The Forgotten Empire:

The Path to Victory

A Forgotten Empire Novel

(The Forgotten Empire: The Path to Victory, Book 7)

By

Raymond L. Weil

USA Today Best Selling Author

And

Julie Weil Thomas

Books in the Forgotten Empire Series

The Forgotten Empire: Banishment (Book 1)

The Forgotten Empire: Earth Ascendant (Book 2)

The Forgotten Empire: The Battle for Earth (Book 3)

The Forgotten Empire: The War for the Empire (Book 4)

The Forgotten Empire: The Confederation and The Empire at War (Book 5)

The Forgotten Empire: War in the Confederation (Book 6)

The Forgotten Empire: The Path to Victory (Book 7)

The Forgotten Empire: The Fall of the Confederation (Book 8)

Website: http://raymondlweil.com/

Copyright © June 2022 by Raymond L. Weil Publications

All Rights Reserved

Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author.

Dedication

To my dad. As I continue to write more stories in the worlds you created, it makes me feel closer to you. It brings us together even though you are no longer here. I cherish the times we spent together. I also cherish the time I spend writing your stories, as I feel you are there next to me. I wish we could talk about it, but most of the time I know what you’d say anyway. I miss you and I love you.

The Forgotten Empire: The Path to Victory: Book 7

Chapter One

Deep in the Confederation, the Morag High Council was in an emergency session on Morag Prime. Admiral Voxx was there to make his report on the attack they had recently returned from in the Human Empire. Did the fleet destroy a significant number of enemy warships in your attack? asked Lead Councilor Addonis.

Yes, we estimate that we eliminated approximately five hundred Human warships defending their planets. Also we destroyed two of their shipyards, which will slow down their ability to repair and to replace those we damaged or destroyed. We successfully destroyed two of their planets, and, while on the third planet, we caused major damage, replied Voxx.

Why were you unable to destroy the third planet? asked Addonis.

The Humans had identified my ship and had already destroyed my energy shield with their particle beam cannons on their space station. I moved my ship to the safety of the rear of the fleet, but the Humans followed me with several of their dreadnoughts. I was forced to exit into hyperspace to save my ship and my crew. However, the fleet stayed in the system, and I continued orchestrating the battle telepathically. At this time, our numbers were dwindling quickly.

The Druins and the small number of Zynth ships had moved to the far side of the planet to make a hole through the defensive grid to bombard the surface. Our fleet stayed to keep the Human warships occupied and to destroy as many as possible. Half of the Human ships moved to the opposite side of the planet to take on the Druins and Zynth. The Druins and Zynth were able to get through to the planet but were losing many ships.

Once they began their surface bombardment, the Human small attack craft began intercepting most of their missiles. Shortly after that, the Druins and the Zynth entered hyperspace. Druin Admiral Falorr’s ship had been heavily damaged in the previous system and had taken a direct hit with the Humans’ accelerator cannon, before they entered hyperspace. His ship survived, but the energy shield had been destroyed. Once the Druins and Zynth exited the star system, I deemed it wise for our fleet to leave as well. Without the others to divide the Human fleet, we would not have lasted much longer.

Councilor Brant nodded. Seems like a wise decision. What about Zynth Admiral Donlur? How did he react to the news his race was pulling out of the war?

I got the impression from him that he felt they had been backed into a corner and that that was the only plausible option. If I understood the undertones correctly, the Zynth will take this time to rebuild their fleets, without fear of the Humans intervening in their plans. Once they have a sizable fleet, nothing will hinder them from reentering the war, replied Voxx.

Good, Councilor Hiram replied. Would you agree that the Humans are still an enemy of the Zynth? And we Morag have not taken the Humans place and become enemies of the Zynth? asked Councilor Hiram.

Yes. I would agree with that statement.

The Humans are growing too powerful, commented Brant. Something must be done and done soon. They still have a fleet attacking targets here in the Confederation. Now that the Zynth will no longer be targeted, we should assume the Humans will head here next. If not next, then soon.

Voxx added, While we were attacking Ranier Two, an Earth fleet showed up to aid the fleet stationed there.

