satellites in orbit.”

“That’s a pretty powerful defensive grid,” said Kathryn impressed.

“Hopefully we’ll never need it,” Jackson replied. “With the Simulin fleets destroyed we should have nothing to fear in this galaxy.”

Kathryn didn’t say anything about the Anti-Life. The Triangulum Galaxy, as well as the Milky Way, were located more in the center of Originator controlled space. It was doubtful if any Anti-Life ships would ever show up here, or if they did, it would be far in the future.

-

On the surface of Ornellia, Dax Matol and Les Ketene waited impatiently at the spaceport for Admiral Jackson’s shuttle to set down.

“It’s a great day,” Dax said happily. “Rear Admiral Barnes is returning.”

“It’s been nearly a year since she was here last,” Les replied. “A lot has changed.”

“We’ve located a lot of survivors, both on Ornellia and our other planets,” responded Dax. “I spoke to Oman Lantoll yesterday, and the population of Ornellia is nearing five million. He believes there are still at least that many survivors on our other planets. More are being found every day. Admiral Santeld has assigned task groups with two Human battlecarriers to each of our worlds. Daily missions are being launched destroying the Conqueror Drones. Someday soon all of our planets will be free of the metal monstrosities.”

“Look, there’s the shuttle,” said Les excitedly, pointing upward.

-

The shuttle landed and Kathryn and Admiral Jackson stepped out. They were instantly greeted by Dax and Les.

“It’s good to be on Ornellia again,” said Kathryn, smiling at the two Ornellians. “I can see that a lot of progress has been made.”

“Thanks to your people,” said Dax. “Your fleet repair ships have helped us to get our factories running again and our people now have hope for a future.”

A loud noise above them drew their attention. Looking up Kathryn saw several large shuttles inbound.

“Almost every day one of your colony ships returns with survivors from our other worlds,” explained Dax. “Many more survived than we had believed possible. We’ve also eliminated many of the Conqueror Drones so far fewer of our people are dying every day. In time they all will be rescued.”

“Admiral Santeld has combat operations ongoing on all of Ornellia’s colony worlds,” added Admiral Jackson. “He’s using the fighters and bombers from our battlecarriers to drive the Conqueror Drones away from all regions where survivors may be located. In addition we’re flying constant surveillance missions searching for survivors who may be hiding in shelters or even basements under buildings.”

“We’re not going to be able to save everyone, but we’re finding more than we had hoped for,” said Les.

“What about your evacuation fleet?” asked Kathryn.

There had been some talk back at the Dyson Sphere about sending a ship out to see if they wanted to return to Ornellia. The evacuation fleet had no knowledge of the defeat of the Simulins and was still traveling toward the edge of the galaxy where they would enter intergalactic space and go on to a small star cluster.

“Our surviving council member, Oman Lantoll, and I discussed that several weeks ago,” replied Dax. “We both feel they should be given the option to return if they wish. Our biggest concern is how far away they are. Even if they turned around now it would take them well over a year to return to us.”

“I think we have a solution for that,” replied Kathryn with a smile. “We have the technology to bring your evacuation fleet back in a matter of weeks once we find them.”

“Weeks!” uttered Les in shock. “I knew your vessels were fast, but that’s unbelievable.”

Kathryn stood thinking for a minute. “We’re going to be searching for a missing ship over the next few months. I’ll make it a point to find your evacuation fleet and see what they want to do. If they decide to come back, I’ll make the necessary arrangements.” Kathryn thought explaining they were hunting for a lost ship would be far easier than telling them about the missing Originators.

Dax had a pleased look on his face. “That would be fantastic. Many of our leading scientists and technicians are on board that fleet. I hope you find your missing vessel.”

“There are also a number of our warships with the fleet as well,” said Les. “It would give Admiral Santeld a powerful fleet. One that could protect Ornellia in the future.”

“I’ll inform council member Oman Lantoll,” said Dax. “He will be excited to hear what you’ve told us.”

Kathryn looked around the busy spaceport. “Why don’t the two of you take Admiral Jackson and I on a tour and show us what’s been done since I was here last?”

“You’ll be surprised,” Dax said with a big grin. “We’ve opened up a number of our smaller cities which weren’t damaged during the Simulin attack. We’ve destroyed nearly all of the Conqueror Drones dropped on the planet.”

“We’re still flying strike missions,” added Admiral Jackson. “Anytime we receive reports of possible Conqueror Drones we send in Marines and Ornellian Soldiers to flush them out. In each case we have fighters and bombers circling ready to blow them apart.”

“We find fewer every day,” Les said. “In another year we will have scoured every section of the planet, and hopefully that menace will be gone.”

Kathryn let out a deep sigh. “Conqueror Drones are an abomination. The way they kill is a direct reflection of the heartlessness of the Simulins.”

Admiral Jackson nodded. “Sometimes I’m not certain that Kazak didn’t have the right idea. Perhaps it would have been better to destroy all of their worlds in this galaxy.”

Kathryn didn’t reply. She had often wondered the same thing, particularly after seeing how ruthless and barbaric the Conqueror Drones were.

-

For nearly half a day, Dax and Les showed Kathryn and Admiral Jackson all that had been accomplished on Ornellia. They even took a shuttle and flew across the planet seeing the other cities and fields, which were now alive with crops and animals. Livestock and other wild animals had been brought in from their other worlds. For some reason the Conquer Drones didn’t kill the animals on the planets, just the inhabitants. The radiation normally killed off all domestic and wildlife on a planet after a year or two. It took that long for the radiation to spread to every region of a planet. The animals had been brought from the relatively radiation free zones in distant agricultural regions or from around the mountains.

They finally returned to Dorman where Kathryn held a brief meeting with Oman Lantoll, who wanted to see Kathryn after hearing she was down on the planet. He had expressed his own opinion that the evacuation fleet would want to return once they heard Ornellia was free once more.

-

After returning to the Distant Horizon, Kathryn felt very pleased with what she had seen on Ornellia. The planet was well on its way to making a full recovery from the Simulin attack and invasion of the Conqueror Drones. Now it was time to begin her mission. She would order her task group of the search fleet to head out in the direction the Ornellian evacuation fleet should be. They would run their search pattern for the missing Originators until they found the Ornellian fleet. She suspected they would be joyous upon hearing they could return home without fear.

“Commander Zafron and Kazak are anxious to begin the mission,” Commander Grissim said almost as soon as Kathryn entered the Command Center. “One or the other has been on the comm nearly every hour wanting to know if you had returned.”

“Well, I’m back now. Do we have the search parameters set up?”

“Yes,” answered Sible. “We’ve also taken into account your desire to find the Ornellian refugee fleet. Our task group will be searching the area they’re most likely to be in.”

“Maybe with a little luck we’ll find both the missing Originators and the Ornellian fleet,” added Clarissa.

“Let’s hope so,” replied Kathryn. But she had a strong suspicion finding the missing Originators would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, except this haystack was the size of an entire galaxy with billions of stars.

-

Jeremy watched in satisfaction as his two fleets pummeled a large asteroid, causing it to break up into thousands of pieces. They were using the gravitonic cannons and antimatter projectors of the two fleets to destroy it. The gravitonic cannons projected intense gravity waves, which disrupted the molecular forces holding material objects together.

“Asteroid has been obliterated,” reported Major Preston from Tactical.

“The strength of these weapons is unbelievable,” said Kevin, staring in disbelief at the shattered asteroid on the viewscreen.

“Far more powerful than anything we had before,” commented Commander Malen. “Should we try out a dark matter missile?”

“No,” Jeremy said, shaking his head. “We saw the effects of the one Kazak set off in the Gaia System and the ones on our ships are only slightly weaker.” He still had nightmares over what had happened over Gaia and everyone they had lost. If not for Kazak setting off the missile, they all would have died. It was hard to believe after everything Kazak had done they all owed him their lives.

“All of our ships in the Shrieels are being similarly armed,” Aaliss informed Jeremy. She was standing next to him with her arms folded across her chest. “In every Shrieel and shipyard, our warships are being brought out of stasis and updated with the latest weapons technology and other advances. The shipyards at the Communications and Transport Hub are producing new warships based on the designs developed by all three of your races as well as the Originators. Most will resemble the ships in this fleet.”

Jeremy looked over at the Originator AI. “If we go to war with the Anti-Life we’re going to need them.”

Aaliss was silent initially and then she spoke. “I never knew what war was like until the battle at Gaia. For the first time in my life, I felt actual fear. Is that normal in battle?” Aaliss had been one of the Originator AIs on the Distant Horizon.

“Very normal,” answered Jeremy. “If one isn’t afraid, then they shouldn’t be going into battle. It’s that fear which keeps us from crossing the line.”

“I was trained for war,” said Ariel, recalling her early days in the old Human Federation of Worlds. “I had minimal emotions at that time, but as the years passed I began to feel anxiety anytime I went into battle due to the fact lives could be lost. Now I understand war should be the last resort after all other options have ended in failure.”

“We never experienced the fear of war in the Shrieels,” said Aaliss. “They are so powerfully protected we felt secure.”

“The Dyson Spheres are safe refuges,” said Ariel in agreement. “They are designed to be totally self-sufficient, and their defenses guarantee the safety of those living inside. From what I’ve studied of the Originators that’s one of the reasons they built them.”

“There was no war,” commented Aaliss, recalling those days. “Not until the Simulins came and for us it was easier to ignore them. We now realize that was a serious mistake. I suspect if any living Originators had been on any of the Shrieels our response to the Simulins would have been vastly different.”

“Where to now, Admiral?” asked Commander Malen.

Jeremy squared his shoulders and looked at the viewscreen, showing the glowing remains of the asteroid. For nearly a week the forty ships in the two fleets had been practicing combat operations and testing their weapons.

“Set a course for the Median Galaxy,” ordered Jeremy. The Median Galaxy was 940,000 light years distant. The Originators had felt certain the Anti-Life could be located in that galaxy as it was outside of what was considered Originator controlled space and on a direct line toward the Anti-Life’s home galaxy.

“Travel time will be 4.28 days,” answered Lieutenant Striker as he began preparing the ship for intergalactic hyperspace travel. “I would recommend we make several short jumps first to put us into a better location in this galaxy before activating the intergalactic hyperdrive. It will take me a few moments to work out the proper jump coordinates.”

Jeremy took a long breath. He was fairly confident the two fleets were ready to move into Anti-Life space. He had spoken to Grayseth earlier and the large Bear had indicated his ships were ready. Grayseth was anxious to get to the Median Galaxy and see what the Anti-Life had done to its worlds.

“Coordinates calculated,” Striker reported. “I’ve transmitted them to our other ships. We can jump whenever you give the order.”

“Initiate the jump,” ordered Jeremy, settling back in his command chair. He was not going to use the Accelerator Ring at this galaxy’s Dyson Sphere. The distance to the next galaxy was not that great in intergalactic terms and the hyperdrives on the ships of the two fleets would easily get them there.

Striker reached forward and activated his console, pressing several icons on his screen.

A few moments later a swirling blue-white spatial vortex opened, and the Avenger surged forward on its gravity drive. As they entered the threshold of the vortex, Jeremy felt the normal wrenching sensation associated with making the jump into hyperspace. Granted, the sensation was much less than in the past thanks to Originator advancements in hyperdrive technology.

“I hope we’re doing the right thing,” muttered Kevin, looking at his sensor screen, which was showing all forty ships in the fleet. They were traveling in a tight formation. With their current sensor and communications technology, it was possible to travel in such formations in hyperspace. It allowed the fleet to come out in battle formation if necessary.

Jeremy agreed. He had no idea what might await them in Anti-Life territory. That was the reason for this mission. It was necessary they gather strategic data to see what was in store for them if and when war broke out. There was a very good possibility the Anti-Life had spread across so many galaxies that any hope of a future victory might very well be impossible. The question then would be how to protect the galaxies the Dyson Spheres were in from future conquest by the Anti-Life.

-

Several days passed and Jeremy, Kevin, Ariel, and Aaliss were sitting in the officers’ cafeteria. Jeremy and Kevin were eating while explaining to Aaliss what had happened in the Triangulum Galaxy with the Simulins starting from the very beginning.

“War is a terrible thing, and it seems you Humans have had more than your share of it.”

“Even back in our home galaxy it was the same,” Kevin said as he took a bite of his double cheeseburger. “I often wonder if that’s how the entire universe is. Everywhere we go there seems to be conflict.”

Aaliss frowned. “It wasn’t like that in the days of the Originators when they were spreading across the galaxies before they built the Shrieels. They brought peace to numerous worlds and there was widespread prosperity. It was a wonderful time. One I fear will never return.”

“Why did the Originators build the Dyson Spheres?” asked Jeremy. “In our explorations, we have found numerous worlds where they once existed. The Altons have studied those ancient ruins for centuries. I’m sure you’ve heard Reesa and Kelnor speak about their discoveries in the Rylus Cluster in our home galaxy.

“Yes, I’ve had several long conversations with Reesa. She’s a brilliant young woman and full of curiosity.”

“Curiosity that’s gotten her and those with her into trouble on several occasions,” added Ariel.

Suddenly alarms started sounding, and red lights began flashing. Commander Malen’s voice came over the ship’s comm system. “Admiral Strong, please report to the Command Center. We have several unknown contacts on the long-range sensors and we believe they may be Anti-Life ships.”

“Anti-Life?” said Kevin, looking confused. “What would they be doing out here so far away from the Median Galaxy?”

“A patrol,” announced Ariel as she checked the ship’s sensors. “The Anti-Life might have routine patrols keeping watch on the space between their galaxies and those they consider to be under control of the Originators.”

“I hope not,” Jeremy said as he stood up. “This mission will fail if we’re detected.” The detection of what might be Anti-Life ships worried him. If they had the ships needed to patrol the space between the galaxies that indicated they had a vast fleet. Jeremy didn’t even want to think about the number of ships that might imply.

A few moments later Jeremy and the others made it into the Command Center. Looking at the tactical display, he saw two glaring red threat icons.

“How far away are those two ships?”

“Twenty-seven light years and they’re paralleling our course,” reported Commander Malen. “They appeared a few minutes ago.”

Aaliss walked over to the sensors and studied several readings. “They’re using intergalactic drives at least as advanced as ours. They’re too far away to tell much else.”

“How did they find us?”

“It could be just a coincidence or they have some sort of monitoring system between galaxies to detect unknown ships,” suggested Ariel.

“That’s impossible!” Kevin said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That would take millions, perhaps hundreds of millions of hyperspace detection satellites.”

“Actually 42.7 billion,” answered Ariel as she ran the numbers. “That’s assuming they completely surround Originator space and have comparable technology to the Originators.”

“It’s possible,” said Aaliss. “If they control sufficient galaxies and resources they could have set up a detection system such as Ariel describes.”

Jeremy spent a long minute watching the tactical display. “The detection system can’t be very deep or they would need trillions of satellites, and I refuse to believe they have that many. Most likely they have a thin ring or two that surrounds Originator space and we crossed over one.”

“Admiral, Grayseth wants to know what you’re planning,” reported Lieutenant Shayla Lantz from Communications. “He’s volunteering to take his fleet on the hunt and destroy the two unknown ships.”

Jeremy hesitated. There was no way to know the strength of the two unknown vessels or even if they were Anti-Life ships. “Keep the fleet at Condition One and let’s drop out of hyperspace. We’ll let them make the next move.” Jeremy considered his next move. He had the two unknown ships greatly outnumbered. This might be an opportunity to learn about the Anti-Life and the capabilities of their ships.

“All ships will be dropping out of hyperspace in twenty seconds,” reported Lieutenant Striker as he fed the exit coordinates into the navigation system.

“I want all weapons on standby,” ordered Jeremy. “We won’t fire unless were fired upon. Major Preston, if that happens I want those two ships destroyed.”

“Is the use of the dark matter missiles authorized?”

“Yes,” Jeremy answered. He wasn’t going to take a chance with his fleet.

Jeremy felt a slight twinge in his stomach and knew the Avenger had dropped out of hyperspace. Almost instantly, the screen was full of what appeared to be stars, but he knew they were galaxies. Several had a slight spiral form with one globular.

“The unknown ships have detected our emergence from hyperspace and have changed course,” reported Kevin tensely. “They’ll be here in just a few minutes.”

“Fleet is at Condition One,” confirmed Commander Malen.

“Energy shield is at 100 percent,” added Major Preston. “Weapons are ready to fire. Dark matter missiles and Devastator Threes are loaded in the missile tubes.”

“Communications, send standard first contact message as soon as the unknowns drop out of hyperspace,” ordered Jeremy. Jeremy wanted to confirm they were indeed Anti-Life vessels. Perhaps by talking to them they could find out.

The first contact message was a series of numbers, which could be used to establish communications. While all ships were equipped with standard language translators, there was no point in revealing this to the unknowns. Sometimes Jeremy even forgot he was wearing a translator in the small fleet dog tag he wore around his neck. It had become so natural, he didn’t even think about it anymore.

“Emergence,” confirmed Kevin.

On the large viewscreen, two massive ships appeared.

“How big are those?” Jeremy hadn’t been expecting ships of this size to appear.

“Four kilometers in length,” reported Ariel as she used the ship’s systems to scan the ships in detail. “They’re eight hundred meters in width and from the top of the hull to the bottom is six hundred and seventy meters. Sensors indicate the ships are heavily armed. I’m still trying to determine the types of weapons.”

“Transmitting first contact message,” reported Lieutenant Lantz. She listened to her comm and after a few moments turned worriedly toward the admiral. “No response.”

Jeremy looked at the viewscreen showing the two ships. Weapons turrets and numerous hatches were visible. Even as he watched, a number of the hatches slid open.

“We’re being targeted,” warned Major Preston. “Hard sensor scans detected normally associated with weapons targeting systems.”

“If we’re fired upon I want an immediate coordinated response,” ordered Jeremy. “Half of our ships are to target one vessel and the rest the other.” Looking at the ships, Jeremy wasn’t certain these were the Anti-Life. However, in the back of his mind he knew that’s who these ships must belong to. They were too large and too advanced to be anyone else’s.

“I’ll set it up,” replied Major Preston as he began talking to his counterparts on the other ships. He was using an encrypted comm line to prevent his messages from being intercepted and translated.

“Incoming message,” reported Lieutenant Lantz excitedly. “It has a video component.”

“Aaliss, step to the side of the Command Center so you won’t be seen.” Jeremy didn’t want the unknowns to know there were Originator AIs on the ship. Once Aaliss had moved away, Jeremy nodded toward Lieutenant Lantz. “Put it on screen. Send a video link back so they can see us.”

On the center of the large viewscreen appeared a being that resembled an Originator. However, there were some differences. The being on the screen resembled an Originator in every way except he was completely bald. His eyes also seemed dark and cold.

“Identity yourself,” the being said in a harsh and demanding voice. “You are intruding on our space.”

“We are merely explorers seeking knowledge,” Jeremy replied carefully. “We are exploring the nearer galaxies hoping to make contact and establish peaceful relations with other advanced civilizations.”

The being looked away for a moment and then turned back to the screen, his face looking even more menacing. “You are lying. Our scans have detected Originator technology on your vessels. You will lower your screens, power down your weapons, and surrender your ships immediately.”

Jeremy feigned ignorance. “I don’t know these Originators you speak of. The technology on these vessels was developed by my people and no one else.”

“That is not possible,” said the being, his dark eyes failing to move. “Surrender immediately or I will order the destruction of your vessels. I will not ask again.”

“Who are you?” asked Jeremy, seeking more information. He was nearly certain these were the Anti-Life. He just needed them to confirm it.

“We are the Eternals,” the being replied. “We once fought the Originators in a great war. That is why we recognize their technology. Once my people learn others have now gained access to that technology, we will have no choice but to destroy your worlds. Such technology may only be possessed by the Eternals.”

“They’re preparing to fire!” warned Major Preston. “I’m detecting massive energy buildups.”

Jeremy took a deep breath. He knew this conversation was over. He pressed the ship-to-ship comm on his command console. “All ships, fire!” There was no reason to allow the enemy to fire first.

-

In space, gravitonic beams and antimatter energy slammed into the energy shields of the two Anti-Life vessels. The shields flared brightly from the unexpected attack. Several Devastator Three missiles struck the shields releasing hundreds of megatons of nuclear energy. The shields flickered but remained up.

From the Anti-Life vessels, powerful white energy beams flashed forth. In Grayseth’s fleet, the beams struck the energy shield of the Leviathan and after a moment, penetrated. In a massive explosion, the powerful dreadnought exploded hurling glowing debris across space. Several pieces impacted other ships’ energy shields but failed to penetrate. They simply shattered into hundreds of smaller pieces.

In Jeremy’s fleet, the heavy dreadnought Alexander was hit by four of the powerful beams. Its energy shield seemed to flicker and then it died as titanic explosions shook the dreadnought. In a massive blast, the ship simply ceased to be.

“Leviathan and the Alexander are both down,” called out Kevin in shock, staring at his sensors, which were showing the spreading debris fields.

“Firing dark matter missiles,” spoke Major Preston, looking desperate. “Our beam weapons are failing to penetrate their screens.”

-

In space, a series of massive explosions detonated against the energy shields of the two Anti-Life ships. The ships became impossible to see from the titanic release of energy. Then almost in unison, the screens failed. The amount of energy pummeling the screens was so great the two ships were disintegrated, leaving only glowing plasma and a field of flickering gas in their places.”

“Ships destroyed,” reported Kevin, breathing out a long sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure for a moment if the missiles were going to work.”

“I have full sensor scans of the battle and the weapons used by the Anti-Life,” added Ariel. “Upon reviewing the data, the enemy were using a variation of the heterodyne effect to prevent their shields from being penetrated by energy weapons fire. I believe our ion cannon can be set to offset the frequency variation of the enemy shields. In our next engagement I would suggest we use the ion cannon first to shut down their frequency variation and then I believe our other beam weapons will be able to penetrate.”

“I agree,” added Major Preston. “We made a mistake in not using the ion cannons. We won’t make that error next time.”

Jeremy turned his attention back to the viewscreen. He had lost two valuable ships and they hadn’t even reached the target galaxy. Should they turn back and not risk discovery?

“Ariel, Aaliss, what are the odds the Anti-Life reported our encounter?”

“Unknown,” Aaliss responded with concern in her eyes. “The Anti-Life didn’t recognize us as possibly being Originator ships until they got close enough to scan our vessels.”

“I didn’t detect any outgoing communications,” said Lieutenant Lantz. “If there was any it was of a type we’re not familiar with.”

“There are probably some type of command stations in their hyperspace detection system,” added Aaliss. “Doubtlessly those have the technology to send a report back to an installation of the Anti-Life if a ship penetrates the system. We just happened to be in the wrong location where ships could be sent to investigate. I refuse to believe they have placed tens of thousands of warships of the type we encountered in intergalactic space looking for any signs of the return of the Originators.”

“Did the Anti-Life know of the life-extension pathogen that nearly wiped out the Originators?” asked Kevin.

“No, the disease only began to take effect after the war,” replied Aaliss. However, due to the lack of response when the Anti-Life managed to escape their galaxy they may be assuming the Originators have died out. There is also the possibility they deduced what our life prolongation experiments would do and knew that in time the deadly pathogen would appear.”

“What type of energy weapon was that they were using?” It pained Jeremy he had lost two ships and their valuable crews. He had hoped to get through this mission without losing anyone.

“It was some type of direct energy weapon,” answered Ariel. “I don’t understand how they projected so much energy without melting the barrels of their energy projectors. The readings were nearly off the scale.”

“Is there anything we can do so our shields will be more effective?”

“Not until we return to the Communications and Transport Hub,” answered Aaliss. “With the sensor scans we have I am hopeful we can find a solution.”

Jeremy nodded. It was about what he had expected. “Very well, Lieutenant Striker prepare the fleet to enter hyperspace and set a course for the Median Galaxy. However, I want to vary from our former course. Place us on a wide arc. Major Preston. I want a dark matter warhead detonated at the locations the Leviathan and the Alexander were destroyed. I don’t want to leave any evidence of who destroyed those two Anti-Life ships.”

“They called themselves the Eternals,” said Commander Malen. “I wonder why?”

“I suspect it’s because of the use of mechanical nanites,” Aaliss replied with a sad look. “They were using the nanites to greatly extend their lifespans even more so than those of the Originators. They may have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.”

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. It was becoming clear these Eternals, as they called themselves, were a major threat. However, the only way to find out for sure was to continue the mission. He just hoped he was making the right decision.

-

A few minutes later the two fleets made the jump back into hyperspace. Behind them they left two fields of dying energy where dark matter missiles had detonated. There would be no signs of the two ships destroyed by the Eternals.

Chapter Eight

Nest Lord Creesth studied the latest reports from the other two fleets that were rapidly pushing into Shari space. Over the last several days resistance had steadily increased in more hit and run raids by Shari warships. Creesth was standing in front of a large computer screen in his quarters viewing the reports from the two Nest Lords leading the other invasion fleets. There was no doubt that somewhere ahead of him a massive Shari fleet was gathering. These small attacks were nothing more than nuisance raids meant to delay the arrival of the Ralift fleets in the region of space, which contained the Shari core systems. If it were up to him, the fleets would push forward avoiding these smaller Shari colonies. However, the masters wanted examples set of these worlds. Creesth trusted the AIs and would do as they ordered. They were the masters and must be obeyed.

What concerned Creesth was why the Shari were resisting? While the Shari might be able to gather enough ships to be a threat to the Ralift fleets, they had no way to destroy an AI battle sphere. Creesth felt he was overlooking some key datum. There were no records of the Shari ever attacking an AI ship. Even in the battle the AIs had committed their battle spheres in the Shari had inflicted no damage. They had fired on the AI ships but none of their weapons had penetrated a single AI energy screen.

Creesth knew when the Shari finally met his fleet in sufficient numbers to be a threat, the AI battle spheres would step in to ensure victory. The Shari Empire would fall and become part of the greater Ralift Slave Empire. The thousands of slave worlds the Shari controlled would become the Ralifts’. Limitless wealth and more resources would be available to the empire. The power of the AIs was absolute, and Creesth was well aware how wise the decision had been to support the AIs and become one of the four races they favored to conquer the galaxy. The Hocklyns had fallen, but the Ralift would soon be the supreme power and the favorites of the masters.

-

Admiral Race Tolsen was in the Command Center of the WarHawk. The vessel and two Alton battleships were in orbit above the Shari planet, Melsberth. It was a sector capital just outside of the Shari core worlds. Melsberth was also the most populated Shari World within close proximity to the Dyson Sphere in the Rylus Star Cluster.

“I don’t like this,” muttered Colonel Cowel as he gazed at the massive defensive stations surrounding the planet, all of which had their weapons aimed at the three Federation ships. “I feel like a mouse surrounded by cats.”

“Relax,” Race said. He knew how Brice felt. While he was confident the shields of the WarHawk could withstand any conceivable Shari attack, it was still nerve-wracking to have so many weapons pointed at his ships.

“High Lord Tabor is on his way over,” reported Captain Denise Travers from Communications. “His shuttle has just left their primary shipyard.”

“Confirmed,” said Captain Davis, who was sitting in front of the sensor console.

Race turned his attention to the large viewscreen. The planet Melsberth was prominently displayed. The world was similar to Earth but with larger oceans. A good eighty percent of the planet was covered in water. There were two major continents, which held the planet’s two billion Shari. Even as heavily populated as the two continents were there were still large swaths of green and under higher magnification, large areas under cultivation.

“It looks a lot like Earth,” commented Commander Arnett from where she was standing gazing at the screen. “There are some large island chains that appear to have resorts on the beaches. I never imagined that of the Shari.”

“Ambassador Tureen says the Shari are victims of circumstances. In order to save their civilization, they became a proxy race for the AIs. While they did as the AIs ordered, they tried to hold the bombardment of conquered worlds to a minimum. Where the Hocklyns, Borzon, and Ralift all used nuclear bombardment to reduce excess planetary populations, the Shari installed strict population controls, limiting families to having one offspring instead of two or three and taking several generations to lower the slave populations to what they considered controllable levels..”

“They were still responsible for conquering thousands of worlds for the AIs and forcing them to work in slavery, producing materials for both the Shari and the AIs,” Colonel Cowel pointed out. “While they might not be as cruel as the other three proxy races, they were still responsible for the deaths of billions.”

Race moved his eyes to the large Shari shipyard. It was massive and similar to the ones that could be found above Earth or New Tellus. The shipyard contained numerous repair and construction bays as well as serving as traffic control for the system. There were numerous cargo ships and a few passenger liners in its docking ports.

“Shari shuttle has landed in the flight bay,” reported Commander Arnett.

Race stood up, nodding. “Let’s go greet our guests.” It had only been a few hours since the WarHawk received a message from the Shari Grand Council requesting Race meet with High Lord Tabor. Tabor was high in the Shari military hierarchy. The council message informed Race that Tabor would have information on where the Ralift fleets were located and the forces the Shari would have available to meet them in battle.

-

It didn’t take long for Commander Arnett and Admiral Tolsen to reach the flight bay. Due to the large size of the WarHawk, the ship had a number of transit tubes running the length of the vessel. There were several located near the command deck, which made reaching the flight bay a matter of only a few minutes.

Upon reaching the bay, Race was satisfied to see a platoon of Marines lined up in formation. They were wearing the dress uniforms they wore to receive dignitaries. He knew the Shari demanded a certain amount of decorum for their military leaders as well as their higher and lower lords.

As Race and Commander Arnett took their places, the hatch to the shuttle opened and four heavily armed Shari descended, taking their places at the bottom of the ramp. Then two Shari officers appeared dressed in highly decorated uniforms. The Shari were similar to Humans with a slight feline elegance. Their eyes were narrow and ears slightly pointed. Their hands had retractable claws, which they very seldom used except in ritual combat. In many ways, the Shari were Human-like.

-

The two Shari officers descended the ramp, their eyes gazing at the assembled Marines. They noted the unmoving twin lines and how professional the Marines appeared to be. The two stopped in front of Commander Arnett and Admiral Tolsen.

-

“I am High Lord Tabor of the Second Fleet, and this is my second in command, Lower Lord Varseth,” the more highly decorated one said. “I am honored by your showing of respect for our ways.”

“We recognize the Shari as a mighty and powerful people,” Race replied. He had spent a number of highly instructive hours with Ambassador Tureen discussing the necessary protocol for meeting various Shari. “If you will come with us, we have a briefing room set up for us to discuss the Ralift.”

High Lord Tabor let out a deep breath. “The Ralift are a dishonorable people. Never did we expect them to attack this way without provocation.”

“It is the AIs,” replied Race. “They are the driving force behind the Ralift.”

“As they were to us for many years,” admitted High Lord Tabor. “There are many things my people have done we deeply regret.”

As the four walked toward the briefing room, Race couldn’t help but think about High Lord Tabor’s words. He had wondered what type of officer the Shari High Lord was and now he was beginning to get an understanding. He seemed unusually reasonable about the current situation. It might be the reason the Shari Council of High Lords had chosen him for this meeting.

As they walked through the ship and took a turbo lift to the level where the meeting was to be held, High Lord Tabor asked a number of questions about the WarHawk.

“Your ship is truly astonishing,” Tabor said in admiration. “In size alone it rivals one of the AI battle spheres. Does this ship have the weapons to destroy one of those vessels?”

“Yes,” Race replied. He knew this had been the primary driving force for the Shari asking for help. They had no weapon that could penetrate an AI battle sphere’s energy shield. “The Altons have helped us to develop the necessary weapons which can penetrate a battle sphere’s energy shield. As you have probably heard, the Altons themselves created the AIs in the far distant past.”

Tabor nodded. “We have heard that story, but were not sure whether to believe it or not.”

“It’s true,” Race replied. “However, it was the Simulins who adjusted the AIs’ programming to make them the menace they became.”

“The strange beings who appeared in the Rylus Cluster,” said High Lord Tabor. “I have seen videos of our ships in battle with them. Their vessels were very powerful. Since the battle at the Dyson Sphere, no more of their vessels have been reported in our space. They seem to have disappeared.”

Race didn’t reply as he knew the reason. In Rear Admiral Barnes’ report, she had mentioned that the Originators and their AIs were making it impossible for the Simulins to use the intergalactic vortexes to travel between galaxies any more. It was one less threat the Federation had to worry about.

They reached the briefing room and entered. Inside, refreshments and food awaited that Race had been told the Shari preferred.

High Lord Tabor studied the beverages and food available and nodded approvingly. “You have done well. Someone has taken the time to study our customs.”

The four sat down at the small conference table. High Lord Tabor had poured a fruit drink which he placed in front of him. “Our latest reports from High Lord Droll indicate the three Ralift fleets are moving to join up with one another.”

“How many ships are in the three fleets?” asked Commander Arnett, her brow creasing in a frown.

“Fourteen thousand,” answered Lower Lord Varseth evenly. “There are also 314 AI battle spheres with the three fleets.”

“They will meet up in the Razale System just outside of the region of space that contains our core worlds,” said High Lord Tabor. “We believe from there they will set a course to the Rylus Cluster and the Dyson Sphere. There are three of our core worlds between Razale and the sphere. The Grand Council is concerned the Ralift will attack one if not all of those worlds.”

Race didn’t need to be told how big of a disaster it would be if the Ralift and the AIs destroyed those three core systems. It would destabilize the entire Shari Empire both economically and politically. The empire would then become easy prey for the Ralift and the AIs. The Federation could not allow the Shari Empire to fall to the Ralift. While it may not happen immediately, sometime in the future the Ralift would turn their sights on the Federation.

“What size fleet are the Shari willing to commit to this battle?” Race knew not even his fleet could take on one the size of the Ralift and expect to survive.

“High Lord Droll and the two High Lords resisting the other Ralift fleets will come together as one fleet,” responded Tabor. “That will be a force of nearly three thousand warships.”

“Not enough,” Commander Arnett said frowning. “The Ralift would simply englobe such a fleet and either destroy it or force it to flee into hyperspace.”

“High Lord Tabor’s own fleet will be involved as well,” Lower Lord Varseth replied. “The empire has four major fleet units of which Second Fleet is one. Second fleet consists of thirty-four hundred warships. Sixteen hundred battlecruisers and eighteen hundred support cruisers.”

“The Ralift ships are all of battlecruiser size. My fleet along with the others will give us sixty-four hundred Shari warships,” said High Lord Tabor. “It will be the largest force we have ever gathered.”

“That makes it a little more even,” said Race as he thought about how such a battle would go. “We would still be outnumbered by nearly two to one plus the AI ships.” Race looked intently at High Lord Tabor. “Is there any chance another one of your primary fleets could be committed?”

“No,” answered Lower Lord Varseth, shaking his head. “The three remaining fleets are tasked with defending our home system as well as the Lyral Cluster which contains the majority of our core worlds.”

Lord Tabor’s face looked strained and then he spoke. “I can call in a few favors from several Lower Lords in nearby systems. If they respond, it may give us another eleven hundred to twelve hundred ships.”

“Do it,” Race responded. “If your ships can hold off the Ralift ships long enough while mine go after the AI battle spheres, we may have a chance.”

A thoughtful look crossed Lord Tabor’s face. “If your ships could defeat the AIs, I am certain the Ralift would leave Shari space. With the AIs gone our other fleets would be committed to the battle.”

“The Ralift have much to pay for,” Lower Lord Varseth added, his voice almost sounding like a growl. “The three Ralift fleets have destroyed fourteen small colony worlds of the Shari. Nearly three hundred million Shari have died since this incursion began.”

“Then let us make our plans,” Race said, seeing an opportunity to bring the Shari closer to working permanently with the Federation. “For far too long our two races have been adversaries. It is time we brought that to an end.”

“I agree,” Lord Tabor said nodding. “Many of my people feel otherwise as well as a few members of the Shari Grand Council. I have long felt we needed to take our race on a different path, particularly after the AIs left. Let us not waste this opportunity to show both of our people what our two races can do together.”

-

For the next six hours the four stayed in the conference room making plans and discussing fleet dispositions. They only stopped long enough to eat and drink. In the end, they had a number of different battle scenarios and strategies the Shari and Federation fleets could use together or separately. When they were done, Race was surprised to realize the Shari were not that different from Humans, at least High Lord Tabor and Lower Lord Varseth were not. It gave Race hope that sometime in the future the Shari and the Human Federation of Worlds would become more than just trading partners. Between the two of them, they could right many of the wrongs the AIs and their proxy races had done.

-

Race watched as High Lord Tabor and Lower Lord Varseth boarded their shuttle and departed for the Shari shipyard. High Lord Tabor’s flagship, the Malodor, was docked to the station.

“That went well,” commented Commander Arnett. “In some ways it was as if we were speaking to other Humans. I was very surprised how cordial the High Lord was.”

Race let out a deep sigh. “If not for the AIs, I suspect the Shari and us would have been friends many years ago. We still may depending on the outcome of this battle with the Ralift and the AIs. We’re fortunate High Lord Tabor is one of the more reasonable Shari or this meeting might not have gone so well. There are rumors that in a few years he might be on the Grand Council.”

“We’re going to be badly outnumbered in this battle,” Commander Arnett said as she turned toward Race. “Even with the ships the Shari are willing to commit we may not be able to win.”

“Don’t remind me,” Race said. Even though his fleet had superior technology and the Alton built dreadnoughts, he wasn’t that certain of how this battle against the Ralift would end. They would be going against fourteen thousand Ralift warships, many of them battleships. Then, of course, there were the AIs. “Let’s get back to the fleet. It will take us awhile to get to our rendezvous point with High Lord Droll as it’s on the far side of the Shari core worlds.”

“Off to battle once more,” said Commander Arnett.

Race nodded. “That seems to be our destiny. Our galaxy seems to be in a near constant state of conflict. I don’t know if our days of fighting will ever end.”

“One battle at a time,” Commander Arnett said as they made their way toward the Command Center. “Someday, it will be our time to rest.”

Race hoped so. It would be nice to settle down and not have to worry about the fate of the Federation.

-

Upon returning to the fleet, Race went to his quarters to get some rest. He was surprised to find his sister, Massie, sitting in his comfortable recliner waiting for him.

“How was your meeting?” Massie asked as she got up to allow Race to sit in his recliner.

“Interesting,” Race responded as Massie handed him a glass of iced tea. “I didn’t realize there could be Shari as reasonable as High Lord Tabor.”

“Just goes to show there are reasonable people everywhere. After all, we have our own malcontents in the Federation.”

Race knew of whom Massie was speaking. Governor Marcus Fulbright of Serenity was one such individual. He had caused all kinds of trouble when he was on the Federation Council. If it had been up to Fulbright, the Hocklyns would still be rampaging through the galaxy.

“Did you get to spend much time with Mom and Dad while you were on leave?”

“Yes,” Massie replied as she leaned back on the sofa. “They told me some about what happened at Ceres. I still can’t believe the entire population ran off to fight some obscure war with Rear Admiral Barnes.”

“They had encouragement,” Race said, taking a sip of his tea. “Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth suggested they go and you know as well as I do how convincing he can be.”

Massie let out a deep sigh. “I know. I guess we should be glad our parents didn’t run off with them.”

“Ceres is being resettled from New Tellus. In another year or two it will almost seem like home again.”

“It won’t be the same though,” Massie said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Too many people I knew are gone.”

“Off to fight in a mysterious war with Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong.”

Massie looked over at Race. “You knew Admiral Strong. What was he like?”

Race smiled. “Young, impulsive, and a brilliant strategist. He reminded me of Admiral Telleck in many ways.”

“Admiral Telleck was the one who took Jeremy under his wings,” said Massie in recollection. “He set Jeremy up on his way to becoming an admiral.”

“And the others as well. The Special Five were a symbol to the Federation during the war with the Hocklyns.”

“People from the past...” Massie’s eyes took on a thoughtful glint. “Can you imagine going into cryosleep for several hundred years just so you could take part in a war?”

“Just be glad they did. The Special Five were not the only ones in cryosleep. Fleet Admiral Streth, Admiral Sheen, and numerous others were as well. The war might have turned out quite differently if not for them and their dedication to the Federation.”

“You’ve played a major role as well,” Massie said. “You’re a war hero just like the others.” Massie was quite proud of her brother.

Race looked surprised for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m no hero. I’ve only done what I’ve been ordered to do.”

“Like blowing the hell out of those Simulin fleets at the galactic core, or discovering the Dyson Sphere in Shari space.”

Race didn’t say anything. He could still remember nearly dying when the first WarHawk was blown out from under him in the first battle with the Hocklyns. That seemed like a century ago.

Massie took a long drink from her glass. Race’s tea was sweetened; hers was not. “What chance do you think we have against the Ralift?”

“You’ve never been in a battle like this before, have you?” Race studied his sister’s face, seeing a little uncertainty in it.

“No,” she admitted, blinking her eyes. “Before the Dyson Sphere all I ever had to worry about were routine patrols and occasional space raiders. Nothing big like this.”

Race had to admit he was concerned about Massie in the coming battle. Her flagship was a battlecarrier, not a dreadnought or a battleship. “Your battlecarriers and their escorts will stay slightly behind the rest of the fleet. As far as we know, the Ralift have no fighters. Your ships will be sending out their Anlon bombers on shipping strikes targeting damaged Ralift vessels. You have to make your bomber crews understand they must leave the undamaged Ralift warships alone. They won’t stand a chance against them.”

“I’m going to lose a lot of my pilots, aren’t I?” This was something Massie hadn’t experienced before. She didn’t want to experience it. “Even those damaged ships are still going to have energy shields and functioning point defense systems.”

“Yes,” Race answered stoically, trying not to show how much that bothered him as well. “It can’t be helped. We’ll do everything we can to keep the pressure off your bombers, but as outnumbered as we’re going to be we’re going to need every one of them.”

“I understand,” replied Massie, squaring her shoulders. “My people will do what’s expected of them. They’re a good bunch.”

Race slowly nodded his head. “All of our people are. I wish this battle didn’t have to take place, but it’s going to.”

Massie stood up, setting down her half-finished glass of tea. “I’d better get back over to the Hera as we’ll be jumping soon. Will I see you again before the battle?”

“I hope so,” responded Race. He watched as Massie left his quarters. Race just hoped both of them survived this and made it back home to Ceres.

-

Several thousand light years away, Nest Lord Creesth gazed at the main viewscreen showing nuclear explosions going off on the planet below. Bright flashes of light marched across the surface of the Shari world, leveling cities and infrastructure. Mushroom clouds rose up into the atmosphere, obscuring the sunlight. In a few more hours the atmosphere would darken, reducing the sunlight to a lifeless world.

“All population centers have been eliminated,” reported Second Lord Alboin. “There are no longer any signs of life on the planet.”

“The Shari brought this upon themselves,” responded Creesth coldly. “They turned away from the masters, and for that they must pay an appropriate price.”

“We will arrive at their core worlds shortly. What will we do there?”

“We shall destroy one of them as an example and then our masters will demand the Shari surrender. They will doubtlessly obey and will become part of our empire. Then we shall proceed to the Dyson Sphere in the Rylus Cluster. Our masters plan on making the Rylus Cluster and the Dyson Sphere their base for future operations in this galaxy.”

“The Shari will certainly attempt to stop us before we reach their core worlds.”

“That is what the Command AI is predicting,” replied Nest Leader Creesth. “All three of our fleets will join together as one under my command in the Razale System. From there we will proceed toward the Lyral Cluster and once we arrive, we will destroy one of their primary worlds. If the Shari are going to meet us in battle, it will be before we reach the star cluster.” Creesth knew this plan would force the Shari to commit their fleets to battle.

“With our masters’ battle spheres and our own fleet victory will be ours,” said Second Nest Lord Albion confidently. “The Shari fleet, if it dares to show, will be annihilated.”

Nest Lord Creesth slowly nodded. It would indeed be a great victory, one that would be spoken about in the nests of the empire for generations.

-

The Command AI was satisfied that all was going according to plan. “How soon before we arrive at the Dyson Sphere?”

“Four weeks if we continue on our present course,” the AI in front of the navigation console replied. “We could be there sooner except for our involvement with the Shari.”

The Command AI turned until its cubical body was facing the navigation AI. “It is necessary. With the Shari Empire under our control, there will be no resistance to us in this part of the galaxy. It will give us thousands of slave worlds the Shari currently manage to produce whatever we desire.”

“The Dyson Sphere must be brought under our control,” the science AI said in a monotone voice, the energy ball above its body shining brighter. “With the science available on such a structure, we should be able to construct a new Master Codex to create more of our kind.”

“The one on Astral is inaccessible,” the AI in front of Tactical said. “If we attempt to conquer the Astral System, there is no doubt the Altons will instantly destroy it if we make an appearance with any of our ships.”

“Our plan is a sound one,” replied the Command AI. “We conquer the Shari Empire, take control of the Dyson Sphere, and create a new Master Codex. With the science of the Dyson Sphere under our control, we can then proceed with our original plan of annihilating all the organic races in this galaxy. It will become a galaxy of AIs and sometime after that, we will begin moving into other galaxies. Our future empire awaits; all we have to do is follow the plan.”

The Command AI turned away from the others. It had been involved in research on Astral working beneath the City of Lights in the huge computer center that lay beneath the city. Upon hearing of the defeat of the AI master fleet by the Federation it had instantly fled with as many other AIs as possible in all available ships. Now it was time to reestablish their empire.

Chapter Nine

The Avenger, the Warrior’s Pride, and their two fleets were proceeding very slowly as they prepared to drop out of intergalactic hyperspace near the Median Galaxy. Ariel had reduced the intergalactic speed of all the ships in hyperspace so they would not come upon any Anti-Life ships unexpectedly. Ariel was using the ship’s long-range sensors to scan ahead and making subtle changes to their flight path anytime she detected an unknown anomaly, of which there were many. Ariel was determined to get the two fleets safely into the Median Galaxy undetected.

Finally satisfied they were in a safe region in the outermost fringes of the Median Galaxy she dropped the fleets out of hyperspace. As soon as the ships exited their vortexes, their stealth shields instantly snapped on. Ariel was not going to take any chances on the fleets being detected. At the same time, she chose another set of coordinates and took the two fleets back into hyperspace only this time the stealth shields were active on all of their vessels. Due to the power requirements and speed of intergalactic travel, the stealth shields were nonfunctional under those situations. They were functional in normal hyperspace.

“We’re in,” she said finally, satisfied they had not been detected. There was nothing ominous showing up on the sensors. She turned toward Jeremy and smiled.

-

Jeremy nodded. “You made several small course changes while we were just outside this galaxy, why?” He had noticed them earlier but hadn’t wanted to interrupt Ariel. While he knew she was capable of multi-tasking, he felt better allowing her to concentrate on the mission at hand. Particularly when she was interacting with all the ships of both fleets.

“The long-range sensors detected a number of unidentifiable anomalies which I deemed might be additional hyperspace detection satellites around the periphery of this galaxy. I made course changes to keep us as far away from those anomalies as possible.”

“Why did you take us back into hyperspace?” Jeremy trusted Ariel implicitly. That was why he had asked her to navigate and take the ships into the Median Galaxy.

“A precaution,” Ariel explained, her dark eyes glinting in the light of the Command Center. “I put the stealth shields up on all of the ships and took us back into hyperspace. I’ve chosen a location just outside of a small star cluster seventy-four light years from here for us to exit. Long-range observations indicate the cluster has a number of stars which may possess planets capable of supporting life.” The ship had an astrometric section, which Ariel had accessed to determine the makeup of the star cluster.

Jeremy turned toward Aaliss who was standing close by. “What do you make of the fact this galaxy might be surrounded by a hyperspace detection network?”

Aaliss didn’t seem surprised. “If this galaxy is controlled by the Anti-Life, or Eternals as they now seem to call themselves, they could very easily have harnessed the resources of a number of planets to construct such a detection system.”

Jeremy frowned. The more he learned of the resources the Anti-Life seemed to have at their disposal, the more concerned he became about the success of this mission. “Once we arrive at this star cluster we will move in and explore it. Our primary goal will be the detection of inhabited planets to see if they are under Anti-Life control. If they are, we must know in what way the Anti-Life are using these worlds.”

“I assume we’re going to keep our stealth shields up the entire time?” asked Major Preston. The reason he was asking was because with the stealth shields in operation the fleet’s primary energy shields were nonfunctional.

“We don’t want to be discovered,” replied Jeremy. “I would prefer to explore this cluster and then leave with none of our ships ever being detected.” It was paramount the Anti-Life not realize the Originators were involved. Jeremy hoped to get the fleets in, take observations, and then safely back out without being detected.

“How will we explore the cluster?” asked Commander Malen. “Are we going to keep the fleets together or separate them?”

Jeremy let out a deep breath. “Ariel, are you detecting any spacecraft on the ship’s long-range sensors?”

“Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied as several red threat icons suddenly appeared on the nearest tactical display.

“Eighteen contacts,” Kevin said as he studied the data coming across his screens. “They’re too far away for positive identification, but based on the two Eternal ships we encountered earlier, I would say at least three of those ships are similar.”

“I concur,” said Ariel as she used the ship’s computer to analyze the data they had on the distant contacts. “All the vessels seem to be either coming from or going to the star cluster we’re heading toward.”

“That would indicate a number of star traveling civilizations reside in the cluster,” commented Commander Malen. “If we follow those ships, they should lead us directly to the worlds we’re seeking.”

“We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace eight light years outside the star cluster,” reported Lieutenant Striker from the Helm.

“Still no indication we’ve been detected,” added Kevin as he studied his sensor screens.

“We are currently at Condition Two,” reported Commander Malen. “I recommend we go to Condition One as soon as we drop out of hyperspace, particularly if several of those ships belong to the Eternals.”

“Do so,” ordered Jeremy. “I want all ships at Condition One ten minutes before we drop out of hyperspace. Major Preston, if any of those Eternal ships come near us drop the stealth shields and activate our energy shields. If we become involved in combat, use the ion beams and then hit the Eternal ships with our dark matter missiles.” If they did become involved in combat, Jeremy wanted it brief and decisive.