That is an even bigger problem, noted Council Delann. With Earth being so far removed from the Confederation, they have nothing to fear, while the Humans keep us busy here. They will have ample time to build up their fleets and defenses. With their relative safe distance from us, the Earth Humans will send extra fleets of warships to the Empire Humans and here to the Confederation to keep us on the defense.

The Earth Humans are a problem, a big problem, stated Brant. I believe, if the Human Empire was not aligned with the Earth Humans, we could easily crush this uprising of the Empire.

What can we do to sever this alliance between the Empire and Earth? asked Delann.

I am not sure it can be done. If there is a chance, I know of a place to get those answers. The answers lie not far from here. I will make a trip to Falton Two immediately, said Addonis.

You are going to Falton Two? asked Hiram.

Yes. They are the only ones who may have the solution to our problem, replied Addonis.

It will likely come at a price though, said Delann.

Yes. If, however, it can sever the tie between the Empire and Earth, then it may well be worth it.

What shall we do in the meantime? asked Hiram. While you go on your pilgrimage to Falton Two? We are under threat of attack at any time now.

Keep our fleets protecting Morag Prime and the star systems with shipyards. Keep the patrols random, so as not to let the Human stealth ships pick up on any patterns. We will continue to assume they are watching us and our movements.

Are you concerned they may follow you to Falton Two? asked Brant.

I will take a small task group, large enough to protect my ship but not large enough to warrant too much curiosity as to our destination, responded Addonis.

I am hopeful that you will find the answers we seek and that it will not cost us too dearly.

As Addonis rose from his seat, the other councilors rose as well. I will return as quickly as I am able. Keep Morag Prime safe. With that, he exited the council chambers and began making his arrangements for his pilgrimage to Falton Two.

-

Professor Charles Wright had finally arrived at his destination of Golan Four. He looked forward to seeing his daughter, Kala. Charles was a little apprehensive about the news he had to share with the Imperial Council. He had been instructed he would have a couple hours before the meeting began. He intended to spend that time with his daughter.

Charles had been excited to hear the High Princess of the Empire would be having a baby after the start of the new year. He secretly hoped this would prompt Kala and Andrew into starting their family as well.

As his transport vessel landed near the Imperial Palace, Charles looked out the observation window and enjoyed the view. The palace was stunning. The grounds that surrounded the palace were a sight to behold. It rivaled anything he had ever seen in his long life.

While the plants and flowers were similar to the ones on Earth, they took on a more exotic feel here. The coloring seemed crisper, the flowers more unique. He reasoned it was more likely that they were new to him and just seemed more exotic and colorful. Nonetheless, they were an amazing sight.

When Charles stepped off the transport vessel, his daughter was there to greet him. She rushed into his arms. He breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be here with Kala. His days of traveling and hunting for adventure were over. He had solved his greatest mystery, at least as much as he could. Only one thing he had left to do, and that was to make his report to the Imperial Council.

“It’s so great to have you here,” Kala said, as she stepped back to take him in. “You look like you’ve lost weight.”

He chuckled. “Well, I was consumed in my research and barely took the time to eat. You know how I get so focused that I lose all track of time.”

“Yes, I know,” Kala replied, with a hint of concern in her voice. “Let’s get you inside and get you some food.”

“That sounds great,” Charles replied, as Kala took his arm and led him inside.

“Plus you must fill me in on what you found at the archives. Everyone is talking about it and speculating as to what it is,” she said, with wide eyes.

“Well, you will have to wait until after I have discussed my findings with the Imperial Council.” The look Kala gave him made him chuckle. “Don’t worry. I promise I will tell you as soon as I can.”

“So, you’re telling me that Andrew will hear the news before I do, from my own father?” she said, as she emphasized her last two words.

“He is on the council,” Charles said, with a smile.

Kala smiled at her dad and then said, “I guess I’ll hear about it soon enough. What’s one more day? I’ve already waited this long.”

When they arrived in the kitchen, Charles took in a deep breath. The aroma smelled so good. It was nice to be back on a Human planet again. He had had a chef on Bator Prime to cook for him while he researched, but the smell of the Lormallian’s food was always a little off-putting. The aroma here, however, made him feel right at home.

Charles enjoyed his favorite meal, which his daughter had the foresight to have the chef prepare especially for him. A steak cooked to perfection, just the way he liked it. Plus a fully loaded baked potato and corn on the cob. To top it all was his favorite dessert, a hot fudge sundae.