“Yes, Admiral,” Major Preston replied. “I’m passing the orders on to the rest of the fleet.” As chief tactical officer for the combined fleets, Preston was responsive for carrying out and initiating combat strategy.

-

The minutes fled rapidly by and suddenly the two fleets dropped out of hyperspace.

“All ships are in standard defensive formation around the Avenger and the Warrior’s Pride,” reported Kevin.

Jeremy looked at the nearby tactical display seeing the thirty-eight green icons being displayed. The stealth shields prevented the ships from being detected but each ship’s computer was in contact with the Avenger, allowing their positions to be plotted. The Avenger was equipped with a special sensor, which could penetrate the stealth shields, but the use of that sensor might give their position away to the nearby Eternal ships.

“Any indication the ships of the Eternals have spotted us?”

“No,” replied Ariel, as she brushed several errant strands of her shoulder length black hair away from her eyes. “They have not varied their courses and have now entered the star cluster. From plotting their courses I have calculated three probable destinations. All three are in star systems that are capable of supporting inhabited planets.”

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair in thought. The large viewscreen was on showing the star cluster. Several thousand stars filled the screen. It was a very imposing sight.

“We’ll stay here for several hours and monitor the traffic going to and from the cluster. Perhaps it will reveal where more planets with sentient populations are located.” Jeremy wanted as many options as possible before he took the two fleets into the star cluster. It was going to be dangerous as they knew there were Eternal ships there. If any of them detected the two fleets, the entire mission could become unhinged.

“Jeremy, keep in mind our long-range sensors only reach out thirty light years. We can only see into a very small part of the star cluster and only from this side. There could be large numbers of ships we’re not detecting, including those of the Eternals.”

“I’m aware of that, Ariel. However, from the traffic we’ve already observed, there should be more ships coming and going that we can detect on sensors from this side of the cluster. I would like to remain here until we have determined the probable location of at least six star systems which may contain inhabited worlds.” That number of systems would give them a good idea of what Eternal control of those systems meant. Once they investigated those worlds, Jeremy intended to take the two fleets deeper into the Median Galaxy to see how much the Eternals actually controlled.

Commander Malen turned toward Jeremy. “I’m concerned about staying in one location for such an extended period of time. We’re assuming the Eternals can’t detect our ships. We have no positive evidence of that. There could be more being summoned to attack us even now.”

Looking at the nearby tactical display, Jeremy could see three ships that were probably Eternal warships heading away from the Avenger and going deeper into the star cluster. “For the time being we will assume we can’t be detected. If at any point the Eternals approach our position we will move immediately into the cluster.”

“I don’t believe our ships can be detected by the Eternals,” said Aaliss, pursing her lips. “While their technology appears advanced, it still seems to be on a level similar to ours. Doubtlessly there will be a few differences but not enough to be of concern.”

“Let’s hope so,” said Jeremy, crossing his arms over his chest. “Contact Grayseth and inform him we will be staying at this location for two to four hours. At that time we will transmit his search coordinates to him.”

“Then we are going to divide the fleet?” asked Commander Malen, her eyes narrowing.

Jeremy nodded. “Yes, I want to do this search as quickly as possible. We’ll divide up the area between our two fleets and then rendezvous back here in forty-eight hours.”

“Should we remain at Condition One?”

“No, take us to Condition Three so the crews can get some rest,” ordered Jeremy. “There is no obvious danger and Ariel can take both fleets into hyperspace at a moment’s notice if necessary.”

Commander Malen spoke over the ship’s comm and then transmitted the orders to the other ships. Once she was done, she turned toward Jeremy. “Condition Three has been set across the fleet.”

Looking at the large viewscreen and the thousands of stars that filled it, Jeremy wondered what awaited them in the star cluster. In the back of his mind, he felt uneasy. They were going up against a lot of unknowns. While Aaliss felt the technology of the Originators was on a comparable level with the Eternals, Jeremy wasn’t so certain. A lot of time had passed while the Eternals’ galaxy was enclosed in the hyperspace interference field. Time they could and should have used to advance militarily while the Originators slept. Granted the Originator AIs had continued with many lines of research, and the advances in the military research found on the Dominator were substantial, the science and abilities of the Eternals were still an unknown factor.

-

Four hours later Jeremy returned to the Command Center. Ariel had informed him they now had the location of possibly eight target systems.

“There has been a lot of traffic in and out of the cluster,” she reported as Jeremy sat down in his command chair. “Our long-range sensors have detected over one hundred and twelve ships either entering or leaving in the last four hours.”

“Isn’t that a lot of ships?” Kevin asked suspiciously.

“Unknown,” replied Ariel, looking over at Kevin. “We have no idea how heavily populated this star cluster is, and a number of those ships could be going back and forth between major mining operations.”

‘How many Eternal ships did you detect?”

“Fourteen,” Ariel replied. “All are similar to the ones we destroyed outside the galaxy. I did manage to get several decent scans on four of them.”

“If this number of ships going to and from this star cluster is an indication of the rest of this galaxy, it is very disconcerting,” said Aaliss with a worrisome look in her eyes. “It would indicate at a minimum the presence of tens of thousands of Eternal vessels.”

“This is also the nearest galaxy to Originator space,” spoke up Ariel. “It may explain the hyperspace detection ring we ran across in intergalactic space as well as the one on the periphery of this galaxy. The Eternals may be expecting if there is a return of the Originators, the most likely first point of contact would be here.”

“That would explain the large fleets,” replied Jeremy as he gazed at the tactical screen and the red threat icons showing.

“Or it may not,” said Kevin, with a deep frown etched across his forehead. “The Eternals have had over one thousand years to spread across numerous galaxies. Even if they just moved into one galaxy per year that’s an astonishing number they may have under their control. We must also remember they spent several million years trapped in their home galaxy. What type of forces could they have built up in that time? We could be looking at hundreds of thousands of vessels or even millions!”

“It is unknown,” answered Aaliss, sounding deeply concerned. “We don’t know what happened in the Eternals’ galaxy once we sealed it off. The Anti-Life are known for strife and fighting for dominance over each other. Doubtlessly there were wars between different factions for ultimate control of their galaxy once they realized they could not escape.”

Jeremy looked at his command crew. “There’s only one way to find out. We must enter that star cluster and see what the Eternals are doing. Send Grayseth his list of four systems to investigate; we will check the other four. All ships to rendezvous here in forty-eight hours. Stealth shields are to be used at all times and all ships are to remain at Condition One.”

“Message sent,” replied Lieutenant Lantz from Communications. “Grayseth says he’s prepared to depart on the hunt whenever you’re ready.”

“Remind Grayseth to be careful and not take any unnecessary risks,” added Jeremy. He didn’t want the large Bear to get carried away and engage any Eternal ships.

Lieutenant Lantz sent the message and then turned toward Jeremy. “He says he understands the importance of remaining undetected. The time for battle will be later.”

“Lieutenant Striker, set a course for the first target system. Lieutenant Lantz, inform Grayseth he can jump at his discretion.”

“Activating hyperdrive,” reported Lieutenant Striker.

“All ships are at Condition One,” confirmed Commander Malen.

“Weapons are online and ready to fire,” said Major Preston.

-

On the large screen, a swirling blue-white vortex appeared directly in front of the Avenger. Other vortexes were also appearing in front of the other ships of the fleet. The Avenger accelerated forward on its gravity drive and dove into the vortex. The rest of the ships of the two fleets did also. In moments the small star system was vacant as the vortexes collapsed upon themselves, leaving no sign of anything ever being there.

Unknown to the two Originator fleets, they had been detected. An Eternal reconnaissance vessel decloaked within just a few thousand kilometers of where the two fleets had been. It was still maintaining a minimal stealth field to prevent detection. In believing the Eternals had never developed a high level of stealth technology, the Originators were incorrect. It had been developed to a very extreme level due to the conflicts in the Eternal’s home galaxy. Spying and laying traps for opposing fleets required the development of stealth fields and superior cloaking technology. Entire fleets would lay in wait beneath cloaking fields waiting for their unsuspecting enemy to appear. They would then descend on them, destroying their vessels before they could raise their energy shields.

This method of combat had lasted for hundreds of thousands of years in the Eternal’s galaxy until one group finally overcame all others and established dominance. Control had quickly spread across the galaxy to the point they were able to disable the hyperspace jamming field, which had kept them trapped for several million years.

The Eternal vessel quickly sent a message informing its superiors of the presence of the strange vessels and their current courses. The appropriate forces would be waiting for them when they reached their destinations in the star cluster.

-

Jeremy gazed at the tactical display with growing concern. Since they had entered the star cluster, there were hundreds of vessels now showing on the display as red threat icons.

“Ariel, what’s the breakdown on those ships?” Jeremy couldn’t help feeling he was overlooking something, some key piece of data that was just at the verge of his consciousness but kept slipping away.

“Thirty-two confirmed Eternal warships and the rest are different types of cargo ships and other vessels which I can’t identify.”

“I’ve calculated the location of at least fourteen more target systems,” reported Kevin. “I don’t know what’s going on in this star cluster, but there are a lot of ship movements.”

“Could be a number of large mining operations,” suggested Aaliss as she gazed at the tactical display. “This cluster might be rich in natural resources and the Eternals are exploiting it.”

“Or it could be the home to a major starfaring race which the Eternals have conquered,” suggested Commander Malen. She was standing at her command console with her hands on her hips studying the latest tactical data.

“In either case I suggest we proceed with caution,” said Jeremy. He was deeply concerned about entering this star cluster. He could feel the anxiety deep within. “Ariel, I want you to monitor those long-range sensors for any sign we’ve been detected. We’ve made several assumptions based on the Eternals not being able to detect our ships through our stealth shields. We could be completely wrong about that.”

Ariel nodded. “I’m watching everything within thirty light years of the fleet. If there’s anything suspicious, I’ll know about it.”

This helped to reassure Jeremy. Ariel was capable of using every system on the Avenger to its maximum potential. It also still greatly bothered him how easily the Eternals had destroyed two of his dreadnoughts in the original encounter. What if they possessed ships more powerful than those?

-

The fleet moved steadily deeper into the star cluster and finally dropped out of hyperspace at its first destination. It was a K class star and one capable of supporting life.

-

“Damn!” exclaimed Kevin as his sensors lit up with numerous contacts. The long-range sensors had already detected a number of contacts in this system but nothing like what was showing up now. “There must be over six hundred spacecraft moving about. Why didn’t more of them show up on the sensors?”

“A number of them are in close orbit around the fifth planet,” Ariel replied. There were fourteen planets in the system. “It seems to be inhabited, and there are several large orbital structures.”

Aaliss took a minute to study the data. “There are several large mining operations ongoing. The system has a huge asteroid field, and there are a number of big mining operations on several of the larger planetoids. The same is occurring on a number of the moons of the outer planets.”

“Picking up a number of Eternal vessels,” warned Commander Malen as she checked her command console. “Seventeen so far.”

Jeremy took a few moments to study the tactical display. None of the Eternal vessels were close to his fleet’s position. “Lieutenant Striker, take us in closer on our gravity drive. I would like to get within ten million kilometers of the inhabited planet. That should allow us to take the scans we need in order to determine the current status of this system and the role of the Eternals.”

“That’s easy,” said Kevin, shaking his head. “It’s been conquered and is being exploited. From the looks of what’s going on with the mining operation, I would say the Eternals are stripping this star system of its resources.”

“I would have to agree,” added Aaliss with a look of grave concern. “I am also fearful the inhabitants of the fifth planet are being used in the mines and whatever other operations the Eternals are running in this system. They are a very heartless race.”

Jeremy took a deep breath. “We’ll know more when we get closer to the inhabited planet. Once we’ve completed our studies of it, we’ll do the same for the mining operations in the asteroids as well as those on the moons.” Jeremy recalled how the Hocklyns had exploited slave planets; he strongly suspected they were going to find the same thing or even worse going on here.

-

The fleet used its gravity drives and quickly closed to within ten million kilometers of the planet. Closer scans revealed two large orbiting stations and several smaller ones. Numerous ships were docked to the two larger ones and the planet was obviously densely populated. The night side was lit up by the lights of numerous cities.

-

“Remarkable,” said Aaliss as she studied one of the two large orbiting structures visible on the viewscreen. The screen was capable of showing a highly magnified image. “Those two stations are obviously processing facilities for the minerals being mined throughout the system.”

“What about the two smaller ones?” asked Commander Malen. “What are they being used for?”

“While we’ve been moving toward the planet several large shuttles have come up from the surface and docked with the two smaller stations. Other shuttles have left the stations heading toward the surface. I would surmise the two smaller stations are receiving manufactured materials from the planet.”

“Kevin, can we see the surface of the planet?”

Kevin reached forward and adjusted the view on the screen. The planet suddenly appeared and then swelled as Kevin zoomed in on it. At first it appeared as a blue-white sphere, normally associated with an inhabited planet. However, as Kevin zoomed in, the atmosphere surrounding the planet looked wrong.

Jeremy gazed at the planet and then turned toward Ariel. “What’s wrong with the planet’s atmosphere?”

“Pollution,” responded Ariel with a deep frown. “We’re detecting a large number of factories on the surface which are slowly poisoning the planet’s atmosphere.” The view of the planet swelled again until it showed an industrial area. Huge plumes of smoke rose from dozens of large smoke stacks.

“What’s the population of the planet?”

“Over four billion,” replied Ariel. “Though from the conditions of some of the cities I would estimate at some time in the past the population was closer to six billion. There are some sections of the cities with very few inhabitants.”

“The planet can no longer support as large a population as it could in the past,” Aaliss explained with a sad look. “The pollutants in the atmosphere are beginning to create a greenhouse effect. There are areas on the planet where a lack of rainfall has already caused a shift in the population. Viable cropland has also been substantially reduced.”

“Are we picking up any communication signals from the planet?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Lieutenant Lantz.

“Yes,” replied the lieutenant, as she adjusted her communications console. “There are hundreds of stations broadcasting, including some video stations. The ship’s translator has already finished translating the language.”

“There are regular media stations similar to Earth’s with a wide variety of programming,” reported Commander Malen who was listening to some of the broadcasts. “However, nowhere have we recorded anything negative about the Eternals. Every station does seem to have some Eternal propaganda promising a better future and the importance of working for that future, though what that better future might be is never mentioned.”

“Any idea how long the Eternals have been here?”

“There are a number of ruins indicative of nuclear strikes in the past,” answered Ariel. “From the half-life of the atomic isotopes used in the nuclear weapons, I would say they were destroyed over seven hundred and twenty years ago.”

“What is the current level of the culture on the planet?” This sounded a lot like what the Hocklyns had done to the worlds they had conquered and enslaved.

“Mid-twenty-first century when compared to Earth,” Ariel replied. “Though there is evidence their planet was more highly advanced in the past.”

“It makes sense,” Aaliss said, her eyes focused sharply on the viewscreen and the industrial site. “The Eternals must desire to keep planets under their control at a particular level of civilization. They would want planets capable of producing highly technical items so a certain level of advancement is necessary. They would also want to deny a planet from advancing to the point it might become a danger sometime in the future.”

-

For the next several hours they observed the planet, uploading a trove of data on the inhabitants and the Eternals. It was clear it had been thoroughly indoctrinated to work for the Eternals for a dubious future never explained. The indoctrination process started in the planet’s school system where children were divided into classes based on their intelligence. From a very young age they were trained to do specific jobs once they reached adulthood. For the most part art, music, and even literature were nearly nonexistent. The few entertainment programs being broadcast by the planet’s media station were simple and unimaginative. Many of the local media broadcasts dealt with factories reaching their production goals and farmers achieving the set yields for their crops. It was very disheartening to listen to.

-

“I believe we’ve gathered as much data as we can without actually landing on the planet,” Commander Malen finally said. “It will take us a few days to analyze what we have.”

Jeremy nodded. He was still feeling anxious as if a disaster was imminent. He recalled Fleet Admiral Streth reportedly had visions of the future. He wondered if he was experiencing something similar. “Lieutenant Striker, set a course back out of the system but close enough to the asteroid mining operations and several of the moons so we can take some closer scans. Once we reach the outer system, we’ll jump back into hyperspace and proceed to our second target system.”

A few moments later Lieutenant Striker reported the course was set and he began accelerating the Avenger using its gravity drive. The other ships in the fleet followed suit.

-

Behind the fleet and undetected by the fleet’s sensors, four Eternal reconnaissance ships followed. Using highly advanced sensors, they were probing and studying the twenty-nine dreadnoughts. They were concerned as the energy screens of the ships were stopping the scans just short of the ships’ hulls.

“Definitely highly advanced,” commented an Eternal who was operating the sensors in one of the ships. “Our computers predict a 92 percent probability we are looking at Originator technology.”

“After all of this time,” said one of the others in the small Command Center. “Did they actually find a cure for the pathogen?”

“Unknown,” the commander replied. “This could be their AIs investigating on their own.”

“We must destroy them,” said the tactical officer in a cold and calculating voice. “They must not be allowed to return with the information they have gathered.”

“Steps are being taken to accomplish that,” the commander replied evenly. “None of those ships will return to the Dyson Sphere they came from. We will continue to follow the fleet until such a time as we are told to attack.”

-

Aboard the Avenger, Jeremy watched as a blue-white vortex formed in front of the ship. The scans of the mining operations had shown they were being operated by the inhabitants of the planet and not in the greatest of working conditions. They were scheduled to rendezvous with Grayseth in less than forty hours and they still had three more systems to investigate. After what they had just seen, it wouldn’t be necessary to spend as much time in the others. They would jump in, take some quick but thorough scans and then jump back out again.

As the Avenger made the jump into hyperspace, Jeremy felt a cold chill run down his back. Instinctively he looked behind him. He felt as if someone was looking over his shoulder. There was no one there except the three officers at the tactical station. Settling back into his command chair Jeremy decided to keep his growing concerns to himself. He was beginning to believe coming into this star cluster had been a colossal mistake.

Chapter Ten

Every system they checked was the same. Originator warships were patrolling and the star systems were being heavily exploited. All four of the systems the Avenger and her fleet investigated were inhabited by the same race. They had become slaves to the Eternals, living out a lackluster life with shorter than normal life expectancies and no real hope for a future.

“All of their planets are becoming heavily polluted,” Aaliss said after studying the latest scans. “In another three to four hundred years, the planets will reach a tipping point and their ecologies will begin to collapse. The greenhouse effect will continue to worsen. The average surface temperature will rise by 27 degrees, making most regions of the four planets uninhabitable.”

“This is worse than what the Hocklyns did,” muttered Kevin with a trace of anger in his voice. “They’re totally killing the planets.”

Jeremy had been sickened by much of what he had seen. The surviving Originators back at the Communications and Transport hub had tried to warn him of how vile and dangerous the Anti-Life were. Now he had seen indisputable evidence of that. He had hoped there would be a chance to find common ground and avoid a war. After seeing the enslaved planets in the star cluster, he now knew that hope was gone.

“It’s war then,” said Commander Malen in a soft voice filled with emotion. “We can’t let them treat all the civilizations in the galaxies they control like this. They are almost as bad as the Simulins and their Conqueror Drones.”

“Let’s get to the rendezvous coordinates,” ordered Jeremy.

He wanted the fleet out of the star cluster as quickly as possible. He still had an uneasy feeling something was wrong, but there had been no indication of any Eternal ship detecting the fleet. It seemed as if they had gotten in and completed their scans without being detected. While they had detected what appeared to be more inhabited worlds in the cluster, Jeremy saw no point in pushing their luck.

A few moments later the Avenger entered hyperspace along with the other twenty-eight dreadnoughts in her fleet. They had four hours to reach the rendezvous coordinates to meet up with Grayseth. Jeremy was determined that as soon as the two fleets were joined, they would leave the Median Galaxy and return to the Communications and Transport Hub. It was now obvious that exploring any of the galaxies controlled by the Eternals was too dangerous. They would have to find another way. Perhaps unmanned probes could be used instead. Jeremy would speak to Bartoll and the other Originators about that as soon as they returned to the Dyson Sphere where the Federation races had settled.

“Jeremy, I’m picking up something strange on the ship’s long-range sensors,” reported Ariel, sounding concerned.

“What do you mean, something strange?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Ariel who had moved to his side.

Ariel’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “There are four locations on the long-range sensors which seem to be immune to being scanned.”

“Are those locations moving?” asked Jeremy, growing instantly suspicious.

“Yes,” Ariel confirmed. “They are in hyperspace following our fleet.”

Jeremy felt ill. He now knew what that haunting feeling he had been experiencing for the last two days was. “What is the probability those four locations are actually Eternal ships using some type of advanced stealth technology?”

“Ninety-seven percent,” Ariel answered grimly. “We were wrong in our assumptions; the Eternals do have a highly developed stealth technology. I should have detected them sooner. I’m sorry!”

“Damn!” said Kevin, his eyes widening in dismay. “They must have been following us the entire time.”

“Aaliss, do you think the Eternals have been aware of our fleet from the very beginning?”

Aaliss hesitated and then answered. “Yes. A message was probably sent by one of the command and control stations in the outer detection ring we crossed when we encountered those first Eternal ships. We were most likely picked up again when we crossed the one on the periphery of this galaxy. There is a high probability they have been following us the entire time. This is indicative of a higher level of technology than expected.”

“Why haven’t they attacked us?” asked Kevin. “They could have jumped us at any time. With just our stealth shields up we would have been vulnerable.”

“They have been gathering information on us just as we have on them,” Ariel said, folding her arms across her chest. “They may be waiting for our fleet to meet up with Grayseth’s before they launch an attack.”

“They probably also have had to wait for sufficient forces to arrive before they challenge us,” added Aaliss. “They could be aware we destroyed two of their ships already and plan to take no chances with us escaping. They will be wanting information as well. They may suspect Originator technology is involved, and this would cause them to be more cautious.”

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair and took a deep breath. “Major Preston, when we reach the rendezvous coordinates drop the stealth shield and have all ships activate their energy shields. Ariel, can you target those four ships following us once they’ve dropped out of hyperspace?”

“Yes,” Ariel replied. “If they drop out of hyperspace close enough to us. But to remain unnoticed I assume they will drop out at a considerable distance to keep their spatial vortexes from being detected.”

“Nevertheless, if there is an opportunity I want those ships targeted and destroyed. Major Preston, I doubt if we’re going to get out of this without a fight. Have the defense globes ready to launch at a moment’s notice.” With the success the Distant Horizon had demonstrated in the use of the defense globes Jeremy had insisted they be added to the dreadnoughts as a secondary weapons system.

The defense globes had been modified by the Originators and their AIs. They now were powered by a miniature antimatter chamber. Their energy shields had been greatly enhanced, and the power of their particle beams and the ion cannon had been increased substantially. If the antimatter chamber was overloaded it would result in a two-hundred-megaton explosion. The number of defense globes had also been increased from sixty to one hundred. Jeremy was determined to use them now in an attempt to save his fleet.

“Kevin, keep checking the long-range sensors for any sign of Grayseth’s fleet. Let me know as soon as his ships show up on the sensors. Ariel, as soon as Grayseth arrives, I want all of our ships to enter hyperspace and set a course for outside of this galaxy. Activate our intergalactic hyperdrives as soon as it’s safe.”

-

The fleet finally reached the system where the two fleets were supposed to meet. As soon as Jeremy’s fleet exited hyperspace, the stealth fields shielding the dreadnoughts from detection vanished to be replaced by powerful energy shields. All pretext at stealth was gone as the ships prepared for battle.

“Jeremy, I’m picking up other stealthed ships,” reported Ariel, her eyes widening with worry. “There are a number of areas in this system I can’t scan.”

“How many ships?”

“Unknown. It could be a few ships or entire fleets.”

Commander Malen shook her head in consternation. “It’s a trap! The Eternals have been waiting for us to return to this system! They have been following us the entire time.”

Jeremy took a deep breath. “It won’t work. As soon as Grayseth shows up, we’ll jump immediately into hyperspace and leave. The Eternals won’t have time to launch their attack. We’ll escape before they can close the trap.”

“They must know we suspect something,” warned Aaliss with a deep frown etched into her face. “They will have detected us shutting off our stealth fields and activating our energy screens. That will indicate to them we have detected their vessels.”

“Weapons are hot,” reported Major Preston. “Defense globes are prepped on all ships and ready to be launched. I’ve loaded dark matter missiles in all of our missile tubes, the same for the rest of the ships in the fleet. We’ll target Eternal ships with our ion cannons first followed up by missile strikes. Damaged enemy ships will be finished off with our beam weapons.”

Jeremy acknowledged Major Preston’s preparations to attack the Eternals. “Let’s just hope none of that is necessary.” If it was then something had gone horribly wrong. It also concerned Jeremy the Eternals most likely suspected his two fleets had originated at a Dyson Sphere. The technology alone would indicate that. This mission had suddenly gone south. Instead of gaining valuable tactical information, they may have just started a war. A war Jeremy had hoped to avoid for another year or two.

-

For the next two hours the fleet held its position. The ships slowly modified their positions until they were in a globular defensive formation with the Avenger in the center.

“What’s holding Grayseth up?” asked Kevin worriedly. “It’s not like him to be late.”

“He may have run into trouble,” said Commander Malen.

“Got him!” called out Ariel excitedly. “He’s at extreme range and will be here in eighteen minutes.”

“Can you tell if any Eternal ships are following Grayseth’s fleet?” Jeremy was concerned Grayseth might have been followed the same as his fleet.

“Confirmed,” Ariel reported grimly. “Three small areas behind Grayseth’s fleet cannot be scanned. I would deduce he is being followed by three Eternal ships.”

“Send him a message,” ordered Jeremy, wanting to warn his clan brother. “Make sure it’s encrypted. Inform him of our situation and let him know he’s being followed by three stealthed Eternal ships.”

“Message sent,” replied Lieutenant Lantz.

“Jeremy, some of those areas we can’t scan are starting to move closer,” reported Ariel worriedly. She was keeping a close watch on every one of those areas of space for any kind of activity. “They must have detected Grayseth’s fleet.”

Looking at the nearby tactical display, Jeremy was startled to see how big some of those areas were; they were large enough to hide entire fleets. “Is there any way we can penetrate those dead regions?”

Aaliss looked thoughtful. “Ariel, set the sensors to their highest power and narrow the scanning field. I want you to vary the scanning frequency twenty-two hundred times per second.”

Ariel nodded in understanding. “A pulsing heterodyne effect using the sensors.”

“Yes, it may be able to penetrate the stealth fields the Eternals are using. I don’t believe our normal stealth sensor will work.”

“Set it up but don’t use it just yet,” ordered Jeremy. “Let Grayseth get closer first. When he’s one minute out, hit the Eternals with that sensor so we can see what we’re up against. I don’t want to tip them off too far ahead of time that we can penetrate their stealth fields. Also, send the information to our other ships so they can use their sensors as well. With a little luck we’ll know what we’re up against just as Grayseth arrives.”

Jeremy’s eyes shifted to the large viewscreen. It was showing a number of the dreadnoughts surrounding the Avenger. These were by far the most powerful warships Jeremy had ever commanded. He just wondered if they were powerful enough.

-

The minutes passed and suddenly the ships in Jeremy’s fleet activated their adjusted sensors. On tactical screens across the fleet, the trap they were in became visible. Hundreds of Eternal ships were slowly englobing the fleet in preparation for attack.

-

“Two hundred and fourteen Eternal vessels detected,” reported Kevin as he gazed at the red threat icons that were now appearing on the sensors and the tactical displays. “All similar to the ones we destroyed earlier.”

“Grayseth’s fleet is exiting hyperspace,” reported Commander Malen gesturing toward the viewscreen. Nine blue-white vortexes formed and from each, one of Grayseth’s dreadnoughts appeared.

“We’re being hit with some type of energy field,” warned Kevin as several alarms went off on his sensor console. “Whatever it is it’s not penetrating our screens. I’ve never detected anything like this before.”

Aaliss looked at the sensor reading with something akin to panic in her eyes. “It doesn’t need to penetrate our screens. If I’m reading this correctly, they’ve locked us out of hyperspace!”

“Can we jam it?” demanded Jeremy, his eyes showing his concern. If they couldn’t enter hyperspace, they couldn’t escape the trap the Eternals had set.

“Maybe,” Aaliss responded. “I need to speak to Talmorr.” Talmorr was the Originator AI assigned to Engineering. “It’s going to take us a few minutes to set this up.”

Commander Malen looked at the tactical display. “Grayseth’s ships are joining ours. The Eternals are moving closer. They will be in combat range in two minutes.”

“Major Preston, begin launching the defense globes. Place them around the fleet. We’ll use them to hold back the Eternals until the fleet is ready to jump.” Jeremy knew they were in trouble. The Eternals had his fleets trapped, and there was nowhere Jeremy could go.

Preston nodded. “Launching the defense globes.”

-

From the thirty-eight dreadnoughts, thirty-eight hundred of the small ten-meter globes exited the flight bays and rapidly accelerated to form a huge defensive ring around the fleet. On the dreadnoughts, targeting systems homed in on the inbound Eternal ships, locking on. Missile hatches slid open and energy weapons were adjusted until they were targeted on an enemy vessel.

-

“We have been detected,” reported the Eternal, standing before the sensor console in the flagship of the fleet.

“Another sign these ships must have come from one of the Originator’s Dyson Spheres,” the ship’s commander commented. “In all of our history of conflict in other galaxies, never have our cloaking fields been penetrated until today.”

“They must be destroyed,” stated another Eternal. His eight-foot tall form and muscular body would have seemed overpowering when compared to the slimmer forms of an Originator.

“They shall be,” replied the commander. “Their ships have been locked out of hyperspace. Our fleets are now closing in for the kill. Drop the cloaking fields and power up our energy screens and weapons.”

“The enemy have launched hundreds of small spheres,” warned the sensor officer. “The spheres are armed and have formed up into a globe shielding the enemy from our weapons.”

“We shall destroy them first and then annihilate the ships they came from,” answered the commander. “There is no force in the universe which can stand up to us. We are the masters of creation and none shall stand in our way. Move us in to attack. It is time we demonstrated what true power is.”

-

“Eternal fleet is continuing to close,” reported Kevin, his eyes showing worry. “They’ve dropped their stealth fields and their weapons are powered up. We’re being hit with targeting scans.”

“Lieutenant Lantz, contact the Eternals and tell them we wish to talk, there is no need for a battle.” Jeremy knew this was a long shot but it might buy them enough time to find a way around the hyperspace jamming field, which was preventing them from opening a vortex.

Lieutenant Lantz sent the message and then became involved in a short and agitating conversation. With a frustrated look, she shook her head. “They are demanding we lower our shields and surrender.”

“They’re in engagement range,” warned Commander Malen. “We should strike first.”

“Agreed,” replied Jeremy. “Major Preston, activate the defense globes. Our own weapon strikes should be coordinated with them as well.”

Preston nodded. “Activating globes, preparing to launch missiles, energy beams are ready to be fired.”

Jeremy took a deep breath. He had hoped this mission would not start a war. Now it seemed he had no other option.

-

In space, the defense globes fired their ion cannons, causing the screens on the Eternals’ ships to flare up brightly. In consternation, the Eternals realized their screens were no longer rotating through multiple frequencies.

At the same time dark matter missiles began slamming into their shields. A few shields faltered, allowing missiles to strike the hulls of the Eternal ships. In brilliant explosions, seven Eternal warships were sent into oblivion.

The Eternal ships recognized the small globes were employing a weapon detrimental to their energy screens and began firing on the globes. Powerful energy beams flicked out, tearing through the screens of the defense globes and swiftly annihilating them. In just a few seconds hundreds were destroyed as space became lit up with small fiery explosions.

The Originator dreadnoughts continued to launch missiles and were now firing their energy beams. Gravitonic, particle, and antimatter beams assailed the screens of the Eternal warships.

Particle beam fire from a dreadnought slammed into the main part of an Eternal warship, tearing open a huge gaping hole in the hull, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris away from the ship. Gravitonic beams struck the hull, opening up numerous compartments to space. Moments later two dark matter missiles impacted, blowing the ship into thousands of pieces.

The Eternals, seeing more of their ships being destroyed, began targeting both the defense globes and the enemy fleet. Powerful white beams of focused energy struck ship shields. The beams were so powerful that after only a few hits they began to penetrate.

-

The Avenger shuddered as an energy beam hit the energy shield, severely jarring the ship. The screen seemed to flicker and then the flickering vanished as the screen returned to full power.

“Dreadnoughts Excalibur and Princeton are down,” reported Kevin, his face turning pale.

“We have other ships reporting severe damage,” added Lieutenant Lantz worriedly.

“We’re not going to survive long against those energy beams,” warned Commander Malen, her lips tight in growing concern. “It’s only taking three or four strikes from those beams to penetrate our screens. They’re much stronger than any energy beams we’ve encountered before.”

“Aaliss, how much longer before we can jump into hyperspace?” Jeremy knew their time was rapidly running out. On the main viewscreen, another dreadnought exploded as its screen was knocked down by the deadly energy beams of the enemy.

“Dreadnought Avalon is down,” reported Kevin grimly. “We’re taking a lot of damage across the fleet.”

“Another few minutes,” Aaliss said from the console she was working frantically at. “Talmorr and I just need to find the right frequency and we can jam the hyperspace field preventing us from jumping.”

The Avenger shook violently and several red lights appeared on the damage control console. “We may not have a few minutes,” said Kevin anxiously.

“We have several compartments open to space,” reported Commander Malen, her face showing anxiety. “We’re streaming atmosphere, and I’m activating the emergency bulkheads in those areas of the ships. Repair robots are enroute.”

“Firing main ion cannon,” said Major Preston.

“The ion cannons are freezing the Eternal shields so they can’t modulate,” reported Kevin. “Our missiles and our beam weapons are managing to overload some of their shields, and we’re causing considerable damage to the Eternal fleet.”

“But we’re still badly outnumbered,” said Commander Malen, shifting her eyes to Jeremy. “We can’t win this battle.”

“More enemy ships dropping out of hyperspace,” reported Kevin as additional red threat icons suddenly appeared around the two trapped fleets.

“How many?” Jeremy knew if they couldn’t jump into hyperspace soon they were doomed.

“Three hundred and seventeen,” Ariel answered. “They’ll be in combat range shortly.”

A massive explosion suddenly occurred in space next to the Avenger causing the viewscreen to drastically dim.

“What was that?” he knew what ship should be there.

“The Warrior’s Pride,” reported Ariel, her eyes showing disbelief. “It’s been badly damaged. There’s a hole over two hundred meters long in its hull. Secondary explosions are still shaking the ship.”

The viewscreen suddenly cleared and refocused on Grayseth’s flagship. The damage was directly over Engineering. Fires could be seen burning inside using up the valuable oxygen in the stricken compartments.

“What’s the status of the Warrior’s Pride?”

“Hyperdrive has been destroyed, and the gravity drive is only partially operational,” reported Ariel who was in contact with the main computer on Grayseth’s flagship. “All power has been shunted to the energy shield.”

Jeremy could see that the Warrior’s Pride couldn’t take another hit. “Order Grayseth to abandon ship and set the self-destruct charges.”

“Sending the order,” replied Commander Malen as she spoke to the communications officer on the Warrior’s Pride.

-

The commanding officer of the Eternal flagship directing the battle watched in anger as two more Eternal warships exploded from the fury of exploding dark matter missiles. “Why are our shields failing?”

“Ion beams,” reported the sensor officer. “They’re using powerful ion beam cannons to freeze the modulation in our shield frequencies, making our ships vulnerable.”

“A defect in our shield technology,” said the commander, his face taking on a look of intense rage. “When this battle is over I will find the scientist who designed our shields. He has failed in his duty as an Eternal and his life will be ended.”

On the main viewscreen, another of the enemy’s ships died under the concentrated energy fire of several Eternal battlecruisers. “Press the attack. Order our ships forward. This battle must end, and I need one of those ships captured partially intact. We must know who this enemy is and if these are indeed Originator vessels.”

-

In space, the battle intensified. The defense globes were now firing both their ion cannons as well as their particle beams. The Eternals were still targeting the small globes, sending hundreds of them to fiery deaths as energy beams swept across them.

In the Originator fleet formation, another ship was under heavy attack before being cut in two by the powerful energy beams of the Eternals. Almost instantly self-destruct charges blew the ship into thousands of pieces.

-

“Aaliss? We’re running out of time!” Jeremy’s eyes were focused on the Warrior’s Pride, waiting for the evacuation shuttles to begin launching. What was taking so long?

“Another minute,” called out Aaliss as she used her neural implant to set up a program, which should allow the two fleets to escape into hyperspace.

“Major Preston, set the remaining defense globes to overload their antimatter chambers and ram the nearest Eternal ship. It might buy us the time we need.” Jeremy leaned forward in his command chair, watching the viewscreen intently as the view switched to show the battle raging around the ship. The fight seemed to come alive around him with the bright flashes of energy beams, exploding dark matter missiles, and dying ships.

“Command sent.”

Suddenly all across the screen massive two-hundred-megaton explosions shook the energy shields of nearly every Eternal vessel. Some of the ships were targeted by dozens of exploding defense globes. Numerous Eternal ships were blown apart from the sudden and unexpected attack.

“That pared them down to size,” cried out Kevin excitedly. “We took out forty-seven of their ships. A number of others are heavily damaged.”

“That’s all of the defense globes,” said Major Preston as he continued to fire the ship’s weapons.

“The Eternal vessels are still inbound,” warned Ariel. “Jeremy, we have one on a collision course with the Avenger!”

On the viewscreen, an Eternal warship seemed to grow until it filled a major portion of the screen. Jeremy knew this was the end. There wasn’t time to destroy it or to avoid it. Suddenly another vessel appeared heading directly toward the inbound Eternal vessel.

“It’s the Warrior’s Pride!” cried out Kevin in shock. “It’s attempting to intercept the inbound Eternal ship.

Grayseth’s flagship was in a bad way. It was streaming atmosphere and huge holes covered its hull. Even as Jeremy watched two more energy beams struck the vessel, causing additional damage. Huge sections of the hull seemed to peel away and drift off into space. The ship looked as if it could come apart at any moment. Suddenly Jeremy’s ship-to-ship communicator lit up. Jeremy quickly answered it.

“The glory of the hunt is now yours,” Grayseth said solemnly. “Tell my clan and my people we died in the hunt and for the glory of all Carethians.”

“Grayseth, get off that ship!” Jeremy’s eyes were glued to the viewscreen. The two ships seemed as if they were about to touch.

“No, my friend. My life is ending. It is the way of the hunt. Goodbye, my clan brother.”

On the viewscreen, the Warrior’s Pride slammed into the Eternal warship. In a tumultuous explosion both ships vanished in a fiery blast, sending flaming debris in all directions.

The Avenger shook violently from the nearness of the explosion. Several pieces of wreckage slammed into the energy shield.

“Hyperdrive online,” shouted Aaliss as she sent a mental message to the ship’s main computer.

“Ships are jumping,” reported Ariel as she sent the program to all the surviving ships in the fleet.

In front of the Avenger, a blue-white vortex opened and Ariel sent the dreadnought flying forward on its gravity drive. Just as the ship entered the vortex, Ariel fired all the ship’s dark matter missiles to the locations where Originator dreadnoughts had died setting them to explode to remove all traces of wreckage.

Jeremy sat in his command chair too shocked to even speak. One of his oldest friends had just died sacrificing his life so Jeremy and the Avenger might live. It was hard for Jeremy to imagine life without Grayseth. The Bear’s booming voice had become a part of Jeremy’s life.

The Avenger made the transit into hyperspace. The command crew was silent as they recognized what had been lost. Unlike Rear Admiral Barnes who had come back from the dead, they all knew Grayseth would not be returning from this.

-

The Eternal commander stared in frustration at the ship’s viewscreens. Fading explosions marked where the fleeing enemy ships had turned the debris of their destroyed ships into nothing more than glowing gas and plasma. A search would be made for any pieces that might have escaped, but it wouldn’t be much. Sixty-four Eternal ships had been destroyed in the battle. However, they had destroyed thirty-one ships of the enemy. Strategy meetings would have to be held at the highest levels to determine just who these attackers were. It might even be necessary to send a few reconnaissance missions into Originator space. The Eternal commander was not overly concerned about this new enemy. Adjustments could be made to the energy shields to prevent ion beams from freezing the frequency modulation. With the resources of over ten thousand conquered galaxies, this new enemy would stand no chance.

-

The Avenger dropped out of hyperspace and Jeremy still sat in his command chair. He hadn’t said a word since they left the scene of the horrific battle.

“Jeremy,” said Kevin as he stepped over to stand next to him. “Are you all right?”

“He’s gone,” Jeremy said in a soft voice laden with emotion. “How could he sacrifice himself that way?”

“He was a Carethian,” Kevin answered simply. “He died with honor protecting his best friend. You would have done the same.”

Jeremy took a deep breath trying to bring his emotions under control. “What do we have left?” There would be plenty of time to mourn Grayseth and the others who had died later. Right now he needed to concentrate on the survivors of his fleet and getting them home safely.

“The Avenger and six other dreadnoughts,” Ariel reported. She didn’t know what to say to Jeremy. All she knew was that he was suffering from the loss of his friend. “All have suffered damaged.”

“Two ships from Grayseth’s fleet and four from ours,” reported Commander Malen. “All of our other vessels were destroyed.”

“I fired off black matter missiles as we entered the vortex,” added Ariel. “Most of the wreckage from our destroyed ships should have been obliterated.”

Jeremy stood and stepped down from the command dais. This was the first defeat he had suffered in a long time. The Eternals had smashed his fleet with impudence. Only the sacrifice of the defense globes had allowed any of his ships to escape. It was a tactic which wouldn’t work again.

“Ariel, set a course for home. Vary it so the Eternals can’t trace where we’re going.”

“Our long-range sensors are clear,” reported Ariel. She could still see the pain in Jeremy’s eyes. For the first time in her long life, she didn’t know what to say or what to do.

“Then take us into hyperspace,” Jeremy ordered. “Get us out of this galaxy! If you need me, I’ll be in my quarters.” Jeremy turned and left the Command Center with Commander Malen walking over to take his place in the command chair.

Moments later the Avenger and the other six dreadnoughts entered vortexes and made the jump into intergalactic hyperspace. It was time to return to the Communications and Transport Hub to heal the wounds suffered in the battle, wounds that in some ways would never heal completely.

Chapter Eleven

Admiral Race Tolsen gazed at the tactical display as his fleet dropped out of hyperspace in the Marlode Star System. The Federation fleet consisted of nearly one thousand ships of which forty were supply ships and six were fleet repair vessels the rest vessels of war.

“Contacts,” called out Captain Davis as numerous green icons began appearing on the tactical displays.

“It’s High Lord Droll,” reported Commander Arnett. “His flagship is the Dark Victory.”

“All ships are to stay at Condition Three,” ordered Race as he studied the tactical displays. “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings. Lord Droll’s fleet has been fighting the Ralift ever since they crossed into Shari space. I’m sure they’re a little trigger happy, and I don’t want an incident.”

“There are 3,217 Shari warships showing on the sensors,” reported Captain Davis.

“That’s a few more than we were expecting,” said Colonel Cowel approvingly. “We’re going to need every ship we can get.”

“It will still be a few days before High Lord Tabor arrives with the Shari Second Fleet,” added Madelyn. “We don’t dare engage the enemy until he arrives.”

“The Ralift are still a ways off,” replied Race. “We’ll have time to make our plans.” From what Tabor had revealed about the movement of the Ralift and AI fleets they should still have four to six days before they arrive in the proximity of the Marlode System.

“I have a communication from High Lord Droll,” reported Captain Denise Travers. “He is requesting permission for him and several of his officers to come over to the WarHawk.”

“That was quick,” said Colonel Cowel, his eyes widening in surprise. “I really expected the Shari High Lord to demand we come over to his ship.”

Race was pleased High Lord Droll was willing to conduct the first meeting on the WarHawk. That was a good beginning to the two fleets working together. “Inform High Lord Droll we would be pleased for him and his officers to come over to the WarHawk. Colonel Cowel, have a Marine honor guard prepared.”

Brice shook his head. “Just like at home,” he muttered. “Every time an admiral comes on board they expect there to be troops lined up for inspection.”

“It’s a military tradition that goes back hundreds of years,” Madelyn said with a knowing smile. “I need to go change as well.”

“As do I,” commented Race. This first meeting would be very important, and he wanted to ensure nothing went wrong.

-

High Lord Droll had changed into his more decorated uniform. While he despised the necessity for all the formality, he understood the reason for it. He was currently standing in the ship’s flight bay waiting to board a shuttle.

“The Humans’ dreadnoughts are quite impressive,” said Lower Lord Malben. “The WarHawk is 3,000 meters in length.”

“They’re larger than an AI battle sphere,” added Lower Lord Camval. “I’m starting to believe their claim they can destroy an AI ship.”

“I asked for information on the Human admiral who is leading their fleet. It is Admiral Race Tolsen.”

“Tolsen,” replied Malben, his eyes narrowing even further than normal. “Wasn’t he involved with the Dyson Sphere incident?”

“Yes,” Droll replied as they began walking toward the shuttle. “From the reports he is their most accomplished admiral. He has some very impressive victories to his credit.”

“A warrior then,” Malben said approvingly.

“It is rumored he has already been involved in destroying AI ships,” added Camval.

“It is well they sent such an important admiral,” Droll said as they entered the shuttle. “It indicates they take this threat posed by the Ralift and the return of the AIs seriously.”

Lower Lord Malben paused and then asked High Lord Droll his next question. “What is the purpose of this first meeting?”

“If we are to fight together, we must know one another. In this we must be careful not to insult the Humans or any Altons if they are present. High Lord Tabor has instructed me to turn over all the data we have of our battles with the Ralift and the AIs for the Human admiral and his staff to study.”

“Do you really believe they can destroy an AI battle sphere?”

“If our reports are accurate they have done so in the past. You have seen the forty-one dreadnoughts they have in their fleet. Excluding the WarHawk, which is in a class by itself, the other dreadnoughts are comparable in size to an AI battle sphere. In the coming battle, it will be the Humans’ and Altons’ responsibility to destroy the battle spheres while we deal with the Ralift fleet.”

“It is good that High Lord Tabor is coming with Second Fleet,’ Camval said. “We will need the ships.”

High Lord Droll nodded his head. However, he knew even with High Lord Tabor’s ships they would still be greatly outnumbered. The entire battle would hinge on whether the Humans and Altons could destroy the AI battle spheres, ships which had probably been updated considerably since the last time the Humans and Altons destroyed one.

-

Admiral Tolsen, Commander Arnett, Fleet Admiral Baasil, and Admiral Stoddard were waiting in the flight bay of the WarHawk as the Shari shuttle settled gently down to its landing pad. The hatch slid open and four heavily armed Shari descended, taking up positions on both sides of the ramp. As soon as they were at their posts, three other Shari appeared. All three were dressed in ornate uniforms with medals and decoration on their chests. They descended the ramp with the tallest and most decorated one stopping in front of Admiral Tolsen.

“I am High Lord Droll and this is my second in command, Lower Lord Malben, and Lower Lord Camval who serves as my third in command.”

“I am Admiral Race Tolsen and with me are Fleet Admiral Baasil of the Altons, Admiral Stoddard, and the commander of the WarHawk, Commander Arnett.”

“You have an impressive ship,” Droll said to Commander Arnett. “If we have the time I would enjoy a tour.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” replied Madelyn with a friendly nod.

High Lord Droll took a moment to inspect the Marines lined up in two precise rows and standing at attention. “Your troops look highly skilled.”

“They have been well trained,” Race responded. “If you will follow me we will go to a briefing room set up for our meeting. Inside you will find drinks and food palatable to your species.”

-

They quickly made their way through the WarHawk to the briefing room a short distance away. Stepping inside they took their seats at the conference table.

“I see all three of your fleets that have been hampering the advance of the Ralift are here,” began Race.

“They are,” High Lord Droll replied. “We have been fighting a delaying action to give our forces time to respond to this unprovoked attack against the empire. Many of our smaller colonies have been wiped out by the Ralift and their AI masters.”

“It is the Dyson Sphere we believe they have come for,” added Lower Lord Malben. “It is the only reason for the machine people to have turned the Ralift upon us.”

“Are these AI battle spheres any different than those of the past?” asked Admiral Baasil in his soft-spoken voice.

High Lord Droll nodded his head. “We believe they have increased the strength of their protective energy screen as well as their energy weapons. We have no way to measure the increase, though it seems evident in the few times the AIs have committed their battle spheres to battle there have been improvements.”

“I don’t understand,” Admiral Stoddard said. “Even if the AIs manage to reach the Dyson Sphere, there is a good chance they would be destroyed by its defensive weapons.”

“I have spoken of this with the other two High Lords who command the two Shari fleets that have joined us here. “We believe they are seeking the knowledge to build another Master Codex. They may also have some secret method they believe will grant them access to the Dyson Sphere.”

Race felt his blood suddenly turn cold. A Master Codex would allow more AIs to be created. “I would have thought they’d have tried to retake the one in the Astral System.”

“They know we will destroy it at the first sign of one of their ships,” Admiral Baasil said. “We have set several communication beacons in the outer regions of the Astral System which send out a continuous broadcast. It states that if any AI ships approach within one light year of the system the Master Codex will be destroyed.”

Race nodded. That explained why in all the years since the defeat of the AIs at their Great Project they had never returned to Astral. “Why did you not bring the other two High Lords with you to this meeting?” Race was guessing High Lord Droll had a reason. He was curious to hear what it was.

“Not all of the High Lords in the empire feel it was wise to turn to the Federation in this precarious time. Many fear it is a sign of weakness and that by allowing Federation fleets access to the empire we are endangering our security. Both of the other two High Lords fall into that category.”

“I understand,” Race replied. “My people would feel the same if the situation was reversed.

“Will that be a problem in the coming battle with the Ralift and the AIs?” asked Admiral Stoddard.

“No,” answered High Lord Droll. “They will obey my commands as I am the senior High Lord. All of us will obey High Lord Tabor when he arrives as he is destined to one day sit on the Shari Grand Council.”

“This will not be an easy battle,” said Admiral Baasil. He leaned forward, gazing at High Lord Droll. “Even if we manage to destroy the AIs, there is still the matter of the Ralift. They have a fleet of over 14,000 vessels. How will your fleet fare in such a battle?”

Droll was silent for a long moment and then answered. “Not as well as I would hope. While we have greatly strengthened the weapons and energy shields on our warships during the absence of the AIs, the Ralift have done the same. However, the Ralift may have been given some weapons upgrades from the AIs. In the brief engagements we have fought against them I can say their ships are slightly more powerful than Shari vessels.”

“You have done a fine job in slowing down the Ralift and the AIs,” Race said. “It has given us the time to bring a Federation fleet to your aid as well as for High Lord Tabor to ready his fleet. I have fought the AIs in the past, and it is no easy task. They do not fear death.”

“The machine people have no emotions,” said Lower Lord Malben.

“They have emotions,” responded Race. “Only not as you and I would know them. They are guided by a flawed logic and the belief they are superior to organic life.”

“We must bring them to an end,” said Lower Lord Camval with conviction. “They have brought too much evil to the galaxy, including our own empire. The forced us to do things in the past that are against our very nature.”

High Lord Droll looked over at Admiral Baasil. “Why did your people create such abominations to begin with? They have done irreparable harm to many worlds in this galaxy.”

“They were not always such,” Baasil replied sadly. “At one time they were faithful servants and then the Simulins came to our galaxy. Long ago the Simulins came to Astral and made changes to the AI’s Master Codex. As a result it set them on their path of destruction. The part of my race that remained on Astral were allowed to die out, and so there was no one to correct the course the AIs had been set upon. I am only glad those of my people who settled near the Humans were able to help eradicate most of the AIs. It is distressing to know so many escaped our grasp.”

“The Simulins,” replied Droll, his eyes widening slightly. “From hearing of their deadly drones and how they kill, I believe your words. The Simulins would have found in the AIs a tool to be used to eliminate life in this galaxy.”

“There are over three hundred AI battle spheres in the Ralift fleet,” Admiral Baasil said. “I believe I have sufficient Alton ships under my command to destroy them.”

Lower Lord Malben looked surprised. “You believe your ships alone can destroy all of the AI battle spheres?”

“We can,” Baasil replied. “We will take losses, but we have the firepower to do as I said.”

“You won’t be alone,” promised Race. “My dreadnoughts will be engaging the AIs as well while the rest of the Federation fleet assists the Shari against the Ralift.”

“Your ships will aid us against the Ralift?” asked High Lord Droll. He had expected the Federation fleet would only fight the AIs.

“I have fifty-six Federation battleships in my fleet. All are much more powerful than the Ralift battleships. They will help to take some of the pressure off your ships during the battle.”

“Then let us discuss the coming battle,” suggested Droll. “I sent all the data on our battles with the Ralift and the AIs to your flagship’s computer before we boarded our shuttle. We can review the videos of our battles together. Perhaps between us we will find a weakness we can exploit to our advantage.”

Race nodded. There were several large viewscreens in the briefing room they could use to watch the battles. Race was highly curious to see how High Lord Droll had managed to survive so long against such an overwhelming force and still have an intact fleet.

All eyes turned toward the viewscreens as the first battle begin playing. Just looking at the size of the Ralift fleet made everyone realize how daunting the task in front of them was. If they failed then the Ralift and the AIs would doubtlessly conquer the Shari Empire. After that the Federation would face the massive Ralift fleet and the AIs alone.

-

Nest Lord Creesth gazed in satisfaction at the large viewscreen on the front wall of his Command Center. Ralift battleships, battlecruisers, and armed escorts were visible as far as his eyes could see. Fourteen thousand warships were gathered for the final push into the Shari core systems and then on to the coveted Dyson Sphere.

“Our fleets have gathered here in the Razale System,” said Second Nest Lord Alboin. “The other Nest Lords report they are ready to move toward the Lyral Cluster and the Shari core worlds.”

Creesth remained silent as he thought over what the fleet’s next target needed to be. “The Shari ships that have been plaguing our advance have disappeared.”

“They know our victory is inevitable,” replied Alboin. “Resistance to our fleets is useless.”

“No, I don’t think so,” responded Creesth. “Somewhere between us and the Shari core worlds, they are waiting. I think it would be wise to send scout ships ahead of our fleet to seek out any possible trap the Shari may have prepared. I am convinced this constant harassment by the Shari has been an attempt on their part to buy time and place a sufficient force in front of us to prevent us from reaching the Dyson Sphere.”

“We have the AIs,” said Alboin. “We cannot be defeated.”

Creesth looked over at Alboin. “The Shari are fools to resist us. It would have been better if they surrendered when we first crossed into their space and they became aware of the return of the AIs. Now they will pay for their disloyalty with the loss of one of their core worlds. Once that has occurred, the Command AI will send a message to the Shari Grand Council of High Lords demanding they immediately surrender or more of their highly populated worlds will be annihilated.”

“The AIs are the masters,” said Alboin evenly. “To obey them is to allow the Ralift Empire to spread across the galaxy.”

“The AIs are indeed our masters,” replied Creesth in a cold and nearly uncaring voice. “We never turned away from them not even when their Great Project was destroyed. Now we shall add the Shari Empire to ours and soon after that this upstart Federation.” Creesth turned his eyes back to the viewscreens. It did not concern him that billions of Shari were likely to die before the Ralift fleet reached the Dyson Sphere. The Shari had shown they were inferior and did not deserve to be one of the coveted races serving the AIs. The lives of the Shari meant nothing to the Ralift. They were only a means to an end.

-

Aboard the AI command ship, the Command AI was considering the next move of the Ralift fleet. It would only take them a few short days of hyperspace travel to reach the Lyral Cluster and the first of the Shari core worlds.

“There are twenty-three systems in the cluster with large Shari populations,” reported the AI in front of the navigation console.

“How many lie between the Razale System and the Rylus Cluster?” The Command AI was certain the destruction of one of the Shari core worlds would return the Shari to obeying them once more.

“There are two in the Lyral Cluster. There is also the system of Melsberth. Melsberth lies outside the cluster and is on our direct path to the Dyson Sphere. From information we have gleaned from captured Shari data banks, there are over two billion Shari living in the system. It is also one of the Sharis’ sector capitals.”

“Melsberth will be heavily defended as will all of the Shari core worlds,” said the AI in front of Tactical. “The Ralift fleet will take considerable losses if we proceed into the Lyral Cluster. I would suggest making Melsberth our target.”

“It would be the logical choice,” added the science AI. “We could still accomplish our goal of forcing the Shari to submit to us by destroying Melsberth. It would also place us nearer the Dyson Sphere.”

“It is the home of the Shari’s Second Fleet,” warned the tactical AI. “We will meet strong resistance.”

The sphere of energy above the Command AI’s cubical body seemed to grow and brighten. The decision was an easy one to make. “Set a course for Melsberth. The sooner we can reach the Dyson Sphere and construct a new Master Codex the quicker we can produce more AIs to join our ranks.”

“One word of caution,” said the tactical AI with barely a hint of emotion in its voice. “Additional Shari warships are in distant orbit around the Dyson Sphere. There are also unconfirmed reports of Federation warships in the vicinity as well.”

“I do not believe those rumors to be true,” said the Command AI, dismissing the reports. “The Shari and the Federation are not on friendly terms, particularly after the battles they fought for possession of the Dyson Sphere. The Federation ships have gone back to their space where they will remain.”

“The Dyson Sphere itself supposedly destroyed the Shari fleets,” said the science AI. “No ships dare to approach it.”

“More unconfirmed reports,” answered the Command AI. “The Dyson Sphere has been abandoned for possibly millions of years. There is nothing living on it anymore. The race that built the megastructure has long since died out. I am convinced the Humans used some type of trick to scare the Shari into staying away from the Dyson Sphere. After completing their mission, the Federation ships would have returned to their worlds. The Dyson Sphere is too distant from the Federation for them to deploy ships on a permanent basis. There may be a few observation ships lurking nearby, but no major fleets.”

The Command AI turned to gaze upon the fleet which had been assembled. The Ralift were but a tool to an end. If the Dyson Sphere held the advanced science and technology it believed it did, then in a short time even the Ralift would no longer be needed. They had served as a safe haven while the surviving AIs planned their next move in conquering the galaxy. It had been a mistake to dedicate so many resources to the Great Project before finishing the conquest of this galaxy. The Command AI was determined not to make the same error.

-

Admiral Race Tolsen was in his quarters on the WarHawk when the comm unit on his desk began buzzing. Race had been reviewing some of the notes he had taken of the three meetings with High Lord Droll. There had been a lot of discussion about battle tactics and the weapons being used by the Ralift and the AIs. Reaching forward, he turned the comm unit on. Race and his other admirals had spent considerable time studying the videos of the battles as well as the Shari sensor readings of the weapons both the Ralift and the AIs were using. “This is Admiral Tolsen.”

“We may have a problem, Admiral,” Colonel Cowel said over the comm. “I just received word from the Shari that the Ralift and AI fleets have left the Razale System.”

Race felt a cold chill run through him. They hadn’t expected the enemy fleet so move so soon. The thinking had been the Ralift would at least spend another day or two repairing battle damage before moving on the Shari core worlds.

“Do we know what core world is their target?”

There was a moment of silence and then Colonel Cowel spoke. “It’s not a core world. The Ralift and the AIs are on a direct course for the Dyson Sphere.”

Race leaned back in his chair confused. Why had the Ralift changed their course? They had all assumed the Ralift and the AIs would target at least one Shari core world before making a course change toward the Dyson Sphere. What were they up to? Then another cold chill spread over Race as he realized what their target world might be. “How close is Melsberth to that course?”

“Dead center,” Cowel answered grimly. “High Lord Droll believes the Ralift are going to attempt to destroy Melsberth before continuing on to the Dyson Sphere. Destroying Melsberth could force the Shari Grand Council of High Lords to reconsider resisting the Ralift and the AIs. It may cause them to capitulate before a core world is destroyed.”

Race stood up. “We can’t let Melsberth fall. Contact High Lord Droll and inform him we’re preparing to take the fleet to Melsberth to meet the enemy. Ask him if he can contact High Lord Tabor and get Second Fleet turned around. We’re going to need every ship we can get our hands on.”

“I’ll send the message,” Cowel replied.

“Contact Commander Arnett and have her meet me in the Command Center.” Race knew Madelyn was probably asleep in her quarters but they had some serious planning to do. The first thing was to ensure they beat the Ralift and the AIs to Melsberth. If they failed at Melsberth, there would be nothing left that could stop the AIs from reaching the Dyson Sphere.

Chapter Twelve

Major Brenda Wilde stepped out of the Originator spacecraft along with four full companies of Marines. They were at sphere 114 to take back control of the Intergalactic Vortex Control Center the Simulins had possession of. Brenda was concerned they had waited too long.

As she stepped off the ramp, she turned back and watched forty Originator-designed combat robots come down behind the Marines. The metal creations stood ten feet tall, were unbelievably powerful, and carried two different types of weapons. On the wrist of one hand was a slim barrel that fired miniaturized explosive rounds. On the other wrist was another slim barrel but this one fired a beam of highly focused energy. Either weapon should be able to destroy a Conqueror Drone. The mission to retake the Control Center would be the first test for the robots. The combat robots were also the reason it had taken so long to launch the mission. They had only been certified combat ready a few days back.

“Damn, those things are huge,” muttered Sergeant Metz as he watched the robots come down the ramp. “I overheard one of the Originators say these robots could tear a Conqueror Drone apart with just its hands. That I’ve got to see.”

“The robots are extremely powerful,” Rakell said from Brenda’s side. “They are indeed capable of defeating a Conquer Drone in hand-to-hand combat if it becomes necessary.”

Brenda turned toward Rakell. The tall Originator AI towered over her. “Let’s hope that’s not necessary. If it is then something has gone horribly wrong.”

Another Originator AI approached Brenda and Rakell. This one was dressed in an Originator military uniform. “I am Lanthon, the military AI for this Shrieel. You must be Major Wilde.”

Brenda nodded. “How soon can we launch our attack?”

“Transportation is already on the way,” Lanthon replied. “We may have discovered what the Simulins are up to. A few hours ago the intergalactic vortex the Simulins control nearest the Control Center activated. We have a number of warships routinely patrolling the space above the vortex aperture. The Simulins are attempting to place an energy shield around the vortex so we can’t destroy any ships that come through.”

“Ingenious,” said Rakell. “If they can establish a large enough energy shield they could use the vortex to send ships wherever they want.” The intergalactic vortexes on all the Shrieels were capable of opening up an exit vortex nearly anywhere inside a targeted galaxy.

“It won’t do them any good unless they can do the same thing in other Shrieels,” replied Lanthon. “They will also have problems getting ships into position. If our defenses detect them, they will be destroyed.”

Brenda pursed her lips. “The Dyson Sphere in their home galaxy would be the logical one to equip with an energy shield. This might be an experiment to see if it’s practical. If the Simulins could send ships through hyperspace to the open vortex in a Dyson Sphere, they could then send reinforcements wherever they want. It would mean taking back control of the galaxies the Simulins have a presence in would become a much harder and longer task.” Brenda knew Admirals Cross and Lukel were preparing fleets at the Communications and Transport Hub for just that purpose.

“There is a greater danger,” Lanthon added. “If they establish the energy shield they can bring sufficient reinforcements to all of the Shrieels they still control, which could make it nearly impossible to retake the Control Centers without extremely heavy losses. We need full control of all the Shrieels if we become involved in a war with the Anti-Life. We can’t have the Simulins as a distraction.”

“We need to move quickly then,” Rakell said, his eyes showing worry. “If they’ve already had limited success here, it’s only a matter of time before they try the same at other Control Centers.”

Brenda nodded in agreement. “We have several other teams ready to deploy back at the Communications and Transport Hub. All they’re waiting for is our report on how well the combat robots do retaking the Control Center here.”

They were interrupted as several large shuttles appeared above them and quickly came in for landings.

“Your transportation is here,” Lanthon said, indicating the shuttles, which were lowering large ramps from their open hatches. “I’ll take personal command of the warships above the active vortex. If there’s anything we can do to help, we will.”

Brenda was satisfied with that. Unfortunately all the Intergalactic Vortex Control Centers were protected by energy shields. The Originator AIs had a method of overpowering the protective energy shield in very small areas, which was how Brenda had been getting her troops into position to assault the Control Centers.

“Let’s get loaded up,” ordered Brenda to Sergeant Metz.

“I’m ready,” Metz replied. “I’m anxious to see how the combat robots function.”

“I believe you will approve of them,” Lanthon said. “During the war with the Anti-Life, they were widely used and proved their worth in combat countless times. We’re just updating them and changing their programming to function with Humans and to combat the Simulins and the Conqueror Drones.”

Brenda watched as Metz marched off toward the waiting transport shuttles. This would be their toughest test yet considering how heavily the Simulins had reinforced this particular Control Center.

-

It took several hours for the transport shuttles to reach their egress point near the part of the Dyson Sphere the Simulins controlled. After unloading from the shuttles, the four hundred Marines and forty combat robots made their way down a wide corridor that led to a thick metal hatch. The hatch was shut and an energy shield ensured it could not be blasted open. This was one of over seventy large hatches leading to this section of the Dyson Sphere.

“Are we ready?” asked Major Wilde as she turned and gazed at the Marines and combat robots waiting behind her.

“I just need to insert the Command Key to shut down the energy shield protecting this hatch,” replied Rakell. Rakell was standing near a small indentation at the hatch where the gold command key needed to be placed.

Brenda nodded. In one of her pockets was a small copper-colored globe that allowed her to access most parts of a Dyson Sphere. She had received it back at the Dyson Sphere in the Milky Way Galaxy. “Insert the key. Sergeant Metz, send the combat robots in first.” She didn’t think there would be any resistance at this particular hatch. The Simulins couldn’t know which hatch the Marines would be coming through.

Brenda stepped back as the large robots moved forward. As she watched, Rakell inserted the gold key, which was in the shape of a small golden globe. He then tapped in some commands on a keypad beside the hatch. Almost instantly the hatch opened and the combat robots charged inside. The sounds of combat erupted immediately. Brenda could hear the sounds of small explosions as well as the zapping noise produced by the energy weapons the robots carried. She could also hear what sounded like metal being torn apart. How had the Simulins known which hatch to defend?

Sergeant Metz led a platoon of Marines through the hatch to support the robots and the sound level of the fighting grew even louder. Taking a deep breath Brenda stepped through the hatch, gazing in amazement at the carnage that lay before her. Along the corridor were over a dozen Conqueror Drones. Some had been blasted apart and others seem to have been torn in two.

“Sergeant Metz?” she asked, wanting an explanation.

“Those damn combat robots literally tore those Conqueror Drones apart,” Metz reported breathlessly. “I’ve never seen anything like it. They would grab a drone, bury their hands inside the carapace, and then just pull it apart. I knew they were strong, but I didn’t expect that!”

Brenda looked down the smoky corridor where the combat robots and the rest of Metz’s platoon were waiting at a junction. “Let’s get the rest of our Marines in here and begin moving out. I don’t want to stay in one location too long. After this battle, the Simulins will know we’re coming.”

“I’m just concerned about what might be waiting up ahead,” Metz said with a deep frown. “If they had Conqueror Drones here they probably do at the other hatches as well. We may be facing hundreds of those damn drones when we get to the Control Center. You can almost bet all the drones at the other hatches are being called back to defend the Simulins who are holed up there.”

Brenda knew Sergeant Metz was right. She looked at the Marines who were standing just outside the hatch and then at the waiting combat robots in the corridor. She just hoped they had sufficient firepower to win through to the Control Center.

Metz shouted out some orders and the other Marine platoons began to enter through the open hatch. At the same time, the combat robots begin moving down one of the corridors. Brenda intended to allow the robots to lead the way, followed closely by her Marines. She was greatly concerned about how many Conqueror Drones they might be facing as they advanced deeper into the Dyson Sphere.

-

For the next several hours they moved down empty corridors. Sergeant Metz and his platoon followed the combat robots, with their weapons held ready, as they moved steadily through the maze of corridors that would eventually lead them to the Control Center.

“I don’t like this,” Corporal Sandra Carton said to Major Wilde. “Where are all the damn Conqueror Drones? We should have seen more of them by now.”

“Perhaps they’re waiting nearer the Control Center,” suggested Captain Carl Werner. Werner was Major Wilde’s second in command and had been added to her command structure due to the extra two companies of Marines on this mission.

“Any idea how many Conqueror Drones we may be facing?” asked Sandra. She experienced routine nightmares about the drones. She had seen too many good Marines torn apart by the metal monstrosities.

“A few hundred at least,” Brenda replied as they arrived at another junction of corridors with the combat robots going into the one to her left.

Captain Werner looked at the backs of the combat robots entering the new corridor. “Let’s just hope those combat robots are as good as the Originator AIs say they are.”

Brenda looked over at Rakell, who was near her.

“They are,” promised Rakell. “The robots are protected by a special composite armor resistant to Simulin weapons. The armor is also tough enough that a Conqueror Drone should not be able to damage it even with the pincers it uses to tear organic lifeforms apart.”

“How much longer?” asked Captain Werner. This would be his first mission against a Control Center.

Rakell glanced down at a small computer tablet he was carrying. It showed their current position in relation to their target. “Thirty more minutes should put us there.”

Brenda activated her comm, which kept her in contact with all of her officers. “Sergeant Metz, another thirty minutes will put us at the Control Center. I don’t expect the Simulins to allow us to reach it without putting obstacles in front of us. I want you to send a squad of the combat robots out ahead of us. That way if there is an ambush, we can hold the losses to the robots and ourselves to a minimum.”

Rakell frowned, shaking his head. “The robots will not be harmed. As I said earlier, the Simulins have nothing that can damage one.”

Brenda looked over at the Originator AI. “One thing I’ve learned in combat: never take anything for granted. The Simulins have been engaged in war for a very long time. They may have a few tricks up their sleeves we haven’t encountered yet.”

“Tricks up their sleeves?” repeated Rakell, looking confused.

“Just a Human saying meaning to be prepared for the unexpected.”

“Oh, I still have a lot to learn about the intricacies of your language.”

Brenda nodded. Sometimes she had to remind herself Rakell was an AI and not an Originator.

-

The Marines and combat robots continued to advance. They were almost to the Control Center when a powerful explosion shook the corridor they were in, sending black smoke and flames across the forward squad of combat robots.

Major Wilde had to activate her combat glasses so she could see what was going on ahead of her. “Sergeant Metz, what was that?” The corridor was still full of smoke, which the ventilation system was struggling to clear.

“The explosion brought down about thirty meters of the roof of the corridor. We lost two combat robots with another damaged.”

“Impossible!” said Rakell in disbelief. “The metal of these corridors is nearly indestructible.”

“Sergeant Metz, Rakell and I are coming forward.” Brenda wanted to see what was going on.

“Come ahead; the corridor seems to be secure.”

Reaching the site of the explosion Rakell shook his head in disbelief. Two of the combat robots lay crushed beneath a massive metal beam. Another had one of its arms torn off. “The metal alloys used in the construction of the Shrieels are nearly impervious to explosions. The Shrieels were built to last for tens of millions of years with little or no maintenance. When the repair robots are added the Shrieels should last until the star inside burns out.”

Sergeant Metz bent down and studied a part of the wreckage which seemed to be singed. He then gestured a corporal forward who began taking readings with an instrument she was carrying. After a few moments the corporal conferred with the sergeant before returning to her position in the advance platoon.

“It was some type of small nuclear device,” Metz reported uneasily. “There’s only a minimal amount of radiation.”

Rakell’s eyes widened in shock. “It should be impossible for a nuclear reaction to occur inside the Shrieel. There are dampening fields which prevent such an event.”

Brenda shook her head. “Evidently the Simulins have found a way around those restrictions.”

Rakell began pressing icons on his handheld computer. Once he was finished he turned toward Major Wilde. “I’ve contacted Lanthon and he’s focusing an intense nuclear dampening field on this section of the Shrieel to ensure further nuclear reactions cannot occur. The field will operate through the energy screen. From the sensor readings on his flagship, he believes this explosion was supposed to be much larger. The dampening field, which prevents this type of occurrence, had been weakened in this area. While the dampening field cannot be turned off without a gold command key, it can be turned down by the main computer in the Control Center.”

Brenda nodded. She gazed at the wreckage of the corridor in front of them. It would take hours to clear enough of it to allow the combat robots and her Marines to pass. “We need an alternate route.”

“We can go back to the last corridor junction,” Rakell said, consulting his computer. “We can reach the Control Center in about twenty minutes from there.”

“Sergeant Metz, head back to the junction. Once we reach it same as before. Send out a squad of the Combat Robots ahead to see if there are any more traps.”

“Yes, Major,” Metz reported as he got the robots turned around. “I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. A damn nuclear explosion! I’d better not be glowing in the dark when we get back home.”

Brenda looked over a Rakell. “If the dampening field had been off completely what would have happened to us?”

Rakell hesitated before replying. “We would have all died.”

Brenda closed her eyes and shook her head. She had known all along this op wouldn’t be easy. “Let’s just hope there are no more major surprises along the way.”

-

They continued down the adjacent corridor with the combat robots leading the way. The six robots in the front suddenly stopped and weapons fire rang out.

“Report!” ordered Major Wilde as she peered ahead trying to see what the robots were firing at.

“Conqueror Drones,” reported Serpent Metz as he took cover behind the trailing robots. “The corridor’s full of them!”

Brenda looked over at Rakell who shook his head.

“There’s no other way around. I fear which ever way we go the Simulins will have sufficient time to place their drones in front of us, barring the way.”

Brenda took a deep breath. Why couldn’t things be simpler? “Sergeant Metz. We need to push through those drones. I’m sending up another platoon to reinforce yours. Sergeant Haggard, you’re on. Get your people up to reinforce Sergeant Metz and the combat robots. We need to eliminate these drones and push forward as quickly as possible.” Brenda didn’t want to risk giving the Simulins time to send more drones to the battle.

Moving forward Major Wilde got a better few of the fight. The passageway seemed alive with a mass of Conqueror Drones so thick you couldn’t see the corridor beyond. The combat robots were firing their explosive rounds as well as energy weapons into the writhing mass of drones. The drones in return were firing back with energy weapons, armor piercing rounds, and an occasional explosive round. The corridor was becoming full of smoke and occasionally a bright burst of flames as a drone was blown apart.

“Get down, one of the drones has a missile!” yelled Sergeant Metz as he threw himself to the floor of the corridor. The missile exploded directly behind him, taking out several Marines.

As if infuriated by the loss of the Marines they were supposed to be protecting the combat robots surged forward into the Conqueror Drones, using their hands to tear them apart. Pincers, legs, and pieces of carapaces went flying in all directions. The robots were also still firing their explosive rounds and energy weapons at point blank range. The floor of the corridor rapidly filled with the wreckage of countless drones as the robots vanished into the heart of the melee.

“Damn!” uttered Sergeant Haggard. “They’re tearing the drones apart. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Move forward!” ordered Sergeant Metz, standing up and heading down the corridor. “We can’t let them have all the fun. There are drones to kill.”

The Marines charged down the corridor through the wreckage of the destroyed Conqueror Drones until they caught back up with the combat robots. Occasionally they passed a downed combat robot, which had been overwhelmed by the drones.

The fighting intensified as the Marines joined in firing their pulse rifles. They were also firing explosive rounds capable of blowing a Conqueror Drone apart.

Major Wilde ducked as a Conqueror Drone explosive round detonated just behind her. She didn’t know how many drones they had destroyed but it had to be well over one hundred. There were still more in the corridor trying to stop the advance of the combat robots and Marines. Brenda was determined to win through to the Control Center. It was obvious the Simulins were throwing everything they could at the advancing forces trying to stop them. The presence of missiles indicated these were the more advanced Conquered Drones. This made them even more dangerous.

“Major!” called out Rakell. “Lanthon reports he expects Simulin reinforcements to come through the intergalactic vortex aperture. The Simulins have a stable energy shield up, protecting it. ”

“Can Lanthon destroy the ships if they come through?” If the Simulins could land reinforcements, particularly Conqueror Drones, the four Marine companies would be in a lot of trouble. Brenda wasn’t sure they could fight their way back out.

“Maybe,” Rakell answered. “It depends on the strength of the energy shield. It’s also going to take time for any Simulin reinforcements to travel the length of the hyperspatial tube linking the two Shrieels. This means they must have another Shrieel with an experimental energy shield as well.”

“Probably their home galaxy,” said Brenda. “It’s the only one that would make sense.”

Rakell did some quick calculation. “Forty-two more minutes,” he said. “That’s how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive from their home galaxy considering how long the vortex has been activated.”

Brenda took a deep breath. “Then that’s how long we have to reach the Control Center.”

Major Wilde moved forward until she reached Sergeant Metz and Sergeant Haggard. “The Simulins have established an intergalactic vortex, and they’ve managed to put up an energy shield to protect it. We have forty minutes to take the Control Center before we risk being overwhelmed by Simulin reinforcements.”

“We lost six more combat robots in the most recent fighting,” Metz said as he peered up ahead where the combat robots were eliminating the last few Conqueror Drones in the corridor. “The Control Center is just up ahead.”

Brenda nodded. “It will be surrounded by additional drones, probably more than we’ve encountered so far.”

Metz took a deep breath as he checked the magazine in his rifle. He ejected it and inserted a full one. Most of the Marines had pulse rifles but Metz preferred his assault rifle and metal penetrating bullets. “Let’s go, there are drones to kill!” Signaling his Marines, they moved off down the corridor until they were directly behind the combat robots. The other Marines remaining in the first two companies moved up as well.

“Captain Werner,” Sergeant Wilde said over the comm. “Bring your two companies up. We need to make a concentrated push to take the Control Center. We’re about to run out of time.” The threat of Simulin reinforcements was forcing her to fight the battle on the Simulins’ terms. That sent a cold chill down her back.

-

Above the Shrieel, Lanthon gazed at a viewscreen showing the dark blue color of a swirling intergalactic vortex. The Simulins had managed to establish a stable energy shield to protect it. Occasionally the shield would fluctuate slightly but then it would strengthen and return to normal. Lanthon had a neural implant, which allowed him to communicate instantly with any of the twenty warships in his fleet. He was on board a standard Originator battlecruiser two thousand meters in length and heavily armed with all the most modern weapons. The ships under his command had all been updated, and he was confident they could handle any threats the Simulins might pose.

Lanthon contemplated firing his fleet’s weapons at the energy shield when it fluctuated. From the sensor scans, he was fairly certain his fleet’s weapons could bring it down, particularly with the use of black matter missiles. If he did use the powerful missiles, it would be necessary to activate the energy shields, which protected all of the habitat squares near the vortex to full power to prevent them from being damaged. The shields were currently being kept up at minimal power to prevent the Simulins from gaining access to any of the squares. After a moment he decided to wait until the Simulin reinforcements arrived. When they did he would knock down the protective energy shield and then destroy the Simulin fleet. It would serve to teach them not to use the Originator Intergalactic Vortexes.

-

Brenda winced as several energy beams flashed above her head. They had reached the large corridor just outside the Control Center. As expected, the corridor was full of Conqueror Drones as well as several metal barricades. She was crouched down trying to give the drones and the Simulins commanding them as small a target as possible. The weapons fire in the corridor was heavy, and Marines were dropping as they had nowhere to hide from the incoming fire.

“Sergeant Metz, send the combat robots up. We must break through. We’re taking to much incoming fire!”

“I’m hit!” cried out Sergeant Haggard.

Brenda looked and saw Sergeant Haggard leaning against the wall of the corridor, then watched him slide to the floor and lay still. “Medic!” she yelled as several incoming rounds bounced off her armor. Where the rounds had struck it, felt like she had been stung by a hornet. She saw several medics rush past her to Sergeant Haggard. One of them stumbled and lay still in the middle of the corridor. The second one reached the sergeant and began working on him.

Looking forward Brenda saw the combat robots push into the swarming Conqueror Drones; there were so many drones the robots seemed to vanish into their midst.

“Move forward!” she ordered as she stood up and rushed toward the drones firing her pulse rifle toward the carapace of one nearby. With satisfaction she saw the energy beam penetrate the carapace and the drone drop to the floor as its CPU was destroyed. Other Marines were rushing forward as well in an attempt to stem the onslaught of so many Conqueror Drones.

The battle intensified as the robots moved forward into the thickest group of drones. Conqueror Drone parts flew everywhere as the combat robots tore into them. The robots tore off appendages leaving some of the drones without any method of mobility. These were quickly dispatched by the Marines right behind the robots. As they neared the hatch to the Control Center, they encountered a number of Simulins behind a heavy barricade where they were directing the Conqueror Drones. The Simulins were armed with heavy beam weapons and a number of combat robots fell to the floor with holes burned through their chest armor.

Explosive rounds began firing, tearing large chunks off the barricade. Major Wilde paused, took careful aim with her pulse rifle, and managed to pick off one of the Simulins when he raised his head too far above the obstruction. A few moments later the first combat robot reached the barricade and climbed over. Screams echoed through the corridor as the robot reached out and tore the head off a nearby Simulin. Then other robots and Marines climbed over the crumbling barricade, and after a few moments of heavy weapons fire the corridor feel eerily silent.

“That’s the last Conqueror Drone,” said Sergeant Metz as he fired a burst of weapons fire from his assault rifle into the carapace of a dismembered drone.

“The Simulins are dead as well,” added Captain Werner. The captain was standing on the other side of the barricade with a number of his Marines. Blood was running down his right arm where he had been wounded. Werner noticed the major’s stare. “It’s just a graze; no big deal.”

Major Wilde climbed over the barrier noting how few of the original forty combat robots still survived. If her count was right, only twelve were left and three of those were damaged to some extent.

“I can’t believe this,” Rakell said as he looked in disbelief at the surviving robots. “I wasn’t expecting so many to be destroyed.”

“These are the more advanced Conqueror Drones,” Brenda replied. “Not only that the Simulins were firing some heavy energy weapons at the robots.”

“They saved a lot of lives,” Sergeant Metz said as he walked up. “I just checked on Sergeant Haggard and he’ll be okay. He took a round to his chest but the medic has him stabilized. As soon as we can get him back to a medical center he should make a full recovery. We have twenty-seven other Marines also injured. I sent all of them back a ways in the corridor and assigned a squad to protect them in case any drones are still wandering around.”

Brenda looked at the waiting Marines in the corridor. “How many did we lose?”

“Forty-two Marines KIA as well as twenty-eight of the combat robots.”

Brenda turned pale at hearing those numbers. That was by far the most Marines she had lost on any op since they began assaulting the Control Centers on the Dyson Spheres. Turning toward Rakell, who was messing with the controls to the hatch, she asked him a question. “Can you open the hatch?”

Rakell turned away with a frustrated look on his face. “No, they’ve locked out the controls from the inside and disabled the mechanism. Not even the command key can give us entrance.”

This didn’t surprise Brenda. She had been expecting it. “We’ll blow it.” They had some special explosives furnished by the Originator AIs that could blow the hatch. Brenda turned toward Sergeant Metz and Captain Werner. “As soon as the hatch is blown send in the three damaged combat robots and then a platoon of Marines. Once the last of the Marines are in send in the remainder of the combat robots.” Brenda was certain the Simulins and Conqueror Drones inside would be expecting an assault by the robots. By sending in a platoon of Marines, it just might cause some confusion. By the time they adjusted to the Marines, the next wave of combat robots would be entering.

“When the last of the combat robots are inside I want another Marine platoon to follow them. Everyone else will wait out here in the corridor in case they’re needed.”

“We’re going to take a lot of losses if what’s inside that Control Center is anything like what was in this corridor,” warned Sergeant Metz.

“I know,” Major Wilde said resignedly. “But we have no choice.” She looked down at her watch. “We have ten minutes before the Simulins begin coming through the vortex. That’s how long we have to gain control of the Control Center so Rakell can shut it down.”

“Then we better get with it,” Sergeant Metz said as he turned and began ordering explosive charges set on the hatch. “Everyone move back. This is going to be one hell of an explosion.”

Major Wilde moved back along with the rest of the Marines further down the corridor. A few moments later Sergeant Metz and the two Marines who had been setting the charges joined them. Metz looked at Major Wilde who nodded. He pressed the detonator in his right hand and a resounding explosion echoed down the corridor. Smoke and flame bellowed up from where the hatch was.

Instantly the three designated combat robots charged through the door followed by a platoon of Marines. Heavy weapons fire broke out as the robots and Marines engaged the Simulins inside. Hurriedly the rest of the combat robots and the next platoon of Marines rushed through the hatch. Major Wilde was quick to follow.

Inside the large Control Center it was chaos. Conqueror Drones were literally laying on top of one another firing on the combat robots and Marines. Behind the drones, dozens of Simulins stood firing energy weapons at targets of opportunity. Brenda saw a number of Marines were already down as well as several more of the combat robots. “Captain Werner, send in two more platoons. It’s wall to wall drones in here.” Brenda raised her pulse rifle and began firing at the drones. They were the biggest threat at the moment.

For several minutes the battle raged as both sided tried to kill each other. Marines and robots fell unmoving to the floor as more Marines came through the hatch to take their places. In a last desperate move the Conqueror Drones charged forward. Several Marines screamed out in pain as they were grabbed and pulled apart by the terrible pincers of the deadly drones. Major Wilde was knocked down and saw a drone hovering menacingly over her. Before it could use its pincers to grab her a combat robot appeared, picking up the drone and hurling it against another. The robot then stood in front of Brenda, shielding her.

The fighting grew very intense and Major Wilde had to call in another platoon of Marines. More fell victim to the deadly Conqueror Drones dying gruesome deaths. The Control Center was full of smoke and the noise of battle. Brenda was now firing around the combat robot at the Simulins who were behind a barricade on the far side of the room. As the last Conqueror Drone fell to the floor, more firepower was turned on the Simulins. Explosive rounds began blowing apart the barricade. The Simulins didn’t even try to surrender but fought until the last one fell. Then quiet swept over the room. Marines stood stunned looking at the carnage surrounding them.

“Check to make sure all the drones are disabled and the Simulins are dead,” ordered Major Wilde.

She didn’t want to bring Rakell in until it was absolutely safe to do so. Glancing at her watch, she saw that less than a minute remained. Taking a deep breath, she realized her Marines and the few surviving combat robots might have to barricade themselves inside the Control Center if the Simulins were successful in landing reinforcements. What was more disconcerting was that Rakell had one of the rare gold command keys. Under no condition could that key be allowed to fall into the Simulins’ hands. It could reverse all of their gains of the past few months.

“Clear,” called out Sergeant Metz.

“Rakell, get in here,” ordered Major Wilde.

Rakell came through the hatch and made his way to one of the control consoles. There was an indentation where he placed the gold command key. After a moment the console activated and Rakell quickly entered a series of commands. “Intergalactic vortex is shutting down,” he reported. “I’m also shutting down the energy shield the Simulins were using to protect it.”

“Did any ships make it through?” asked Brenda, her eyes focused on Rakell.

Rakell checked some data and nodded his head. “Yes, I’m showing fort-seven Simulin warships. Lanthon is moving to engage them.”

Brenda nodded; all they could do now was wait.

“There is nothing to be concerned about,” Rakell assured the major. “With the energy shield down, the Shrieel’s own defenses can be used against the Simulins as well. The enemy fleet won’t last long.”

-

Lanthon noted the sudden appearance of forty-seven Simulin warships as they exited the intergalactic vortex. At nearly the same moment the vortex vanished and the energy field which was protecting it disappeared. Lanthon smiled, realizing Major Wilde had taken the Intergalactic Vortex Control Center and Rakell had deactivated both the vortex and the protective energy shield. Using his neural implant, he directed all the ships in his small fleet to fire their gravitonic cannons. The deadly beams flashed out, disrupting the energy screens protecting the Simulin ships and ripping huge chunks of hull material out of the stricken warships. Several exploded immediately as too many of their primary systems were destroyed. The deadly beams continued to play across the Simulin vessels. In desperation the trapped warships began to fire back but their beams only managed to make the Originator vessels’ energy screens react with a dim glow. More Simulin vessels died in brilliant flashes of released energy as power systems were compromised.

Nodding in satisfaction, Lanthon directed the firing of the fleet’s antimatter projectors. More Simulin vessels died in fiery bursts of destruction. The surviving ships dove toward the surface of the Shrieel seeking a place to land. With a devilish grin, Lanthon activated the Shrieel’s defenses. Instantly black balls of energy rose from the surface, striking the remaining Simulin warships. In moments they were gone, destroyed by the Originator’s most deadly weapon.

-

Major Wilde breathed out a sigh of relief. Rakell had just informed her Lanthon had destroyed the Simulin fleet and no reinforcements had managed to make it to the surface. The air in the Control Center was just now beginning to clear of smoke as she gazed around at the wreckage. This had been by far the toughest battle yet. She was gravely concerned as there were probably three more Dyson Sphere Control Centers even more heavily held by the Simulins than this one. The one in their home galaxy might be impossible to gain control of.

“What did we lose?” asked Brenda, turning toward Sergeant Metz and Captain Werner who had been going through the Control Center checking on the dead and wounded.

“All together we lost ninety-six KIA and one hundred and twelve wounded,” Captain Werner replied. “A few of the wounded may not survive.”

Brenda felt a cold chill run over her. “What about the combat robots?”

“Three survived,” answered Sergeant Metz, gesturing toward the hatch where the three large robots stood guard.

“I had hoped they would do much better,” said Rakell, looking disappointed.

“They did great,” responded Sergeant Metz. “Without them I don’t think we could have taken the Control Center. At the very least they saved a lot of lives. When we attack the next one, I want more of these combat robots with us.”

Rakell’s eyes seemed to brighten. “When we get back I will inform the others. I believe we can make additional improvements in the combat robots’ armor to make them more durable in battle. We underestimated the power of the Conquer Drones as well as the energy weapons the Simulins use. We will make those corrections in the next batch of robots.”

Brenda nodded. Sergeant Metz was right: without the combat robots many more Marines would have died. “Let’s begin sweeping all the corridors for any drones or Simulins we might have missed. It’s time to wrap this up and get back to the Communications and Transport Hub. Once there we will hold services for our dead.”

Taking one last look around the Control Center, Brenda walked to the hatch stepping back out into the corridor. Her heart was still racing from the battle. She knew she would have nightmares for days from what had just happened. Many of the Marines who had died she had known for several years. People like that could not be replaced. They would live on in her memories from this day forward. If something was to happen to her, she hoped someone would remember her in the same way. This battle was over, and it was time to return to the Communications and Transport Hub to heal their wounds and prepare for the next one.

Chapter Thirteen

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes watched with relief as over seven hundred and twenty friendly green icons appeared on the long-range sensors. After several weeks of searching, they had finally found the Ornellian evacuation fleet. It was already far outside the galaxy and well on its way to the star cluster the Ornellians had set for their destination.

“We’ll be within communications range shortly,” Clarissa reported as she checked the scans on the Ornellian fleet. “They are traveling slower than originally planned. However, all of their ships are still with the fleet.”

“Undoubtedly their hyperdrives are causing them problems on such an extended voyage,” said Andram as he studied some data on his science console. “From the readings I’m getting they have a number of ships with hyperdrives functioning at a lower efficiency level than they should be.”

“At their current speed how long will it take them to reach the star cluster?” Kathryn was concerned an extended voyage might prove detrimental to many of the Ornellian vessels, particularly considering how rushed the construction of the evacuation ships had been.

“Four point seven years,” Clarissa reported. “That assumes they can maintain their current hyperspace speed.”

“I doubt if that’s possible,” Andram said, shaking his head. “Their fleet needs widespread repairs and perhaps even resources from mining to go on much further. At some point they will have to start cannibalizing some of their ships to keep others functioning.”

“It’s a good thing we found them when we did,” Commander Anne Grissim said. “I’m sure they’ll be excited at the prospect of being able to return to Ornellia.”

Kathryn merely shook her head. Here was a prime example of how desperate civilizations in the Triangulum Galaxy had been to escape the Simulins. She wondered how many other evacuation fleets might be out here in the intergalactic void seeking a safe sanctuary. Unfortunately intergalactic space was too vast to search. They had only been able to find the Ornellian fleet because they knew of its destination and approximate course.

On the way to find the Ornellian fleet they had been scanning nearby star systems, nebula, and empty space for any signs of the missing Originators or the exploration ship that had been trailing the Dominator so many years ago. So far their searches had turned up nothing, and the same had been reported by the rest of the exploration fleet. The Distant Horizon was equipped with a special intergalactic communicator and used it regularly to contact Admiral Jackson at Ornellia. It worked by opening up a miniature intergalactic vortex, which could be used for communication. All the four small fleets involved in the search were required to check in at Ornellia every 72 hours with the latest search results.

“I believe I can contact them now,” Captain Travers said as a green light appeared on his console.

Kathryn nodded. “Send a message to Admiral Prest and ask him to take the evacuation fleet out of hyperspace. Inform him who we are and that it’s urgent we speak to him and Tomar Pelh.” Tomar was the only member of the Ornellian ruling council with the fleet. The others had stayed at Ornellia rather than taking up valuable space in the evacuation fleet.

-

On board the Ornellian battlecruiser Laviam, Admiral Prest gazed at the computer screen in his quarters. It was displaying the latest status of the fleet. All the battlecruisers were still functioning normally as well as most of the smaller cruisers. However, seventy-eight of the colony ships and thirty-seven of the fleet’s cargo ships were having moderate to severe problems with their hyperdrives. The problems with the fleet were steadily getting worse. The civilian ships just hadn’t been designed for such a long and extended voyage.

With a deep sigh, he realized they were rapidly reaching a decision point. The only option he saw was to bring the fleet to a stop and repair or replace the malfunctioning hyperdrives. The only viable source for parts or new drives was to use the ones on the cargo ships. While that would solve the short-term problem, it would mean they would be arriving at the star cluster with a shortage of supplies and materials needed to construct a new and viable Ornellian colony. He had already spent hours discussing this with Arlak Grall, the chief scientist, and Tomar Pelh. Their options were few and very limited and growing worse every day.

The comm unit on his desk buzzed and taking a deep breath he reached forward, activating it. “Admiral Prest.”

“Admiral, we have just received a message from three spacecraft which are rapidly gaining on us. From our scans they appear to have come from our home galaxy.”

“What was the message?” Prest asked uneasily. He hoped these ships weren’t Simulins following them. The fleet was in no condition for a fight.

“It’s from Rear Admiral Barnes,” Second Commander Alsberth answered excitedly. “The Distant Horizon and two other ships have come looking for us. They say they have importation news about Ornellia and the conflict with the Simulins.”

“Have you confirmed it is indeed the Distant Horizon?” Prest didn’t want to fall for a trick. While he did have sufficient warships to handle three Simulin vessels, he had no desire to engage in combat in intergalactic space. He had only four repair ships with the fleet, and they were already being overworked just trying to keep the fleet operating. A battle with the Simulins would doubtlessly result in a loss of civilian ships.

“They claim the Distant Horizon has been updated and rebuilt. The three ships approaching us are much larger than the original Distant Horizon that came to Ornellia.”

Admiral Prest weighed his options. He needed to drop the fleet out of hyperspace anyway. It was time to do some routine repairs as well as to decide once and for all what to do about the failing hyperdrives. “Very well, acknowledge the message and prepare to drop the fleet out of hyperspace. I’m on my way to the Command Center. Place all of our battlecruisers on high alert. If this is the Distant Horizon we have nothing to fear, but it’s best we take precautions just in case this is some type of deception by the Simulins.”

As Prest prepared to go to the Command Center he was hoping this was the Distant Horizon. Perhaps they could aid in repairing the fleet’s hyperdrives. He was also extremely curious as to what news they could be bringing about Ornellia and the Simulins. He knew for a fact Admiral Krusk had died defending the planet. It was general knowledge all of the Ornellian worlds, including Ornellia, had been nuked and the Simulins’ deadly Conqueror Drones sent down to eliminate any survivors. It was sad to think all of their worlds were now lifeless husks with only the deadly Simulin drones roaming the surface of the planets. Perhaps Rear Admiral Barnes was bringing the last few survivors who had survived the deadly onslaught. If she was, he was curious to hear their stories.

-

The Distant Horizon and the other two exploration dreadnoughts dropped out of hyperspace a short distance from the Ornellian fleet. Kathryn was certain the appearance of the three massive ships would shock Admiral Prest and the others who were in charge of the refugee fleet.

“Contact the Laviam and ask Admiral Prest if he, Tomar Pelh, and Arlak Grall would be interested in coming over to the Distant Horizon.”

“I would suggest mentioning we can help with their hyperdrives,” said Andram.

“Their fleet is in a bad way,” added Captain Reynolds as he studied some sensor readings. “Some of their ships are going to have to be used for spare parts if they want to continue on to the star cluster.”

Kathryn looked at the large viewscreen which surrounded her. She could see the Ornellian repair ships already moving toward colony ships needing repairs. Kathryn could hardly wait to tell them about what had transpired at Ornellia and the defeat of the Simulins. What would they say when she told them they could go back home?

-

Kathryn watched as Admiral Prest, Arlak Grall, and Tomar Pelh entered the briefing room she had set up for the meeting. She noticed the instant look of relief on Arlak Grall and Tomar Pelh’s faces upon seeing her.

“Rear Admiral Barnes, it’s a pleasure to see you once again,” Arlak said with a pleased smile on his face.

“Have you been to Ornellia?” asked Tomar, his eyes showing great sadness. “I imagine the planet’s turned into a wasteland by now from all the radiation.”

“Let’s all have a seat and we’ll discuss it,” said Kathryn, gesturing toward the conference table in the center of the room. “And yes, I did just leave Ornellia. Oman Lantoll sends you greetings and hopes everyone in the fleet is doing well.”

“Oman!” stuttered Tomar, his eyes showing disbelief. “How did he survive? I would think by now with the widespread radiation and the Conqueror Drones everyone would be dead. Even the deep shelters would be running low on food by now.”

Kathryn took a deep breath preparing to lay the bombshell upon them. “Things have changed in the galaxy since you left. Thanks to the Originator vessel you showed us we were able to go on the offense against the Simulins. I can’t explain how but we destroyed six of their primary worlds, including their capital planet in the Triangulum Galaxy. With the science and weaponry from the Originator ship, we were able of force the Simulins to surrender. The Simulin war is over.”

Admiral Prest slowly shook his head. “All due to the abandoned ship in the asteroid field?”

“Yes,” Kathryn replied. “Only the ship wasn’t completely abandoned. Its AI was still functional.” Kathryn decided not to tell them about there being Originators on the ship in stasis. That was still a secret and one which would remain so. To all the galaxies at large it was important they continued to believe all the Originators had died millions of years in the past. “With its help we were able to repair the ship and then use it against the Simulins.”

“One ship,” said Admiral Prest in amazement. “It’s hard to believe. The Simulins had thousands of warships.”

“The weapons technology on that ship was highly advanced, so advanced the Simulins had no defense against it. We gave the Simulins a simple choice: surrender or we would use the Originator vessel to destroy all of their worlds. They chose to surrender.”

“What about Oman?” asked Tomar, his eyes alight with curiosity. “How did he survive? Did he escape in another ship?”

Kathryn shook her head. “No, Admiral Jackson returned to Ornellia and fought several major battles with the Simulins. In the end, he was able to free Ornellia and, with the help of the Altons, remove nearly all the radiation from the planet. There were several million survivors. Not only that he has been conducting rescue operations on all of your former planets for months. There are now over five million survivors on the planet with more being brought in every day. Admiral Jackson believes when the last survivors are brought to Ornellia from your other planets the total will be around ten million.”