Yes, he could definitely retire here. Live out the rest of his years with his daughter and her family. First things first though, he needed to inform the Imperial Council of his findings.

-

High Princess Layla and her husband, Derrick, walked through the palace gardens, as they awaited the designated time to head to the Imperial Council meeting.

“I love it out in the gardens this time of year,” Layla commented, as they walked down a path beside a small stream.

“Is there a time of year that you don’t like it out here in the gardens?” Derrick asked playfully.

Layla gave him a stern look and said, “No. Now that I think on it, I love the gardens at all times of the year.”

Derrick smiled and said, “I don’t mind them myself. Especially when I am with you.”

“Good. I think we must plan a walk here every day.”

“As for today”—Derrick paused to check the time on his watch—“I believe it’s time we head over to see exactly what has Professor Charles all worked up.”

“Yes, I will be glad to have this mystery solved,” Layla replied. “Maybe we will gain another ally out of it.”

“We could use more of those and fewer enemies, while we’re at it.”

Derrick and Layla walked hand in hand back toward the Imperial Palace and then on to the House of Worlds and the Imperial Council Chambers.

-

Admiral Dylan Cleemorl and his wife, Cheryl, were enjoying their vacation on Lydol Four. Dylan had rented a small cabin in the mountains. Dylan and Cheryl currently sat on the cabin’s balcony, enjoying the crisp mountain air. The view was breathtaking. White snowcapped mountain peaks could be seen off in the distance, plus were reflected in the lake’s still waters just down the hill from their cabin.

“This is exactly what I needed,” Cheryl said to Dylan. “Thank you for surprising me with this trip.”

“I knew we needed to get away and to relax together, while we had a chance. Soon it will be time to prepare for the attack on Morag Prime,” Dylan said, as he watched a large bird swoop down and grab a fish out of the water with its talons. The Morag had no idea a large fleet would soon be headed to destroy their homeworld. So far, the Morag were the only race in this war that hadn’t lost a planet or an inhabited moon. That would soon change. Dylan smiled, as he pictured it.

“Will you take an Empire fleet there to aid in the attack?” Cheryl asked hesitantly.

“Someone will. I am not sure if it will be me or Derrick who takes a fleet. We could send Rear Admiral Fulmar or Manson. Honestly we haven’t discussed it yet.”

“Surely Derrick will not lead the fleet to attack Morag Prime. Not with Layla due to have the baby in a few months.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He is a lead-from-the-front sort of guy. Not the kind of guy to sit in the Command Center on Golan Four and watch the action take place far away.”

“Still, I doubt Layla would allow it. That would be too risky.”

“So, are you saying I should go instead? That it would be better if I died at Morag Prime instead of Derrick?” Dylan asked, a teasing grin on his face.

“No! Of course not. I would rather neither of you goes.”

“That would leave Fulmar or Manson. Fulmar did a great job in the Confederation last time, destroying the Lamothian planets. Although, if we sent one of them, instead of Derrick or myself, it would not send a good signal to our allies. It would seem we didn’t want to send our top military leaders, only our secondary ones. It could give the impression we don’t expect to win.”

Dylan stilled for a moment, as he considered it. He had a thoughtful look on his face. “No, it will have to be Derrick or me. Maybe before we head home, we will stop by Golan Four ourselves and talk it over with Layla, Derrick, and Marloo.”

“I would love to see Layla. I haven’t had the chance to see her in person since they announced their pregnancy. Maybe we could take them a baby gift,” Cheryl said, with a smile.

“I am sure Layla would love to see you. Plus I am very curious about what Professor Charles Wright discovered while on Bator Prime. He is set to meet with the Imperial Council today, I believe.”

“I think I am not quite ready to leave this quaint little cabin in the woods yet,” Cheryl said, a mischievous grin on her face.

Dylan raised his eyebrows at her. “I have no intention of going anywhere for a few more days.”

As the sun began to set behind the mountains in the distance, Dylan and Cheryl quietly sat, holding hands, and watched the last remnants of light fade into the night.