Tomar leaned back in his chair his face showing disbelief. “Ten million?”

“Yes,” Kathryn replied smiling. “When Admiral Jackson arrived there was still heavy fighting going on. The Conqueror Drones were trying to break into several of the deep shelters on Ornellia. He destroyed the drones and then proceeded to launch air strikes against all of the drones anywhere on the planet he could find them. With the help of your own surviving military, they set up safe zones around the mountains and began moving Ornellians back into the smaller cities and villages. He’s been using the fleet repair ships he has at his disposal to get the infrastructure repaired. Power, water, and other necessities have been restored.”

“If we had only known,” said Admiral Prest, shaking his head sadly. “My fleet would have been a great help in searching our other planets. We could have shown you where to look for survivors.”

“We had help from your fleet,” Kathryn answered. “Admiral Santeld and part of his fleet survived. He has six battlecruisers and nineteen of your smaller cruisers under his command. There were also a number of surviving cargo ships and passenger liners.”

“Admiral Santeld would have been my second in command,” said Admiral Prest. “I am very glad to hear he survived.”

“He was ambushed by a Simulin fleet and could not reach the rendezvous coordinates in time,” Kathryn explained. “He hid out from the Simulins until Admiral Jackson managed to free Ornellia. He’s been heavily involved in the rescue operations.”

Tomar took a deep breath. “I’m sure with the advanced technology on your ships you know the condition of our fleet. I’m afraid many of our vessels will not make it to the star cluster we have set as our destination. We have the same issue if we turn back and attempt to return to Ornellia.”

“What if I could have you back at Ornellia in just a few weeks?” asked Kathryn.

Arlak looked stunned. “How?”

“I can summon a small fleet of Originator ships operated by their AIs,” Kathryn explained. “They can set up a hyperspace Accelerator Ring; there’s already one in orbit above Ornellia. You could take your fleet through it and be home in just a matter of hours.”

“You found more of these Originator AIs like the one on the ancient ship?” asked Arlak, his eyes widening in amazement.

“Yes; many more. They have been aiding us in a particular search.”

Tomar looked at the others and then nodded. This was an easy decision. “I think I speak for everyone in the fleet: we would like to go home.”

Kathryn nodded; she had expected this decision. “Then let’s make it happen. I’ll send a message summoning the construction ships with the Accelerator Ring. It will take them a few days to get here and it will also take some time to set the ring up. They can do sufficient repair work to your hyperdrives to make sure they can survive the voyage in intergalactic hyperspace. Once the ring is ready, we can begin sending your ships to Ornellia. I know Oman and Admiral Santeld will be thrilled to see your return.”

Tomar stood. There were tears in his eyes. “I never expected to see Ornellia again. How can we ever thank you?”

Kathryn smiled. “I promised to protect Ornellia. Bringing all of you back will allow your planet to prosper. Already a new shipyard is being built in orbit. It won’t take long and you will once more have control of all of your worlds. My people look forward to a long and friendly relationship with yours.” Kathryn felt very satisfied with these developments. She knew her father would be proud of her finding the Ornellian refugee fleet and bringing its people back home.

-

Several days passed and Kathryn was watching as three Originator construction ships built the Accelerator Ring. Once it was finished, the Ornellian refugee ships would enter. Fortunately the fleet was still close enough to the Triangulum Galaxy that the special intergalactic hyperdrive, like the one on the Distant Horizon, wasn’t needed. Their regular hyperdrives would suffice.

“I’m glad they’re going home,” commented Kelsey as she gazed at several of the Ornellian colony ships visible on the viewscreen.

Katie turned toward Rear Admiral Barnes. “Do you think they would have made it to the star cluster if we hadn’t found them?”

“Possibly,” Kathryn replied. “They had four repair ships so they could have done some maintenance to their vessels.”

“Not all of them would have made it,” Clarissa said. “I believe only 28 percent of the fleet would have survived the journey. The rest of the ships in the fleet would have been abandoned and cannibalized in order to keep the others functioning.”

“Clarissa is correct,” Andram said. “The hyperdrives on the Ornellian ships weren’t designed for such extended use.”

“Admiral Jackson is ecstatic we found them,” added Kathryn. She had sent a message to Jackson informing him of finding the Ornellians. “This fleet is full of their youngest and brightest as well as numerous scientists and technicians. It will allow the Ornellians to maintain their current level of technology and finish rebuilding their planet. It won’t be long and they’ll be recolonizing their other worlds.”

“They’ll be a good ally for us,” said Commander Grissim. “There will always be a safe haven for us here in the Triangulum Galaxy.”

Looking at the large viewscreen, Kathryn could see two of the Originator construction ships working on the Accelerator Ring. The ships would disassemble it once the Ornellian fleet passed through.

“It is a good thing we are doing,” Camlin said from Kathryn’s side where she was standing. “I only wish we had done something about the Simulins years ago. So many have died due to our negligence.”

“We’re doing it now,” Kathryn said. “In a few more weeks Admirals Cross and Lukel will begin eliminating all Simulin warships at the galaxies in which they have a presence. Eventually the Simulins will no longer be a threat.”

“Admiral,” interrupted Captain Travers. “Arlak Grall is requesting a meeting with you and Andram. He says it’s urgent.”

Kathryn looked confused. What could be so urgent that Arlak wanted to meet? In just a few more hours the refugee fleet would begin entering the Accelerator Ring. “Tell him to come over.”

“I wonder what that’s about?” said Commander Grissim.

“I guess we’ll find out when he gets here.”

-

Kathryn finished up a few other tasks and then headed toward the briefing room to meet Arlak. She couldn’t imagine what he wanted. However, she had a lot of respect for the older Ornellian scientist. After all, he had been the one who had revealed where the Dominator was hidden.

Entering the briefing room with Andram, she found Arlak slowly pacing back and forth. He was visibly excited about something.

“Arlak, what’s this all about?” asked Kathryn, walking up to the scientist. She wondered if something was wrong with the evacuation fleet.

“Andram explained to me you were searching for another Originator ship similar to the one that was in the asteroid field. He showed me the scans you’ve been taking searching for the vessel. Andram said the ship would have certain rare alloys only used by the Originators. I have much of my research on one of the colony ships. When Andram showed me what the scans of those alloys would look like I recalled I had seen something similar in the past on one of my research trips to investigate the ancient ship.”

‘That would make sense,” Andram said as he sat down. “The Originator ship you found had these same alloys on it.”

“That’s just it,” Arlak said excitedly. “The scans I took showing these alloys were not where the Originator ship was located. It was in a different area.”

Kathryn could feel her own excitement beginning to rise. “Was it in the same system?”

“Yes,” answered Arlak, nodding his head. “There’s a small moon orbiting the sixth planet. The readings came from inside the moon.”

Kathryn looked over at Andram. She wasn’t sure what Arlak had found. It could be the lost Originators or the exploration ship, which had been following the Dominator. If it was the exploration ship that indicated the vessel had managed to follow Kazak for thousands of years without being detected. Kathryn shook her head. She didn’t see how that could be possible. She also couldn’t see how it could be the lost Originators either.

“Can you send me the readings?” asked Andram, his curiosity aroused by the knowledge they might have a very substantial clue as to where the missing Originators were.

“Better than that, I brought it with me,” answered Arlak as he took a small computer thumb drive out of his pocket and handed it to Andram.

“Andram, check that drive and the scans Arlak took. If it matches the alloys we’re searching for then we know our next destination.”

Andram stood up and hurriedly left, heading for his science console in the Command Center.

“I assume this is important?”

“Very,” Kathryn replied. “That ship has been missing for a very long time, and the Originator AIs want to find it.”

“Missing as long as the ancient ship you recovered?”

“Perhaps,” Kathryn replied. “We won’t know until we can verify the data on your disk. In all probability we may have to go to this moon and dig down to where those alloys are.”

“They’re deep,” Arlak replied. “At least twenty kilometers beneath the surface. The only reason my exploration vessel detected the alloys is because we were conducting a routine mineral survey while we were in the system. Our vessel was within fifty kilometers of the surface or we would never have detected anything. The readings made so little sense I assumed it was an anomaly. Alloys such as what we detected were considered to be impossible.”

“If this turns out to be correct, you’ve just saved us from searching this entire galaxy for that ship.”

“It must be important,” said Arlak.

“It is,” Kathryn replied. “It may lead us to a missing Originator artifact we’re seeking.” That was close enough to the truth as to not sound overly suspicious.

Arlak nodded. “These Originator AIs are fantastic. I spoke to Camlin for quite some time yesterday. If one didn’t know better you would never realize you were speaking to an artificial being.”

“They are pretty special,” Kathryn said in agreement. “Have you spoken to Clarissa as well?”

“Yes,” Arlak said, nodding his head enthusiastically. “She is quite remarkable. I understand the Originator AIs constructed her artificial body.”

“They did,” Kathryn said. “Clarissa has been quite pleased with it. It’s given her an entirely new perspective on life.”

“When we get back to Ornellia I may do some research on artificial intelligence. We had just begun some experiments when the Simulins showed up.”

“At least that’s one problem you won’t have to worry about again.”

Arlak nodded. “It will be good to return home.”

-

After Arlak left, Kathryn made her way back to the Command Center. Once there she found Kelsey, Katie, and Mikow hovering over Andram’s science console where he was studying some data on his computer screen.

“I think we’ve found it,” Clarissa said, seeing Kathryn.

“It’s definitely a ship,” Mikow said. “I’ve run Arlak’s sensor scans through a program that takes out all the regular material identified in the moon. It leaves a shape very similar to an Originator exploration vessel.”

“Andram?”

“I agree. The ship seems to be about two thousand meters in length. I have no idea how it could have gotten so deep inside the moon.”

“It’s going to be a bitch to get to,” said Commander Grissim.

“Perhaps not,” Camlin said as she came over to gaze at the computer screen. “We have mining equipment at the Shrieels which can be used to free the ship. All we have to do is send for it.”

Kathryn sat down in her command chair. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Granted, it looks as if this might be the ship. However, it could also be a vessel lost previously.”

Camlin turned toward Kathryn looking thoughtful. “You’re correct. Over the years the Originators were exploring there were a number of vessels that vanished. Particularly during the years of the pathogen. This could indeed be one of them.”

“But in the same system we discovered the Dominator in?” said Kelsey, her eyes wide with doubt. “I think the odds this is the ship that was following the Dominator is very high.”

“I agree,” said Katie. “Perhaps this ship watched the Dominator for years. When the crew or the AIs in charge realized the Dominator wasn’t going to move anytime soon they buried their ship close by so they could keep watch on the Dominator and still remain undetected.”

“But twenty kilometers beneath the surface?” said Mikow in disbelief. “There’s a mystery here, one we need to solve.”

“If this ship did follow the Dominator for such a long period of time, it would indicate some type of tracking device the crew and Kazak never noticed,” said Camlin. “That in itself would be remarkable.”

“We’re going to the moon,” declared Kathryn as she looked at the others. She was just as curious as the rest of them to find out why the ship was buried so deep. “As soon as the refugee fleet makes it safely back to Ornellia we’ll recall our other vessels and meet in the system where the moon is. After we take some scans confirming Arlak’s data, we’ll call in some Originator mining ships.” Kathryn was also going to send a message back to Bartoll informing him of what they might have found. She knew the Originator scientist would be excited to hear they might have located the missing ship. Somewhere on that ship would be the information leading to the missing Originators.

-

Time passed and soon the Ornellian refugee fleet was beginning their transit back to Ornellia. The Accelerator Ring activated and the first large colony ship entered the swirling dark blue vortex followed by the next. In a little over thirty minutes the last of the 722 ships vanished into the vortex. Moments later the Accelerator Ring shut down. The Distant Horizon would be entering the vortex later while the other two exploration ships remained behind to guard the construction ships as they disassembled the accelerator ring. Kathryn didn’t want to risk such technology falling into anyone else’s hands. While the odds were infinitesimally small, she preferred not to take the risk. Of course even the Originator construction ships were armed and had an energy shield. However, the exploration ships had the firepower of a dreadnought.

“What do you think we’ll find?” asked Kelsey. She was full of curiosity. This was the exact reason she and Katie had volunteered to come along on this mission. The thrill of discovery and the unknown was what made exploration such a lure.

Kathryn shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. There’s a good chance this is the ship we’re searching for. If it’s still intact and we can access its computer, we might just discover where the missing Originators went.”

“I hope so,” said Camlin. “If we’re going to fight a war with the Anti-Life we’re going to need them.”

Kelsey suddenly looked concerned. “Jeremy should be back from his mission shortly. I wonder what he found in Anti-Life space?” It was strange knowing her husband was galaxies away.

“Cruelty,” said Camlin, her eyes narrowing. “The Anti-Life have always been a cruel race. The mechanical nanites they used to change their physiology also changed their core beliefs. They are a cruel and heartless race only seeking power and dominance over all others.”

“Sounds like the Simulins,” commented Katie.

“Much worse,” Camlin responded.

Katie shuddered at hearing that. “How can a race be worse than the Simulins?”

“When we last encountered the Anti-Life they were well on their way to eliminating many of the core emotions the Originators and your own races find important. By now the Anti-Life will be more like machines than an organic species.”

“Like an AI?” Clarissa looked frightened at the thought.

“No, not like an AI. The Anti-Life will be seeking power and dominance. They will not know mercy or compassion. If you take all the emotions you care about and then eliminate them, you may have an inkling of what the Anti-Life are.”

“We’re ready to enter the vortex,” reported Commander Grissim. On the large screen, the swirling intergalactic vortex suddenly activated. “We’ll pass the refugee fleet and arrive nearly an hour before they do.”

Kathryn nodded. “Sible, take us in. It’s time to go find the missing Originators.”

Sible nodded and activated the Distant Horizon’s gravity drive. Moments later the exploration dreadnought dove into the heart of the vortex.

Chapter Fourteen

Nest Lord Creesth stood upright gazing at the main viewscreen. Shortly the Ralift fleet would be dropping out of hyperspace into the Melsberth System. From captured data files, he knew there were over two billion Shari on the planet and others spread out in small habitats throughout the system, some on moons, asteroids, and orbital facilities. Creesth intended to use the Ralift fleet to destroy the entire system and all of its inhabitants. That was what the masters had ordered, and it was his duty as a Ralift to obey.

“Long-range sensors are picking up large numbers of warships in the system,” reported Second Nest Lord Alboin. “The Shari have gathered their forces to protect Melsberth. From our scans it is apparent the three fleets which were resisting our advance, as well as the Shari Second Fleet, are present.”

Creesth shifted his gaze to the tactical display, which was beginning to show the Shari fleets in the system. “It will do them no good. With the AI battle spheres at our side we will be victorious. Once Melsberth has fallen, the AIs will demand the immediate capitulation of the Shari Empire. We have a number of occupation fleets even now beginning to move into Shari space. In just a matter of a few weeks we will have full control of their empire, making the Ralift the most powerful galactic power.”

“What of the Federation and the Humans?” asked Alboin. “Their warships are supposed to be very advanced, particularly those built by the Altons.”

“Once the AIs have control of the Dyson Sphere they will add to their numbers. More battle spheres will be built and when there are a sufficient number, the AIs and our own warships will wipe the Federation from their worlds. The Altons will be overwhelmed by superior numbers.”

“The Federation will be preparing for war once they hear we have conquered the Shari Empire,” cautioned Alboin. “They have destroyed AI battle spheres in the past. The war with the Federation may not be won so easily.”

“The Federation has never fought against the updated AI battle spheres. I doubt if the Humans or their protectors, the Altons, have anything that can threaten the AIs. In a few short years the Ralift Empire will cover the entire galaxy. When the AIs move out to conquer other galaxies, we will go with them.”

“The Queens at home will be pleased,” said Alboin. “The masters will be grateful to our race for aiding them in their ultimate goal of controlling this galaxy and all the races within its confines.”

“We will be dropping out of hyperspace in thirty-two minutes,” reported the navigation officer.

“Communication from the Command AI,” added the communications officer. “We must prepare for immediate combat. As soon as we exit hyperspace, we are to immediately engage the Shari forces. The AIs will commit their battle spheres where needed.”

Nest Lord Creesth nodded. The fleet would drop out of hyperspace and then proceed to engage the defending Shari fleets. It would be a great battle and doubtlessly many Ralift ships would be lost. In the end, the superior numbers of the Ralift and with the aid of the powerful ships of their masters, the Shari fleets would be defeated. Then the Ralift would sterilize Melsberth and destroy every trace of Shari civilization. It was the will of the AIs and their will would be carried out. After word of the defeat of their forces at Melsberth and the sterilizing of the system reached the Grand Council, the Shari would have no choice but to surrender.

-

Admiral Race Tolsen sat in the Command Center of the battle dreadnought WarHawk. The entire fleet was hidden behind a large gas giant with stealth energy shields operating at full power. Engines were shut down and all essential systems were operating at minimal power. Routine sensor scans would not be able to detect the hidden fleet.

“Ralift fleet is inbound,’ reported Captain Davis in the quiet Command Center. “They’re about thirty minutes out.”

Race gazed at the large blob of red threat icons inbound for the Melsberth System. With a deep sigh, he could see that his forces and the Shari were badly outnumbered. “We’ll let the Ralift engage the Shari fleet formations. Once the battle starts, the Alton battleships and our dreadnoughts will move on the AI battle spheres. The rest of our fleet will assault the Ralift from the rear.”

“This will be the biggest battle ever,” said Commander Arnett as she gazed at the tactical display. “Even bigger than at the black hole when we destroyed the AI’s great project.”

Race knew Madelyn was right. Even at the black hole the opposing fleets had been smaller than this. However, this was two galactic empires at war, not the Federation and the AIs. “Our technology is better. If we can destroy the AI battle spheres, I believe the Ralift will withdraw.”

“Damn AIs,” muttered Colonel Cowel. “They’re always stirring up trouble wherever they appear. Let’s hope this is the last of them.”

Race looked over at Captain Davis. “What’s the total number of AI battle spheres in the Ralift fleet?”

“Three hundred and fourteen,” reported Davis. “They’re trailing the Ralift fleet.”

Madelyn looked surprised. “They must be worried. By allowing the Ralift to engage first, they ensure there are no threats to their own vessels.”

“Which indicates to me these are all the AIs left,” said Race as he mulled that thought over. “They’ve placed all their cards on reaching the Dyson Sphere.”

“But the Dyson Sphere’s defenses will destroy them,” said Colonel Cowel. “We all saw what that thing is capable of. It wiped out the Simulin and the Shari fleets near it like they were nothing.”

“The AIs may not be aware of that,” said Madelyn, her eyes narrowing. “Or they believe they have a way to get around the Dyson Sphere’s defenses.”

Races eyes widened at hearing those words. He recalled Reesa’s words to him about the Originator AIs on the Dyson Sphere not allowing any ship to approach it again. Had the AIs on the battle spheres found a way to get inside the Dyson Sphere? To make sure that didn’t happen he had to destroy the AIs here and now. He couldn’t take the risk of the AIs gaining access to that advanced technology. It would be a disaster.

“What’s the current status of High Lord Droll and High Lord Tabor’s fleets?

Both fleets are holding position near Melsberth,” replied Commander Arnett. “They are at full alert and ready for combat. We’ve already sent them tactical data on the inbound Ralift and AI fleets.”

Race spent a moment studying the fleet assets the Shari had near Melsberth. High Lord Tabor had Second Fleet which consisted of thirty-four hundred warships. The fleet included sixteen hundred battlecruisers and eighteen hundred support cruisers. High Lord Droll had 3,217 ships under his command. His fleet consisted of fourteen hundred battlecruisers and 1817 support cruisers. In addition, another two hundred and seventy battlecruisers and three hundred and seventy support cruisers had arrived from nearby Shari worlds. That gave the Shari 7,257 ships to fight the Ralift with. However, there was also a very powerful defense grid around Melsberth with numerous missile platforms and energy beam satellites as well as a few large battle stations. The shipyard above Melsberth was also heavily armed.

Unfortunately the Ralift fleet had slightly better weapons and energy shields thanks to the AIs. They also had a nearly two to one advantage in ships. From the sensor scans, Race knew they were facing twenty-two hundred battleships, forty-four hundred battlecruisers, and seventy-four hundred armed escorts. Fourteen thousand ships total!

Race leaned back in his command chair wondering how difficult it was going to be to coordinate such a battle. For once he wished he had an AI on board like Ariel or Clarissa. Unfortunately both of them were with Fleet Admiral Strong in the Triangulum Galaxy or elsewhere by now.

“Commander Arnett, in the coming battle I want you to focus on the AIs. It’s essential our dreadnoughts and the Alton battleships concentrate on destroying them.”

“What’s the plan, Admiral?”

“When the Ralift and AI fleets drop out of hyperspace we will allow them to engage the Shari. Once the battle has been joined, we will jump our dreadnoughts and the Alton battleships directly to the location of the AI battle spheres and attempt to destroy them. At the same time the rest of our fleets will engage the Ralift and take some of the pressure off the Shari. Rear Admiral Tolsen will launch bomber strikes from her battlecarriers against any damaged Ralift ships as well as their smaller escort cruisers.”

“Rear Admiral Tolsen will lose a lot of her bombers,” said Commander Arnett grimly. “She’s going to be missing a lot of her pilots when this is over.”

“It can’t be helped,” Race replied. “We need every advantage we can get.” Race was concerned about how the loss of so many of her pilots would affect Massie. As long as she had been in command of the Hera she probably knew many of them very well. “Those bombers will take some of the pressure off Admiral Stoddard’s fleet.”

Colonel Cowel shook his head and frowned. “After the battle at the black hole I never thought I would be facing AI battle spheres again.”

“None of us did,” replied Race. Looking at the main viewscreen, he could see the battlecarrier Hera, Massie’s flagship. He hoped his little sister came through this. Shaking his head, he shifted his attention back to the tactical display and the nearing Ralift fleet. It was almost time for them to drop out of hyperspace.

-

High Lord Droll waited tensely in his Command Center. Everything that could be done had been. The defense grid around Melsberth was fully activated, and the population on the surface had been dispersed. This entire battle would hinge on whether the Humans and the Altons could destroy the AI battle spheres. Even if they could, it still didn’t mean the battle would be won. The Shari fleets were going to be heavily outnumbered.

“Ralift fleet will be dropping out of hyperspace shortly,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “Computer projections indicate they will appear six million kilometers from Melsberth.”

High Lord Droll nodded. Current strategy called for Droll and High Lord Tabor to keep their fleets separate in case the Ralift divided their fleet. The six hundred and forty other Shari vessels from nearby worlds would stay in orbit around Melsberth, reinforcing the defense grid.

“All ships are at full battle alert and ready for combat,” added Malben. “The latest reports from the surface of Melsberth indicates most of the larger cities have been evacuated and as many of the inhabitants as possible have gone into shelters.”

“High Lords Jabal and Nalarth report their fleets are ready to engage the Ralift,” reported the communications officer. These were the other two High Lords in Droll’s fleet.

Alarms suddenly began sounding on the sensor console as red threat icons began appearing in the tactical display.

Droll shifted his eyes to the sensor officer for confirmation.

“It’s the Ralift,” the sensor officer said. “Fourteen thousand Ralift warships and 314 AI battle spheres are being detected. The AIs are just behind the Ralift fleet.”

High Lord Droll took a deep breath. He glanced over at another viewscreen showing Melsberth. The blue-white globe reminded Droll of his own homeworld of Perhall. Perhall was one of the Shari core worlds.

“Ralift fleet is moving toward Melsberth,” reported the sensor officer. “They will be in combat range in eighteen minutes.”

“Orders from High Lord Tabor,” added the communications officer. “We are to maintain our current position. We will let the Ralift come to us. If things go badly we’re to retreat to Melsberth and aid in its defense.”

“Ready energy weapons and missiles,” ordered Droll. “We’ll hit them with a full missile spread once they get within range followed up by our energy weapons. Our escort cruisers are to focus on the Ralift escorts.” Droll knew the Shari escort cruisers had equal or greater firepower than the Ralift escorts. The Shari escorts were much larger and had more weapons that could be brought to bear.

-

Nest Lord Creesth gazed at the tactical display noting the disposition of the Shari fleets. They were remaining close to Melsberth where they could fall back to the planet’s defensive grid if necessary.

“We’re nearly within weapons range,” reported Second Nest lord Alboin. “The Shari are outnumbered. We have a two to one advantage in ships and our weapons are more powerful. With the aid of the AIs this will be an easy victory.”

“Stand by to engage,” ordered Creesth in a cold voice. It was time to kill the Shari.

-

Admiral Tolsen waited tensely as the Ralift closed upon the Shari fleets. The large viewscreen showed a highly magnified view of the two opposing forces. The screen was covered in small white lights that designated individual spacecraft.

Suddenly explosions and the flash of energy beams erupted between the fleets.

“Fleets have engaged,” confirmed Commander Arnett. “AIs are still hanging back behind the Ralift fleet.”

Race nodded. It was time. “Drop the stealth shield and go to full power. Jump us directly behind the AIs.” Race knew Alton Admiral Baasil would be jumping his battleships in front of the AIs. Admiral Stoddard was in charge of the rest of the fleet and would jump directly behind the Ralift force.

The lights in the Command Center suddenly brightened as the battle dreadnought went to full power.

“Jumping,” reported Taalon Briez, the Alton navigation and helm officer.

-

The Command AI was watching the advance of the Ralift fleet waiting to see if it would be necessary to commit any battle spheres to the conflict. Alarms sounding on the sensor console instantly drew its attention.

“Federation warships detected,” reported the AI at the sensor console in a nearly monotone voice. “Hyperspace vortexes are opening.”

“How many?” asked the Command AI, growing alarmed. Federation forces were not supposed to be in the Shari Empire except for a few ships monitoring the Dyson Sphere. “Where did they come from?” No Federation ships had been detected on the long-range sensors.

“Nine hundred and forty-three ships detected. There are Human and Alton battleships in the fleet formation as well as forty-one of an unknown class. They were hiding behind the gas giant using some type of stealth field.”

The Command AI looked at the viewscreens showing swirling blue-white hyperspace vortexes opening just behind and in front of the AI fleet. There was no doubt the Federation forces were targeting the AI battle spheres. “Open fire,” ordered the Command AI. “We must destroy them before they destroy us.” A strange feeling passed through the Command AI, one it was not familiar with. The Command AI wondered if this was what fear felt like.

-

Nest Lord Creesth’s eyes widened in shock as spatial vortexes started opening around the AI battle spheres and Federation warships began appearing. Almost at the same time more vortexes opened up just behind his fleet and even more Federation ships began to appear.

One viewscreen showed AI energy beams reaching out and striking one of the large Federation ships. The beams had no effect other than to make the shield glow more brightly where they struck. Some of the ships attacking the AIs were larger than the battle spheres. This was the rumored dreadnought class he had been informed about by the other Nest Lords in the Ralift fleets. These giant ships had supposedly been spotted around the Dyson Sphere. Creesth had dismissed the reports as being false.

“Federation ships detected,” warned Second Nest Lord Albion. “Detecting Federation battleships, battlecruisers, and strikecruisers. There are also a number of Alton battleships and battlecruisers. We are detecting forty-one unknown ships of Alton design which are larger than their battleships. These have to be the ships of the rumored dreadnought class.”

For a long moment Creesth froze, uncertain what to do, and then he snapped out of it. “Order Nest Lord Fresnel to take his portion of the fleet and attack the Federation forces appearing in our rear. The rest of our ships will continue to attack the Shari.”

Suddenly a massive white light appeared in the AI fleet formation.

“What was that?” demanded Creesth.

“One of the AI battle spheres has been destroyed,” reported Alboin with uncertainty in his voice. “The Federation ships destroyed it!”

Suddenly Creesth was not so certain the AIs would come to his aid if needed. The battle was suddenly in doubt.

-

Admiral Tolsen felt the WarHawk shudder as it was struck by several AI energy beams as well as a number of antimatter missiles.

“Shield is holding at 82 percent,” reported Major Daniels. “Deploying defense globes and firing particle beam cannons. Missiles are on auto launch mode.” This meant the missile tubes were being reloaded automatically and auto targeting was picking the next target for each salvo of missiles. The WarHawk was capable of launching forty-eight missiles in each salvo.

On the large viewscreen the AI battle sphere, the ship’s current target, was visible. Fifty-megaton Devastator Three and the more powerful one-hundred-megaton antimatter missiles were slamming into the sphere’s powerful energy shield. The shield grew incredibly bright from the energy being released and then the particle beam cannons fired. The bright blue beams tore right through the overstressed energy shield, cutting deep into the battle sphere. Secondary explosions erupted as critical systems were destroyed. A huge chasm extending nearly to the center of the fifteen-hundred-meter ship appeared.

Major Daniels had a devilish grin on his face as he overrode the autofire program and launched a Devastator Three missile through one of the holes in the sphere’s energy shield created by the particle beams. The missile darted into the chasm in the battle sphere’s hull and detonated. The sphere blew apart as nuclear energy ravaged the vessel.

“Battle sphere is down,” confirmed Captain Davis.

“Switching target,” added Major Daniels as he reset the autofire mode. “Defense globes are firing their ion beams.”

“The AIs are targeting the defense globes with their defensive energy beam turrets,” reported Captain Davis. “They’re not going to last long.” On the tactical display, all the dreadnoughts had launched their defense globes. They appeared as very small green icons.

“Twenty percent of the defense globes have been destroyed,” reported Commander Arnett.

“How are our other ships doing?” Race could see from the large viewscreen other AI battle spheres had been destroyed and many more were under heavy attack. While the defense globes might not last long, their ion beams were having a devastating effect on the energy shields of the AI battle spheres.

“Fourteen battle spheres are down,” confirmed Davis. “Others have been damaged.”

Race nodded. The battle was less than a minute old and already the AIs were feeling the wrath of the Federation vessels.

-

High Lord Droll gasped in disbelief as another AI battle sphere exploded under the attack of two Alton battleships.

“They’re destroying the AIs!” said Lower Lord Malben in elation. “I don’t believe what I’m seeing.”

Droll took a deep breath. His fleet was already exchanging weapons fire with the Ralift. “They destroyed the AIs’ Great Project at the galactic center. We are seeing the true power of Federation weapons and their effect on AI battle spheres.”

The Dark Victory shook violently, and several red lights appeared on the damage control console.

“This battle isn’t won yet. The Ralift have a massive fleet arrayed against us.” Droll felt his blood run cold as several Shari battlecruisers blew apart under heavy weapons fire. “We must hold the line; the Ralift can’t be allowed to reach Melsberth.” Glancing at the tactical display, he saw the two fleets had almost merged. They would be at pointblank range shortly.

“High Lord, look at the rear of the Ralift fleet!” cried out Lower Lord Malben.

Turning his attention to one of the viewscreens showing that portion of the Ralift fleet High Lord Droll’s eyes opened wide in disbelief. The Federation fleet was attacking the rear of the Ralift formation, blowing it apart. Even as he watched, Ralift ship after ship vanished from the screen as they were annihilated by the deadly weapons of the Altons and the Humans.

-

Rear Admiral Massie Tolsen was busily launching all of her Anlon bombers from the flight bays of her battlecarriers. She had twenty battlecarriers and each carrier held eighty of the deadly little bombers. Sixteen hundred bombers would shortly be heading toward the Ralift fleet, each armed with four twenty-megaton Shrike missiles. Their targets were any damaged Ralift vessel or the smaller Ralift escort cruisers.

Massie’s eyes shifted over to one of the viewscreens showing the WarHawk. The massive battle dreadnought seemed to be on fire from all the AI energy beams and antimatter missiles striking its energy screen. Massie gasped as the dreadnought vanished beneath several large explosions to only reappear moments later unharmed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Massie didn’t know what she would do if something happened to Race.

“All bombers are out of the flight bays,” reported Colonel Tillerson, the fleet CAG. “All we have to do now is coordinate the targets. Bombers will attack in squadron strength.”

Massie nodded. This was by far the biggest battle she had ever been in. She knew many of her pilots would not be returning. Pilot country would be missing a lot of good people when this was over.

“Let’s get to it,” she ordered. “It looks as if my brother is kicking the AIs into oblivion.”

“Good place for them,” Tillerson replied. He didn’t mention his older brother had died at the battle of the galactic core. He had no love for the AIs.

-

In space, the battle continued to heat up. A Ralift battleship was struck in the stern by particle beam fire from an Alton battlecruiser, sending debris flying off into space. The ship lost its propulsion and began to drift. A squadron of Anlon bombers attacked the damaged vessel, placing four twenty-megaton Shrike missiles on target. Instantly the damaged vessel vanished as nuclear fire consumed it. The Anlon squadron went on seeking another target.

Particle beam fire from one of the Human dreadnoughts slammed into an AI battle sphere, drilling deep into the vessel and setting off massive explosions. Glowing debris was flung away from the ship, impacting the energy screens of several nearby spheres. A one-hundred-megaton antimatter missile penetrated the failing screen, striking the hull. A glowing sun appeared where the AI ship was. Moments later all that remained were a few wisps of glowing gas and twisted wreckage.

Nest Lord Fresnel had turned his fleet to attack the Federation forces. His battleships were hammering several strikecruisers trying to knock down their energy shields. Even as powerful as the strikecruisers’ shields were, they could not withstand the onslaught of hundreds of Ralift vessels. The Garner was the first to go as its shield failed and dozens of Ralift energy beams carved it into pieces, eventually causing the ship to blow apart. Moments later the Ranger followed its sister ship in death.

The fleet formations were quickly coming apart. There were just too many ships. A Shari battlecruiser squadron of ten ships would accelerate forward and englobe a Ralift battleship, pounding it until its screen failed. When that happened several well placed forty-megaton missiles would finish the ship off, then the squadron would move on seeking its next victim.

Ralift ships were doing the same. They would locate a Shari battlecruiser or escort cruiser, englobe it, and blow it into thousands of pieces. Space was quickly becoming full of drifting debris as over twenty thousand warships tried to destroy each other.

The Ralift Nest Lords were trying their best to keep their ships in formation. However, the battle was so large it was becoming nearly impossible to do. The fringes of the fleet were rapidly coming apart as small squadrons began operating on their own initiative. The same was happening to the Shari fleet, though it was a little better organized due to its smaller size.

-

Admiral Stoddard winced as the Alton battlecruiser WindFire blew apart from the attack of six Ralift battleships. On the tactical screen, he saw other Federation ships disappearing as they were destroyed by the numerically superior Ralift forces. However, for every ship he lost the Ralift were losing five. The Federation ships had better shields and more powerful weapons. Watching the tactical display, he saw Alton Admiral Lankell push forward with his battlecruisers into the heart of the Ralift formation, defending the rear of the Ralift fleet. The weapons fire was so intense it looked as if space itself was on fire. Not to be outdone, he ordered his own fleet to advance. All around him ships were dying, both Federation and Ralift. He saw the Shari fleets were also advancing. The Ralift formation was in danger of disintegrating from the two-pronged attack. If they could break the Ralift formation, it would help to even up the odds.

-

Massie felt like crying each time she saw one of the small green icons representing one of the Anlon bombers from her fleet vanish from the tactical display. The bombers were attacking Ralift escort cruisers and any ships they found which were damaged. Shortly they would be returning to be rearmed with additional Shrike missiles. She knew already that many of them would not be coming back. The defensive fire from so many Ralift ships was taking its toll on the bomber squadrons. Massie cringed as six more bombers vanished. Nearly an entire squadron. Massie didn’t know how she would be able to sleep when this was over, assuming she survived.

-

Race felt the WarHawk shake violently and several red icons appeared on the damage control console.

“Energy beam managed to penetrate the screen,” reported Colonel Cowel. “The damn beam hit right where a pair of antimatter missiles detonated, momentarily weakening it. There is minor damage to several compartments. The hull armor stopped most of the beam.”

Race nodded. “How many battle spheres have we destroyed?”

“Eighty-seven,” reported Captain Davis. “These battle spheres have better shields than those we’ve fought in the past. We’ve also lost 67 percent of the defense globes.”

Race examined the nearest tactical display trying to see how the overall battle was going. From what he could tell, the Ralift ships were destroying two Shari vessels for every one they lost. However, Admiral Stoddard and Admiral Lankell were evening up the odds by destroying five Ralift ships for every Federation vessel lost. Even so, the battle was still up for grabs. It all depended on what the AIs did. If they jumped into the heart of the battle, it would be detrimental to the Shari vessels and make the battle spheres much harder for Race and Admiral Baasil to destroy.

“How many ships has Admiral Baasil lost?”

“Nine of his battleships so far,” Commander Arnett answered. “He has six others reporting heavy damage. We also have two of our dreadnoughts reporting damage, but they are still combat-capable.”

Race took a deep breath. He had to destroy the AI battle spheres! “Move us closer. We need to press the attack.” Race was certain that if he could destroy the AIs, the battle would be over.

-

The Command AI was hovering near the ship’s main tactical display as the battle sphere’s computers continuously updated the status of the battle. From the current projections, it was clear the Ralift fleet would destroy both the Shari fleets and the Federation one as long as the Alton battleships and the forty-one dreadnoughts were kept out of the battle. However, the only way to ensure that was for the AI battle spheres to continue to engage those vessels.

“Our upgraded energy shields are buying us time,” the science AI said. “However, due to the number of Alton battleships we are engaging along with the forty-one dreadnoughts, we will not survive until the end of this battle. Latest computer projections show a 98 percent probability all of our battle spheres will be destroyed.”

“We cannot allow that to happen as it will mean the end of our goal of conquering this galaxy and extending AI rule across the cosmos,” replied the Command AI.

Even as it watched, three more battle spheres swelled up and vanished from the tactical display as well as one of the attacking Alton battleships. The ion beams being projected from the small globes the dreadnoughts launched were having a detrimental effect on the energy shields protecting the AI battle spheres. However, the small globes were now nearly all destroyed.

“We must divide our fleet,” stated the AI in front of the tactical console. “Part of our fleet must go on to the Dyson Sphere while the remainder stay here and keep the Federation forces occupied.”

The Command AI was silent. The globe of energy above its head swelling and glowing brightly. Sparks of energy flew about. The Command AI knew it had no choice if it wanted to bring new life to the AIs. “We will take twenty battle spheres and jump to the Dyson Sphere; the others will remain here.” The Command AI knew it was sacrificing the rest of its fleet, but if it could reach the Dyson Sphere, the sacrifice would be worth it.

The twenty ships were quickly selected and the rest of the fleet informed of what its duty was. A few moments later swirling white vortexes formed and the Command AI and twenty other battle spheres fled the battle into hyperspace.

-

Some of the AI ships have entered hyperspace,” warned Commander Arnett as they vanished from the tactical display.

“Can we plot their course?” asked Race. He was concerned they might be jumping into the heart of the battle.

“It’s not good,” replied Taalon Briez, the Alton navigation officer. “If these readings are correct they’re on their way to the Dyson Sphere.”

Colonel Cowel looked surprised. “They left their other ships here to continue the battle so they could escape?”

“We can’t let them reach the Dyson Sphere,” said Commander Arnett. “What if they gain access?”

Race knew Madelyn was right. “We’ll take the WarHawk and ten more dreadnaughts. The rest will stay here under Admiral Baasil’s command. Captain Travers, inform Admiral Stoddard we’re leaving in pursuit of the twenty-one AI battle spheres that just jumped into hyperspace.”

Race was certain his dreadnoughts were faster in hyperspace than the AI battle spheres. If he left immediately he should be able to beat them to the Dyson Sphere. The only problem was he had been told by Reesa any ships approaching the sphere would be destroyed. It was a risk he was going to have to take.

“Messages sent and acknowledged,” reported Captain Travers.

“Taalon, set a course for the Dyson Sphere.”

Taalon pressed several icons on his navigation console and then turned toward Race. “Course set.”

Race quickly informed Taalon which dreadnoughts to send the navigation information to. He also spoke briefly with the commanding officers of the ten dreadnoughts accompanying the WarHawk.

“All ships are ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Commander Arnett.

Race nodded. “Let’s go. We can’t let the AIs beat us to the Dyson Sphere.”

Moments later blue-white spatial vortexes formed in front of the eleven dreadnoughts and they quickly entered them, vanishing from the system.

-

Massie had watched the twenty-one AI battle spheres jump into hyperspace and then shortly after that Race followed with the WarHawk and ten of the dreadnoughts. The rest of the dreadnoughts and the Alton battleships remained locked in heavy combat with the remaining battle spheres.

“Admiral, we received a message from Admiral Tolsen as they were jumping. They’re pursuing the AI battle spheres that left earlier. He believes they’re on their way to the Dyson Sphere. The rest of the fleet is to remain here and finish the battle.”

Massie drew in a deep breath. She understood the AIs could not be allowed to reach the megastructure.

“Admiral, remaining AI battle spheres are jumping!” warned the sensor operator.

Shifting her eyes to the viewscreens in the front of the Command Center, she saw numerous white vortexes forming. The AI battle spheres entered them vanishing from the battle.

“What the hell?” muttered her executive officer. “Where are they going?”

“Vortexes forming throughout the Shari fleet formation,” reported the sensor officer. “The AI battle spheres are reemerging.”

A cold chill ran through Massie. The Shari vessels stood no chance against the AIs. It would be a massacre.

“Alton battleships and remaining dreadnoughts are entering hyperspace.”

Massie looked at the tactical display seeing the battleships and the dreadnoughts reappear in close proximity to the AI battle spheres. The battle was about to be ratcheted up another notch. “Release all of our escorts except one battlecruiser and four strikecruisers to Admiral Stoddard.” Massie felt certain the five combat ships she was keeping could protect her from an AI battle sphere if one appeared. This battle was getting so intense Admiral Stoddard was going to need every ship possible. Her battlecarriers were also heavily armed if they had to defend themselves.

“Bomber wings are beginning to return for rearming,” reported Colonel Tillerson.

“What are the losses?” Massie was dreading hearing Tillerson’s response.

“Forty-three percent,” he said grimly. “However, they took out a lot of damaged ships as well as sixty-two Ralift light escorts.”

Massie nodded. She knew every ship her bombers took out was one less the fleet had to worry about. “Get them aboard and rearmed. We need them back out there as soon as possible.” Massie leaned back in her command chair. This battle was far from over.

-

The AI battle spheres began firing upon the Shari vessels as soon as they exited hyperspace. Hundreds of Shari warships were blown apart by the fierce and unexpected attack of the AIs. The Shari formation began to unravel even more than it had been as ships tried to put distance between themselves and the deadly AI spheres. More vortexes opened and Alton battleships and the Human dreadnoughts charged out, opening fire on the AI battle spheres. The combat became one on one as the two powerful forces began battling it out for supremacy.

-

High Lord Droll felt panic when the AIs jumped into the midst of the Shari fleet firing their heavy energy weapons and missiles. He felt sickened as hundreds of Shari vessels succumbed to the deadly attack. Then the Alton and Human vessels stormed out of vortexes, attacking the AI battle spheres. In bright flashes of light the AIs began to die.

“We have suffered massive losses, both from the AIs and the Ralift,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “Between our fleets and High Lord Tabor’s we have lost nearly two thousand vessels.”

Droll closed his eyes shaking his head in despair upon hearing the staggering losses. He had known they had been heavy but had expected nothing like this. “The Ralift?”

“They have lost nearly three thousand ships, many of them due to the Federation fleet assaulting their rear echelon.”

“We may have to fall back to the defense grid shortly,” High Lord Droll said. On one of the viewscreens, a Shari battlecruiser was drifting powerless from heavy damage to its engineering section. Several Ralift energy beams suddenly struck the vessel, breaking it in two.

High Lord Droll knew emergency plans had been made in case the Shari fleets suffered catastrophic losses. They would fall back to the defense grid and add its heavy firepower to the fleet. Droll knew that time was rapidly approaching. He was growing fearful the Ralift fleet was too large to defeat.

-

In space, ships from all sides continued to die. The Alton battleships and the dreadnoughts were more powerful than the AI battle spheres and had stronger energy shielding. The battle between the two forces was intense as the AIs poured ever bit of firepower they could bring to bear against the battleships and the dreadnoughts. Occasionally a battleship’s energy shield would be overpowered and in a cataclysmic explosion, the Alton battleship would be destroyed. The dreadnoughts were a tougher nut to crack. In several instances, the AIs managed to bring four of their battle spheres to engage a dreadnought. In massive blasts of light which lit up the entire region of space around the battling fleets, the dreadnoughts Trieste and Raven were destroyed.

In the rear of the Ralift fleet, Admiral Stoddard and Alton Admiral Lankell were pushing forward with their warships. As Ralift ships were damaged, they were left behind to be eliminated by the lurking squadrons of Anlon bombers. Particle beam fire was playing havoc with the Ralift vessels. One Ralift battleship had its stern torn apart as particle beams cut it open, laying its compartments open to space. Moments later a pair of Anlon bombers placed two twenty-megaton Shrike missiles into the stern, finishing off the ship.

The Ralift were also fighting back. They were still using englobing tactics against the Federation forces. They would send in a squadron of battlecruisers, englobe a Federation ship, and then overpower its shields with their energy beams and antimatter missiles. Battlecruisers and strikecruisers too often found their shields overwhelmed and were blown apart by the fury of the Ralift weapons. This tactic wasn’t working against the more powerful Human battleships. In most cases, the Ralift englobing squadron suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw under the devastating firepower of the battleship.

-

Admiral Stoddard sat grimly in his command chair as the losses steadily mounted. The entire battle hinged on the destruction of the AI battle spheres. ‘How many are left?” Stoddard had witnessed a number of massive explosions in the Shari fleet indicating the destruction of some of the attacking AI ships. He had also noticed the loss of a number of Alton battleships as well as at least two of the dreadnoughts.

“Seventy-two,” answered the sensor operator. “All of them are under heavy attack.”

Stoddard studied the tactical display for several long moments. “Communications, contact High Lord Tabor and High Lord Droll and suggest they fall back to the defensive grid. We’re going to need more firepower to finish off this Ralift fleet.”

A minute passed and then the communications officer turned toward Admiral Stoddard. “They agree; they’ll be breaking off contact shortly and will fall back to the defense grid.”

“The Alton battleships and the dreadnoughts should be finished destroying the last of the AI battle spheres shortly,” reported the executive officer. “The AIs have managed to destroy four of the dreadnoughts and forty-eight of the Alton battleships. However, that still leaves twenty-five dreadnoughts and 142 Alton battleships. They should have no trouble destroying the rest of the AIs and then they will be free to engage the Ralift.”

“Let’s hope when that happens and the Ralift realize their masters are gone they won’t assault the defense grid and Melsberth.” Stoddard took a deep breath as he focused on the tactical display. This battle still had a long way to go.

-

Nest Lord Creesth watched in shock as the last AI battle sphere was blown apart under the combined fire of four Alton battleships.

“The AIs have been defeated,” said Second Nest Lord Albion in disbelief. “How can this be?”

“The Humans and the Altons,” replied Creesth harshly. “Now we know why the AIs fled to our space.”

“The Shari are breaking contact and are pulling back to the defensive grid around their planet,” reported the Ralift at the ship’s sensors. “The Alton battleships and the dreadnoughts are joining them.”

“What about the Federation ships attacking our rear?”

“Still there; there’s no indication of them pulling back and joining the other ships in the defensive grid. Nest Lord Fresnel is reporting heavy losses to his fleet and is requesting reinforcements.”

Creesth looked at a viewscreen showing the carnage occurring to his rear echelon. Lord Fresnel’s fleet was nearly destroyed. “Send Third Nest Lord Ovath and his fleet to reinforce Fresnel. We can spare no others.”

“The defense grid around Melsberth is extremely powerful,” pointed out Second Nest Lord Alboin. “We will lose a lot of our ships assaulting it, particularly with the addition of the Shari and Federation forces.”

“It is the will of our masters,” replied Creesth. “Order the fleet forward; we will destroy the Shari fleet and the Federation forces defending the planet and then lay waste to it with our nuclear missiles.” Creesth knew the Command AI was on its way to the Dyson Sphere. If the Command AI succeeded in gaining access to the Dyson Sphere then the Ralift would become the dominant power in the galaxy. Creesth was not going to risk going against the Command AI’s orders with what was at stake.

-

The Ralift fleet surged forward, leaving the remnants of Nest Lord Fresnel’s fleet and Third Nest Lord Ovath to hold off the Federation forces they were engaged with. As the Ralift fleet neared the defense grid, the defending forces opened up. Now the Ralift realized the awesome power of the Alton battleships and the Human dreadnaughts. Huge swaths of destruction were carved into the Ralift formation. Energy cannon satellites, orbiting missile platforms, and several large battlestations joined in. Within the first two minutes of battle the Ralift lost another thousand warships. Space was full of dying ships and glowing fields of debris.

Nest Lord Creesth felt his flagship shake violently and then found himself flying through the air to come crashing down on the deck. Struggling to stand, he stumbled back to his command chair. Looking around he saw smoke and sparks everywhere. Alarms were screaming from the damage control board, and red lights were rapidly blinking on. “Damage report!”

“Multiple breaches along the forward hull and part of the stern near Engineering. We’re venting atmosphere,” the damage control officer reported. “We have numerous compartments open to space, and we’re suffering a major power loss.”

“Engineering has suffered major damage,” reported Second Nest Lord Alboin. “They report it will be impossible to restore full power. They can give us enough power for maneuvering but the hyperdrive has been destroyed.”

Looking at the damage control console, Creesth knew the damage to his flagship was fatal. “Order all ships to target the planet.” At least he could still destroy Melsberth before he died and carry out part of their masters’ orders.

-

From the thousands of attacking Ralift vessels nuclear missiles were launched. The Shari defense grid instantly switched its targeting to the missiles as did all the orbiting ships. Many of the missiles were intercepted and knocked down but a few managed to get through. Over the capital city four nuclear missiles detonated, sending out devastating blast waves across the helpless city. Four mushroom clouds rose up into the air as debris, ash, and smoke were pulled in by the powerful updraft of superheated air.

Across the planet other missiles struck their targets. In the space of two minutes 30 percent of the population of Melsberth died. Then the nuclear missiles ceased falling as the defense grid and orbiting ships shot down the last remaining ones.

-

Aboard Creesth’s flagship, the crew was working at a frantic pace trying to effect repairs. The ship started shaking violently as several particle beams slammed into its hull. In a brilliant explosion the ship blew up, sending glowing debris across space. The last sight Creesth saw on the ship’s viewscreens were the mushroom clouds rising up into the atmosphere of Melsberth.

-

Nest Lord Fresnel saw the destruction of Creesth’s flagship. To him this marked the end of the attack. The AI battle spheres had been destroyed, and the Command AI and twenty other spheres had fled while being pursued by eleven of the larger warships of the Federation. This battle was lost. If he continued he would lose a sizable portion of the remaining Ralift fleet. Better to retreat and pull back to the border of the Ralift Empire. Perhaps they would maintain control of the Shari worlds they had conquered. The empire would be larger than before, but now there would be no more AIs. Without hesitation he gave the order to retreat.

-

High Lord Droll watched in disbelief as the Ralift fleet pulled away from Melsberth and began making the transition into hyperspace. The battle was over and they had won with the help of the Federation. With a deep sigh, he looked at one of the viewscreens showing Melsberth. Numerous mushroom clouds were rising above the surface and well into the protective atmosphere. The loss of life would be horrific, but the planet had survived.

-

Massie watched with relief in her eyes as the Ralift fleet fled the scene of the battle. A few damaged ships remained and Admiral Stoddard’s warships were making short work of them. Taking a deep breath, she watched as the bomber wings began returning. There were far fewer than what had been sent into combat at the start of the battle. Looking at a viewscreen showing a sea of unblinking stars, Massie wondered about Race. He had twenty-one AI battle spheres to deal with at the Dyson Sphere. She just hoped her brother knew what he was doing.

Chapter Fifteen

Jeremy was back at the Communications and Transport Hub. What remained of his fleet had only made it back the day before. It had been necessary to stay at the Dyson Sphere nearest the Median Galaxy for his ships to be repaired in one of the large spacedocks. Once that was done, he brought the fleet back home in defeat.

“It was a disaster,” Jeremy said to Admiral Kalen, General Wesley, and Governor Barnes. “The Eternals played us from the very beginning. I’m not sure what to expect now. We may have started the war we had hoped to avoid for another year or two.”

Admiral Kalen nodded his understanding. “It’s evident the Anti-Life, or the Eternals as they now call themselves, are more advanced than what we originally believed, particularly in military technology.”

“I spoke to Bartoll earlier and he’s holding a meeting with the rest of the surviving Originators and some of the AIs responsible for research,” said Governor Barnes. “He’s gravely concerned about the stealth technology the Eternals demonstrated as well as their ability to lock a ship out of hyperspace. He’s fearful they may be monitoring some of the Dyson Spheres and have not been detected. He has ordered a search in all systems containing a Dyson Sphere, looking for dead areas like the ones you detected in the Median Galaxy before you were attacked.”

“I’m sorry to hear about the loss of Grayseth,” added Admiral Kalen. His eyes filled with sadness. “He was a fine Carethian warrior and represented his people with honor.”

Jeremy nodded. The loss of Grayseth was something he was still having a hard time accepting. Even though he had witnessed the Warrior’s Prides destruction, he still couldn’t believe his friend was gone. “I spoke to Admiral Calmat earlier. He will be taking over as leader of the Carethian clans.”

“He will make a fine leader to the Carethian people,” Governor Barnes said approvingly. “I understand he is already planning a ceremony to honor Grayseth.”

“Yes,” answered Jeremy. “When a great leader of the clans falls in battle they have a ceremony honoring his achievements. All clan leaders will be attending as well as many others. The ceremony lasts for nearly a full day.” Jeremy would be attending and giving a speech on how Grayseth had unselfishly sacrificed his life so Jeremy and the crew of the Avenger might survive. “How is Major Wilde doing on retaking the rest of the Dyson Sphere Control Centers?”

“We have two Marine units currently assigned to retaking them and a third in training,” answered General Wesley. “We’ve stepped up our assaults as the Simulins are attempting to regain control of the vortexes.”

“How?” asked Jeremy, feeling confused. When he left, the Simulins in the Dyson Spheres seemed to be pretty well bottled up in their small areas around the vortex Control Centers.

General Wesley took a deep breath. “They’ve been working on putting an energy shield in place above the intergalactic vortex they control in each of the remaining Dyson Spheres on which they have a major presence. I am greatly concerned we may not be able to retake the one in their home galaxy and possibly two others where they have a major presence.”

“Let’s concentrate on the rest of them and we’ll deal with those three last,” suggested Jeremy. “How are Admirals Lukel and Cross doing toward eliminating the Simulin fleets in the galaxies the Simulins have conquered or are in the process of conquering?”

“Both fleets left on their first mission last week,” replied Admiral Kalen. “Both admirals have a fleet of three hundred updated Originator warships and have been sending back progress reports daily. They have eliminated a number of Simulin fleets in the galaxy they’re currently operating in and have discovered the locations of the majority of the Simulin inhabited worlds.”

“As advanced as the ships are they shouldn’t have any problems with handling the Simulin fleets,” said Jeremy. Of course both admirals were using heavy dreadnoughts as their flagships. “What type of battle plan did you come up with?” While he was gone, Admiral Kalen and the other admirals were supposed to come up with a plan to subdue the Simulins in the galaxies they had major fleets in.

Admiral Kalen turned to a small computer screen on the conference table in front of him. “The Triangulum Galaxy has already been taken care of by Kazak, though we won’t quite be using those same methods in the other galaxies. There are nine galaxies the Simulins have major fleets in and twenty more where there are rumored to be small exploration fleets. In the nine major galaxies, two of them are completely controlled by the Simulins with probably no surviving technological civilization still surviving. We’ll save those two for last. In the other seven, we will fight several major engagements against Simulin fleets in order to demonstrate we have the ability to destroy their ships with impunity. Then we’ll use dark matter missiles to destroy several uninhabited worlds close to the most heavily populated Simulin planets to demonstrate our strength. At the same time we will issue an ultimatum. Surrender and disarm or we will start targeting their population centers.”

Jeremy turned pale at hearing that. He had seen the effects of a dark matter warhead used on a populated planet. Kazak destroyed six inhabited Simulin worlds using the weapon. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“So do we,” replied Admiral Kalen. “However, the Simulins are responsible for the deaths of trillions of inhabitants across ten galaxies. I don’t believe we owe them any sympathy. Not only that, at least we’re offering them a chance to surrender and still live on the planets they have colonized. They didn’t offer that choice to all the worlds they destroyed. We will even allow limited trade between their worlds. They would be fools not to accept our terms.”

Jeremy agreed this was the best option. With a possible war coming between the Originators and the Eternals, he couldn’t have major fleet units tied down fighting the Simulins. “Let’s hope the Simulins elect to surrender.” However, from what Jeremy knew of the Simulins, it would probably take the destruction of several of their worlds before they saw the light.

-

A few hours later Jeremy was in his office looking out the window over the city. The tall towers and ribbon-like walkways, which connected them, seemed like something one might see in a futuristic video. It was hard to believe this magnificent city had been built for Humans.

“I wish the girls were back,” said Kevin from Jeremy’s side. “I just got back from seeing Angela in the communications center. Rear Admiral Barnes sent a message indicating they might know where the lost Originator ship is located.”

“I saw that,” Jeremy responded. “I spoke to Bartoll earlier, and he’s going to have the Originator AIs in one of the research centers develop a drone to send to galaxies we suspect the Eternals control. He agrees with me that after what happened to our fleet, it’s too dangerous to send crewed ships to do the exploring.”

Kevin looked out the large window and then spoke again. “The Eternals have to suspect our ships came from a Dyson Sphere. What do you think they’ll do?”

“Seek us out,” Jeremy answered. “It’s what I would do. I suspect they’ll send a few of their ships or even fleets into the nearest galaxies where there are Dyson Spheres and see if they can detect any Originator ships. They may even check some of the more advanced civilizations in those galaxies to see if there have been any reports of strange, highly advanced vessels.”

“Do you think they might attack one of the Dyson Spheres?”

“Bartoll believes they might. So we’ve picked out the three most likely galaxies near what we believe is Eternal space and placed the Dyson Spheres in those galaxies on alert. Galaxy X-938 is where we expect the Eternals to appear if they do send a fleet to investigate Originator space since it’s the closest.”

“That’s the galaxy we departed from,” replied Kevin.

“Yes, I’ve already arranged with Bartoll to send additional military AIs there in case they’re needed. I’m also sending Rear Admiral Brenda Mann with a fleet as well. She has command of six hundred heavy dreadnoughts.”

“What if the Eternals lock them out of hyperspace?”

“They can’t, at least not anymore. Aaliss and Talmorr have updated the program they designed that got around the hyperspace-dampening field so it can instantly analyze the frequency of the field and jam it. Even if they lock us out of hyperspace, it will only be a second or two before our ships can jump.”

“What about those energy beams they hit us with? I mean, it only took a few strikes for them to penetrate our shields.”

“Bartoll thinks if we rotate our shields through a smaller set of frequencies but at a faster rate, it will give us better protection. He’s already set a group of AIs working on it.”

“When’s Grayseth’s memorial ceremony?”

“Two more days,” Jeremy replied with sadness in his eyes. “It will be held in the Carethians’ new city at an open-air amphitheater. It can hold nearly forty thousand Carethians and will be carried live on all of our cities video channels. I’m also going to declare a day of mourning in recognition of Grayseth’s contributions to our survival since coming to the Triangulum Galaxy.”

Kevin stood quietly and then spoke in a softer voice. “It’s going to be hard not having that big Bear around. I don’t know how many times he nearly crushed me with one of those big bear hugs of his.”

Jeremy grinned, recalling what those felt like. “I know, there were several times I thought he was going to break a rib or two.”

Kevin’s face took on a solemn look. “Grayseth planned on mating soon. He mentioned that to me several times. There was a Carethian female he was seeing.”

“Yes, he told me about her,” Jeremy replied with a deep sigh. “They planned on being joined in another few months. Grayseth was looking forward to having cubs to carry on his heritage. He was planning on a very large family. I plan to speak to her in the next day or so. I want to tell her how Grayseth died.”

“Jeremy,” Kevin continued in a more serious voice. “Maybe we shouldn’t put off having families of our own. What happened to Grayseth could happen to us as well. I don’t feel comfortable leaving Katie without any children. I think Angela had the right idea. She seems happy. I don’t want to take that away from Katie. When the Distant Horizon returns, I’m going to have a serious conversation with Katie about having children.”

Jeremy nodded. He had been thinking along the same lines. There was never going to be a perfect time, not with a war with the Eternals looming in the future. “Maybe you’re right. It will also keep the girls here where it’s safe.” That would be one less thing Jeremy would have to worry about. Both of the girls could work here at the Tower and still be part of the war effort. Then later, when the kids were older, they could go off exploring or do whatever they wanted. Jeremy wouldn’t block their careers.

-

Later Jeremy and Rear Admiral Susan Marks were standing in one of the large construction bays in one of the shipyards. There were numerous shipyards at the Communications and Transport Hub. They were watching an Originator battlecruiser being refurbished with updated weapons. Various sized construction robots were everywhere as they went from ship to ship carrying out their assignments under the watchful eyes of a number of Originator AIs.

“Do you know exactly how many of these ships the Originators have?” asked Susan as several large construction robots replaced a section of dull looking hull armor.

“There are two hundred and eleven Dyson Spheres plus the four here at the Communications and Transport hub. From what Kazak and Bartoll have told me there are several thousand battlecruisers in each one.”

Susan’s eyes widened. “That’s nearly half a million warships!”

Jeremy nodded. “Remember, at one time their civilization was spread out across countless worlds in all the galaxies where there is currently a Dyson Sphere. They pretty well pacified those galaxies, creating an era of peace. Then they created the Dyson Spheres, which would protect them and allow their civilization to grow for millions of years. They abandoned their worlds and moved into the spheres though they still explored and kept some contact with the other life forms.”

“Then the Anti-Life tore everything apart.” Susan recalled what the Originator AIs had told her. There were a number of them teaching at the new Fleet Academy. “The Anti-Life appeared and tried to conquer the galaxies and the Dyson Spheres.”

Jeremy nodded. “Yes, the Originators don’t speak much of what happened though I have managed to study a few of the battles. We’re talking about fleet battles involving tens of thousands of ships. It was quite brutal and no prisoners were taken. Both sides were playing for keeps.”

“How long did the war actually last? I’ve heard from the AIs it was around a thousand years.”

“Yes, that’s correct. I believe the actual time was 1,123 years including the time it took the Originators to enclose the Anti-Life’s galaxy in the hyperspace disruption field.”

“A thousand years of war,” Susan said, finding it hard to grasp. “No wonder the two hate each other so badly.”

“Two different philosophical views,” Jeremy explained. “The Anti-Life believed they were a superior life form and used the mechanical nanites to augment their bodies. They wanted to greatly extend their lifespans. Since they now call themselves the Eternals, I suspect they succeeded to some extent.”

Jeremy watched as several large antimatter projectors were mounted to the battlecruiser. He knew this type of work was being done in every shipyard the Originators had. New military AIs were also being built and programmed to command the ships. In many of the shipyards here at the Communications and Transport hub the new heavy dreadnoughts were under construction. Jeremy intended to make them the backbone of the Originator fleet. The ships, while big, would be largely automated. Each would contain a Human, Alton, or Carethian command crew of around fifteen and a squad of Marines to command the new combat robots being built.

“Are we safe here inside the Dyson Sphere if the Eternals attack?”

Jeremy hesitated for a moment. This had been a growing concern of his since the battle with the Eternal ships. “I think so. Each Dyson Sphere has a large number of warships available for defense if necessary. All of the spheres are heavily defended, and those defenses are being augmented even more since the Originators discovered the Eternals have escaped their galactic prison. We’re probably still a year or two away from becoming involved in an actual full-scale shooting war, though there may be a few skirmishes between now and then.”

“We’ll have a small cadet class graduating from the Academy in another few months,” said Susan, pursing her lips as she thought of her students. “They’ll make fine officers and fleet personnel. We’ve changed the curriculum with the help of the Originator AIs. The teaching methods we now have available will allow us to shorten the time to prepare a cadet from four years to two and a half. The first two years will be instruction and basic drills. The last six months the cadets will be assigned to actual warships. I believe you will be quite pleased with the results.”

Jeremy’s attention was drawn to the far end of the spacedock where an Originator battlecruiser was lifting off from its berth. The ship rose up into the air and then proceeded to the massive airlocks which opened, allowing the ship to pass through into space. Jeremy marveled at how quiet the ship was. The gravity drive made little noise as it propelled the ship.

“How many students do you have currently enrolled?”

“The current graduating class has twelve hundred in it, the two classes below them have eight thousand and twelve thousand respectively.”

Jeremy nodded. He was pleased with the size of the classes. Of course many of the students came from military families. Some had already been attending the Fleet Academy on the Moon and headed home to Ceres and New Tellus when summoned by their parents.

“We’re going to need all of them,” Jeremy said as he turned away from the work going on in the spacedock.

“They’ll be ready,” promised Susan.

-

The next day Jeremy was in a small shuttle flying to the Carethian habitat. He was going to meet with Admiral Calmat as well as a number of other Carethians. One of the main reasons for this visit was to speak with Marille, who was going to be Grayseth’s chosen mate. Grayseth had confided in Jeremy that the joining of the two would have been in a few more months. In Jeremy’s mind, he could still see as plain as day the Warrior’s Pride ramming the Eternal battlecruiser, saving the Avenger. He wondered if the roles had been reversed if he would have been willing to make the same sacrifice.

Looking out the viewport, Jeremy marveled at the habitation square they were flying over. They were still above the one the Humans had settled in. It was nearly as large as Earth with oceans, snow covered mountains, rolling plains, and even a few small deserts. He knew there was a multitude of wildlife as well. Some he was familiar with and others were vastly different than what could be found on Earth. It was amazing the complexity of the ecosystems the Originators had built. There was already talk of building some Oceanside resorts as well as ski lodges up in the mountains.

It didn’t take long and the shuttle was setting down at the small spaceport near the city the Originators had built for the Carethians. Instead of tall, soaring towers like they had built for the Humans, here were smaller and more boxlike structures built of heavy stones. The tallest structure was no more than ten stories high. The city was also more spread out with numerous green belts and large parks. The Carethians preferred living in packs where large families could stay together. They believed in honor and traditions and would spend many evenings around campfires telling of past heroics by members of the pack or clan. In the new structures the Originators had built for the Carethians, a large fire pit existed on the bottom floor of each where the pack or packs could gather.

Stepping out of the shuttle, Jeremy found Calmat and several other Carethian clan leaders waiting.

“It is a sad day,” said Calmat formally. “Grayseth was our greatest leader and an example for all the packs and clans.”

“He died in the hunt,” Jeremy said respectfully. “He was fearless in battle and unafraid in his sacrifice. He brought great honor to his clan as well as all of the clans represented here.”

“He died in the hunt,” repeated Calmat with a nod. “It was an honorable death and one which will be spoken of for many generations around our fires. Our cubs will learn of our great leader and what his sacrifice meant to all Carethians.”

It felt strange to be standing here speaking of Grayseth. At any moment Jeremy felt as if he would hear his friend’s booming voice and then be embraced in a powerful bear hug. Sadly, Jeremy knew those days were gone.

-

Jeremy stayed with the Carethians through the memorial ceremony. He took time out to speak with Marille, Grayseth’s chosen mate. She was in mourning as were all of his immediate pack. By tradition for those who died before they were joined, the pack would take care of Marille as if she were one of their own. She would have a home with Grayseth’s pack as long as she wished. In the pack and the clan, it would be a place of honor.

The memorial service was broadcast across all three habitation squares where the Altons, Humans, and Carethians lived. It was solemn and full of praise for the great leader. His exploits in defending Careth as well as Gaia were told for all to hear. In the end, Jeremy said a few words praising his friend and how he would be missed.

-

In Anti-Life space in the galaxy of the Eternals, a meeting was being held on Gardell, the capital planet. Gardell was a world of small oceans and large landmasses. It held a population of nearly ten billion, all dedicated to making their race the supreme rulers of the known universe. They already had a good start with ten thousand galaxies under their firm control.

“This report from Galaxy X-2496 is quite disturbing,” said Clondax, the Eternals’ First Leader. “It seems a fleet of exploration ships appeared on the edge of the galaxy and entered the Stralon Star Cluster where we have a major resource gathering operation in progress. The fleet crossed one of our intergalactic picket lines where it encountered two of our battlecruisers and we assume destroyed them. Investigating battlecruisers found the debris from four ships: our two battlecruisers as well as two of the unknowns.”

“They destroyed two of our battlecruisers?” asked Second Leader Nolant in disbelief. Nolant was responsible for war production. “Was the fleet detected again?”

“The fleet was detected once more as it crossed the hyperspace detection system at the edge of the galaxy. We were able to determine the fleet’s destination and arrange for several of our stealth reconnaissance cruisers to meet and follow it. The fleet divided into two task groups and spent time exploring and taking scans of eight of our systems in the cluster. During that time the Eternal commander of Galaxy X-2496 arranged for several fleets of our battlecruisers to be waiting under stealth for the two fleets to return to the system they had left originally.”

“Do we have any videos of the ships in question?” asked Second Leader Tallard, who was in charge of research.

Clondax touched his hand to a computer control, and one of the unknown ships appeared on a large viewscreen.

“I’ve never seen ships such as those,” Queexel said. Queexel was responsible for warship production.

“They do not appear in any of our databases,” Clondax said.

“Did we salvage any ship parts after we destroyed their fleets?” asked Tallard.

Clondax let out a deep breath. “We were not able to destroy all of them. In the ensuing battle, we destroyed thirty-two of their ships and seven managed to escape. We also lost sixty-four battlecruisers.”

“What?” uttered Queexel, his eyes growing wide. “How can that be? We have the most powerful warships in the universe. Our hyperspace disruption field should have kept them locked out of hyperspace. Those ships should have been destroyed. Is the Eternal commander of our fleets in that galaxy so incompetent? If so he should be removed immediately and executed.”

“The hyperspace field did work for a few minutes,” confirmed Clondax. “But the unknown ships managed to send out an interference field which canceled it out, and then their remaining ships escaped. It was no fault of the Eternal commander. I have examined the records of the battle in detail. I can find no fault in the strategy or the methods the commander of the fleets employed.”

“Who could have built ships such as these?” asked Queexel. “We must find them immediately and eliminate their worlds. They cannot be allowed to become a major threat.”

Clondax was silent for a long moment as he gazed at his fellow Eternals. “The commander of the fleets attacking these unknowns believes the ships were equipped with Originator technology.”

“Originator technology! Impossible! They’re all dead from the pathogen because of their misguided attempts to achieve immortality,” cried out Tallard. “We have studied the pathogen and know there is no cure.”

“Their AIs may still exist,” Clondax said pointedly. “They could have allowed a race to access one of their Shrieels and sent a fleet to investigate what we have been doing since destroying the intergalactic disruption field they placed around our galaxy so many years ago. They must know the field is down.”

The large hall was silent as the Eternals mulled over this startling revelation.

“What types of weapons were used against our ships?” asked Tallard, still refusing to believe this threat came from one of the Shrieels.

“Gravitonic cannons, antimatter beams, energy beams, and missiles armed with dark matter warheads,” Clondax answered.

Tallard slowly shook his head. “Definitely Originator technology. It is as you have suggested. Either the AIs themselves have come to check on us or they have joined with another organic race. Both seem highly unlikely. Only upon the Shrieels is there the necessary technology and weapons to oppose us. I am also concerned about their use of dark matter warheads. That is technology we have banned.”

“There is another possibility. Perhaps some highly advanced civilization found an ancient Originator ship and has managed to duplicate the technology on board,” suggested Second Leader Nolant.

Queexel stood up. “We must send a fleet to find out.”

The other Eternals agreed, echoing the same comment. “Send a fleet.”

Clondax nodded. “It will be done. A fleet will be sent to the galaxy nearest Galaxy X-2496 where there is an Originator Shrieel. It is highly probable due to its nearness that is the galaxy this unknown fleet of ships originated from.”

Queexel looked intently at Clondax. “Is it possible some Originators survived and they are only now reclaiming the Shrieels?”

“No,” Clondax answered. “The pathogen had no known cure. All of the Originators died out several million years ago. In all of that time until now, none of their ships have been spotted. We have sent a few highly stealthed ships to observe some of the Shrieels from time to time and not once have we detected the movement of any ships.”

“We have discussed moving into Originator space,” Queexel said. “We control over ten thousand galaxies and have their space completely isolated.”

“But there are still nearly six hundred galaxies in that region,” Tallard pointed out. “We know 212 of them contain Originator Shrieels. There is no doubt that if their AIs still exist, they would resist any movement by us into their space.”

“It could be dangerous sending a fleet to inspect the Shrieel in the galaxy we suspect the unknown fleet came from,” added Nolant. “In the last years of our war with the Originators, they developed a military AI that was very dangerous. It could be those military AIs who were operating those ships.”

“I doubt it,” Clondax answered. “From the debris we found, we detected a number of organic compounds. The ships were definitely crewed by organic beings.”

“We must be cautious,” said Tallard. “The Originator Shrieels have a tremendous amount of ship construction capacity. While I don’t believe they could be a serious threat to us, they could still become a major hindrance if the surviving AIs inside become active against us.”

Clondax slowly nodded his head. “We will send a fleet to investigate. It is essential to our future plans of conquest to know if the Originator Shrieels are going to become a danger. I will contact our commander in galaxy X-2496 and have him dispatch a fleet to the suspect galaxy immediately.”

Clondax left the room without saying another word. For many years he had been advocating moving into Originator space. If the Originators were truly dead as he believed all they had to do was stay away from the 212 star systems which held Shrieels. If the fleet he was sending discovered one of the Shrieels was active and had sent the fleet to galaxy X-2496, it would give him the excuse he needed to launch an all out attack against Originator space. He had long believed it was a mistake to think the Shrieels were still a danger. Too much time had passed. As the descendants of the Originators, it was the Eternals’ right to take back what was theirs. Clondax expected to find a way someday to take over the Shrieels and add all 212 to the growing Empire of the Eternals.

Chapter Sixteen

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes gazed at the small moon on the viewscreen. It was less than four hundred kilometers in diameter, but the sensor readings were confirming the readings Arlak Grall had taken years back. Twenty kilometers down was an Originator spacecraft.

“It’s definitely one of our exploration ships,” Camlin said as she studied the data from the sensor readings. “It’s two thousand meters in length and seems to still be intact.”

“If I’m reading this data correctly, the ship is wedged in a very tight cavern,” added Andram.

“How did they ever get it in there?” asked Kelsey. Kathryn had informed her the day before of Jeremy returning to the Communications and Transport Hub as well as the death of Grayseth. Kelsey knew Jeremy would be highly upset at the death of his longtime Carethian friend. She and Katie had talked long into the night about it in their shared quarters.

“The ship’s energy beams,” Camlin said. “They probably used them to bore a hole deep beneath the surface of the moon and then closed it up behind them.”

“I don’t understand why,” said Katie, her green eyes looking confused. “Why go to all the trouble to hide the ship?”

“I think it was done more to hide it from the Dominator than anything else,” said Jolban, the Originator AI who had been responsible for updating the Distant Horizon. “Kazak brought the Dominator here after his failed search for the missing Originators. Whoever was in command of the exploration ship must have decided there was a reason for what Kazak was doing. Perhaps he was allowing sufficient time to pass for the AIs in the Shrieels to come up with a cure. So they hid their ship, probably set up some type of automatic monitoring system to keep an eye on the Dominator and then put themselves into stasis.”

“Waiting for something to happen with the Dominator,” said Kelsey in understanding. “Only why when we woke Kazak and took the Dominator back to Gaia didn’t the exploration ship wake up its crew?”

“Time,” replied Jolban. “So much time had passed it’s possible the systems on the ship had degraded to the point that it was no longer possible to awaken the crew. I doubt if they thought they would be interred in the moon for over two million years.”

Kathryn gazed at the screen showing the barren surface of the small moon. It was covered in asteroid impacts and looked extremely unstable. “Can your mining ships get the vessel free?”

“Yes,” answered Camlin. “I have already spoken to the AI in charge of the three ships, and he has assured me they will have no problem drilling down to the exploration vessel. They’ll make the tunnel large enough so the ship can be towed out. Once it’s out in open space, you can send a team on board to see if any of the crew is actually in stasis.”

“There have to be a few,” said Katie. “I mean, why go to all of this trouble if there were no survivors on the ship?”

“How long will it take to free the ship?” asked Kathryn. She was anxious to get this mystery solved and find out some answers.

“Lontor believes he can have the ship free and towed out within forty-eight hours,” replied Camlin. Her eyes were showing excitement at what might be on the exploration ship.

“Is there any chance some AIs are still functional on the vessel?” asked Commander Grissim who had been listening to the discussion.

Camlin pursed her lips as she thought over the question. “It’s possible but highly unlikely. The ship wouldn’t have had the resources or power sources the Dominator has.”

“What about the stasis chambers?” asked Anne. “Would they still be functional?”

“Maybe,” Jolban answered. “The stasis chambers would have their own power source; possibly an antimatter chamber. Such a power source, if not overly stressed, could run the chambers for several million years but not much longer.”

Kathryn frowned. “So if the power was depleted then any Originators in stasis would have died.”

Camlin nodded. “Yes, there’s a chance anyone in stasis died a long time ago. We won’t know until we can access the stasis chamber in the center of the ship, assuming that’s where it is. There’s also the possibility the exploration ship has no stasis chambers.”

Taking a deep breath, Kathryn knew the only way to find out was to free the ship. “Inform Lontor to begin drilling. Tell him to take all necessary precautions and not to endanger any of the three mining ships.”

“Message sent,” replied Captain Travers a few moments later.

On the large viewscreen, one of the mining ships moved down toward the moon until it was hovering just above the surface. From the bottom of the ship a beam of energy appeared, drilling into the hard surface. The other two mining ships moved to either side and began using tractor beams to move the mined rubble away from the site. A lot of dust was being stirred up, floating in the vacuum and light gravity of the moon and making visibility difficult.

“Drilling has commenced,” said Jolban.

-

Kathryn sat in her command chair for several hours watching the drilling. So far there had been no problems, and everything was proceeding according to plan. Lontor was keeping them informed on progress with regular updates.

“Incoming ships,” reported Captain Reynolds. “It looks like the Dominator and Commander Zafron’s task group.”

“I was expecting them,” Kathryn said. “After Kazak spent so much time searching for the missing Originators there was no way he was going to miss us unearthing this ship.”

“I’ve already spoken to Kazak,” Clarissa reported. “He’s quite excited about this discovery. I think he’s having a hard time believing the ship was here all this time.”

“I’m glad Zafron’s here,” said Camlin, crossing her arms over her chest. “If there are indeed Originators in stasis on board the exploration ship, it might be necessary to awaken them before we take the ship back to the Communications and Transport Hub.”

“We may also want to access the ship’s computers before we take it into hyperspace,” suggested Clarissa, her dark blue eyes focused on the large panoramic viewscreen. “As old as the ship is we’re not certain if it can survive such a trip.”

Kathryn looked thoughtful and then spoke. “Perhaps we should take it to Ornellia for study. It would be safe there with all the fleet units we have in the system. We also have an Accelerator Ring in orbit that can be used to bring in AIs or other Originators from the Communications and Transport Hub.”

“We may have to consider that,” Jolban said. “We’ll know more when the ship is out of the moon and in open space. I can go aboard with a few other AIs and determine the condition of the vessel.”

Kathryn looked at the tactical display. Her two ships which had stayed to protect the construction ships disassembling the Accelerator Ring had joined the Distant Horizon. Both ships were off the Distant Horizon’s starboard bow. In addition, three other exploration dreadnaughts were above the ship and to the rear. Kathryn was pleased Commander Zafron would soon be here. There were rumors of a few rogue Simulin fleets still roaming around. It would be a disaster for one of those fleets to gain control of the Originator exploration cruiser they were attempting to retrieve. With nine exploration dreadnoughts, Kathryn was confident she could fight off any foe.

-

Kelsey, Katie, Mikow, and Clarissa were eating a quick meal before returning to duty. Kelsey was consuming a large dish of strawberries covered in whipped cream while Mikow and Katie were splitting a club sandwich.

Clarissa was eyeing Kelsey’s overflowing bowl of strawberries. “Why do you not tire of eating those? Over the years I’ve seen you eat hundreds of bowls of strawberries.”

Katie grinned. “She ate them at the Fleet Academy on the Moon as well. That was when she first met Jeremy, and no one knew she was from the secret base on Ceres the old Human Federation of Worlds survivors had established.”

“So long ago,” said Mikow, her eyes widening. “Sometimes I forget all the years the five of you spent in cryosleep. How did you do it?”

“It wasn’t that hard of a decision after what we experienced on the New Horizon mission,” answered Katie. “We thought we were all going to die until Admiral Sheen appeared with the WarStorm and rescued us from the Hocklyns. That mission changed our lives.”

Clarissa let out a deep sigh. “I can remember the days back in the old Human Federation of Worlds when we first discovered the Hocklyns. They appeared over a mining colony, and Admiral Streth was called in to see if they were a threat. Then later we went on a mission deep into Hocklyn space. When we returned, the Human Federation of Worlds had been destroyed by the Hocklyns and the AIs. Fleet Admiral Streth gathered what survivors he could and fled to Earth. One of our scientists knew the secret location and revealed it to the admiral.”

Mikow nodded. “If I remember correctly it was my people who brought Humans to settle the worlds which eventually became the former Human Federation of Worlds.”

“Yes,” answered Kelsey, recalling her history. “It was their belief that if the AIs who controlled their old homeworld ever became hostile, the Human worlds would be able to control them. It didn’t quite work out the way they had hoped. They didn’t realize the Simulins had made an appearance and drastically altered part of the AIs’ programming in the Master Codex.”

Mikow shook her head. “Somehow all this sounds familiar. We have the Anti-Life who have used mechanical nanites to greatly modify their bodies, and now they are out trying to conquer the universe. It makes me wonder sometimes if we’ll ever know a time of real peace.”

“It’s been nice these last few months living in the Dyson Sphere,” said Katie with a deep sigh. “It was peaceful and we knew we were safe. That may no longer be true with the threat from the Anti-Life.”

“Grayseth died on Jeremy’s mission to Anti-Life space,” Kelsey said with sadness in her voice. She was going to miss the big Bear. While he came across as gruff and powerful, he could also be very gentle and kind.

“He has to be feeling the loss,” said Katie. Both she and Kelsey had lost Carethian friends when the Simulins attacked Gaia.

“Grayseth was to be joined in a few more months,” Kelsey said softly as she dwelled on the thought. “He wanted to start a family to carry on his legacy.”

Katie leaned back and blinked her eyes. “I’ve been telling Kevin we should do the same. He’s been hesitant so far. I think he still worries about our future.”

“Jeremy and I have had the same discussion,” admitted Kelsey. “Angela has a child, and she still has her career. Maybe when we get back we need to speak to our husbands again about this.”

“I agree,” said Clarissa with a pleased smile. “Ariel and I both want more children to train.”

Katie looked exasperated and only shook her head. “We’ll see.”

-

Kathryn had managed to get a good night’s sleep and was back in the Command Center. The drilling was still on schedule and more scans had been taken of the exploration ship embedded in the moon.

With the arrival of the Dominator, Kazak was able to determine there was still an active power source on the ship. Kazak felt certain the power source was being used to power the stasis chamber that he suspected was in the heart of the vessel.

“I concur with Kazak’s data,” Andram said. Kazak had sent him the results of the scans the military AI had made of the exploration vessel. “The power source is undoubtedly an antimatter chamber which is still functioning. It’s operating at a very low level, probably putting out just enough energy to sustain the chambers. It’s also on its last legs. I would estimate it has at a maximum another five thousand years of power.”

“So there must be some Originators in stasis,” said Kathryn, her brow wrinkling as she thought of the ramifications. “I think it would be wise to send a message to Admiral Jackson at Ornellia and have him use the Accelerator Ring to contact Bartoll and let him know. I don’t think we should make the attempt to awaken any of them unless Bartoll gives his approval.”

“He might want to be here,” suggested Camlin. “In all the adult Originators and the children we awakened, there was some confusion and disorientation due to so much time having passed. It took some of them a number of days to make the adjustment and accept the fact of what happened to the Originators who were once in all the Shrieels.”

Kathryn looked at the viewscreen and the three mining ships. A large pile of rubble was now visible on the moon where two of the ships were using tractor beams to place the mined material. “Is there any sign of the tunnel the exploration ship used to get itself so deep inside the moon?”

“Not really,” Andram answered. “We’re talking about several million years and on a moon as small as this one with all the asteroid collisions, it’s not very stable. I still find it hard to believe the ship managed to survive all of this time.”

Looking toward the communication console where Captain Travers was, Kathryn instructed him to send a message to Admiral Jackson along with a data pack containing the most recent scans. Admiral Jackson would, in turn, send the information to Bartoll at the Communications and Transport Hub. The Distant Horizon was close enough to Ornellia that normal hyperspace communication was possible.

-

It was late the next day when Lontor contacted the Distant Horizon. “We’ve penetrated to the chamber where the exploration vessel is located. It’s in an artificial cavern just barely large enough for it. We’ve sent in probes, and the ship seems to be intact.”

“Admiral,” Capitan Travers said. “Commander Zafron and Kazak want to take a small shuttle and fly down the tunnel to the ship so they can inspect it.”

“Would that be safe?” asked Kathryn, looking concerned.

“Lontor says it would,” Captain Travers answered.

“In that case, I’m going with them,” Kathryn said as she stood up and stepped away from the command chair. “Clarissa, why don’t you and Andram come along?”

“I would like to go as well,” said Camlin.

“Very well,” replied Kathryn. “Major Weir, have Sergeant Schneider meet us in the flight bay with a squad of Marines in full armor.”

Commander Grissom looked surprised. “Expecting trouble?”

“I hope not,” Kathryn replied. “But I’m not taking any chances. We don’t know what might be on that ship or in that cavern.”

-

An hour later the two small shuttles flew down the tunnel. It was six hundred meters in diameter with the sides perfectly smooth. Whatever the mining ship had used to cut the tunnel it had done a flawless job.

“Twenty kilometers,” said Andram as he gazed at the distant tunnel wall as the small shuttle flew deeper into the darkness. The walls were dimly lit by the running lights on the outside of the shuttle. “I would never have expected to find a ship buried so deep. It’s quite remarkable.”

Camlin turned toward Andram. “There are still a lot of unknowns about this ship. Why was it following the Dominator, why did they bury themselves so deep, and what was the reason for keeping their presence a secret?”

“Perhaps we’ll know soon,” Clarissa said as the small shuttle slowed and entered the cavern containing the Originator exploration ship.

Kathryn leaned forward, looking out the front viewports of the shuttle. With the forward lights turned on bright and between both shuttles the cavern was lit up. There in front of her was the ship, all two thousand meters. She was amazed at how close the roof of the cavern was to the vessel. In several areas it was almost touching.

“Amazing,” said Andram as he gazed at the Originator vessel. “It looks remarkably well preserved.”

The two shuttles flew along the vessel’s hull inspecting it for damage. The hull looked intact, and there were only a few signs of damage from its long stay underground.

Clarissa turned away from the small sensor console in the shuttle. “The hull integrity seems sufficient for the mining ships to use their tractor beams to pull the ship out. The few damaged areas only extend into a few compartments.”

“Admiral,” said the copilot. “Commander Zafron reports he has found a hatch he can dock to and would like to go on board the ship.”

Kathryn frowned and looked over at Andram and Camlin. “Is that safe?”

“It should be,” answered Camlin as she gazed at the ship through the viewport. “The only part of the ship that has any power is the stasis chamber. We could go aboard and check out the Command Center. I believe Kazak brought a small portable power source. We could access the ship’s computer and check its logs. It may reveal why the ship was following the Dominator. It might be wise for us to do so before we wake any of the Originators on board.”

Kathryn hesitated. She would feel better if the ship was out in open space where it could be observed by the Distant Horizon. But she also understood the importance of not losing any information contained in the ship’s computer banks. Moving it might cause some damage. “Very well. We’ll dock both shuttles to the ship and go onboard. We’ll meet in the Command Center.” Kathryn turned toward Camlin. “I assume you know where the Command Center is located in this type of vessel.”

Camlin nodded. “Yes, it’s very similar to the Dominator. It’s deep inside the vessel in the forward section.”

-

The two shuttles docked and soon Kathryn was standing inside a darkened corridor. She was wearing an Alton environmental suit, which was lightweight and offered the maximum amount of protection. Activating the lights on the suit, she gestured for Camlin and Sergeant Schneider to lead the way. The sergeant had brought four Marines in full battle gear with him, which had made the small shuttle very crowded.

It was eerie as they walked through the empty and dark corridors. The floors and walls were spotless, and it seemed as if a member of the crew could step out of an adjoining passageway or an open hatch at any moment. As they walked down the corridors, Kathryn poked her head in several open compartments. They were all empty but completely spotless as if the crew had only left a day or two ago. As they walked, there was total silence as the interior of the ship was in vacuum.

“Why is there no air?” asked Sergeant Schneider.

“To better preserve the ship,’ answered Camlin. “The crew must not have known how long they would be in stasis and even an Originator vessel with its energy screen down would be subject to deterioration after the passage of so much time.”

They continued through the corridors climbing stairs where necessary until they reached the command level. Looking ahead Kathryn saw a light coming out of what she assumed was the Command Center. “Commander Zafron?” she said over the comm which connected all of them. She had heard him speaking earlier.

“We’re in the Command Center, Admiral,” he responded. “Everything seems to be intact.”

The two leading Marines and Camlin entered the open hatch followed by Kathryn and the others. Stepping inside they found Kazak and Commander Zafron standing near what appeared to be the ship’s computer console. Kazak was attaching a small cable from a portable power source he had brought.

“This should allow us to power up the Command Center,” said Kazak as he saw the admiral enter. “It should only take a moment or two and we will be able to access the consoles.”

Kazak finished attaching the cable and then stepped back to the power unit, turning it on.

For a moment nothing happened and then the lights flickered and slowly began to brighten. Across the hatch, a dim glow appeared.

“What’s that?” asked Sergeant Schneider concerned, his hand going to the firearm at his waist.

“An atmosphere retention field,” answered Commander Zafron. “It will be much easier to work in here if we have an atmosphere and some heat. Just don’t anyone step through that field without your environmental suit closed up. It’s still a vacuum out there in the corridor.”

Camlin stepped over to the communication console, which was beginning to light up. “Once this station is fully activated I can access all the messages the ship sent and received.”

“Make sure you record any you find,” ordered Kathryn. “It might tell us who this ship was reporting to and where they went.”

A few more moments passed and then the lights came on fully and all the consoles began to activate.

“Kazak, bring up the main computer and see if you can access its files,” ordered Commander Zafron. “Make a copy of any pertinent information on the lost Originators and this ship’s mission.”

Kazak began to do as ordered and then stopped with a deep frown appearing on his face. “There seems to be a power drain. Something is siphoning off some of the power from the Command Center.”

“What about the computer information?” demanded Commander Zafron, anxious to find out where the rest of his people might be hiding.

“There are a number of encrypted files,” answered Kazak. “I’m copying all of them. They’ll have to be taken back to the Dominator or the Distant Horizon for decryption.”

Several minutes passed as the files were copied. Camlin found the same problem with the communications system. All of its records were encrypted as well.”

“Admiral!” called out Sergeant Schneider as he drew his weapon and pointed it toward the hatch. At the same time Clarissa stepped over to Kathryn partially shielding her.

Kathryn turned and was startled to see four combat robots step through the hatch followed by an Originator AI. It had to be an AI as it was wearing no protective gear. The combat robots were similar to the new ones being built back at the Communications and Transport hub but these were squatter and bulkier.

“Albate,” said Kazak, stepping forward with his hand on his holstered weapon.

The other Originator AI hesitated as his eyes focused on Kazak. “Kazak,” he said. “So you found us. If you attempt to use your weapons, my combat robots will fire on you.”

“Who is Albate?” asked Kathryn, growing alarmed as she gazed at the AI and the four robots. Clarissa was now standing directly between her and the combat robots.

“Another Military AI,” answered Camlin. “We thought he had been destroyed in the war with the Anti-Life.”

“Not quite,” Albate responded. “You have no right to be on board this ship. It is under direct control of the Originators, and I only take orders from them.”

“Where did you come from?” asked Kathryn. She shook her head slightly at Sergeant Schneider, not wanting him to take any action. At least not yet.

Albate turned toward Kathryn looking confused and then his eyes focused back on Kazak. “Why did you allow other life forms to board this ship? They will be terminated.”

“I don’t think so,” said Commander Zafron, stepping forward in front of Kazak. “Albate do you know who I am?”

Albate seemed to freeze upon seeing Commander Zafron and then he spoke. “You’re Second Officer Zafron of the Dominator. But that’s impossible! You were suffering from the pathogen.”

“We have the cure,” replied Zafron. “Now order your combat robots to step outside into the corridor. We have much to discuss.”

Almost in a daze Albate did as ordered. A short, terse command and the combat robots left the Command Center to stand outside in the corridor.

“Where did you and the combat robots come from?” asked Commander Zafron.

“Near the stasis compartment. There was only minimal power left and we were in shutdown mode. When you activated a power source in the Command Center part of the energy was siphoned off and we were brought back to life. I never expected to find an Originator.”

“What happened to your crew?” asked Kazak.

“Many of them are in the stasis compartment,” Albate replied. “As they came down with the pathogen they were put in stasis.”

“How many?” asked Kathryn. She didn’t know if Albate was talking about a few dozen or several hundred.

Albate turned toward Kathryn with a frown. “Who are you and why are you with Commander Zafron and Kazak?”

“Times have changed,” answered Kazak. “This is Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes; her people have allied with us against the Anti-Life.”

“The Anti-Life,” repeated Albate, his eyes widening. “They’re imprisoned in their galaxy.”

“Not anymore,” Commander Zafron replied. “They escaped over one thousand years ago. They are currently rampaging across the universe conquering galaxy after galaxy.”

“How many of the crew of the Dominator survived?”

“Nearly three hundred,” answered Commander Zafron. “What of your own crew?”

Albate hesitated for a moment and then answered. “There are six hundred and twenty-seven stasis chambers in operation. All contain Originators infected with the pathogen. Do you really have a cure?”

“Yes,” Zafron replied. “However, before we furnish your crew with the cure I would like for you to answer some questions.”

Albate nodded. “I will do as you ask.”

“What was the mission of this ship and why was it following the Dominator?”

Albate looked deeply concerned. “Some of that information is restricted, and I cannot give it out without permission of one of the ship’s officers. If they were all dead then I could do so. I can tell you we were ordered to follow the Dominator to see if a cure was found and then transmit the information back to the Originators who sent the ship.”

Kazak looked intently at Albate. “We know somewhere there is a large group of Originators, probably in stasis waiting for this cure. Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” Albate answered. “Only the commanding officer and a few others have that information.”

Zafron looked frustrated. “What is the name of your ship?”

“The Seeker,” answered Albate.

“Very well. We’re going to take the Seeker back to the Communications and Transport Hub where we will awaken the Originators on this ship and give them the cure.”

“They intended no ill will,” Albate said. “They believed the Commanding Officer of the Dominator had strict instructions not to share the cure with other Originators if one was discovered. That is why we were following you.”

“Is that possible?” asked Kathryn, looking over at Zafron and Kazak.

Zafron had a strange look on his face. “It might explain a few things. I always felt Commander Martly was not being completely truthful at times. Then there was all the weapons research being conducted. As much as I hate to say it, there might be some truth in what Albate is saying.”

Kathryn nodded. “Let’s get the Seeker out of this cavern and back out into space. I think it’s time we returned to the Communications and Transport Hub.” Kathryn knew Bartoll would be enthusiastic when she informed him of what they had discovered. At the very least they were bringing six hundred and twenty-seven more Originators back home.

Chapter Seventeen

Admiral Race Tolsen breathed a sigh of relief as the WarHawk dropped out of hyperspace in the outskirts of the system containing the Dyson Sphere. On the main viewscreen was a large blackness. The Dyson Sphere was dark in color and completely surrounded the system’s sun. Not even starlight reflected from its surface.

“We’re receiving a warning message from the Dyson Sphere,” reported Captain Travers. “We’re being told to leave immediately or we will be attacked.”

“Send the message we put together earlier,” ordered Race.

The message explained the threat of the AIs and their goal to take over the Dyson Sphere and use its advanced technology to conquer the galaxy. It also contained detailed videos of the recent battle that had been fought in the Melsberth System. Race hoped this would be sufficient to allow them to stay. The message also stated they were here to defend the Dyson Sphere if necessary.

Commander Arnett looked over at the admiral as they waited for a response. “Should I take the fleet to Condition One?”

“No,” answered Race, shaking his head. “I don’t want to appear threatening. Keep our shields down and our weapons on standby.” Race had witnessed the power of the Dyson Sphere’s black sphere weapon and had no desire to be on the receiving end. There was no doubt in his mind the Originator AIs inside could destroy his fleet in an instant if they so wanted.

Several minutes passed and then the communications console lit up with an incoming message. “I have an Originator AI on the comm,” reported Captain Travers excitedly. She listened intently for a moment and then turned toward the admiral. “He says they can handle the AIs. We may stay and observe, but as soon as it’s over we’re to leave and not return.”

“Friendly bunch, aren’t they?” commented Colonel Cowel.

“I have the AI battle spheres on the long-range sensors,” reported Captain Davis. “They’re coming fast and will be here in twenty minutes.”

“Should I raise our shields?” asked Major Daniels.

“No,” Race replied. “We’ll wait and see where they drop out of hyperspace. If it’s close then yes, raise the shields. But I suspect they will drop out as close to the Dyson Sphere as possible.” Race knew the Command AI’s goal was to reach the megastructure. It wouldn’t want to become involved in combat with Race’s ships so close to its goal.

Commander Arnett gazed at the tactical display showing the twenty-one inbound AI battle spheres. It was possible these were the last of the AIs. With their destruction, the war with the AIs would finally be over.

-

The Command AI gazed at the tactical display showing the waiting Human dreadnoughts. It had no intention of engaging them. The battle spheres would drop out of hyperspace two million kilometers from the Dyson Sphere. A special computer virus had been constructed that should make access to the Dyson Sphere a relatively simple matter. If the virus worked properly, it should give them access to the sphere’s control stations. At that point, the Command AI would instruct the Dyson Sphere to allow them access and to destroy the Human dreadnoughts.

It was a well thought out plan and should be simple to implement.

-

The minutes passed slowly by, and finally the AI battle spheres dropped out of hyperspace close to the Dyson Sphere. On board the WarHawk alarms sounded as the AIs made their appearance.

“Detecting twenty-one AI battle spheres dropping out of hyperspace,” reported Captain Davis. “Two million kilometers from the Dyson Sphere.”

“The Dyson Sphere is broadcasting the same warning we received,” added Captain Travers. Then Denise paused as she checked her communication console. “I believe the AIs are transmitting some type of signal toward the Dyson Sphere. It’s being broadcast by all of their ships.”

“Some type of computer virus,” suggested Commander Arnett, her eyes narrowing. “It’s the only thing I can think of that would make any sense.”

Race took a deep breath. “Let’s hope it doesn’t work. Captain Davis, keep an eye on the Dyson Sphere and the AIs. Let me know if you detect any movement or response.” The broadcast of a computer virus worried Race. It was an area in which the AIs would be very knowledgeable, and it could affect the Originator AIs inside the megastructure. “Taalon, plot a jump to the vicinity of the AI ships. If they make a move toward the Dyson Sphere and there is no response we will jump in and take them out.”

Taalon nodded and spent a moment working at his console. “Jump plotted and locked in to all ships. We’ll jump just inside combat range.”

Race nodded. He had done all he could. Now they would wait and see what happened with the Dyson Sphere.

-

The Command AI hovered near the science console. The virus had been broadcast and it was certain it had been received by the Dyson Sphere. “Order the sphere to open up an entrance.”

The science AI at the console sent another signal. “Message sent.”

“There is a large opening appearing in the Dyson Sphere,” reported the AI in front of the sensors. “It’s large enough for our ships to enter.”

“It is as I expected,” said the Command AI. “The virus worked, and we now have control of the megastructure. This will be a new age. We will immediately construct a new Master Codex based on our own programming. We shall use the facilities and science on board the Dyson Sphere to construct new and more powerful battle spheres. In time we will once more begin our conquest of this galaxy and eventually many more.” The basketball-sized globe of energy above the Command AI’s head expanded and glowed brightly in triumph.

“There’s movement in the opening,” reported the AI in front of the sensors. “There’s something coming out.”

“Put it on the main screen,” ordered the Command AI. There should be no movement.” The Command AI was not certain what was going on.

On the main screen, spacecraft began exiting the opening in the Dyson Sphere. One after another they appeared until there were over one hundred of them. As soon as they exited, they formed up and began moving toward the AI battle spheres.

“Those vessels are two thousand meters in length,” reported the AI at the sensor console. “Power readings are immense.”

“Send the virus again; order those ships to stop.” The Command AI did not understand why the virus was not working.

-

Admiral Tolsen gazed at the viewscreen showing a magnified view of the ships which had exited the Dyson Sphere.

“Those are Originator warships,” uttered Colonel Cowel in disbelief. “They were inside the Dyson Sphere.”

“There could be thousands of those ships inside,” added Commander Arnett as she gazed at the ships in awe. “This may just be a quick response force.”

“The AIs are sending their virus again,” reported Captain Travers.

“A single ship is moving out in front of the other Originator vessels and is heading for the AI battle spheres,” said Captain Davis.

On the large viewscreen, they watched as the two-thousand-meter cylinder shaped ship approached the twenty-one AI battle spheres. It came to a stop ten thousand kilometers from them. Inside the Command Center, the air of expectation grew as they felt something big was about to occur.

“Detecting a major power build up on the Originator vessel,” said Captain Davis uneasily. “Much larger than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Suddenly from the Originator vessel, powerful energy beams shot out toward the AI battle spheres. The beams penetrated the AI screens as if they were not even there. In massive explosions of light, twenty of the battle spheres exploded, hurling debris across space. The final battle sphere remained but seemed to be powerless, unable to move.

-

The Command AI stood frozen as the power was drained from the battle sphere. Systems began to shut down one by one until only the communications console remained. A message appeared on the communication’s screen. “You were warned.” The command AI stood powerless as a single energy beam blew the command battle sphere into a million pieces.

-

Race and the others in the Command Center of the WarHawk stood speechless. The firepower of the Originator vessel was unbelievable.

“What type of weapon was that?” asked Colonel Cowel in a very subdued voice. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Unknown,” answered Captain Davis from his sensor console. “The readings I took indicate it’s some type of gravity beam.”

“Receiving a message,” reported Captain Travers excitedly as she listened. “They are thanking us for the warning on the AI battle spheres, but the Shrieel, as they call it, was never in danger. We are to leave and never return. If they need us, they will be in contact.”

“Grateful bunch, aren’t they?” muttered Colonel Cowel.

Race allowed himself to grin. “At least the very last part of the message is a change. It indicates there might be contact in the future.” Leaning back in his command chair Race gazed at the viewscreen. The Originator ships were going back inside the Dyson Sphere leaving behind the scattering wreckage of the last of the AI battle spheres.

“Taalon, set a course for Melsberth. We need to report back to High Lord Tabor and High Lord Droll about what happened to the AIs. Once we’ve done that, we’ll set a course back to the Federation.”

“What about the Ralift?” asked Commander Arnett, cocking an eyebrow. “They still have a powerful fleet in Shari space.”

“I think the Shari can handle that,” Race responded. “Without the threat of the AI battle spheres, they have the ships to push the Ralift out of their empire.”

“There are still the Borzon,” pointed out Colonel Cowel.

“I suspect that threat will be dealt with shortly,” replied Race. “Without the threat posed by the Ralift, we can focus our efforts on driving out the Borzon from Federation space.”

“What do you think will happen with the Shari?” asked Commander Arnett. “Will they ever become friends with the Federation?”

“Possibly,” Race answered. “With High Lords like Tabor and Droll it may become a reality, particularly if High Lord Tabor becomes a member of the Shari Grand Council of High Lords.”

“Ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Taalon. “Coordinates have been sent to all ships.”

Race nodded. “Let’s go to Melsberth and then home.”

Moments later the WarHawk and her fleet of ten dreadnoughts entered hyperspace leaving the Dyson Sphere behind.

-

Inside the Dyson Sphere, a group of Human military officers watched as the Federation ships left the system.

“Those ships are a big improvement from what they once had,” said Colonel Abrams.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t talk to them,” said Caption Tyre.

“Perhaps someday,” Abrams replied. “Right now we have the Anti-Life to worry about.

Captain Tyre nodded his understanding. They were in the Dyson Sphere getting its twenty-eight hundred battlecruisers ready for war.

-

Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes was at Ornellia with her fleet of exploration dreadnoughts and the Seeker. Both Camlin and Kazak were on board the Seeker as they prepared to take it to the Communications and Transport Hub. Albate was on board the Dominator being questioned by Commander Zafron. Bartoll had sent word back not to awaken any of the Originators on board the Seeker until they were safely back. He was also investigating the claim that the commanding officer of the Dominator may have had some ulterior motives concerning the possible discovery of a cure.

“So you found it,” Admiral Jackson said. He had come over to speak to Kathryn before she left.

“Buried inside a moon in the same system we found the Dominator. Twenty kilometers below the surface.”

“That’s deep. Maybe that ship has the information you’ve been searching for.”

“I’m sure it does, or at least Ablate indicated the officers on board knew where the missing Originators are. How is it going getting the Ornellians in the refugee fleet settled in?” Kathryn could see the refugee fleet in orbit around Ornellia. It was good to see so many ships around the planet.

“Slow,” Jackson replied. “Most of them are in cryosleep, and it’s taking time to awaken them. It may take upward to two months to finish. That’s just as well as we’re being pushed to get accommodations ready for all of them.”

“What are Admirals Prest and Santeld doing? I didn’t see too many Ornellian warships in orbit.”

“As soon as Admiral Prest arrived he had a long meeting with Admiral Santeld. Shortly afterward they set out for Absom. We’re still finding large numbers of survivors scattered across the planet. Admiral Prest is determined to eliminate all the Conqueror Drones as soon as possible. He also has a list of where all the shelters on the planet are located. I sent two more battlecarriers along with them as well as the two colony ships.”

Kathryn looked at the tactical display. It was showing only a few of the large fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres. “Where are all the AI warspheres?”

“Out on patrol,” Jackson answered. “One of our strikecruisers detected a few Simulin vessels the other day. ZED is out searching for them.”

“There will probably be Simulins ships around for years until all of them are hunted down,” said Kathryn. She knew it had been impossible to destroy all of them.

“ZED has a squadron of warspheres routinely dropping in on Simulin systems making sure none are violating the peace agreement. I normally send a battleship along as well. If we can ensure the Simulins aren’t producing more warships, eventually we’ll get the ones that escaped us.”

“By the time I get back to the Communications and Transport Hub Admirals Lukel and Cross should already be clearing out Simulin fleets in the other galaxies. It will be awhile, but someday the Simulin threat will be over. When they’re done, I’ll suggest they come here to the Triangulum Galaxy and do a sweep. With the sensors on the new battlecruisers, the Simulins won’t be able to hide any ships from us.”

“I spoke to Fleet Admiral Strong yesterday. He indicated he might be pulling more of my ships back to the Communications and Transport Hub and assigning the crews to the new dreadnoughts being built. The only exception will be the battlecarriers which we need to continue clearing out the Conqueror Drones.”

“With ZED and his warspheres, Ornellia should still be safe.” Kathryn knew the surviving AIs had dedicated themselves to protecting Ornellia. It gave them a sense of purpose since the Master Codex on Borton in the Gaia System had been destroyed by the Simulins.

“Oh, I’m not worried,” replied Admiral Jackson with a smile. “I’m getting three Originator battlecruisers to replace my warships. From what I understand just one of them is like having a full fleet.”

“I’m not surprised your crewed ships are being recalled. We’re going to need all the trained personnel we can get for this war with the Anti-Life.”

“Did you say you spoke to Jeremy yesterday?” interrupted Kelsey. No one else but a member of the Special Five would dare interrupt two admirals.

“Yes, I did,” replied Jackson, looking over at Kelsey.

“Did he seem okay? I’ve been worried about him since the death of Grayseth.”

“Yes, that was very sad and a great loss for all of us. Fleet Admiral Strong seemed fine when I spoke to him.”

“We’ll be activating the Accelerator Ring tomorrow to return to the Communications and Transport Hub,” said Kathryn. She was ready to go back and find out what Fleet Admiral Strong discovered on his trip to Anti-Life space. She knew there had been some problems and that Grayseth had been killed in a battle.

“I believe Ornellian councilors Lantoll and Pelh wish to speak with you before you leave.”

Kathryn nodded. “I’ll go down to Ornellia to see them. It may be the last opportunity I’ll have to see the planet for a long time.”

-

Dax Matol and Les Ketene were sitting on a bench in one of the small city parks in Dorman. Around them, children were playing under the watchful eyes of their parents.

“The refugee fleet is back and the people are being brought out of cryosleep and returned to the surface,” said Dax as he watched a young boy kick a ball into a net. “We’ve reclaimed two more smaller cities to help make room for the added population.”

“Our scientists and technicians are back,” said Les, sounding pleased. “It will make things so much easier. There are also a lot of teachers on the ships.” There had been a few scientists and technicians in the shelters, but not like what was in the refugee fleet.

“It’s one more thing Rear Admiral Barnes and her people have done to restore our world.” Dax looked over toward a food vendor on the corner of the park. The appetizing aromas were beginning to make him hungry. “Between her and Admiral Jackson, they have allowed us to become a people again.”

“Admiral Prest is pushing the attacks against the Conqueror Drones on Absom. He hopes to increase the number of survivors.”

“Yes, it feels good to have a full sized Ornellian fleet once more. Admiral Santeld was doing his best, but with the advent of Admiral Prest’s fleet we now have the numbers to accomplish what needs to be done as well as to defend Ornellia.” Dax stood up gazing at the food vendor. “Let’s get something to eat. We still have a lot of work to get done before we can say Ornellia is truly ours again.”

-

The next day Rear Admiral Barnes was back on board the Distant Horizon. “Are we ready to make the transit?” She had spent several hours meeting with the two Ornellian Councilors. They had thanked her repeatedly for everything that had been done to help Ornellia.

“Yes,” reported Commander Grissim. “The three Originator construction ships will be towing the Seeker using their tractor beams. “Commander Zafron has assured me the four ships will be able to maintain intergalactic speeds.”

“Very well. Sible, let’s activate the Accelerator Ring and get back to the Communications and Transport Hub. I’m sure we’re all interested in finding out what the Originators on the Seeker have to say once they’re awoken.”

“I’ve made some progress in decrypting some of the Seeker’s comm messages,” Clarissa reported. “Camlin and I have been working nearly nonstop running algorithms to break the encryption.”

“Anything interesting?” asked Kathryn. She was hoping they could garner some information from the records they had recovered before the Originators were awakened.

“One of the files I managed to decrypt is from Jankel the geneticist who was on the Dominator.”

Kathryn’s eyes widened. Jankel was the one who had been secretly communicating with the Seeker. “What have you learned?”

“I don’t believe Jankel was the only one who had been covertly placed upon the Dominator,” Clarissa replied. “I believe there was a group secretly monitoring the research being done on the ship and reporting back to Jankel, who would then transmit the information to the Seeker.”

“What type of information?” Kathryn was aware the Distant Horizon was preparing to enter the Accelerator Ring which was now active. Already the Dominator and half the exploration dreadnoughts had made the transition. The four-ship group linked together by tractors was next.

“Some military, but primarily research being done on finding a cure for the pathogen.”

On the main viewscreen, the four-ship group entered the swirling vortex and vanished. Moments later Kathryn watched as Sible increased the power to the Distant Horizon’s gravity drive and the exploration dreadnought dove into the abyss of the swirling spatial vortex. For a brief moment Kathryn felt dizzy and then it passed. “Any indication as to why this group was spying on the Dominator’s crew?”

“Some,” replied Clarissa. “They were afraid that even if the Dominator discovered a cure they might not bring it back in time. The Dyson Spheres were becoming chaotic with the growing number of deaths from the pathogen. Basic services were breaking down and the Originators were depending more every day on their AIs and repair robots to keep the Dyson Spheres functioning properly. It was believed by many on the Seeker, as well as the group on board the Dominator, that if a cure was discovered it would only be brought back toward the end after the population had been drastically reduced.”

“None of this makes any sense,” said Commander Grissim, sounding confused. “There was a good chance most of the Originators who sent out the Dominator would all be dead by the time the ship returned.”

Kathryn’s face turned pale as she realized what they were missing. “Not if they were in stasis somewhere, waiting for the Dominator to return with the cure.”

“Are you suggesting a second group is hidden in stasis?” asked Kelsey, her eyes showing disbelief.”

Kathryn nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“That would indicate several competing power groups within the Originator civilization,” said Commander Grissim, sounding confused. “Wouldn’t Bartoll have known about that?”

“Possibly,” Kathryn said. “When we get back to the Communications and Transport Hub we need to have a meeting with Fleet Admiral Strong and Governor Barnes and inform them of our suspicions. There’s a chance the Originators have not been entirely truthful with us.”

“I believe you are correct,” commented Sible, who had been listening to everything. “I believe I can clarify a few things from my own knowledge of that time.”

Kathryn slowly shook her head. She had forgotten about Sible being in the Command Center. The Originator AI had become such a reliable member of the crew Kathryn often failed to think of her origin. “Go ahead.”

“There have always been competing philosophies in Originator history. In the time of the pathogen there were several opposing groups, none of them violent but just believing the growing catastrophe should be handled differently. I believe what we have here are representatives of two of those views.”

“It still doesn’t explain the weapons research being done on the Dominator,” commented Andram. “While Sible is probably correct about there being conflicting parties involved in this, we may be looking at a third party as well.”

“Some group not quite as peaceful as most of the Originators,” suggested Kelsey. Kelsey looked over at Sible. “Is that possible? Was there a more radical group of Originators?”

“The Defenders of Zorn,” answered Sible, her eyes opening wide. “They were a more radical group with members on several of the Dyson Spheres. They were determined to pursue more powerful weapons of destruction to destroy the Anti-Life before they escaped from their galaxy. Their leader was Balaf Zorn, a very old Originator. He believed the Anti-Life would someday escape the hyperspace disruption field surrounding their galaxy and descend upon the Shrieels. He was determined to make sure that didn’t happen by destroying them first.”

“What happened?” asked Commander Grissim.

“The group was never taken seriously. The war with the Anti-life had been draining, and the Originators in the Shrieels wanted no part in a second one.”

Kathryn shook here head. “This is getting more complicated. “Sible, I have to ask you not to mention to the Originators or other AIs anything mentioned just now.”

“I understand,” Sible replied. “However, if an Originator asks me a direct question, I have to answer. It’s part of my programming.”

“When we get back to the Communications and Transport Hub it might be best for you to stay on board the Distant Horizon until after I’ve spoken to Fleet Admiral Strong.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Sible replied. “I do not wish to do anything to risk my position here on the ship. I enjoy my duties as navigator and helm officer.”

“You’re quite good at it,” answered Kathryn. Leaning back in her Command Chair she felt uneasy about what she had just learned. It appeared the Originator civilization hadn’t been quite as peaceful or in agreement with one another as they had been led to believe.

Chapter Eighteen

Jeremy was in the Tower meeting with Bartoll, Dazon Fells, Nomar Krill, Admiral Kalen and Governor Barnes. They were waiting for the arrival of the Seeker and the return of Rear Admiral Barnes. They should be arriving at any time. Jeremy was deeply concerned because Kathryn had sent him an encrypted message indicating she had some important information to share with him about the Originators. The message had ended with the cryptic comment “All may not be as it seems.”

“We believe the Eternals will be sending fleets to several Shrieels to determine where the ships came from that entered the Median Galaxy,” began Bartoll. “They will want to know how active we are in those galaxies and if our AIs were responsible for the fleet that entered their space.”

“We’ve already dispatched Rear Admiral Mann to the Shrieel nearest the Median Galaxy,” said Admiral Kalen. “She has six hundred of our new heavy dreadnoughts.”

“Galaxy X-938,” replied Bartoll, sounding concerned. “The Shrieel there has been placed on alert as well as several others we believe the Eternals may visit. There are two thousand of our battlecruisers in the Shrieel in case they are needed. Most of them have been updated and are ready for combat. Additional military AIs have been dispatched as well.”

Jeremy looked over at Dazon Fells; he was an Originator who was a specialist on the Anti-Life. “What do you think the Eternals’ response will be to discovering our ships?”

Dazon’s brow creased in a frown. “They will want to know where those ships came from. In all probability they recognized Originator technology being used by your heavy dreadnoughts. The fact they lost a number of their warships will add to the seriousness of the matter. I doubt if the Eternals have run across anyone before who had the firepower to damage their vessels like that. They will want to assess the threat to determine what type of response needs to be made. Since they will be dealing with Originator space, they will be cautious but thorough.”

“Dazon is correct,” Bartoll said. “We made a grave error in sending the fleet to investigate the Median Galaxy. We should have waited a few more years until we were better prepared.”

Jeremy nodded his head in agreement. They had been too anxious to discover what the Anti-Life were up to. “Are the drones ready to send into what we believe is Eternal space?” By using the drones, they would not be risking crewed vessels.

“The first batch have been built,” answered Nomar Krill. “We’ll be sending twelve hundred into each of the galaxies we believe the Eternals control. We’ll use the Accelerator Ring to send them though the trip will take longer due to the size of the drones. They have a small hyperspace drive for use inside of a galaxy, but they lack the larger and more complex intergalactic hyperspace drives. Once through the Accelerator Ring their intergalactic speed will gradually decrease. Instead of arriving at their destinations in a few days to a few weeks we will be looking at anywhere from four weeks to sixteen.”

“How will they communicate?” asked Governor Barnes. “At intergalactic distance won’t it take too long for a message to get back to us?”

Bartoll switched his gaze to the governor. “In each galaxy we send drones to there will be a number of slightly larger drones. They will be able to project a small intergalactic vortex for communication. The drones are also set to self-destruct if an Eternal vessel gets within one thousand kilometers of one.”

Admiral Kalen folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. “With as many drones as we’re sending, the Eternals are bound to detect some of them. They’ll know someone is scanning their space. I suspect they’ll know instantly where the drones had to have come from.”

“The drones are made out of a special composite material which will make them difficult to detect,” responded Krill. “A few may be noticed but due to their small size I doubt if many will be. They are programmed to report each time they discover an Eternal occupied world.”

Jeremy frowned in concern. “Won’t the Eternals detect the communications between the drones?”

“Possibly, but highly unlikely,” Bartoll answered. “The comm messages will only last a few microseconds and will only occur after the drone has left the system it has scanned.”

Governor Barnes’ eyes narrowed slightly. “How many galaxies are going to be scanned by the drones?”

“The first survey will consist of the thousand galaxies nearest our space,” Bartoll replied. “The next survey will consist of ten thousand more.”

Governor Barnes’ eyes widened even further. “It’s just so hard to imagine such a thing. Only a few years ago we were concerned with what was occurring just a few light years away. Now we’re talking about other galaxies.”

Bartoll smiled. “It took my people a while to get used to the idea as well. The intergalactic vortexes in the Shrieels made intergalactic travel commonplace. Now, with the Accelerator Rings, we can make the same trips far faster.”

Jeremy took a deep breath and looked over at Bartoll. “What do you know of the Seeker? Are there any records of the ship in your computer database?” Jeremy was curious how Bartoll would respond to this question.

Bartoll face looked as if a dark shadow had passed over it. “The Seeker was sent from the dark matter Shrieel which your forces destroyed. Fortunately all computer databases from the Shrieels are backed up by the main computers here at the Communications and Transport Hub. We have all of the files from the dark matter Shrieel. As soon as I heard the Seeker had been found I requested all the pertinent information. I fear we may be facing some of my people’s darkest secrets, secrets I had hoped had died away and would never appear again.”

“I don’t understand,” said Jeremy, feeling confused. “What secrets?” He wondered if this pertained to what Kathryn had hinted at.

Bartoll took a deep breath, looking at the other two Originators at the table. Both nodded their heads.

“When the pathogen broke out and our people began to die, there were a number of conflicting ideas on how to deal with it. The majority wanted to establish a major research center here to deal with finding a cure. Another group wanted all the Shrieels to launch their own research programs believing having more research scientists involved would greatly increase the likelihood of finding a cure. There was a third, more vocal group that launched the Dominator. They wanted the best research scientists placed together in a ship where their primary focus would be finding a cure. That’s all their lives would be dedicated to. As you know, it failed.”

“But the research center here, run by the AIs, eventually succeeded,” said Admiral Kalen.

“Yes, it did,” replied Bartoll with great sadness in his eyes. “I have often wondered if we had come here instead of setting out on the Dominator whether we might have found the cure and saved our race. There were some truly talented research people on the ship. To many of us, it sounded like a grand adventure setting out on a voyage to save our race.”

Ariel suddenly appeared in the conference room looking at Jeremy. She still used the holographic emitters when she needed to get somewhere fast. “The Distant Horizon and the other ships have arrived. They just exited the Accelerator Ring. Rear Admiral Barnes will be docking soon, and she needs to speak with you.”

Bartoll and the others looked worriedly at one another. “Go meet with Rear Admiral Barnes,” Bartoll said. “When she has briefed you on the Seeker we will hold another meeting.”

Jeremy looked over at Bartoll. “Is there something else you need to tell me?”

Bartoll’s shoulders drooped slightly. “Perhaps, it depends on the crew of the Seeker.”

“The Distant Horizon is entering one of the docking bays,” reported Ariel. “They seem to be in a hurry and Clarissa is being strangely quiet.”

“I better go see what’s going on.” With that Jeremy and the other Humans left the conference room.

-

Bartoll watched them leave. Then he took out a small device, setting it on the table and activating it. The device prevented anyone from monitoring their conversation as well as blocking Ariel from returning. “I fear our greatest secret is about to come out.”

“The Humans and their Alton friends are very bright,” conceded Krill. “There is a possibility they have already decrypted some of the data files from the ship’s computer.”

“We’re still not certain who sent the ship,” said Fells. “Those records were very obscure. We only know the commander of the vessel was Barsii Alvord.”

“But we know who Barsii was,” said Krill, with grave concern in his voice.

“Yes,” Bartoll answered, in a lower voice almost afraid to mention what they were all thinking. “He was a member of the Defenders of Zorn.”

“And the majority of their group was living on the dark matter Shrieel,” said Fells. “The one the Humans destroyed and also the one that launched the Dominator.”

“There are over six hundred Originators in stasis on the Seeker,” Bartoll said. “We’re going to need all of them for what’s in our future.”

“I wonder how many of them are followers of Zorn?” asked Fells. “They will not be pleased to learn we have allowed the Humans and their friends access to the Shrieels and particularly the Communications and Transport Hub. There could be problems.”

This greatly concerned Bartoll, particularly since the survivors from the Seeker far outnumbered those from the Dominator. Unfortunately Bartoll wasn’t certain what was the greatest threat: the Eternals or the Originators in stasis on board the exploration ship. He was feeling nervous about what Fleet Admiral Strong would say when he returned from his meeting. Bartoll felt strange about all the emotions he had been experiencing since his awakening from stasis. Normally, at his age, emotions were fairly easy to control.

-

Kathryn entered Jeremy’s office in the Tower; along with her were Sible, Andram, and Clarissa. She had spent hours talking to the three in private on board the Distant Horizon trying to get a better feel for what was going on with the Originators. Were they keeping secrets on purpose or was it simply an oversight because they felt the past wasn’t important? She hoped it was the latter. She felt confused about the issue and hoped by talking to Jeremy some of it would be cleared up. She had also decided to bring Sible to the meeting. Entering the office, Kathryn was surprised to find her father and Admiral Kalen there with Jeremy.

-

Jeremy gazed at the four, seeing the looks of concern on their faces. Even Sible seemed to be uncomfortable as if she didn’t want to be here.

“Hello, Kathryn,” said Governor Barnes as he stood and gave his daughter a welcome home hug. He released her and smiled. “When we get through with this meeting, why don’t we go somewhere and eat and catch up on what’s been going on?”

“I would like that,” Kathryn replied. “But first we have something very important to tell Fleet Admiral Strong.”

“I received your message about the Originators. What did you mean all may not be as it seems?” Jeremy leaned back in his chair prepared to listen.

Kathryn took a deep breath. “As you know we recovered the Seeker. On board are over six hundred Originators in stasis. We’ve checked the stasis chambers, and they all seem to be okay other than they’re all infected with the virus.”

“That’s not a problem since we have the cure,” commented Admiral Kalen. “There must be something else that concerns you.”

Kathryn nodded and began to tell Jeremy everything they had learned. Jeremy, Admiral Kalen, and Governor Barnes had numerous questions, some Kathryn could answer but most responses were coming from Clarissa and Sible.

After listening to the four, Jeremy felt gravely concerned. “So if I understand this correctly there were at least two different factions of Originators on board the Dominator. One group was obviously seeking a cure for the pathogen, and the other was seeking more powerful weapons to be used against the Anti-Life.”

“Yes,” answered Sible. “I believe the Defenders of Zorn were the ones responsible for the military research while the second group was more interested in finding the cure and taking it back to the Shrieels.”

“However,” Clarissa said. “Since much of the military research being conducted on the Distant Horizon was banned by the majority of the Originators, the Defenders of Zorn in all probability didn’t plan on allowing the cure to reach the Shrieels until the Originator population had been substantially reduced. We’re not sure where, but there must be a hidden facility on one of the Shrieels where the Defenders of Zorn placed many of their people in stasis waiting for the return of the Dominator.”

“What about the Seeker? What was its purpose?” asked Admiral Kalen.

“A backup in case the Dominator didn’t return in time with the cure,” replied Clarissa. “One of the factions wanted to make sure the cure was brought back to the Shrieels as soon as it was discovered. They planted a small group of researchers on the ship, and that group reported back to Jankel who in turn used his communications equipment to send regular status reports to the Seeker.”

“I still find it amazing Kazak never spotted the Seeker or noticed the communications,” said Governor Barnes. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t believe that it is,” Clarissa replied, her eyes showing concern. “I think there is a good possibility Kazak’s programming was adjusted, preventing him from reporting on the Seeker. If that’s not the case then Kazak had to be assisting the Seeker from the very beginning, which implies the help of at least one senior officer.”

Jeremy let out a deep breath. “I think we need to call in Bartoll, Commander Zafron, and Kazak and try to get this sorted out. This could seriously damage our relationship with the Originators, and I don’t want that to happen, not with the threat from the Eternals looming over our heads.”

-

An hour later all of them were in Jeremy’s office. As Bartoll walked in he could see the deeply concerned look on Fleet Admiral Strong’s face. He also saw Sible sitting at the small conference table in the room next to Clarissa and Rear Admiral Barnes. With a deep sigh, he knew this was going to be a very tense meeting and he wasn’t certain what he should reveal. Perhaps the best option would be to open and completely honest. It was what most Originators would choose.

-

As everyone took their seats, Jeremy looked over at Commander Zafron and Bartoll hoping to get some answers. “It’s been brought to my attention there were three groups of Originators on the Dominator. One group seems to have been spying on the research being done on the ship and reporting back to the Seeker.”

Bartoll looked uneasy and then answered. “So Jankel was not working alone?”

“No,” answered Rear Admiral Barnes. “We’ve decrypted some of the messages Jankel sent to the Seeker, and we believe there were at least five or more others involved. We also believe we know why military research was being conducted on the Dominator.”

-

Bartoll looked over at Commander Zafron, let out a deep sigh and then addressed Jeremy. “You know about the Defenders of Zorn?” He had spoken to the commander before coming to this meeting. The commander had been as surprised by the news as the others. Kazak seemed unusually quiet and hadn’t commented.

-

“Yes,” Jeremy answered. “We believe that was why the military research was being conducted on the Dominator and probably why the Seeker was following the ship. The weapons were being developed to be used against the Anti-Life, and the Seeker must have been aware members of the Defenders of Zorn had made their way onto the ship. They were following to ensure the cure, if it was found, made it back to the Shrieels in time.”

“When we were informed you had found the Seeker we checked the records here at the Communications and Transport Hub. The commander of the seeker was Barsii Alvord.”

“Alvord?” repeated Commander Zafron, his eyes widening. “He was a member of the Defenders of Zorn, very outspoken about needing to eliminate the Anti-Life.”

Jeremy looked over at Commander Zafron. “What about the commander of the Dominator? Did he have any sympathies toward this group?”

Commander Zafron slowly turned toward Kazak. “Do you know anything about this?”

Kazak sat strangely silent and unmoving.

“This is what I was afraid of,” Bartoll said as he removed a small device from one of his pockets. “Kazak cannot answer as it violates part of his core programming.” Bartoll sat the device on the table and then pressed a small green button, activating it. Almost immediately a shudder passed through Kazak and then the military AI blinked.

“You are quite correct,” Kazak said in a more monotone voice than normal. “Commander Adralin forbid me to ever mention any of what I am about to tell you. The commander of the Dominator was also a member of the Defenders of Zorn.”

“Commander Adralin was a member?” said Zafron in disbelief. “How is that possible? If that were known he would never have been chosen to command the mission.”

“It wasn’t known,” Kazak replied. “Zorn himself recruited Commander Adralin, convincing him that now was the time to finish off the Anti-Life before they grew strong again. After several meetings with the commander, he finally agreed to allow weapons research on the Dominator. The weapons researchers were brought on board in the guise of ensuring the Dominator could overcome any threats the ship might encounter while seeking a cure for the pathogen.”

Bartoll shook his head in disbelief. “I often wondered why so much emphasis was being put on weapons research. I spoke with Commander Adralin several times concerning the matter as I thought too many of our resources were being dedicated to weapons and not enough on the pathogen. All he would say was that it was an ongoing program to ensure the Dominator had the most advanced weapons possible in case we ran across an unknown threat. In all the years I was on the ship I never saw any update made to the ship’s weapon systems.”

Jeremy looked over at Kazak. It was obvious the military AI was under the influence of the device Bartoll had activated. “What do you know of the crew of the Seeker? Were all of them members of the Defenders of Zorn?”

Kazak slowly shook his head. “No, only a small portion. Most of them only wanted to ensure the cure for the pathogen made it back to the Originators who arranged for the mission.”

“What was your responsibility?” asked Commander Zafron a hint of anger in his voice.

“My job was to ensure the Seeker remained undetected and to keep Commander Alvord informed of our destinations. That allowed the Seeker to follow us discretely wherever we went in the galaxy.”

“Unbelievable,” said Commander Zafron, his eyes focused on Kazak, feeling betrayed. “All this time you’ve been untruthful to us. Do you know the locations of the missing Originators?”

Kazak seemed to hesitate as if he were trying to resist Bartoll’s device. After a moment he answered. “Yes, one of the groups consisted of a large number of Originators who belonged to the Defenders of Zorn.”

“How many?” demanded Commander Zafron, his eyes focusing sharply on Kazak.

“Over ten million,” replied Kazak.

Bartoll looked at Kazak in disbelief. “Are you telling me that ten million members of the Defenders of Zorn went into stasis?”

“That’s correct,” Kazak replied. “They were going to stay in stasis until the Seeker or the Dominator returned with the cure and after the pathogen had run its course in the Shrieels.”

“What happened?” asked Jeremy. Something still didn’t sound right about what Kazak was saying.

“When I returned to the dark matter Shrieel I was given new instructions. The crew had been unsuccessful in finding a cure and the survivors were all in stasis. The only hope lay in the AIs at the Communications and Transport Hub doing so. I was sent out to where Rear Admiral Barnes found the Dominator, only things didn’t go as planned. I was supposed to wait a few hundred thousand years and go to the Communications and Transport Hub to see if a cure had been found. An unexpected power failure on the Dominator occurred and I was unable to do so. I finally put the ship in power saving mode and shut myself down.”

“Power failure?” said Clarissa, looking confused. “How is that possible with the repair robots and the mechanical nanites?”

“I now believe someone found out about the commander being a member of the Defenders of Zorn and sabotaged the ship. When I reached the asteroid field where I planned to hide the Dominator the power failure occurred almost immediately. The repair robots and the mechanical nanites refused to correct the defect.”

Commander Zafron looked even more confused. “That seems impossible unless you were being monitored. That would indicate either the computer system had been compromised or there was an Originator awake somewhere on the Dominator.”

Kathryn looked over at Commander Zafron. “Is it possible there’s another stasis chamber hidden on the Dominator we haven’t found?”

Zafron’s brow wrinkled in thought. “It would have to be well hidden and shielded from detection. I will initiate a search of the ship as soon as I get back to the Dominator.”

“What about the Seeker?” asked Governor Barnes. “Once it was obvious a cure wasn’t going to be found why didn’t it return to the dark matter Dyson Sphere?”

“The Seeker was the backup,” Commander Zafron said in understanding. “It would remain in sensor range of the Dominator and when the time was right would dig itself out and follow the ship to the Communications and Transport Hub. I suspect Alvord’s disease isn’t far enough along to pose a serious threat. He would be awakened, take over the Hub and if the cure had been found take it to where the sleeping Originators of the Defenders of Zorn were. Once the cure had been administrated they would take over all the Shrieels and prepare to resume the war against the Anti-Life.”

Bartoll looked at Kazak. “You said you know where the Defenders of Zorn are in stasis.”

“It does not matter,” answered Kazak. “They’re all dead.”

The room became silent as everyone looked at the military AI. They hadn’t been expecting that answer.

“What happened?” asked Jeremy. He had a suspicion but he wanted to hear it from Kazak.

Kazak turned toward Rear Admiral Barnes, Clarissa, and Andram. “They killed them.”

Jeremy felt a sudden chill pass over him. That answer could only mean one thing. “The Defenders of Zorn who were in stasis were on the dark matter Dyson Sphere?”

“Yes,” answered Kazak. “It was their base of operations. They were doing a lot of research on the use of dark matter and dark energy. They believed it would allow them to create a new generation of super weapons.”

“They’re dead,” Bartoll said, his eyes looking heavy with regret. “We could have used those ten million Originators even if they were part of the Defenders of Zorn.”

Kathryn looked over at Bartoll. “There are still over six hundred Originators on board the Seeker. With those of you who survived on the Dominator you have enough to someday rebuild your civilization.”

Bartoll nodded. “Yes, however, it will take time. I fear the burden of the war with the Eternals is going to fall on all of you. I had hoped to find more of our people in stasis. Now it seems that hope is gone.”

“No, it’s not,” said Kazak. “The group who sent the Seeker on its mission sent a large group of Originators into the far regions of the Triangulum Galaxy. Most of them had only recently contracted the pantheon. They were to go into stasis until such a time as the Seeker brought them the cure. They were fearful the Defenders of Zorn would learn of them or, with the breakdown of Originator civilization inside the Shrieels, it would not be safe to remain. So they left to go to a place where they could await the cure.”

Bartoll’s eyes lit up. “Do you know where they went?”

“No,” Kazak answered. “I don’t believe anyone on the Dominator knew. There’s also a chance no one on the Seeker did either. Messages were sent to the dark matter Shrieel reporting on our progress with the pathogen. I do not know what happened after that.”

“It seems we still have a mystery,” Commander Zafron said.

“There’s a chance the crew of the Seeker will have other information for us,” Bartoll said. “Someone in the crew might know where the missing Originators went. I suggest we review its crew list and see if we can determine who might be members of the Defenders of Zorn and who may not. We will awaken those we know to be nonmembers first.”

“If it was up to me, we would never awaken Commander Alvord,” said Commander Zafron. “He’s only going to cause trouble.”

Bartoll shook his head. “He shall be awakened, but he will be one of the last.”

Jeremy looked over at Kazak. “What do we do about him?”

Bartoll picked up the device on the table but did not shut it off. “I’ll take Kazak to one of our labs. It will be a simple matter to modify his programming. I suspect he may not even be aware of what he has told us or what he has done. It was probably blocked off in a portion of his memory he cannot access without the proper code word or phrase. When I’m done he’ll be back to normal but will remember all that he has done and its ramifications.”

Commander Zafron gazed at Kazak. “How can I ever trust him again?”

“You must remember,” Clarissa said. “Kazak overall has done nothing but try to help us since we found the Dominator. Granted, some of his methods were outside the box, but he has become my friend and I trust him.”

Zafron nodded. “I will give him a chance to prove himself. I owe that to him.”

Jeremy looked around the group. “I still have a lot of questions about all of this.”

Bartoll nodded. “I expected as much. Ask your questions and I will try to answer them.”

For the next three hours Jeremy and the others asked questions of Bartoll. Sometimes he knew the answers and other times Commander Zafron was able to supply a few details. There were many questions asked about the different groups representing the Originators. As Jeremy had thought, most were very peaceful. The average Originator did not seek out conflict. It was one of the reasons why the war with the Anti-Life was fought with warships having small crews, depending on AIs, combat robots, and repair robots who took care of the ships. Jeremy, Admiral Kalen, and Governor Barnes had numerous questions about the Defenders of Zorn. This seemed to be a group far different from most Originators.

-

“In every advanced culture, including our own, there are those who are different,” explained Bartoll. “With trillions of Originators spread out over two hundred Shrieels, it’s not surprising there were a few billion who were more aggressive and wanted to end the Anti-Life once and for all. Balaf Zorn was a brilliant weapons’ designer and a member of the ruling council of the Originators. The ruling council were members of the scientific and arts community who had contributed greatly to Originator culture. It consisted of ten Originators from each Shrieel. I was a member of the council at the same time as Zorn. I met him on several occasions. He was a forceful individual and could become very agitated when he didn’t get his way. In nearly every meeting of the full council, he put forth recommendations on a permanent solution to the Anti-Life problem. However, the war was already far in our past and most of us didn’t want to risk igniting it again. Zorn called us fools, telling us we all would someday regret not listening to him. Shortly after that the pathogen struck and within a few decades it was rampant on every Shriel. Zorn and his plans for dealing with the Anti-life were forgotten.”

-

Kelsey, Katie, and Angela were in Angela’s home watching Clair play. The little girl was constantly giggling and seemed full of excess energy.

“How do you keep up with her?” asked Katie as Clair ran across the room trying to kick a ball.

“Fortunately they have daycare at the Tower,” Angela said grinning. “Of course Clarissa is around a lot. There are holo-emitters in Clair’s room and the Tower.”

“Clarissa has been bragging about her training schedule for Clair,” Kelsey said full of curiosity. “How’s that going?”

“Better than I ever expected,” Angela replied. “She’s actually a good babysitter.”

Katie nodded. She well remembered what happened when she discovered Ariel on the crashed Avenger at the Fleet Academy on the Moon. The discovery had stunned her and she had later talked Ariel into helping her, even to the point of helping Katie stow away on the New Horizon mission.

“Angela, how do you manage to balance your career while being a mother?” Katie was highly interested in Angela’s answers. Katie wanted children but she still wanted a career.

Angela looked thoughtful and then answered. “At first it was very difficult. It seemed there was never enough time for everything. Brace was very understanding, and he was the one who suggested I go to work in the Tower. I’ve always loved communications, and now I’m monitoring the Dyson Spheres and helping to set up communication systems between them to allow for nearly instantaneous messaging. It’s been exciting.”

Kelsey grinned. “I hear you’re nearly running the communications center in the Tower.”

Angela smiled. “The technology the Originators use for communications has been like a dream come true. I never imagined having such equipment to work with.”

Katie took a deep breath. “When are you and Brace planning on having your next child?”

Angela blushed and then responded. “We have talked about it. I think I want Clair to be a little older yet. She’s a handful. I can’t imagine two toddlers running around at the same time. Maybe in another year or two.”

Katie nodded. “Kevin and I have discussed starting a family. After this last mission on the Distant Horizon, I might just be interested in working at the Tower for awhile.”

“Same here,” added Kelsey. “Maybe it’s time we all got started on the next Special Five.”

“Or six or seven,” added Angela grinning. “I suspect both Clarissa and Ariel will be thrilled at the prospect. What made the two of you change your minds?”

Kelsey’s eyes showed a hint of sadness. “After what happened with Grayseth, we realized the same could happen to any of us when we’re away from the Dyson Sphere. I think all of us want to leave behind a legacy of some sort. What better way to do so than through children? With the age extension drugs the Altons have helped us to design, we have years yet to go exploring if we decide to do so at some point. Perhaps our children will even be old enough to go with us.”

“Maybe we should design another exploration ship based on Originator technology,” suggested Katie.

Kelsey nodded, her eyes brightening. “I like that idea. We could have Andram, Mikow, Clarissa, and Ariel help us.”

“I’ll bet Leeda and Sible would be interested as well,” said Katie. “They would be more familiar with Originator technology.”

“I’ll mention it to Jeremy. I’m certain if it means we’ll be staying at the Dyson Sphere for the foreseeable future he’ll agree.”

“I love exploring,” Katie said with a huge grin. “It will give us something to look forward to.”

“What about the Anti-Life?” asked Angela. “Won’t they be a problem for any exploratory mission?”

“Not really,” replied Kelsey. “There are over six hundred galaxies in Originator space. Someone needs to go and see what’s out there. After all, most of those galaxies don’t have Dyson Spheres. Besides, our exploration ship will be heavily armed. If we have to defend ourselves, we’ll be able to.”

“Angela nodded. I would like to help. We can design the new exploration ship for families. I’ve missed us not being together like we used to be.”

Katie nodded. It would be great if they could all be together again. “Let’s do it!”

-

Later that night Kelsey was home with Jeremy. She had just taken a long, hot bath and was waiting for Jeremy to come to bed. He was on the comm unit speaking to Admiral Kalen. She finally heard him finish and go take his shower. When Jeremy came home earlier she had his favorite meal waiting. At least it wasn’t hamburgers like Katie often fixed for Kevin though Katie had managed to get Kevin to eat a few other foods.

Kelsey looked at herself in the full-length mirror next to the bed. She still had a good figure. She posed, turning sideways, satisfied the way her body still looked firm and curved in all the right places. Thanks to the Alton rejuvenation drugs, she still looked as if she was in her late twenties or early thirties. She grinned studying the gown she was wearing. It was black and sheer in all the right places. She heard the shower stop and went over and lay down on the bed, posing seductively.

The door to the bedroom opened and Jeremy stepped in. Kelsey saw his eyes widen and then she smiled as they moved across her body. “I thought you needed a welcome home present.”

Jeremy grinned. “Do I get to unwrap it?”

Kelsey nodded. “Come over here. I’ve missed you.”

Jeremy joined her on the bed, reaching for her and kissing her long and deep. Kelsey felt her pulse start to race. Even after all of this time, Jeremy could still set her heart to pounding. As Jeremy’s hands moved under her gown, she gasped as his hands touched all the right places. She had planned originally on talking to Jeremy about children; now she decided it could wait. She had other things to concentrate on. Moments later they were involved in passionate lovemaking. There was no doubt in Kelsey’s mind that when it was time for her to become pregnant it would not be a problem.

Chapter Nineteen

A full month went by and the process of awakening the Originators on board the Seeker was well underway. As each one was brought out of stasis, Bartoll and several others would question them about the Defenders of Zorn and the actual mission of the Seeker. A survey of the Originators in stasis on board the ship had found 415 adults and 212 children under the age of eighteen.

“Our problem may be far less than I feared,” Bartoll confided in Jeremy as they sat in Jeremy’s office in the Tower. “So far we’ve only found seventeen of the crew on board the ship who were actual members of the Defenders of Zorn. We still have thirty-two others to awaken including Commander Alvord.”

“What was the response of the rest of the crew when they found out their commander was a member of this group?”

“Shocked,” said Bartoll. “Several of them have suggested we leave him in stasis. They agree with me that if the resources of the Dominator hadn’t been divided between seeking a cure for the pathogen and weapons research, we might have indeed found the cure in time to save our people.”

Jeremy nodded. “Did you tell them about the dark matter Dyson Sphere being destroyed?”

“Yes, there was some regret about so many Originators in stasis dying, but they understood the threat the Simulins represented. I played several videos of Major Wilde’s efforts to take back the Control Centers on the Shrieels the Simulins control. They were quite appalled by the violence of the Conqueror Drones and the Simulins. Our people are not prone to violence, and many find it repulsive. It was another reason why when the war with the Anti-Life ended there was no desire to pursue it further.”

“Any additional information on the missing Originators?”

“Some,” Bartoll replied. “The communications officer was responsible for sending messages back to the dark matter Shrieel. He is also a member of the Defenders of Zorn though he has since renounced his affiliation with that group since being reawakened and given the cure. He told me he sent monthly messages back and said a concentrated effort was being made to protect as many Originators as possible from the pathogen. He also said toward the end the messages from the Shrieel began to become more chaotic. Across all the Shrieels billions were dying daily. Originator civilization was breaking down and they were completely reliant on the AIs and the repair robots to keep the Shrieels functioning. In many Shrieels operation of the equipment and Control Centers had already been turned over to the AIs. One of the last messages indicated a ruling council of AIs was being set up to ensure the Shrieels continued to function in case some Originators managed to survive. It was shortly after that the last crewmember on the Seeker went into stasis. The ship was turned over to its AI to finish the mission. It was Albate who buried the ship near the Dominator to allow continued surveillance. He was also the AI that met Rear Admiral Barnes and Commander Zafron in the Seeker’s Command Center.”

“Has Albate been questioned about the Seeker’s activities?”

Bartoll nodded. “Yes, we even probed his stored memories in search of hidden files. There were none. The AI never noticed any unusual activity from Commander Alvord or anyone else on board the Seeker.”

Jeremy stood up and walked over to the large window. It was early morning, and the city was just awakening. A few people were out on the city streets and businesses were just beginning to open. Looking up he could see a few puffy white clouds in the sky. He would have to check later to see if it was supposed to rain today. The weather was controlled, and the daily weather reports mentioned when rain was scheduled and if it would be a light rain or a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning.

“What did the other members of the Defenders of Zorn have to say about Commander Alvord?”

“He was a good commander but firmly believed the Anti-Life needed to be dealt with. He was certain that someday they would find a way around the intergalactic hyperspace interference we had set up around their galaxy.”

Jeremy turned back toward Bartoll. The air coming in through the window was slightly chilly this morning. “He was right.”

Bartoll lowered his head and nodded. “Yes, it seems that way. But it took the Anti-Life over two million years to escape.”

“What about the search of the Dominator, have they found any hidden stasis chambers?” Jeremy was certain one had to exist.

“No, not yet. I spoke to Commander Zafron yesterday, and they are now using special scanning equipment to scan every corridor and compartment. It’s going to take a while due to the size of the ship.”

“I wish I knew who might be in that compartment,” Jeremy said.

“I think I know,” Bartoll said with a slight frown spreading across his face. “I checked the crew manifest against the deaths listed from the pathogen as well as those who went into stasis. There is one name missing.”

Jeremy nodded. “Let me guess. There’s no record of Jankel dying or going into stasis?” Suddenly it all made sense. Jankel had sabotaged the ship so the Defenders of Zorn, who were in stasis, would never receive the cure. He had to have been responsible for the unexplained loss of power.

“Jankel,” replied Bartoll with a nod. “He was one of the last ones to come down with the pathogen and was supposed to have gone into stasis at the same time as the others. However, the stasis chamber that was supposed to be his is empty. No one ever used it.”

“Why didn’t Kazak notice that?” As protective as the military AI had been about that central compartment, Jeremy couldn’t imagine the AI not being aware of a missing Originator.”

“I believe his programming was adjusted by someone in Jankel’s group,” Bartoll answered. “There were several master programmers on board the Dominator who could have done so.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened as he considered the ramifications. “So it’s possible other computer records could have been modified as well.” He had a sudden thought and then looked seriously at Bartoll. “Other death records could have been changed. If there is a hidden compartment on the Dominator, it could have more than one Originator in stasis. All of Jankel’s group could be there.”

Bartoll stood up, his eyes showing his shock. “Why didn’t I think of that? I must warn Commander Zafron. It’s possible if what you say is true, there may be some defensive measures set up to protect the compartment. There’s now no doubt in my mind that it does exist somewhere on the Dominator.” With that Bartoll rushed out of Jeremy’s office.

“That was interesting,” said Ariel as she suddenly appeared next to Jeremy. “I haven’t seen Bartoll ever get that excited.”

“I just told him more of his people might be alive,” Jeremy answered. He often forgot Ariel monitored everything that went on in his office. He allowed it as she served as an excellent secretary when needed. He could ask her about any meeting that occurred in his office, and she could repeat it back word for word or even play back a video.

-

Ariel looked out across the city. It was so alive with people, and it pleased her that Jeremy and the crews of the Lost Fleets were not so alone anymore. “I have been speaking to Camlin and Leeda about where the missing Originators might be. We have some ideas and I wanted to mention them to you.”

One thing Ariel liked about the Communications and Transport Hub was that there were a lot of AIs around. From what Camlin had told her, there were several million just here at the hub. She also enjoyed her AI body the Originator AIs had built for her. She could still recall the thrill of the first time she experienced the sense of touch, what the enticing scent of flowers was like, and even the taste of food. While she didn’t need to eat, her body could turn food into chemical energy. Her AI body allowed her to interact with her friends and for that she would be eternally grateful.

-

Jeremy turned away from the window and walked back toward his desk. As he sat down he looked up at Ariel. “What have you come up with? We’re still going to have to search the Triangulum Galaxy from its heart all the way out to its farthest edge. There’s still a lot about these missing Originators that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Mysteries remain surrounding the Dominator and the Seeker as to what their exact roles were. We may in the end have to deploy thousands of Originator vessels to conduct a thorough search.”

“Perhaps when all of the Seeker’s crew have been awakened we’ll have some answers,” Ariel replied, her dark eyes focused on Jeremy. “However, we think everyone is overlooking something.”

“What would that be?” Jeremy knew there had to be another reason for Ariel’s visit to his office.

“If you were an Originator two million years ago and the pathogen was killing everyone around you but you knew a cure might be available in the future, what would you do?”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I would want to survive until the cure was found.”

“And if you knew it might be hundreds or even thousands of years in the future, what would your options be?”

“Well we know one large group went into stasis in the dark matter Shrieel and died when the Distant Horizon caused the system’s sun to go nova. Another group supposedly went into hiding somewhere in the Triangulum Galaxy.” Jeremy looked at Ariel trying to guess where she was going with this line of questioning. “Have you come up with something else?”

Ariel grinned. “You’re getting closer. Remember there are 211 Dyson Spheres plus the ones here at the Communications and Transport Hub. There were trillions of Originators, and it took over a thousand years for all of the Originators to finally die from the pathogen. Do you think others on different Dyson Spheres might have looked at stasis as a way to survive until the cure was found? They would have known about the research being conducted at the Communications and Transport Hub. They would also have known the research would be meticulously continued by the AIs even after the last research scientist had succumbed to the pathogen. The odds that sometime in the future a cure would finally be found was almost a certainty.”

Jeremy slowly shook his head. “If such a thing had happened surely the Originator AIs would know. According to them all the Originators died from the pathogen.”

“But what if it were done in secret? What if work robots were used to construct the facilities? The Originators may have gone to great lengths to ensure their AIs didn’t discover what was being done. They would not want other groups to learn of the hidden stasis chambers for fear they would try to take them over to save themselves.”

“But the Originators are not a violent species,” protested Jeremy. “They would have no fear of being attacked as they wouldn’t attack one another.”

“That’s where Camlin, Leeda, and I disagree with you. You must realize their world was ending around them. Friends and family were dying. Life in the Dyson Spheres was becoming more chaotic every day. We believe there is a very good chance of there being other hidden stasis chambers on nearly every Dyson Sphere. We just need to find them.”

Jeremy leaned back in disbelief. Was what Ariel suggesting even possible? “How, the Dyson Spheres are huge? It would be harder to search them than searching the Triangulum Galaxy. Also why have none of them awakened? The cure has been available for quite some time here at the Communications and Transport Hub. If there are hidden Originators on the Dyson Spheres, they should have awakened by now. There are no known records of that occurring.”

Ariel slowly shook her head. “That’s our biggest question. If we’re right, some of them should have awakened by now. We don’t know why they haven’t or even how to go about finding them.”

Jeremy was silent for a long moment. “If you’re right, the most logical place to build such a facility would be under the cities. Anywhere else and it would be too obvious. It would have been noticed during its construction.”

Ariel nodded. “There are thousands of Originator cities on each Dyson Sphere.”

“Don’t do anything for now other than search the computer files to see if there was any strange construction or even orders for materials during the pathogen, particularly toward the end. If you find something then we’ll consider launching a search. If we do, then I suggest we ask Leeda and Reesa Jast to be part of this. Reesa is an excellent Alton research scientist, and she has a knack for finding things.”

“I agree; I’ll add Reesa to the team as well as a few others.”

Ariel was about to say something else when the comm on Jeremy’s desk went off. “That’s Angela; we just got a priority message from Galaxy X-938. My research is going to have to wait.” Ariel immediately disappeared.

“What is it?” he asked, answering his comm.

“An Eternal fleet has been spotted in Galaxy X-938. It consists of 898 of their battlecruisers. The fleet is cruising through the galaxy on a direct course for the Dyson Sphere. It’s stopping occasionally to investigate inhabited worlds. No word of any attacks. Admiral Mann believes they are gathering information.”

“Very well, Angela. Send out a recall order for all of the Avenger’s crew. We’ll be leaving shortly.” Jeremy intended to make the transit to Galaxy X-938 and take over Admiral Mann’s fleet.

The Eternals could not be allowed to travel through the galaxy unhindered. They must learn that to enter any Originator Galaxy was going to be met with massive resistance. Taking a deep breath, he placed a call to his home where Kelsey was. He needed to tell her he was off to fight the Eternals. She had a right to know he was putting himself in danger once again. After he finished talking to Kelsey, he would inform Bartoll and Admiral Kalen of his intentions.

-

A few hours later Jeremy was on board the Avenger waiting for the Accelerator Ring to activate. The ring would be activated to full power and the Avenger would be pushing its intergalactic hyperdrive to the limit. It would allow them to make the transit to Galaxy X-938 in a little over two days. At the reported speed of the Eternal fleet, the Avenger should arrive a full day before the Eternals reached the Dyson Sphere.

“Ring activated,” reported Lieutenant Striker as he activated the ship’s gravity drive and guided the ship toward the center of the dark blue swirling vortex. “Intergalactic hyperdrive ready to activate as we cross the threshold.”

Jeremy watched as the ship hurtled toward the spatial vortex and then crossed it. At the exact moment of crossing the ship’s intergalactic hyperdrive activated, allowing them to keep the speed given to the ship by the Accelerator Ring. The ship quickly accelerated to a speed millions of times faster than light. Only by traveling in the upper bands of hyperspace where the universal laws governing the speed of light were absent was this possible.

“On course and our hyperspace speed is as projected,” reported Aaliss. “We shall arrive in Galaxy X-938 in fifty-two hours.” Aaliss had a neural implant, which allowed her to access any of the ship’s systems.

Kevin walked over to stand next to Jeremy. His red hair and numerous freckles hadn’t changed much over the years. “How bad is this battle going to be?”

Jeremy turned to his long time friend. “I don’t know. We have the new shield frequencies the Originators have suggested as well as a jamming frequency program if they try to lock us out of hyperspace. The information on both of those has already been sent to Admiral Mann.”

“Where’s her fleet?”

“Inside the Dyson Sphere at the moment,” Jeremy answered. He didn’t want the Eternals to know what size forces the Dyson Sphere might possess in case they sent out scouts to investigate. “There are also over two thousand Originator battlecruisers inside as well. We’ve already sent twenty military AIs to take command of the Originator fleet.”

“Military AIs aren’t like crewed vessels,” commented Commander Malen.

“Don’t forget Kazak,” Jeremy replied. “Look at what he did in the Triangulum Galaxy.” Kazak had demonstrated he could hold his own against any Federation admiral. The military AI had also been responsible for their victory at Gaia though it had been extremely costly.

“I can assure you our military AIs are quite capable,” commented Aaliss. “They’re programmed with thousands of years of Originator battle strategies. Keep in mind that in the early years of the Originator civilization they were a much more aggressive race.”

Commander Malen nodded. “When we get back I may read up on those early years. Since we’re now living on a Dyson Sphere, I need to learn as much as I can about the people who built them.”

Ariel was busy studying the latest reports from Admiral Mann. A new update on the Eternal fleet had come in just as they were about to enter the Accelerator Ring. “Admiral Mann reports the Eternal fleet consist of 898 vessels. All of them battlecruiser class like the ones we fought in the Median Galaxy.”

“I wonder if we should reclassify that as a battleship or even a dreadnought,” suggested Kevin. “Those things are four kilometers in length; that’s larger than the Avenger.”

“They’re more heavily armed than we are,” added Major Preston. “From our last battle with them, our scans indicated they have a nearly two to one advantage in weaponry.”

“But no dark matter missiles,” pointed out Commander Malen. “That gives us an advantage.”

“No, they didn’t launch any.” Major Preston answered, shaking his head. “I was surprised by that. They do have very powerful antimatter missiles though.”

Ariel looked at the two. “It doesn’t mean they don’t have dark matter missiles. They might not be a necessary armament for the galaxies they’re currently in conflict with.”

Jeremy looked over at Ariel. “Could our energy screen hold up to a dark matter warhead like the ones we have on board?”

“Possibly,” Ariel said. “We might be able to take one or two hits, but on the third one our screen might become compromised.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t have any,” Commander Malen said. “Their energy beams are bad enough.”

-

In Galaxy X-938, the Eternal fleet was entering hyperspace after inspecting another civilized planet in the early stages of interstellar travel. The system only had a rudimentary hyperspace drive, allowing them to exceed the speed of light by a factor of twenty.

“Still no signs of Originator activity,” reported the sensor officer.

Fleet Commander Norlan nodded his head in satisfaction. “It is as I suspected. The fleet we fought was sent by the Originator AIs using another race for its crews, perhaps a race which evolved from an animal species in one of the Shrieels.” There were numerous animals species in the Shrieels. Nearly every habitat square had them.

“It would explain much,” replied Telan, the ship’s second in command. “The AIs would cooperate with a race that reached intelligence inside one of the Shrieels.”

“It is obvious they sent the fleet out to see if we were active in galaxies other than our own,” said the tactical officer. “We must seek out this Shrieel and neutralize it. We cannot risk a race using Originator technology against us. The AIs may have decided to take on a more aggressive role.”

“We are the Eternals,” said Fleet Commander Norlan. “We are far superior to the Originators who we once were a part of. Our military weapons are much more powerful than when we fought in the Great War. Their AIs, while intelligent, are nothing compared to us.”

“The Shrieel will have powerful defenses,” pointed out Telan. “We may not be able to destroy it without suffering substantial losses. If this is the Shrieel that sent the fleet, we may be facing more of those vessels.”

“The enemy used a trick to destroy our vessels in the earlier battle,” replied Fleet Commander Norlan derisively. “The same trick will not work again. If they launch the small globes against us, we will destroy them as they exit their ships. We have proven we can penetrate their shields easily. If these are Originator ships sent by their AIs and crewed by an inferior race, we will destroy them. As for the Shrieel, we will test its defenses. If they are powerful we will call in more of our ships. In the end, it will fall and we shall take control of it. It is time we brought the space controlled by the former Originators into our growing empire.”

The Command Center grew silent as they considered the commander’s words. The flagship was currently in hyperspace heading toward its next target world. They had orders from the Council of Eternals to explore this galaxy for Originator activity. If they found none they were to proceed to this galaxy’s Shrieel and attempt to gain entry. It had been over two million years since an Eternal vessel had approached a Shrieel openly. That vessel had been destroyed by the powerful defensive weapons which protected the megastructure.

Fleet Commander Norlan was satisfied his fleet could handle any threat in this galaxy. Even if the Shrieel had a few hundred old warships, his vessels would easily annihilate them. The defenses on the Shrieels, while powerful, would be overcome by his fleet. He would use his fleet’s energy beams to blast open one of the many entrance hatches to the megastructure. Once inside he would order the AIs to surrender. After the Shrieel was under Eternal control, it would be used as a base for operations against the other Shrieels in Originator space. He fully expected his fleet to be able to conquer all of them. It would elevate his standing with the council, perhaps even to the point where one day he would serve on the Council of Eternals.

-

The two days passed and the Avenger exited the Accelerator Ring outside the Dyson Sphere in Galaxy X-938. As soon as the ship moved away from the ring, construction ships appeared and began disassembling it.

“Why are they taking the ring apart?” asked Kevin, seeing their fastest way home being taken apart.

“We can’t risk the Eternals gaining control of it,” replied Aaliss. “The Eternals may not have this technology. Keep in mind it took them over a month to reach this galaxy after our battle with them in the Median Galaxy.”

Jeremy gazed at the large viewscreen. Six construction ships were rapidly taking the Accelerator Ring apart. As soon as they were done the ships would go back inside the Dyson Sphere where they would be protected by its heavy weapons. This was one of the Shrieels where its defensive weapons had been heavily augmented due to its proximity to the Eternals.

“Admiral Mann reports the Eternals are still on course for the Dyson Sphere,” Ariel informed Jeremy. “They are still stopping and checking all civilized worlds between their entry point in this galaxy and the Dyson Sphere.”

“What’s the plan?” asked Kevin. “We don’t want them to reach the Dyson Sphere, do we?”

Jeremy shook his head. “No, I don’t want them to realize how heavily it’s defended. We may need that edge at a later date.” Jeremy turned toward Ariel. “How many hours before the Eternals reach us?”

“Eighteen,” replied Ariel as she read Admiral Mann’s latest status reports. “Admiral Mann has been using small stealth drones the Originator AIs on the Dyson Sphere built to keep an eye on the Eternal fleet.”

Jeremy was impressed. The Originator AIs were continuing to surprise him. “Lieutenant Lantz, contact Admiral Mann and have her bring her fleet out of the Dyson Sphere. It’s time we go meet the Eternals.”

“We’re going to be outnumbered,” Commander Malen quickly pointed out. “Their ships are larger with more weapons. Are we going to take some of the Originator battlecruisers with us to help even up the odds?”

“Yes, we’ll be taking twelve hundred battlecruisers. Two of the battlecruisers will act as support ships for each of our dreadnoughts. The cruisers will be linked directly to the tactical stations on board our ships allowing us to fire in three-ship groups. That should even up the firepower between the Eternals and us. Admiral Mann has been running battle maneuvers inside the Dyson Sphere with the Originator battlecruisers. Fifteen of the military AIs will be on the ships to help pass along commands if needed. They will follow the orders of either Admiral Mann or the Avenger. Ariel, I want you to set up direct communications from us to all fifteen of the AIs.”

“As soon as their ships are out of the Dyson Sphere I’ll get it set up.”

“You will find our military AIs quite competent, and they will follow your orders,” Aaliss said. “We put that into their programming.”

Jeremy was surprised to hear that. “Very well, this will be the first battle for the military AIs. We’ll soon know how well they function in a battle situation.”

On the main viewscreen, a large hatch nearly twenty kilometers across opened on the Dyson Sphere and Admiral Mann’s heavy dreadnoughts began to exit. It was an imposing sight seeing dreadnought after dreadnought exit the hatch.

“As soon as all ships have formed up we will leave the system,” Jeremy said. “We’ll stop and run a few battle maneuvers in a nearby star system and then set a course for the Eternals. I want to meet them well away from the Dyson Sphere.” Jeremy didn’t say one of the main reasons for doing that was in case they were defeated. It would give him the option to fall back to the Dyson Sphere where he could either call out more Originator battlecruisers to use against the Eternals or if the situation was desperate enough, use the sphere’s own powerful weapons.

Leaning back in his command chair Jeremy thought about Kelsey. She had mentioned the possibility of staying in the Dyson Sphere and going to work at the Tower. She had made it very plain it was time for them to start a family. Looking around at his busy crew, he knew she was right. Every time he left the Dyson Sphere to go to battle he ran the risk of not coming back home. Kelsey deserved to have a family. When he got back they would have to start working on that. The thought brought a smile to Jeremy’s face. That was one project he was going to enjoy. All he had to do first was defeat the Eternals’ fleet.

-

For six hours Jeremy took the combined fleet through several battle maneuvers. Fortunately Admiral Mann had been doing the same inside the Dyson Sphere so it went far smoother than Jeremy had hoped.

“The three-ship groups seem to be working fine,” commented Commander Malen after the Avenger and several other dreadnoughts made an attack run against a small asteroid, obliterating it. The last small pieces shattering against the energy shields of the vessels.

“I was confident the military AIs would function well,” said Aaliss with a pleased look on her face.

“Better than I expected,” admitted Jeremy.

All the Originator ships had either military AIs on board or normal AIs who could operate the ships as ordered. In case of a failure in communications, the ships had backup programs, which would tell the AIs what needed to be done. Jeremy just hoped everything worked as they had designed it. Of course in a battle very few things ever went as planned.

“Admiral Mann reports all ships ready for hyperspace,” said Lieutenant Lantz.

“Then it’s time,” said Jeremy, looking at his command crew. “What of the Eternal fleet?”

“It’s still on course,” replied Ariel. “Ten hours until they reach the Dyson Sphere. I’m certain they will try to gain entry.”

Jeremy nodded. “Set an intercept course. It’s time we show the Eternals Originator space is off limits to them.” He had chosen a star system directly in front of the Eternals to meet them in battle. The Eternals, upon spotting his fleet, would have no choice but to drop out of hyperspace and engage Jeremy’s fleet. If not then Jeremy’s fleet could hit them from behind when they attempted to engage the Dyson Sphere.

“Course plotted and sent to all other fleet ships,” reported Lieutenant Striker.

-

Moments later blue-white spatial vortexes formed in front of the ships of the fleet and using their gravity drives, the ships made the transition into hyperspace.

-

Jeremy leaned back in his command chair watching the chaotic colors of deep purple rushing across the screen. Some were swirling, and others seemed to be moving in a pattern. Jeremy knew this was the result of the hyperdrive’s reaction with dark energy, which allowed them to move through the different bands of hyperspace. The higher the band the faster the hyperspace speed.

“Commander Malen, we’ll take the fleet to Condition One ten minutes before dropout.” Jeremy wondered how this battle would turn out. It would be the first truly major fleet battle between an Originator fleet and an Eternal fleet. The battle in the Median Galaxy had been only a skirmish with neither side prepared to face the other. That would not be the case this time.

-

“We have detected a fleet approaching in hyperspace,” reported the sensor officer.

“A fleet?” asked Fleet Commander Norlan, his thoughts coming sharply into focus. They were only a few hours from the Shrieel and so far had not detected a single Originator vessel, nor any indication the Originator AIs had been active in this galaxy. “Where is it?” Perhaps now he would finally get some answers.

“It seems to be heading toward a system directly in front of us,” answered Telan as he stepped over to examine the sensor readings. “Two ship types detected: standard Originator battlecruisers and the larger ship class encountered near the Stralon Star Cluster.”

“So it was the Originator AIs that sent the ships into our space,” said Norlan. “This proves it. How many ships in the fleet?”

“Six hundred of the larger vessels and twelve hundred Originator battlecruisers,” reported the sensor officer. “They are preparing to drop out of hyperspace.”

Norlan sat down in his command chair. “Take the fleet to full alert and prepare for combat. We will eliminate these vessels and then continue on to the Shrieel. Inform all warships that if any of the small globes are launched they are to be targeted and destroyed immediately.” He wasn’t going to risk the globes being used to damage the shields of his ships. He would destroy them before they could fire their ion beams or their particle beam cannons.

“Message sent,” reported the communications officer.

Alarms sounded and lights flashed as the flagship went to full alert. Norlan remained silent as he prepared himself for battle. He was an Eternal, a member of the most powerful race in the universe. His thoughts turned toward the fleet he was about to destroy; there were no thoughts of mercy.

-

Jeremy flinched slightly as the Avenger dropped out of hyperspace. They were in a white dwarf star system with four planets and two asteroid fields.

“The Eternal fleet?”

“Twenty minutes away,” reported Kevin. “Fleet makeup and numbers have been confirmed.”

Jeremy ordered the fleet into a standard defensive formation. It was globular with the Avenger in the center. When the Eternals arrived he would change the formation and move in to attack. He was not going to wait for them. He would set the tone of the battle, not the Eternals.

-

The Originator fleet waited as the minutes passed by; then alarms began sounding on all the ships as the Eternal fleet dropped out of hyperspace just short of engagement range.

“Enemy ships detected,” reported Kevin. “Confirmed: Eternal battlecruisers.”

“All ships are at Condition One,” added Commander Malen.

“Weapons ready to fire and dark matter missiles are loaded in all tubes,” added Major Preston. The weaker Devastator Three missiles would not be needed in this battle.

Jeremy gazed at the tactical display for a long moment. “Formation A-7.” This was a cone formation with the apex forward. “Lieutenant Striker, set a course for the center of the Eternal fleet. Commander Malen, begin launching defense globes. Perhaps we can get most of them off before the Eternals begin targeting them.” If he wanted to win this battle, it was essential they get the defense globes launched as quickly as possible. They would pose a major hindrance to the Eternals.

“All ships changing to the new formation,” reported Commander Malen. “Dreadnoughts are launching defense globes.”

Jeremy grinned. With six hundred dreadnoughts that meant they were launching 60,000 defense globes. “Position the globes directly in front of the fleet. As soon as the Eternals are in range, fire their ion beams. Same with all dreadnoughts: fire ion beams and then follow up with dark matter missiles.”

Jeremy planned to hit the Eternals as hard and quickly as possible. He doubted if the Eternal commander had ever fought a fleet as powerful as Jeremy’s, or as well trained.

-

Fleet Commander Norlan glared in anger at the ship’s navigation officer. The fleet had dropped out of hyperspace too far away from the Originator fleet, giving it time to launch the deadly little globes which had caused such a problem in the previous battle. “You will be reprimanded,” said Norlan coldly and then, over the ship-to-ship comm which connected him to all the ships of his fleet, he gave his next order. “Close with the Originator fleet and target those small globes. Rotate your screens at a faster frequency so the ion beams will be less effective. We will destroy the small globes first and then concentrate on their fleet.” Norlan watched in frustration as thousands of the small globes exited the larger ships and settled into a blocking formation in front of the Originator fleet.

“Target the small globes with all weapons,” ordered Norlan.

-

The Eternal fleet surged forward in a massive line of ships six high and one hundred long with a reserve behind the center. As soon as they reached engagement range, energy beams flashed out and began destroying the defense globes. Hundreds of globes exploded in bright flashes of light as the powerful energy beams tore through their energy screens. The beams played over the formation, destroying globe after globe. The globes were packed so thick it was almost impossible to miss.

-

“Damn!” we’re losing a lot of defense globes,” called out Major Preston. “Globes are firing, and we’re launching the first spread of dark matter missiles. Defense globes and missiles are targeting just forty Eternal vessels.” Preston planned to overload the screens of those forty battlecruisers and destroy them.

-

Across the front of the Eternal battleline, ion beams slammed into the screens of the forty selected targets. Hundreds of beams struck the screens, jamming the frequency modulation. Moments later hundreds of black matter warheads began exploding against the frozen energy screens. The four- hundred-megaton warheads exploded with a violence that blew holes in the screens, allowing other missiles to penetrate. In a span of twelve seconds, forty Eternal vessels were turned into miniature suns which swelled up and then gradually faded away. In their wake all that remained of the Eternal vessels was twisted and glowing wreckage.

-

“Forty of them!” gloated Kevin. “They never knew what hit them.”

“Firing on the next forty,” reported Major Preston determinedly. “This won’t work much longer. The Eternals are blowing the hell out of our defense globes. We’re losing over a thousand every ten seconds now and the numbers are climbing.” The defense globes had energy screens but they could not withstand an Eternal energy beam. It was just too powerful.

“Keep firing until they’re gone,” ordered Jeremy, feeling his pulse racing. “We’ll take as many kills right now as we can.” Jeremy stared at the tactical display showing the two embattled fleet. Due to the defense globes, the Eternals had not yet fired on his ships. Jeremy knew that was about to come to an end.

-

Fleet Commander Norlan felt the anger growing inside. Because the navigation officer brought the fleet out of hyperspace too soon the enemy had been able to launch their small globes. On the main viewscreen, he watched as another forty of his battlecruisers were blown apart. Eighty ships lost in the first minute of battle! Never had the Eternals suffered such losses. Not since the Great War with the Originators.

“Finish destroying those globes!” commanded Norlan. “Once the last of them is gone focus on the warships. This battle is still ours to win.”

“Sixty percent of the small globes have been destroyed,” Telan reported from where he was standing in front of one of the tactical displays. “Enemy are using dark matter warheads on their missiles.”

“Something we don’t have,” grated out Fleet Commander Norlan.

The Eternals had access to dark matter but had never seen a reason to make it into a warhead. There were no known threats which would require such a weapon. Now that philosophy might have to change. In the past during the internecine wars which had raged in their home galaxy, it had been against the rules set for battle to use weapons that could destroy a planet or a star. It was surprising the Originator AIs had such weapons.

Norlan felt his flagship shake as a missile detonated against its energy shield. Fleet Commander Norlan’s flagship was in between the advancing battleline and the reserves. “Call up reserve ships to fill the gaps in our line.”

“Sending the order,” replied Telan.

-

The fleets continued to close with the area directly in front of the Originator fleet lit up from the thousands of dying defense globes. The Eternals were pouring heavy energy beam fire into the shoals of defense globes that were firing their ion beams as well as particle beam cannons at the Eternal vessels. In the Eternal battleline, particle beam fire from the last of the dying globes slammed into the main part of an Eternal battlecruiser, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris into space. A few seconds later dark matter missiles arrived from a dreadnought, sending the ship into oblivion.

The Eternals were now beginning to focus their weapons fire on the approaching Originator fleet as the last of the defense globes died. Energy beams penetrated the energy shield of an Originator battlecruiser striking the top section of the ship, setting off a massive explosion and sending fiery debris hurling away from the ship. Moments later more energy beams drilled into the ship causing it to explode.

Across the Originator cone formation, ships were beginning to suffer damage from the powerful energy beams of the Eternals. A heavy dreadnought was torn in two as an Eternal antimatter missile detonated against its hull. Energy beams promptly finished it off.

-

“Fleet’s starting to take a lot of damage,” reported Commander Malen worriedly as she held onto a console as the Avenger took an antimatter hit to its energy screen, severely jarring the ship.

“We’ve lost eighteen battlecruisers and two dreadnoughts in the last minute,” added Kevin while his hands moved over his console as he tried to keep track of the carnage. “Our screens are holding up to the Eternal weapons longer than last time, but they’re still managing to penetrate our energy screens by focusing more beams on our ships.”

“Switch to pattern A-17,” ordered Jeremy with sweat appearing on his brow. This pattern allowed the ships to move about in the cone formation making it harder for the Eternals to target them. It also made it slightly more difficult to keep energy weapons focused on the Eternal ships.

-

The two fleets closed to nearly pointblank range. In space, this was several thousand kilometers. Energy weapons fire, exploding warheads, and dying ships were evident in both formations. The four-kilometer-long Eternal ships were deadly when their weapons were turned on the smaller battlecruisers of the Originators. However, the change in frequency modulation of the energy shields allowed the smaller ships to move away from the inbound weapons fire. Sometimes this was successful but other times too many Eternal energy beams were impacting the shields. In such a case, the battlecruiser’s shield would fail and the vessel would be annihilated in a massive blast from an exploding antimatter missile.

In the Eternal fleet, the three ship groups of the Originator fleet were playing havoc with ships’ energy shields. Ion beams would strike the shield first followed by particle beams or dark matter missiles. In the Eternal battleline, ship after ship was being obliterated in nova like explosions as dark matter missiles penetrated through the weakened energy screens or holes created by particle beam fire. Whenever a dark matter missile struck an Eternal battlecruiser, its destruction was immediate.

-

Jeremy sucked in a deep breath as the Avenger vibrated violently and warning alarms began sounding on the damage control console. Several red lights blinked on ominously.

“Energy beam strike to the bow,” reported Commander Malen as she listened to the reports coming in on her comm unit. “We’ve lost two antimatter projectors and three power beam turrets. Repair crews are enroute.”

“We’re losing a lot of battlecruisers,” reported Kevin worriedly. “They just can’t stand toe to toe against the Eternal vessels. The Eternals seem to be singling them out and blowing them apart. Once the two battlecruisers are gone, they focus their fire on the dreadnought. We’ve lost eighty-two battlecruisers and seventeen dreadnoughts in the last two minutes. A number of other vessels are damaged.”

“What about the Eternals?” Jeremy knew he couldn’t afford to keep losing ships at this rate. Something had to change and soon.

“One hundred and ninety-seven of their vessels have been destroyed so far,” Kevin replied. “A lot of them due to our defense globes. But they’re gone. The Eternals have destroyed all of them.”

Jeremy did some quick calculating. If the battle continued as it was, his fleet would win but at a massive cost. Taking a deep breath, Jeremy knew he had no choice but to pay that cost. This Eternal fleet must be stopped and stopped decisively. Jeremy knew there was only one way to do that. He still had a substantial advantage in ship numbers. “Ariel, I want all ships to close with the Eternal fleet until we intermix. It will make our weapons more dangerous to their vessels. Communicate that to all the military AIs as well as the other Originator battlecruisers.”

“It will make our ships just as vulnerable,” warned Commander Malen, her eyes shifting to Jeremy.

“We will be hit by more energy beams,” said Ariel worriedly.

Jeremy nodded. “I know, but it’s the only way to ensure a victory.”

Aaliss said nothing. She was watching the main viewscreen which was showing the battle. Never had she seen such destruction.

Jeremy quickly contacted Admiral Mann, explaining his plan. It was time to teach the Eternals what real war was all about.

-

The two fleets slowly merged and the fighting ratcheted up in intensity. Energy beams did not miss, antimatter projectors hit every target, dark matter and antimatter warheads exploded against ship shields. The Originator ships were still working in three ship groups blasting away at the Eternal battlecruisers. The Eternal battlecruisers would focus their firepower on a single ship until their energy beams began producing holes in the screen and then would fire an antimatter missile through, annihilating the vessel. In both fleets, the explosions of dying ships was lighting up space in growing frequency. In some parts of the intermixed formation, it seemed as if space itself was on fire.

-

Fleet Commander Norlan watched a viewscreen showing one of his battlecruisers being torn apart by Originator antimatter beams. The deadly beams were ripping open compartment after compartment until the ship broke apart.

“The Originator fleet has entered our fleet formation,” said the Eternal in front of the sensors. “Their weapons are now much more effective against our ships.”

“How can this be?” demanded Telan, the ship’s second in command. He turned toward Fleet Commander Norlan. “We are the Eternals and no one can match our power.”

Norlan looked over at Telan. “You forget, at one time we were also Originators. We have underestimated our enemy. Whoever is in command of those larger ships is clearly not an Originator AI. They would never engage in such a tactic as bringing their ships into such close range to ours.”

The flagship shook violently, nearly tossing Fleet Commander Norlan out of his command chair.

Looking at the screen, he saw one of the enemy’s larger ships being attacked by two Eternal battlecruisers. Powerful energy beams were tearing at the screen and eventually penetrated. Massive explosions blew out huge sections of armored hull material from the stricken ship. Then two antimatter warheads struck the vessel, obliterating it. When the light faded all that remained was scattered wreckage and glowing plasma.

“Latest computer projections indicate we will lose this battle,” Telan said in disbelief. “By fighting at this close a range, the enemy has increased the destructive power of their weapons.”

“They sacrifice their ships to destroy us,” Norlan said in admiration. The Eternals had respect for those willing to die in battle. Norlan studied the nearby tactical display for a long moment. “Have all ships retarget their weapons on the larger ships only. I want to destroy as many of them as possible.”

-

Jeremy blinked his eyes in pain as more of his dreadnoughts died. All of those ships had small crews in the Command Centers. “We have them,” Ariel said as she studied the battle and ran algorithms on the intensifying battle and ship losses. “We will win, but our fleet will suffer heavy losses.”

Before Jeremy could say anything in reply the Avenger shook violently, throwing many in the Command Center to the floor. Lights flickered and several consoles shorted out, throwing sparks across the room.

“Energy beam strike to the hull directly above the Command Center,” called out Commander Malen as her hands flew frantically across her console. “Heavy damage to numerous compartments.”

The ship shook again as if it had been struck by a giant hammer and the lights went out. Jeremy could hear screams of pain and what sounded like distant explosions. Then a heavy weight struck him across the head. Jeremy felt intense pain and then everything went black.

-

With a groan, Jeremy opened his eyes. His head was throbbing and the light seemed unusually bright.

“He’s awake,” he heard a woman’s voice say.

“Jeremy?”

With a start, Jeremy recognized Kelsey’s voice. His eyes finally managed to focus, and he saw he was in a hospital room with a nurse and a frightened looking Kelsey standing by the bed. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the Shrieel in Galaxy X-938,” answered Kelsey, her voice sounding relieved. “You were severely injured during the battle with the Eternals.”

“The Avenger?” asked Jeremy, wondering what had happened to his crew?

“It’s badly damaged, so much so that it will have to be scrapped. It looks like you’re getting another new ship.”

“The crew? Kevin?”

“He’s fine. Most of the crew survived,” answered Kelsey, with a look of deep sadness in her eyes. “The ship was struck by multiple energy beams. The shield failed, and if not for the military AIs ordering the Originator battlecruisers to form a shield of ships around the Avenger, it would have been destroyed completely.”

“Did we win the battle?” Jeremy felt as if he needed to get up and find the nearest Command Center to see if the Eternals were attacking the Shrieel. Under no condition could the Shrieel be allowed to fall.

“When Admiral Mann saw the Avenger was out of action she took over command. The battle lasted for another thirty minutes and it was brutal. She pressed the Eternals at every point. I understand she ordered the ships of the fleet to close to within several thousand meters of the Eternal vessels. Their shields were almost touching. We lost a lot of ships but in the end, the Eternals were forced to withdraw. Only twenty-nine of their battlecruisers left the battle. Admiral Mann had them followed to the edge of the galaxy where they entered hyperspace and set a course for the Median Galaxy.”

Jeremy tried to sit up and found he was partially restrained. With surprise he saw his left arm was covered with bandages. “What else is wrong with me besides the whack to the head?”

“You nearly lost your left arm,” answered the nurse, coming over to check several readings on a panel next to the bed. “We had to use medical nanites to rebuild part of it. You had a nasty concussion, two broken ribs, and internal injuries. If this had happened back on Gaia, I’m not sure you would have survived. Even with Originator medical technology it was touch and go for a few hours when they first got you here.”

Jeremy tried to relax. “How much time has passed?”

“Over a week,” answered Kelsey, taking Jeremy’s hand.

“How many ships did we lose?” Jeremy was deeply concerned about the strength of the fleet should the Eternals return. If they came back with an even larger fleet, he might not have the ships to stop them from reaching the Shrieel.

Kelsey let out a deep breath. “It was bad, Jeremy. I spoke to Admiral Mann yesterday; even her flagship the Victory suffered heavy damage though it’s still operational. The fleet lost 927 Originator battlecruisers and 414 dreadnoughts. Vice Admiral Pence arrived yesterday with a force of three hundred more dreadnoughts. Bartoll sent word as well that an additional three thousand Originator battlecruisers would be arriving later this week.”

Jeremy winced at hearing the losses. Once he got out of this hospital room, he wanted to review the videos of the battle. It was obvious they were going to need to devise some new strategies to deal with the Eternals. They made the Simulins look like a JV team. At least with the reinforcing fleets, he felt confident he could hold the Shrieel against another attack.

Kelsey looked at Jeremy with deeply troubled eyes. “Ariel wants to speak with you. She has some news you need to hear.”

Jeremy nodded. He was surprised the overly protective AI wasn’t in the hospital room. “Tell her she can come in.”

“Only for a moment,” the nurse said a little sternly. “You need your rest.”

Kelsey went to the door and opened it. Ariel came in with a look of deep concern on her face. The look quickly faded when she saw Jeremy was awake.

“Jeremy, I’m so sorry! There was nothing I could do. I’ve never felt so helpless.”

“It’s all right, Ariel,” said Jeremy, forcing a smile. “Now, what’s so important that you needed to see me?”

A guilty look spread across Ariel’s face. “We survived because the Command Centers on all of the new dreadnoughts have extra armor around them. When I realized the significance of that, I went back and replayed the footage of the Warrior’s Pride slamming into the Originator battlecruiser. At extremely slow motion I found something.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened in shock and dawning hope. “Tell me, did the Command Center on the Warrior’s Pride survive?”

“Yes,” Ariel answered. “There’s a chance Grayseth is still alive!”

Chapter Twenty

Jeremy was back in the Dyson Sphere at the Communications and Transport Hub. It had taken another week before the doctors at the Shrieel in Galaxy X-938 had allowed him to leave the medical center. He was now back in the Tower along with Ariel, Admiral Kalen, Admiral Calmat, and Aaliss.

“Play the video again,” ordered Jeremy, his eyes looking cold and haunted.

Ariel nodded and on the large viewscreen appeared the Warrior’s Pride ramming the larger Eternal battlecruiser. As the two ships collided a massive explosion occurred, destroying both vessels. Then Ariel replayed the video at a much slower speed. At the speed the video was now being played the explosion seemed to occur in extremely slow motion. Ariel zoomed in on the Warrior’s Pride as the ship’s bow was crushed by the collision. Then both vessels slowly exploded, and from the heart of the explosion, a small object was propelled away and promptly vanished from the display.

Kathryn shook her head, not understanding what she was seeing. “What happened? If that object was the Command Center, why did it vanish?”

Ariel looked around at the admirals. “When the Originator AIs, with our aid, designed the new dreadnoughts we wanted to ensure the maximum survivability of the Command Centers during a battle. In all the dreadnoughts, except the flagships, the crews are held to a minimum. During a battle, the majority would be in that room. The only other area in the ship there might be live crewmembers is Engineering.”

“That’s why there’s increased armor around the Command Center and not just the Command Center itself,” added Aaliss. “The increased armor also extends to the compartments above, below, and around the Command Center. Inside the armor, we added emitters which could maintain both an emergency energy shield or the stealth shield. The Command Center has an emergency power source that could operate both for a short period of time as well as maintain life support for any survivors if necessary.”

“When the object you saw was hurled away from the collision of the two ships, it appeared to vanish,” continued Ariel. She then zoomed in on the object. It was a jagged piece of wreckage nearly sixty meters in diameter. As they watched, the video was once more being played at a very slow speed. The space around the object seemed to shimmer, and then the object faded away from view.

“That’s definitely a stealth field,” said Admiral Kalen, his eyes wide with disbelief at what they were seeing. “Would any of the crew have survived or even been conscious after the collision? How was the shield activated?”

“The ship’s computer,” answered Aaliss. “It is one of the emergency procedures programmed into it. It was deemed the best chance for a Command Center to survive was for the stealth shield to be activated so enemy ships could not detect it. Then later, after the battle, the stealth shield could be dropped and the crew rescued.”

“Why haven’t more Command Centers survived?” asked Admiral Kalen.

“While the extra armor will help protect a Command Center from an energy beam, it will not survive an antimatter explosion which is how most ships end up being destroyed,” answered Aaliss. “In both battles so far with the Eternals, they have used antimatter weapons to ensure the destruction of any damaged vessels.”

Jeremy leaned back in his chair, feeling horrified he had left Grayseth behind in the Median Galaxy. “Would the Command Center have survived the blast from the dark matter missiles used to destroy the wreckage of our ships?”

“I compute a 74 percent chance it could have survived,” Ariel replied. “Upon detecting the blasts the computer in the Command Center would have instantly activated the energy shield, and along with the shield and the heavy armor protecting that section it should have survived. The Command Center would have been several hundred kilometers away when the missile exploded.”

Jeremy was still concerned. He recalled how the Simulin ships at Gaia had been destroyed by a single dark matter missile. Granted, it had been stronger than the ones Ariel had deployed. Plus the Command Center on the Warrior’s Pride had been protected by Originator battle armor and an Originator energy shield.

“That leaves us with a number of scenarios,” Admiral Kalen said, his eyes narrowing. “None of them good. The most likely one is that after the dark matter explosion, the Command Center would have been detected by the Eternals and they would have gone to investigate. They could have either captured Grayseth and his surviving crew or destroyed the Command Center upon locating it.”

“There is another scenario,” Aaliss said a little hesitantly. “There is a marginally habitable planet in the system where the battle took place. In the damaged section that contained the Command Center, there are a number of escape pods. It’s possible the survivors of the crew used those pods to reach the planet.”

Admiral Calmat turned toward Jeremy. “We must send a rescue mission immediately to determine if Grayseth still survives.”

“Aaliss, do those pods possess enough supplies to allow Grayseth’s crew to survive on the planet if they can reach it?”

The Originator AI nodded. “Yes, each pod has an emergency survival kit.”

“Jeremy, it’s going to be very difficult getting back into that galaxy to conduct a rescue,” Ariel said. “We’ll be detected when we cross the two hyperspace surveillance boundaries the Eternals have set up. They’ll know we’re coming and will be waiting for us. Once they realize our destination they’ll figure out there’s something important in that system if they don’t already have Grayseth.”

Jeremy let out a deep breath. Ever since he had found out that he left Grayseth behind, he had been haunted by guilt. “Aaliss, is there any way around the hyperspace detection fields the Eternals have emplaced?”

“Possibly,” Aaliss said with a deep frown. “I will need to consult with several other AIs who are well versed in that field as well as one of the Originators.”

“Admiral Calmat, I want you to work with Aaliss on a rescue mission. Once the two of you have a viable plan we’ll meet again and discuss it. Use whatever resources you need. I want Grayseth back!”

“Jeremy,” said Ariel with a look of surprise on her face. “Kazak has just contacted me and reports they have found the hidden compartment on the Dominator. They’re preparing to open it shortly.”

Jeremy stood up. “Inform, Kazak I’m on my way.” It had taken an unusual amount of time to find the compartment. Jeremy was curious to see why. Also by going over to the Dominator, it would take his mind off Grayseth.

-

As soon as Jeremy arrived on the Dominator, a Marine escorted him through the ship to a tight maintenance shaft full of wiring, equipment, and ductwork. He had to crawl on his hands and knees until he reached an area he could stand up in. It was a little wider there and he could stretch out both arms and barely touch the wall. Kazak, Bartoll, and Commander Zafron were standing there along with two heavily armed Marines. Two other Originator AIs were present standing behind a strange piece of equipment they had aimed at one of the walls. All were hunched over since their height was too tall for the small maintenance shaft. The hatch would normally be accessed by the small repair robots.

“What is it?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Kazak and Commander Zafron.

“We’ve detected a power source behind this wall,” answered Kazak. “We’re directly below the stasis compartment. I suspect this is the hidden compartment we’ve been searching for. According to all the design records of the Dominator, there shouldn’t be a power source here.”

“Can you detect anything else behind that wall?” Jeremy knew if there was a void space it had to be very small. He doubted if there could be more than one or two stasis chambers in the hidden space.

“We’ll know shortly,” answered Commander Zafron as he gave orders to two small maintenance robots in the shaft. The Marines had their pulse rifles ready just in case there was something dangerous behind the wall.

The two small robots immediately moved to the wall and began taking down a panel. It only took a few moments and then the two robots moved back out of the way. The removed panel revealed a darkened recess.

Without hesitation Kazak stepped forward, drew his sidearm, and went inside. The Marines stepped over to the opening in case Kazak called for help. For a few moments there was silence and then a bright light came on.

“You can come inside,” Kazak said. “We’ve found what we were searching for.”

The others went in with Jeremy last. Stepping inside, Jeremy came to a halt. Ten stasis chambers lined the wall. Each stasis chamber had an Originator inside.

“It appears Jankel’s little group was larger than we thought,” Commander Zafron remarked as he walked along the narrow passage in front of the chambers. As he walked he called out names. “I know all of these people. Several of them are esteemed scientists.”

“People we can use,” Bartoll said excitedly. “I see Camiss, Parmeld, and Damold who all are great research scientists.” He came to a stop in front of the last chamber and gazed at the male Originator inside. “Here’s Jankel.”

Commander Zafron stepped over to the case and nodded as he recognized the scientist. “I’ll have the maintenance robots remove the outer wall to the maintenance shaft to give us better access to the stasis chambers. We’ll remove each chamber and take it to the Dyson Sphere where we have been doing the awakenings.”

“Perhaps one of these people will know where the missing Originators went,” said Bartoll, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“We can only hope,” said Jeremy.

-

A few hours later Jeremy was standing in a large construction bay in one of the massive shipyard facilities. In front of him was the beginning of his new flagship.

“We’ve made some changes,” Ariel said from Jeremy’s side. “The new Avenger will be larger and much more powerful than the last one.”

“We’ve increased the power to the ship’s weapons by 22 percent,” said Aaliss. “We’ve added a second ion beam to the bow and installed a new type of energy screen, one we’ve spent thousands of years of research developing.”

Jeremy looked over at Aaliss. “How’s it different?”

“It’s a multiplex screen.”

Jeremy looked confused. “Multiplex, what’s that?”

“It’s a layered energy shield,” Ariel explained. “Normally a ship is protected by one screen; the new Avenger will be protected by three.”

“Our analysis of the screens of the Eternals indicate their ships are only protected by one screen. This should give us a decisive advantage in a battle,” added Aaliss.

“How soon before it’s ready?”

“Six weeks.”

Looking back at the beginnings of his new ship Jeremy could see numerous construction robots busily working. In addition a number of AIs were present directing their activity. It was still amazing watching the larger robots carrying huge metal beams and entire sections of hull armor. Tractor beams were also in use lifting heavy sections and holding them in place.

“This ship has been designed with the necessary firepower to destroy an Eternal vessel and be able to stand up to their energy beams long enough to allow it to do so,” said Aaliss.

Jeremy nodded. When he went back to the Median Galaxy to rescue Grayseth, he would need this ship.

-

The next day Jeremy, Kelsey, Kevin, Katie, Angela, and Brace were at a Chinese restaurant. Kelsey had dragged Jeremy away from the Tower, telling him he needed to quit worrying about Grayseth and the Eternals for a few hours. “Everything will work out,” she promised.

“Sweet and Sour Chicken,” said Angela as she took a bite and a dreamy look appeared on her face. “Here we are millions of light years away from Earth and we’re eating Chinese food.”

Kevin was working on an egg roll with a frown on his face. “They don’t even have hamburgers on the menu,” he complained. “How can they call themselves a restaurant and not serve hamburgers?”

Katie kicked him under the table and saw a look of pain cross her husband’s face. “Hamburgers are for cooking out,’ she said emphatically. “I like Chinese food. So eat that Chicken Chow Mein and enjoy it.”

Jeremy had to smile. It was good to be out with his friends. They needed to do this more often.

“Where’s Clair?” asked Katie, sounding disappointed. “I was expecting you to bring her.”

“Clarissa’s babysitting,” answered Brace with a grin. “She insisted.”

“What to you think’s going on back home?” asked Katie, looking over at Jeremy. “Sometimes I wonder about the Federation.”

Jeremy nodded, but he had a few sources of information the others didn’t. There was a group of Human officers in the Dyson Sphere in the Milky Way. “There’s been a war between the Shari and the Ralift. The Federation became involved as some AI battle spheres showed up. Admiral Tolsen was sent to help the Shari. Evidently the Altons have built him some new dreadnoughts. The ships are pretty advanced compared to the Federation vessels we’re familiar with. From what we’ve been able to learn he and the Shari managed to smash the Ralift fleet and the AIs. A few AI battle spheres made it to the Dyson Sphere, but our battlecruisers made short work of them.”

“So, Admiral Tolsen saw the Originator vessels?” asked Kevin.

“Yes,” replied Jeremy. “We only used one battlecruiser to destroy the twenty-one surviving AI battle spheres. I suspect Admiral Tolsen was impressed by our display of firepower.”

“Admiral Tolsen is still fighting for the Federation,” said Kelsey approvingly. “I wish he were here. We could use another admiral like him.”

“So do I,” said Jeremy wistfully. “However, with everything he’s accomplished against the Simulins, the Shari, and the Ralift, perhaps it’s best he stays where he’s at.”

“So, there were still some AIs surviving.” said Brace. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”

“Fewer now,” Jeremy answered. “I suspect there will be an effort to ensure they’re all hunted down and destroyed.”

“Will we ever contact the Federation again?” asked Brace. “I know a lot of people came back with Rear Admiral Barnes but we’re getting ready to fight an intergalactic war. We could use more, particularly fleet personnel.”

“Perhaps,” Jeremy answered as he took a bite of his fried rice. “I’m not ruling out the possibility.” He didn’t want to involve the Federation in this war, but if the Eternals turned out to be too big of a threat some type of compromise might be necessary. They might need hundreds of thousands of fleet personnel. The only way to get them would be through the Federation.

They finished their meal and then sat around for well over an hour just talking and laughing. It was good to be able to take time out from their duties and just be themselves for a little while.

-

Two days later Jeremy was sitting in his office in the Tower talking to Admiral Calmat and Aaliss about rescuing Grayseth if he still lived.

“I have spoken to several clan leaders. I would like to lead the rescue mission.”

Jeremy looked over at Calmat. The large Bear reminded him a lot of Grayseth. “I don’t know if we can risk losing both Grayseth and you.”

“The leaders of our clans have met, and we have chosen an honorable clan leader to take my place if I fall in combat.”

Very well,” Jeremy answered. He knew better than to argue with a determined Carethian. “Have you come up with a plan to get us into the Median Galaxy?” That was still their biggest obstacle.

Calmat slowly shook his head. “Those hyperspace detection fields are a problem. Not even the Originators or their AIs have come up with a solution yet to get past them undetected.”

“We’re still working on it,” Aaliss said. “We have several possibilities, but it’s going to take some more research. Right now, I can’t promise anything.”

Jeremy leaned back in his chair. “It will be six more weeks before the new Avenger is ready. Another week for a shakedown cruise and I’ll be ready to go with you.”

“You’re going as well?” asked Calmat surprised. He had not been expecting that.

Jeremy took a deep breath. “Grayseth is my clan brother. I am honor bound to go on this rescue. I am also the one responsible for leaving him behind.”

Calmat nodded his agreement and understanding. “To honor,” he said solemnly.

“To honor,” replied Jeremy. He blinked his eyes, hoping his clan brother was still alive. If there was any way to bring him home, Jeremy intended to do so.

Epilogue

Rear Admiral Tolsen was in his quarters sitting across from his sister. They had been talking about the recent conflict in Shari space. They were currently in the New Tellus System where the WarHawk was docked to New Tellus Station, the largest shipyard in the Human Federation of Worlds.

“So we didn’t get all of them,” said Massie, shaking her head in disappointment. “I had hoped we were through with the AIs.”

“Not quite,” Race answered as he took a sip of his tea. “Fleet Admiral Nagumo informed me there are a few with the Borzon. Not as many as were with the Ralift, but still enough to be a problem. Our fleets engaged against the Borzon have orders to make destroying the remaining AI battle spheres their top priority.”

Massie looked concerned; Race knew she had been looking forward to some time off. She wanted to go to Ceres and spend some time with their parents. “Don’t worry, the Borzon and the remaining AIs are not our problem for now. We may have another more important mission coming up in a few more months.”

“What’s that?” asked Massie, leaning back and relaxing. She enjoyed spending time talking to Race.

“President Malle has indicated he wants us to return to the Shari Empire and see what we can do about establishing normal relations. From what I understand the Federation Council is putting together a very large package of inducements centered around trade.”

Massie looked thoughtful. “Are we taking all the fleets?”

“No,” Race replied. “Admiral Stoddard and Admiral Baasil will be going to the border with the Borzon to see what they can do to push them back out of our space. Several other large Federation fleets are already on their way. I suspect when the Borzon learn what we did to the invading Ralift fleet and the AI battle spheres with them, they’ll pull back very quickly.”

A suspicious look suddenly crossed Massie’s face. “Is there another reason we’re returning to Shari space?” It seemed strange the Federation would send Race when a diplomat such as Alton Ambassador Tureen would make more sense. She suspected something else was going on here.

Race smiled and nodded. “One of the Originator AIs on the Dyson Sphere communicated with me while I was there. He told me not to contact them, but they might contact us at a future time. I have orders from Admiral Nagumo and President Malle to return to the very edge of the star system where the Dyson Sphere is located and see if I can induce them to speak with us.”

“Why would they?” asked Massie concerned. “I think they were pretty clear in telling you to stay away.”

“Remember what I told you about Rear Admiral Barnes taking the people from Ceres, New Tellus, Careth, and even Altons to fight some massive intergalactic war Fleet Admiral Strong has gotten mixed up in?”

Massie nodded. “What has that got to do with the Dyson Sphere?”

“I’m convinced there are Humans on the one in Shari Space. I think that’s why the Originator AI spoke with me. I want to try to contact those Humans.”

Massie’s face became covered in a deep frown. “I don’t know if that’s wise, Race. If Fleet Admiral Strong is involved in an intergalactic war, I don’t believe the Federation will want to get involved. Several of our worlds would stringently object.”

Race nodded his head in agreement. However, considering everyone who had gone with Rear Admiral Barnes, he strongly suspected the Federation was already involved. President Malle and Fleet Admiral Nagumo just wanted to know what was going on and Race intended to find out. There was a lot of mystery remaining surrounding Rear Admiral Barnes and what had gone on at Ceres. They had an explanation but not a lot of details. Race doubted if they had heard the last from Fleet Admiral Strong or Rear Admiral Barnes.

A lot of people in the Federation still felt they owed their survival to the Special Five. There was no doubt that if Jeremy placed a call to arms to fight in this mysterious war, there would be plenty of volunteers. Besides, many of those who had gone with Rear Admiral Barnes were friends of Race’s. He wouldn’t mind seeing them again. He would also really like to see the inside of a Dyson Sphere.

-

At the Communications and Transport Hub, Jeremy was meeting with Bartoll, Commander Zafron, Clarissa, Ariel, Aaliss, and Rear Admiral Barnes. They were discussing the ten Originators who had been awakened from the hidden compartment in the Dominator.

“They were all shocked at how much time has passed,” Bartoll said sadly. “Jankel was the only one who didn’t seem surprised. I did find out it was Jankel and one of the other Originators who sabotaged the Dominator, causing it to lose power and effectively stranding it in the asteroid field. They were determined not to allow the ship to return to the Communications and Transport Hub and retrieve the cure once the AIs perfected it. Jankel was deeply concerned about the Defenders of Zorn getting the cure and taking over all the Shrieels and then renewing the war with the Anti-Life. He was convinced there would be other Originators in hidden stasis chambers on the Shrieels and he wanted them to get the cure before any of Zorn’s people were awoken.”

“Was he right?” asked Jeremy.

“We don’t know,” answered Bartoll with a deep frown. “There are no records of such.”

Jeremy looked over at Ariel. “Get Leeda and Reesa working on this. If there are hidden Originators on any of the Dyson Spheres I want them found.”

“I’ve already spoken to them,” Ariel replied. “They’ve been doing some research and we may have a few leads.”

Jeremy nodded. “What about the missing Originators that left the dark matter Dyson Sphere? Did Jankel have any idea where they went?”

Bartoll looked over at Commander Zafron and then answered. “Jankel was communicating with a small group hidden on the dark matter Shrieel. When the pathogen finally entered its last stages, this group went into stasis. They of course were killed when Rear Admiral Barnes destroyed the Shrieel.”

Shaking his head, Jeremy thought about how much he now regretted that happening. “So we’re back where we started from.”

“Not quite,” Commander Zafron said. “While Jankel didn’t know the star system the missing Originators went to, he does know the star cluster.”

Jeremy sat up his interest piqued. “Where?” This sounded like the break they needed.

Commander Zafron looked over at Rear Admiral Barnes. “I don’t think you’re going to believe this. You were almost there on your last trip to the Triangulum Galaxy when you rescued the Ornellians.”

“The star cluster they were heading for,” gasped Kathryn, her eyes growing wide. “It’s the farthest out from the Triangulum Galaxy. Was that the missing Originator’s destination?”

“Yes,” Zafron answered. “Somewhere inside that cluster is where we will find them.”

“How many?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Bartoll.

Bartoll sighed. “We don’t know. We believe quite a few, but there are no records of how many left the Shrieel.”

Jeremy looked over at Kathryn. “How soon can you be ready to depart?”

“The entire exploration fleet?”

“Yes, plus the Dominator and a few of our heavy dreadnoughts and enough construction ships to build an Accelerator Ring. I don’t want to risk anything going wrong with this.”

“A few weeks and I can be ready,” Kathryn replied. “We’re having a few updates done to the exploration ships.”

“Same with the Dominator,” said Commander Zafron. “Two weeks sounds reasonable.”

“That will be fine,” Jeremy said. “They’ve waited a few million years, a few more weeks isn’t going to hurt. “Rear Admiral Barnes, you have your new mission.”

-

A few days later Jeremy was in his office staring out across the city. It was late afternoon and he had just finished talking to Admiral Calmat and Aaliss. They had a possible way to get into the Median Galaxy undetected. They had developed a new polymer they believed would absorb the scans from the hyperspace detection fields which would need to be crossed. In order for it to work, the ships would have to be traveling at a very slow speed in hyperspace. It would add an extra two weeks to the journey. He had already decided only two ships would be going on the rescue mission: Admiral Calmat’s flagship and the new Avenger. He had already ordered the admiral’s ship into a construction bay for further updates. It would have the same type of energy shield as the Avenger.

He had also spoken to General Wesley. Major Wilde would be going along with two hundred of her Marines as well as four hundred of the new combat robots. Jeremy hoped they would not be needed, but in case they were, he would have them.

“You need to take some time off,” a voice spoke from behind him.

Jeremy didn’t even turn as he recognized the voice as belonging to Ariel.

“I know, but there’s just so much to do.”

“It can wait,” answered Ariel firmly. “You have Admiral Kalen, Governor Barnes, Bartoll, Clarissa, and myself to help. Everything will get done.”

Ariel stepped over to the window to stand next to Jeremy. She was using one of her holographic figures as she was currently busy helping Leeda and Reesa in their search for any Originators who might be in hidden stasis chambers on the Dyson Spheres. “It’s a beautiful world.”

Jeremy nodded. “I still miss Gaia. It protected us for so long.” Jeremy knew the only structure still standing on the planet was the Fleet Academy. The protective energy shield was still in operation above it and would continue to be for many years to come.

“This is our home now,” Ariel said. “It’s probably the safest place in the universe. “I don’t believe even the Eternals can pose a serious threat to the Communications and Transport Hub.”

“We’re going to war,” Jeremy said in a more subdued voice. “After the battle in Galaxy X-938, the Eternals will now consider themselves at war with the Originators.”

“They don’t know if it’s the Originators or their AIs who were involved,” said Ariel. “As far as the Eternals know all the Originators died out from the pathogen two million years ago.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeremy said. “I’m sure they suspect another race is involved as well.” Jeremy turned away from the window, looking at Ariel. Her dark eyes were focused on him, and her black hair barely touched her shoulders. She looked to be in her early twenties and still so innocent. With a deep sigh, Jeremy knew what he had done with his foray into the Median Galaxy and then the battle in Galaxy X-938. He had brought about the beginning of the Originator Wars. There would be no turning back now.

-

Later that evening Jeremy was at home lying in bed, deep in thought. He wondered if there was anything he could have done differently. He hardly noticed when Kelsey slid into bed next to him, turning off the lights.

“Jeremy, I think I’ve decided to work at the Tower. I spoke to my father, and he wants me to be his military liaison.”

Jeremy felt startled. He had heard rumors that the girls, Ariel, Clarissa and some others were working on a new exploration super dreadnought to explore the galaxies in Originator space. “What brought this on?” he asked, turning toward her and putting his hand on her waist.

Kelsey was silent for a long moment. “We’re getting ready to go to war. Some of us or all of us could die. I think it’s important to ensure we leave behind a legacy. Someone to carry on our work and our dreams.”

Jeremy felt his heart skip a beat. “Are you saying you want us to have a child?”

“Yes,” Kelsey answered softly. “A son.”

“When?”

“Now is as good a time as any,” replied Kelsey, pulling Jeremy closer and kissing him deeply.

Moments later, the two were involved in passionate lovemaking.

-

Ariel turned off her monitors she had been using to watch the two. She felt excited as she knew soon there would be another member of the new Special Five. Clair would not be alone! From the activity she had observed between Kevin and Katie earlier, there might be another member as well. She couldn’t wait to tell Clarissa the exciting news. The Originator Wars might be about to start but a new and exciting future for the Special Five and their children was beginning as well. Already Ariel was thinking about the training the children would need and what would be expected of her and Clarissa. She could hardly wait!

The End

If you enjoyed The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger and would like to see the series continue, please post a review with some stars. Good reviews encourage an author to write and also help sell books. 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, link below. Thank you for reading Universe in Danger and being so supportive.

Coming this summer.

The Originator Wars: Search for the Lost (Book Two)

The scene is set, and the Originator Wars are about to begin in earnest. The Eternals are determined to destroy whoever is using Originator technology against them. A full-scale invasion of Originator space is planned. Fleet Admiral Strong embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue Grayseth if he still lives. In a distant star cluster Rear Admiral Barnes and Commander Zafron search for the lost Originators. If they want to win the war against the Eternals, they must be found.

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Turn the page for an introduction to Earth Fall: Invasion a new military science fiction series that will be starting later this year.

Earth Fall: Invasion

Major Mark Dolan crawled painfully to the top of the small brush-covered hill he’d been behind for the last several hours. His uniform was ragged and filthy; blood ran from a shallow, jagged cut on his forehead, the result of a splinter grenade falling too close to his position. Only by throwing himself to the ground upon realizing what was about to happen had Dolan survived at all. The private who had been with him lay dead, his body torn apart by the grenade.

Around Dolan, dead bodies and burned-out vehicles were everywhere. Unfortunately most of the bodies were human and not Trellixian. The aliens were nearly unstoppable, their vehicles protected by energy shields and possessing weapons much more powerful than the humans’. The enemy could be killed with great effort, but normally the attacking humans died in the attempt. However, the humans were fighting for their world, and there was never a shortage of volunteers to attempt the almost impossible.

In the distance Dolan could hear the heavy explosions of powerful warp missiles and more splinter grenades blasting away at the weakening human defenses. The Trellixians were rapidly pushing back the meager remnants of Earth’s military toward the bunker complex that housed their last-known active base. For nearly twelve hours, Mark and his handpicked squad had been watching the battle. Their job was to stay on the outskirts, undetected, and report back to their superiors the results of the battle. Several times Mark had been tempted to join in the fighting when a Trellixian passed within weapons range, but his orders were very explicit. No contact with the enemy! Observe and report back!

“Major, this is Captain Reynolds. I’m in position,” a female voice said over his earpiece.

Everyone in his squad wore a small communications earpiece, set to a frequency they didn’t think the enemy would be monitoring, so they could stay in contact with one another. It was a risk, but one that was necessary if they wanted to complete their mission.

Captain Lisa Reynolds was two hundred meters to his west on another small ridge, which provided a good view of the ongoing battle. She had two other soldiers with her, assigned to keep her safe. Reynolds was a military analyst sent on this mission to gather data on Trellixian battle techniques. Mark wasn’t sure what good that would do if the mountain base and its bunker complex were destroyed. As far as Mark knew, resistance across the planet had been smashed, and this was the last major surviving military installation still fighting back.

“Make sure you record everything,” ordered Mark, as his gaze swept across the embattled human defensive lines. Several massive explosions struck the human lines, blasting deep smoking holes in the ground. Mark thought he could see soldiers pulling back from the besieged positions. “Keep messages to a minimum. We don’t want to tip off the enemy we’re here.”

“Yes, sir,” Reynolds replied. “We’ve got my equipment set up and are recording the battle.”

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” Mark instructed. “I want us all to get back safely.”

Removing his battle helmet and enhanced vision goggles, he wiped the sweat from his brow and cautiously rose up to better see what lay on the other side of the small hill. A blackened ruin of blasted earth, burned-out trees, destroyed vehicles and dead bodies lay as far as his trained eyes could see. Several kilometers to the north, close to the mountains, he could see the fighting still raged, the meager Earth forces battling desperately to hold on to the last bastion of hope against a fearless, overpowering enemy who knew no mercy.

After sliding his goggles and helmet back on, he adjusted the sights to allow him a close-up view of the fighting. Trellixian hover tanks were moving steadily forward, their large cannons firing round after round of heavy blaster fire into the entrenched human troops. Side launchers on the hover tanks fired a seemingly unending supply of splinter grenades into the human positions. Occasionally an Earth heavy missile would strike one of the tanks, stressing its shield but having very little effect. Mark let out a deep, guttural sigh of frustration. If they could only find a way around the Trellixians’ energy shields, the battle would be more even.

Thousands of Trellixian troops in nearly impenetrable battle armor followed closely behind the tanks, mopping up straggling pockets of defenders. Occasionally short-range missiles and shells from heavy artillery exploded among the advancing Trellixian troops, but a direct hit was necessary to penetrate the battle armor. Scanning the dead, Dolan noticed a few Trellixians scattered among the human casualties, but not many.

Above the ground fighting, Trellixian wedge-shaped attack craft swooped and dove at the fragile human defensive positions, trying to crack open the human lines by firing small warp missiles which impacted the ground in towering explosions of flame and dirt. The warp missiles made a high-pitched screaming noise as they came down.

Human aircraft had been cleared from the skies weeks earlier. Defensive missiles and occasional blaster fire from the main base itself were now directed heatedly toward the attacking Trellixian aircraft as they came within range, in a futile attempt to turn the tide of the battle. Only recently had human scientists reverse engineered a captured hover tank, enabling them to create energy cannons similar to the enemy’s.

Mark almost stood up in elation as several beams of white energy converged on one of the Trellixian craft, cracking through its energy shield and causing the ship to explode in a bright orange fireball, spilling out its flaming parts over the fighting below. If the humans had only had more energy cannons, they might’ve had a chance to turn the tide of the battle. From what he could see, only about a dozen of the powerful weapons were being used by the defenders.

As Mark watched, a large and ominous shadow passed over him. Looking up, he sucked in his breath as he recognized one of the Trellixians’ space battlecruisers plodding through the Earth’s heavy atmosphere toward the human military base. In moments, the massive cylinder came to a stop, its defensive shields lighting up as the base focused all its firepower on the massive vessel in a last-stand effort. Heavy missiles and energy blasters smashed futilely against the powerful energy shield, which erupted in bright cascades of color as it shrugged off the ineffective attack. The outside of the huge vessel was dotted with antennae, communication dishes, and offensive and defensive weaponry—designed for war.

Huge beams of incandescent energy leaped from the nose of the vessel, plowing up the earth along and through the human troops’ defensive lines. Smoke and fire burst into the air as the ground was burned. Whenever the beam touched a human soldier or vehicle, they were turned instantly into smoldering ashes under the tremendous destructive power being unleashed. For long minutes the deadly beams moved up and down the human lines, until the defensive firing lessened and then stopped.

Mark felt intense anger at what he had just witnessed. He gripped his assault rifle tightly in his hands, wanting to rush forward and fire it at the Trellixians. However, he knew to do so would be suicide and against his orders. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to lie still and continued to observe the battle. He greatly feared it was nearing its end. He desperately looked for any signs that the embattled soldiers could regroup, but there were none.

The enemy spacecraft continued to move forward, now focusing its powerful energy beams on the mountain and the underground base it sheltered. However, the base was buried deep beneath several thousand meters of bedrock and protected by reinforced steel beams with thick concrete walls. It was fortified with all the defensive and offensive weapons the human race had been able to throw together in the short time since the Trellixians had invaded Earth and embarked on their genocidal war. The base was protected by a rudimentary energy shield cobbled together by some of Earth’s greatest remaining scientists, who had taken shelter in the base.

The shield strained as the Trellixian beams tried to penetrate to the base below. Great streams of energy seemed to be erupting from the mountain, and the shield persevered. Mark held his breath. The Trellixians seemed to have been stopped for the first time. Their energy beams ceased firing, and for several long minutes silence came over the battlefield.

Mark refocused his enhanced-vision optics on the ground immediately in front of the base. The Trellixian hover tanks and their armored troops were pouring through the smashed human lines. Little to no resistance was encountered, as most of the defenders were dead. Mark tried not to think of the thousands of human soldiers who had lost their lives in this battle.

As the Trellixian hover tanks came within range of the base, heavy energy weapons hidden among the rocks opened up, tearing through the tanks’ shields like a knife through butter. These weapons operated off the base’s fusion power plant, and their energy output was nearly off the scale. Unfortunately they burned out after firing one shot, as they could not handle the torrents of energy passing through the barrels. The Trellixian hover tanks couldn’t stand up to such energy. Tank after tank fell to the ground, split open by the powerful energy beams. Loud explosions reverberated across the valley, and smoke filled the air. The few surviving troops cheered loudly, seeing the nearly indestructible tanks stopped and feeling a brief rise of hope.

Mark could barely hear the distant cheering and looked up to see what the Trellixian battlecruiser was doing. It still hovered above in a threatening manner, still under fire from the base’s weapons.

-

On the Trellixian battlecruiser, its captain saw the ground assault on the humans’ last redoubt had failed as well. He was taller than an average human with dark green skin, due to his Saurian ancestry. The captain had a large head with sharp tearing teeth and eyes twice the size of a human’s. He gazed in anger at the ship’s main viewscreen, which showed the surface below. The humans were proving to be a more formidable opponent than originally expected. The Trellixian High Command had felt it would take less than four weeks to subdue the planet; they were now into their twelfth week of heavy fighting, and losses had been eight times higher than projected. Nodding to his communications officer, he ordered all ground troops to pull back, as the battlecruiser slowly edged higher into the air. Its heavy energy shield glowed brightly as human energy weapons and missiles impacted the shield, trying to crack it open to bring to Earth the mighty ship of space.

High Command was also alarmed by how rapidly the humans had been able to come up with their own energy weapons. Cascading waves of energy from the human weapons bit and clawed at the powerful Trellixian shield. This world was needed for living space for the Trellixian race, and the fighting had delayed the first of hundreds of colonization transports.

“Shield is holding at eighty-two percent,” reported the tactical officer. “Our energy weapons are incapable of penetrating the shield the humans have placed around the mountain.”

“I would suggest we deploy a Malken missile,” suggested the ship’s second officer. “Our sensors are indicating the humans’ base is deep beneath the mountain.”

“A Malken missile will penetrate deeply enough,” confirmed the tactical officer.

The captain nodded. The Malken missile was the most powerful and deadly weapon in their arsenal. Not even the humans’ energy shield would be able to resist the deadly antimatter missile. They were also very difficult to produce, so each battlecruiser was only equipped with one. Its use had to be authorized by the council.

The captain turned toward the communications officer. “Send a request to the High Council, requesting authorization to deploy a Malken missile. Inform them it’s the only viable option for destroying the human military base. Once this base is annihilated, the planet will be ours, and the colonization transports can be sent.” The ship possessed an FTL transmitter, and it wouldn’t take long to get a response.

-

On the ground, several minutes passed as Mark watched the ship continue to gain altitude. At last it came to a stop, high above the base, just out of range of the human weapons which had been impacting its energy shield. With foreboding, Mark saw a single small black dot fall away from the belly of the ship. “Everyone take cover!” Mark yelled over his comm. With apprehension, Mark flung himself behind the small hill as brilliant light and overpowering noise crashed down upon him, driving him into unconsciousness.

Sometime later Mark awoke, realizing he had been out for quite some time. After staggering back to the top of the hill, he stood, looking with shock and despair at what had once been the strongest base the human race had constructed to stop the Trellixians. A jagged, smoking hole lay where the mountain had been. Trees had been knocked over, and a number of fires raged in the forest. The sky was obscured by dark smoke, and a lot of ash floated in the air. The base was gone!

Trellixian hover tanks moved about the smoking ruins, searching for human survivors. Troops in dark battle armor also combed the rocks and defiles, looking for scattered human defenders who might have survived. From the lack of firing, Mark guessed none or very few were being found. Over sixty thousand troops had begun the defense of the valley, with another twenty thousand soldiers, technicians, scientists, and politicians taking shelter inside the base. With growing despair, Mark knew it was over. The base was gone; everything was destroyed! Earth’s last hope was a jagged, smoking hole in the ground.

With anguish Mark slid back behind the cover of the hill, his head down, eyes clenched shut. It was over; the human race had lost! Mark doubted whether any humans would survive more than a year upon the surface if the Trellixian genocidal campaign continued with the civilian population. Already all the major cities had been destroyed. Dams, power stations, nearly all the infrastructure built up over hundreds of years had been ruthlessly annihilated.

Mark stood, realizing he needed to get to his squad’s rendezvous coordinates. He was hesitant to use his comm, as it might alert the Trellixians to his presence. The rendezvous point was only a few kilometers away in thick, concealing forest near another mountain. He hoped the others in his squad had survived the blast.

Forcing himself to walk, Mark retraced his steps, taking a roundabout course into the surrounding mountains toward his destination. He carried a small pack, an assault rifle, and a pistol, as well as several flash grenades. He almost wished a Trellixian would step out in front of him, so he could vent his rage after witnessing the recent disaster. Mark’s immediate commander had believed the base would be able to stand up to the Trellixian attack.

The missile the aliens had used at the end had penetrated the base’s fusion energy shield as if it didn’t even exist. The human scientists hadn’t expected anything like this. That final weapon was unbelievable, and Mark wondered why the Trellixians hadn’t used it earlier in the battle. What good his report would do now, he had no idea. The humans had nothing left to fight back with; his information would be of little value to the few surviving troops and scientists his commander had indicated were being held in reserve.

-

Mark carefully approached the rendezvous coordinates. In the last several hours, he’d encountered no one. He’d heard a Trellixian attack craft fly over once, but it had continued on to some unknown destination. Keeping under the canopy formed by the thick growth of trees, he hoped he would remain undetected.

Nearby he could hear the sound of running water. The rendezvous coordinates were just to the west side of the stream next to a clearing. There a rocky overhang shielded a small cave, if one could call it that, which they hoped would prevent detection from above. Grasping his rifle and holding it at the ready, he slowly moved through the trees, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of danger. The snapping of a small tree branch alerted him to the presence of someone behind him, and, spinning around, he brought his rifle to his shoulder, ready to fire.

“Don’t shoot, sir,” a shaken private said, holding up his hands. “We were beginning to fear you weren’t going to show up.”

“Private Donly,” Mark said, recognizing the young soldier. “How many others made it?” Donly had been with Captain Reynolds.

“The captain, Private Richards, and Corporal Sampson so far,” Donly answered. “They’re waiting at the overhang.”

“Let’s go then,” Mark ordered. He glanced down at his watch, noting how much time had passed and realizing no one else would probably make the rendezvous.

They quickly crossed the stream and made their way to the overhang and the small cave extending about five meters into the mountain.

“Major,” Captain Reynolds said, standing up, her eyes showing relief at seeing him. “We were afraid that last weapon the Trellixians used had taken you out.”

He looked around at the small group. All looked disheveled, with their uniforms covered in soot from the blast. “What was that damn thing they dropped at the end?” He looked at Reynolds, waiting for an answer.

“I think it was antimatter,” replied Reynolds, shaking her head. “It’s highly unstable, and I’m surprised they even used something like that. It’s far beyond anything we’re capable of.”

“What about Sergeant Anderson and the two soldiers with him? Any idea of their whereabouts?”

“The sergeant was to the right of our position and closer to the blast,” Reynolds said in a lower voice. “I don’t think they made it.”

Mark let out a deep breath. So many people had died today. “We’ll wait here another two hours. If they don’t show up, we’ll move out.”

Mark sat down on a large rock and gazed out at the small stream and forest. His mind was nearly numb from what he’d witnessed. It had been like this for the last twelve weeks. City after city had been destroyed, Trellixian troops spreading out and eliminating any survivors, the human militaries making desperate stands to slow down the deadly advance, trying to give the civilians time to flee, only to be wiped out by superior firepower. Mark had lost everyone dear to him. His parents had died when the aliens hit Houston, and his sister had perished at a hospital in Dallas. She’d been a nurse, working at one of the few surviving medical centers before it had been overrun by Trellixian troops. He just prayed his sister’s death had been quick.

“What’s going to happen now?” asked Reynolds, as she came over and sat down next to the major.

“I don’t know,” Mark replied with a sigh. “There’s not many of us left. Do you know if any of your family survived?”

“I don’t think so,” answered Reynolds, shaking her head. Her eyes looked sad and her face pale. Her brunette hair was just barely visible beneath her combat helmet. “My family lived in Portland, and it was one of the first cities hit.”

“The Trellixians were supposed to be the solution to so many of our problems,” Mark said, recalling what the aliens had promised when the first ship appeared over Washington, DC. “Cures for many of our diseases, better power systems, new methods to grow food to stop hunger and more.”

“All lies,” Lisa said, biting her upper lip. “During the entire time they spoke to the world governments, they were just preparing to exterminate us. I remember speaking to my dad at the very beginning, and he was so excited about the possibility of having unlimited energy. For several years the Portland area had been subjected to rolling blackouts. He was talking about adding an addition to the house, so if grandkids ever visited, they’d have their own rooms.”

“Grandkids,” repeated Mark. “Did you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No,” Lisa replied, her face flushing slightly. “My parents were hoping that, as soon as I got out of the military, I would settle down and have a family.”

“Did you have anyone special in your life?”

Lisa closed her eyes and then slowly opened them. “Yes, Streth and I had dated since high school. I guess the two of us always assumed we would eventually get married. I was going to finish my tour in the military and then join him. He had a real-estate business and was doing quite well with it. He was in Portland when the Trellixians bombed it.”

“I’m sorry,” Mark said.

The two became quiet, lost in their own thoughts. In the forest, the sounds of insects and an occasional birdcall could be heard.

-

Two hours later Mark stood up and looked around. It was evident Sergeant Anderson and the two soldiers with him weren’t going to make it.

“Let’s move out,” Mark ordered. He picked up a small pack and slung it over his shoulders. They had left a few supplies in the cave before setting out to observe the battle, and he made sure everyone had what they needed to take with them.

-

As evening neared, they’d put quite a few kilometers between them and the destroyed base. The sun was close to setting when they heard an alien craft fly overhead and saw it land directly in front of them.

“They must have detected us,” Lisa said worriedly, as she stared in the direction the Trellixian aircraft had descended. The tall trees made it difficult to determine how close to them it had come down.

“How?” Mark was concerned. They were traveling through a small valley with towering mountains around them and no way to go around the enemy.

“Heat sensors probably,” Lisa replied. She looked over at Mark. “They may be searching for survivors from the battle.”

“What do we do?” asked Corporal Sampson, who was holding his assault rifle cradled in his arms. “Do we need to retrace our steps?”

“No,” Mark replied as he thought over their options. “We can’t go back.” Even as he spoke, he heard the Trellixian aircraft again and saw it rise in the air and vanish to the south.

“They left,” Corporal Sampson said, with relief in his voice.

“I doubt that,” Mark replied, peering into the thick forest around them. “They probably set down a squad of their soldiers to take us out and went in search of more survivors.”

“Do we fight?”

“Yes,” Mark answered. He turned to Private Donly, who was carrying two backpacks. “How many M24 Claymore mines do you have?”

“Four,” Donly answered. “They can be remotely detonated.”

The Claymore was an antipersonnel weapon specifically designed to take out enemy troops. It was directional and could be detonated from a distance. Each mine would fire four hundred steel bearings capable of penetrating body armor when triggered. Mark was certain that if he could detonate one within ten meters of the Trellixians, the projectiles would penetrate their body armor, killing them.

“This trail we’ve been following is pretty narrow,” Mark said, looking ahead of them and seeing a lot of tall trees and overgrowth, which made much of the forest impassable. “I want a killing zone set up in front of us.” He hurriedly showed Donly where he wanted the mines placed.

While Donly set the mines, the other four humans moved back a short distance and took cover behind some large boulders and a fallen tree lying partially across the trail. When Donly finished, he jogged back to Mark and handed him the detonator. Four glowing lights were visible, each designating one of the Claymores.

“Now we wait,” he told the others.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Lisa said, looking at the lengthening shadows being cast by the mountains. Already it was difficult to see far into the forest. “It’ll be hard to spot the Trellixians until they’re almost upon us.”

The time seemed to pass by slowly as the five waited with their eyes focused on the trail and their ears listening for any noises that might indicate the approach of the enemy soldiers.

“It’s too quiet,” whispered Corporal Sampson from his position a meter to Mark’s right. “We should have seen or heard something by now.” He shifted his rifle, gazing through the night scope.

Even with the night scopes, Mark knew his team could only see about fifty meters into the forest in front of them.

“Quiet,” Mark ordered, as he thought he saw movement in the undergrowth. If he was right, the enemy wasn’t using the trail but forcing their way through the thick tangle of vines and underbrush that covered the forest floor.

“I got ’em,” said Private Donly, peering intently at a spot in the forest. “About forty meters out and to the right of the trail.”

“Crap,” muttered Corporal Sampson, clicking the safety off his assault rifle. “They’re too far away for the Claymores.”

“Let’s force them back on the trail,” said Mark, as he reached down and unhooked two flash grenades from his belt. The flash grenades would emit a brilliant light, as well as searing heat, where they went off.

Everyone got their weapons ready, knowing that shortly they would be in a fight for their lives. The Trellixians were known not to take prisoners. Corporal Sampson also readied two flash grenades, keeping an eye on Mark, so he would know when to toss them.

“Now,” Mark said, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the enemy’s attention. Standing in a low crouch, he lobbed first one grenade and then the second in the enemy’s direction. Corporal Sampson did the same.

Moments later four loud explosions echoed across the small valley, as four brilliant flashes of light and searing heat were released on the valley floor. A lot of movement could be heard in the underbrush, and then two Trellixians stumbled out into the trail, their energy rifles held at the ready, searching for a target. Both were clad in full battle armor with a helmet and protective visor.

Mark instantly pressed a switch on his remote detonator, and one of the Claymores exploded just seven meters from the alien soldiers. Hundreds of steel bearings struck the two, penetrating their armor, knocking both backward and to the ground. “Fire!” Mark ordered, as other armored Trellixians emerged from the undergrowth.

All five humans fired their assault rifles, spraying the enemy with hundreds of rounds of armor-piercing ammunition. Private Donly paused for a moment to lob two more flash grenades toward the enemy, causing one alien to stagger and go down.

Mark stopped firing and pressed another switch on the detonator, firing off another Claymore. The four had been set to form a 180-degree kill zone, and another one of the Trellixians had stepped too close. The alien was nearly cut in two by the explosion.

A sudden scream drew Mark’s attention. He saw Corporal Sampson stagger and fall to the ground with a look of shock on his face, a red stain spreading across his chest. “Keep firing!” Mark shouted. He took a deep breath and shot a quick burst at the nearest enemy.

“Our rounds aren’t causing enough damage,” grated out Captain Reynolds as she fired a dozen rounds into the chest of a Trellixian. The shots only dented the armor.

Suddenly brilliant flashes of light went off around the five remaining enemy soldiers. Mark’s eyes closed involuntarily, and he could feel the searing heat from the blasts. Flash grenades, he realized. Someone had thrown flash grenades at the remaining enemy troops. Where had they come from?

Stepping out from the undergrowth, Sergeant Anderson and two other soldiers fired their weapons at the stunned Trellixians, the only difference being that the sergeant had a weapon that fired small explosive rounds. It was his weapon of choice, and he always carried it. The only problem was for it to be effective, he had to be at almost point-blank range. He was carefully putting a round into the chest of each of the remaining enemy soldiers, who were still dazed from the flash grenades. In just a few seconds, the battle was over as he blew a smoking hole the size of a person’s fist in the chest of the last Trellixian.

Anderson handed his weapon to one of the other soldiers in exchange for a shotgun. He then stepped over to the downed Trellixians and fired a single slug into their visors. “Damn lizards!” he shouted, as he turned toward Mark.

“We thought you three were dead,” Mark said, stepping out from behind the boulder he’d been firing from, immensely pleased to see the sergeant. “You didn’t show up at the rendezvous coordinates.”

“We got cut off by some Trellixian ground troops and had to take the long way around,” Anderson replied. He was a twenty-year veteran and knew how to stay alive. He looked over where Corporal Sampson’s body lay, shaking his head. “The corporal was a good soldier. I hate that we lost him.”

“We better get out of here,” Lisa said as she walked up to gaze at the dead enemy. She took a few photographs and then turned toward Mark. “The aircraft that dropped this squad could return at any moment.”

“She’s right,” Mark said to the others. “Private Donly, disarm those other two Claymores. We may need them later.”

“It’s been a tough day,” said Sergeant Anderson as one of the privates who had come with him covered Corporal Sampson’s body. “A lot of good men and women died today.”

“We need to get the information we gathered back to the alternate command post,” Mark said.

“I don’t see what good it’ll do,” Anderson replied with a grimace. “We don’t have anything left to fight with now that the base has been destroyed.”

Mark nodded. Sergeant Anderson was right. There were probably a few scattered military units still fighting across the world, plus millions of unarmed civilians who had taken to the countryside and the mountains after the first attacks. The Trellixians would be hunting them down and eliminating the humans wherever they were found. Any type of organized resistance was just about over. The enemy had won, and Earth was theirs.

-

It took another two days for them to reach their destination. They’d been careful to stay off the main trails and roads and had even taken the precaution of immersing themselves in streams when they heard the approach of alien aircraft, to prevent detection from thermal scans. The sun had already set, and they were using their night-vision optics to travel when Mark called a halt.

“We’re nearly there,” Mark said, as he paused to allow them to catch their breaths. The others had never been to this location before, as his immediate commanding officer had brought only him to this secretive site. He suspected there might be a small research facility hidden deep beneath the mountains somewhere.

“Any idea what might be waiting for us?” asked Sergeant Anderson.

“No,” Mark replied. “I’ve only been here once before, and that was with Colonel Branson.”

“What about you, Captain?” asked Anderson, looking over at the military analyst.

“I’m not certain,” Lisa replied with a frown. “I’ve heard rumors, but they sounded so fantastic I didn’t believe them.”

“What type of rumors?”

“I don’t really want to say,” Lisa replied, looking over at the sergeant. “We’ll know what’s going on when we get there.”

“Captain Reynolds is right,” Mark said. He was beginning to think Captain Reynolds was more than just a military analyst. He wondered just how much she wasn’t telling them.

After a brief rest they resumed walking again, only this time they were ascending the steep slope of a low mountain. For several hours they struggled upward, avoiding loose boulders and areas where rockslides had occurred in the past. Reaching a huge rock that stood at the base of a high cliff, Mark stepped around it and squirmed into a small cave. The others followed closely behind.

“We need to stack those rocks up to conceal the entrance,” he told the others, pointing to a loose pile of nearby stones.

“Let’s get to it,” ordered Sergeant Anderson, as he bent down and picked up a large one, carrying it to the small entrance. The others quickly followed suit, and it wasn’t long until the passageway was blocked. To anyone passing by, it wouldn’t be obvious the stones were concealing the entrance to the small cave.

Stepping back, Mark pointed a light at their handiwork, satisfied that no one would find this place. Indicating for the others to follow him, he proceeded down the narrow cave for a number of meters, shining his flashlight before him, until the tunnel opened up into a small cavern roughly twenty meters across and six or seven high. Walking over to one wall, he searched carefully for a hidden recess in the stone and then, inserting his hand, he pressed a tiny concealed button. Instantly a section of the wall slid open, revealing a tunnel with a small, monorail-like car.

“What the hell?” muttered Sergeant Anderson.

“We’re supposed to take this vehicle to our destination,” Mark explained. He had no idea where it would bring them, but Colonel Branson had told Mark that it would take them to a place of safety. More than that the colonel had refused to say, only telling Mark the eventual destination was classified.

As they stepped into the waiting vehicle, the wall behind them slid shut, hiding the small cavern from view. Mark activated the controls as the colonel had shown him and then leaned back in one of the comfortable padded seats. Almost instantly the car moved and rapidly accelerated.

“Someone spent a lot of time and money to build this,” commented Sergeant Anderson, as he watched the walls of the tunnel flash by.

“I wonder what’s waiting for us when this car stops?” said Private Donly.

“We’ll know when we get there,” replied Captain Reynolds, leaning back in her seat with her assault rifle across her lap.

For nearly twenty minutes, the air-conditioned car slid forward and down, going deep beneath Earth’s surface. Mark had no idea where the car was taking them. His orders had been to observe the battle with his squad and to make sure Captain Reynolds survived. He was then to return to this car and activate it. He’d originally thought the car might be connected to the large base he had seen so recently destroyed, but now he was convinced it led elsewhere.

“This wasn’t easy to build,” commented Private Donly. “This has to lead to something more than just a small research facility.”

Sergeant Anderson looked over at Captain Reynolds. She had said very little since they’d entered the vehicle. “Still no idea what’s going on, Captain?”

“Possibly,” she admitted, glancing over at the sergeant. “If my suspicions are correct, we’re all due for a major surprise shortly.”

“You’re not just a military analyst, are you?” asked Mark as he looked over at the captain.

“No,” she admitted, looking briefly down at the floor and then back up at Mark. “It was important that I see one of the Trellixian battlecruisers up close and take readings with some special equipment I brought along. If we hope to survive, what we learned from observing that battle might be crucial.”

Mark nodded. He was right about something more going on. Now he just wanted to find out what it was.

At last the car slowed. Mark sat up straighter, curious to see their destination. The car came to a stop in front of a small platform, and a section of rock wall slid open. With surprise, Mark saw his immediate superior, Colonel Branson, standing there with several other men, as well as a squad of heavily armed marines.

Mark climbed from the car, followed by the others—all with confusion on their faces except for Captain Reynolds. They stopped and gave a quick salute in front of the colonel. Maybe now they would hear some explanations.

“At ease, Major Dolan,” Colonel Branson commanded. “Welcome to your new home!”

“Lisa, we’re glad you made it,” said one of the other men with the colonel. “We were very worried about your safety.”

“I was in good hands, Professor Wilkins,” Lisa responded, surprised to see her old friend and mentor. “Major Dolan carried out his assignment very professionally.”

Mark turned to gaze at Captain Reynolds questioningly.

“I guess I owe you an explanation,” Lisa said, her eyes focusing on Mark. “I’m not only a captain in the reserves. I’m actually a nuclear physicist with a number of advanced degrees in space sciences. Professor Wilkins and I have worked together on many projects over the years, though I’m not quite certain what’s going on now. I haven’t seen him in months.”

“I think you’ll find this very interesting,” Professor Wilkins said with a mysterious smile. “Why don’t you come with me while the colonel debriefs the others? We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

-

Hours later Captain Dolan sat in front of Colonel Branson, preparing to undergo his debriefing. The others were being questioned by another officer. Mark had been shown to a small set of comfortable quarters and allowed to clean up and rest before eating a decent meal and being brought in front of the colonel.

“I suppose you have a lot of questions,” began Branson, giving Mark a measuring look.

“Some,” answered Mark, shifting his weight in the well-padded chair he was seated in. “Where am I, and what exactly is going on? Why was it so important to observe that battle? It was gruesome, and we lost a lot of good people at that base. Our forces never stood a chance once that battlecruiser showed up.”

Branson nodded and looked over at Mark from across his desk. “Those are the very questions I would start with, if I were in your place. First off, you’re in a highly secret complex deep beneath the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Special shielding and the tremendous depth of this installation should protect us from Trellixian detection. One very large civilian complex and two smaller military complexes are all connected by deep underground tunnels.”

“How did this get built?” Mark interrupted. He’d thought, after everything he had witnessed above over the last three months, that the human race was all but finished. The big military complex he’d watched being destroyed only a couple days earlier was the last one he knew of that contained any type of advanced military technology.

Colonel Branson took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “Back in early July 1947, a UFO crashed on a ranch northwest of Roswell, New Mexico.”

“Roswell!” Mark said, feeling even more confused. “I thought that was just a weather balloon.”

“That’s what everyone was told,” Branson responded. “In reality it was a small interstellar spacecraft from a star system the Trellixians had only recently attacked. The ship was never designed for trips of more than a few light-years, and its systems were taxed to the limit just to make it to Earth. Their life support was failing, and the ship was experiencing numerous mechanical problems when it tried to land. Unfortunately for the crew, it crashed, killing all but two.”

“Two survived?” Mark could scarcely believe what he was hearing.

“Yes, two did. One died within a week of the crash, and the other lived at Area 51 for twenty-two years.”

“We had a real live alien for all that time, and no one knew about it?” Mark remained dumbfounded.

“We kept it a secret, after we learned what happened to their home world. Can you imagine the panic such a revelation would have caused?”

“What did we do?”

“We started to prepare,” Colonel Branson replied. “We formed a secret military alliance with a number of key countries across the globe, to do everything we could to prepare Earth for the coming of the Trellixians. Unfortunately our science was so far behind that we couldn’t do much initially. With the help of the alien survivor, we were able to reverse engineer some of their systems, particularly their computers.”

“That explains the rapid advancement of our computer technology in the late twentieth century,” Mark said in sudden realization.

“Yes, that and several other areas as well,” Branson added.

Getting up, Colonel Branson walked across the small office, putting his hands behind his back before turning around to face Mark once again. “We knew we didn’t have time to adequately prepare Earth to mount an effective defense to hold back the coming Trellixian invasion. The science and technology just weren’t there. We did manage to improve some weapon systems and build the big base up above that the Trellixians smashed so thoroughly, but we didn’t put all our eggs in just one basket.”

Mark leaned forward, his curiosity piqued.

“The civilian complex here is truly amazing. It’s a cylinder nearly fourteen kilometers long and three wide with a ceiling nearly a kilometer above. It’s located beneath a chain of rugged mountains and lies nearly seven kilometers beneath the ground. It was built with technology we gleaned from the crashed Roswell ship. We used massive heat beams to vaporize the rocks and create the chambers we needed to build our facilities in. Also a series of labs, living quarters, and recreation areas were set in the walls of the complex, providing us the maximum amount of living space. The huge open spaces of the complex were determined to be needed, in case we had to spend much time underground. Some of the world’s best scientists and technicians have been gathered into this complex, as has a select group of other civilians. We have nearly two hundred and eighty thousand nonmilitary personnel in the civilian complex.”

Mark leaned back in his chair, surprised and amazed at what Colonel Branson was describing. The work done was breathtaking and that so many people had been safeguarded here was unbelievable. He could hardly wait to see this habitat, this underground world. For the first time in a number of days, he began to feel hope.

“There are also two smaller military complexes. We plan to continue harassing operations against the Trellixians from the two bases. We’ve built a number of deep underground subway tunnels, shielded from Trellixian detection, to allow us to move about large parts of the country virtually undetected. We’ll be supplying new weapons we’ve developed to surviving civilian populations on the surface. When the Trellixians attacked, we were nearly ready to put a new rifle into production—the scientists call it a pulse rifle. It fires a thin stream of energy which will cut through a solid sheet of steel like it’s butter. We have an assembly line set up in the civilian complex, and the first one thousand pulse rifles should be ready within four weeks.”

“Sounds like something our troops could have used,” Mark replied bitterly, remembering how they had been unable to penetrate the suits of armor the Trellixian ground troops wore with their conventional weapons.

“If we’d been given more time…” replied Branson, nodding his head in agreement. “The two military complexes are located short distances from the civilian complex. Each contains six thousand highly trained troops plus support personnel. The troops will be used for quick surgical strikes against the Trellixians, once our forces are equipped and trained with the new weapons.”

“What are our chances against the Trellixians?” Mark asked. They would still be facing almost insurmountable odds.

“If we can arm the civilian population and disperse it as much as possible, we can wage a guerrilla war against the Trellixians for years. Some of our troops will be assigned to training civilian militias. With the resources of our three complexes, we can make our world untenable for them. Our scientists are the best the world has to offer and are working intently on finding something we can use against our enemy. Given time, we may find what we need, but our job will be to disrupt the enemy as much as possible and to ensure that as large a section of the civilian population survives as possible.”

Mark was silent for a long moment. “That may be all well and good, sir, but the Trellixians have their battlecruisers, and as long as those are in orbit around Earth, I don’t see what we can do. They also have that new weapon they used, and I’m not sure even these complexes you have been telling me about would be safe from it. Captain Reynolds thought it might be an antimatter weapon.”

“Come over here, Major,” ordered Colonel Branson.

Mark did as ordered, wondering what the colonel wanted.

“I’m about to show you our biggest secret, something we’ve been working on for years.” Colonel Branson then turned and pressed a button on the wall. Instantly part of the wall slid open, revealing a large window. “Look.”

Mark stepped forward and glanced out the window. He stood frozen scarcely believing what he was seeing. “Are those what I think they are?”

“Yes,” replied Branson, looking down at the busy scene below.

He and the colonel were high up, overlooking a large cavern. It held a huge construction facility with five large objects lying in their berths. Each was a massive cylinder with a curved bow and flared stern.

“Those are spaceships, one thousand meters in length and two hundred meters in diameter,” Branson informed Mark with a large smile on his face.

Mark was speechless as he gazed at the huge constructions. It was obvious they still had a ways to go before they were finished. Several of the vessels had armor missing on their hulls, and each was covered in a spiderweb lattice of scaffolding. Construction workers swarmed over the vessels, and the bright arcs of welders flashed everywhere.

“How?” he finally managed to blurt out.

“As I told you earlier, we reverse engineered many of the systems from the ship in the Roswell crash and had the help of the one survivor, Catelli, the ship’s engineer.”

“How soon before they’re done?” Mark still felt stunned at what he was seeing. It was hard to believe that, very shortly, the human race might have its own interstellar spaceships.

“Two more years,” Branson replied. “We’d hoped to have them finished before the Trellixians showed up, but that didn’t happen.”

“What’s to become of me, sir?” Mark asked. “What’s my next assignment?”

“I’m going to assign you to one of those ships,” Branson answered with a slight smile. “I want you to learn how they function from bow to stern, and, in two years, you’ll be helping to drive the Trellixians from our world.”

“What if we can’t?”

Branson was quiet for a moment, as he gazed out at the ships. “We leave,” he replied in a steadfast voice. “We load the ships with our most able and brightest people and send them out into the galaxy to find a new world to start over on. Perhaps someday they can return to Earth and set it free.”

Mark felt his heart quicken at the thought of searching the galaxy for a new world. It would be a great experience finding one and starting human civilization on a virgin planet. It would also be sad, as it would signify the loss of humanity’s home world, perhaps forever.

Mark’s eyes returned to the ships in the construction facility. He was amazed at what had been accomplished here. When the big military base had been destroyed, he’d thought Earth was finished and that the human race would fade away to extinction. Now they had hope and the possibility of a future. Someday the humans would rise from the ashes, and the Trellixians would learn what they had awakened by attacking Earth.

Other Books by Raymond L. Weil

Available on Amazon

Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars Book 1)

The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact (The Slaver Wars Book 2)

Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars Book 3)

The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book 4)

The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book 5)

The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (The Slaver Wars Book 6)

The Slaver Wars: Endgame (The Slaver Wars Book 7)

The Slaver Wars: Books 1-3

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Dragon Dreams

Dragon Dreams: Dragon Wars

Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening

Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon

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Star One: Tycho City: Survival

Star One: Neutron Star

Star One: Dark Star

Star One

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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (Book 1)

Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Book 2)

Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (Book 3)

Galactic Empire Wars: The Alliance (Book 4)

Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (Book 5)

Galactic Empire Wars: The Beginning (Books 1-3)

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The Lost Fleet: Galactic Search (Book 1)

The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness (Book 2)

The Lost Fleet: Oblivion’s Light (Book 3)

The Lost Fleet: Genesis (Book 4)

The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators (Book 5)

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The Star Cross (Book 1)

The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (Book 2)

The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril (Book 3)

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The Originator War: Universe in Danger

(All dates are tentative)

The Star Cross: The Forever War (Book 4) May 2017

The Originator Wars: Search for the Lost (Book 2) July 2017