-

Prince Andrew was headed back from checking in at the research lab with the lead scientist Canaan Roy. The development of the new weapon, the atomic disrupter, was at a standstill. They had run into a problem, and, as of yet, had been unable to solve it. Andrew had really hoped it would be ready in time to use against the Morag in the Humans’ surprise attack of Morag Prime, but, with each passing day, it seemed less and less likely.

Now he needed to get back in time for the Imperial Council meeting. Kala had told him everything her father had told her, which was very little. Andrew wondered why Charles had been so secretive about his news. Whatever it was, it must be big. Andrew hoped it would be big in a good way and not in a bad way. They could use all the help they could get in this war, especially now that this new weapon was not making any progress.

Roy was confident they would work past the problem. It would just take time.

As Andrew made his way into the House of Worlds, he ran into his cousin, Princess Krista. “Hello, Krista. Are you ready for this big reveal?”

“Honestly I am a little apprehensive about it. It’s just as likely that it’s terrible news as good news.”

“All the secretiveness around it does make me lean more to the not-good-news side,” Andrew replied. “I guess we shall soon see. As soon as everyone has arrived in the Imperial Council Chambers, we will know the truth.”

“Let’s hope we’re the last ones then, so we don’t have to wait as long,” Krista said, with a laugh.

When they arrived at the chambers, however, only about half of the members were there. “Guess it will be a bit longer,” Andrew said in a joking tone.

“Looks like it,” Krista responded, forcing a smile.

-

Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four had just exited her transport vessel and was headed to the Imperial Council meeting. She looked forward to seeing Princess Krista and Major Barkley again on Golan Four. Their recent trip to her planet had not gone quite according to plan. She was hoping to get them to return soon to finish their visit.

Plans were already underway for their return visit. Littrel planned to formally invite them while she was on Golan Four. They were having a luncheon after the meeting, where she thought she would have the opportunity to make her invitation.

When Littrel made her way into the Imperial Council Chambers, she smiled as she scanned the room and saw Princess Krista already here. Krista returned her smile and walked over to her.

“Governor Littrel, it is great to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I hope you and Major Barkley will return to Jalot Four to finish your visit soon. We didn’t quite get to everything on our schedule,” Littrel said, with a smile.

“I am looking forward to returning to Jalot Four soon. I will talk with Layla and Admiral Marloo about when they think that trip can safely happen.”

“We are looking forward to it.”

“Mathew and I are as well.”

“Any idea what this big news is from the professor?” asked Littrel.

“Not a clue.”

“It looks like we are only waiting on a few more members, before we can get started.”

“Hopefully that will be soon. I am curious about what the professor has to say.”

“Me too.”

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo took one last look at the viewscreens in the front of the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds. He needed to get to the council meeting but had an uneasy feeling that he was missing something. All of the viewscreens showed everything as it should be.

Marloo took a deep breath and said to General Gantts, “Alert me immediately if anything suspicious shows up. Have any of the scout ships noticed anything amiss in the Confederation? Any disappearing ships?”

“I received a message from Lieutenant Henley on scout ship 125 that a small group of Morag warships left Morag Prime about an hour ago,” Gantts replied.

“How many is a small group?” Marloo asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

“Sixteen battlecruisers and four battleships. Plus two transport vessels. The scout ship decided not to follow them, since the main fleet remained above Morag Prime.”

“They made the right call. Henley needs to keep her eye on Morag Prime and the fleet stationed there. What about any of the other scout ships? Have any others reported any missing ships?”

“No, none have reported anything like that. No changes in fleet numbers or movements.”

“Good. I do wonder where that group of ships is headed. None of the other scout ships have reported seeing them appear in the systems they are monitoring?”

“No, not yet. I will inform you as soon as I have more information.”

“Please do. I am headed to the Imperial Council meeting. I will be back as quickly as I can.”

“Yes, sir,” Gantts replied, as Marloo left the room.

Making his way up the stairs to the council chambers, he still couldn’t shake his uneasiness. Marloo hoped it was nothing, but he had learned a long time ago that his gut was usually right. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

-

Chief Chancellor Stein was ready to call the meeting to order. They were now only waiting on two members to arrive. Fleet Admiral Marloo and Professor Charles Wright. Stein surveyed the room. Everyone was abuzz with excitement as to what Charles had to tell them.

Admiral Marloo entered and walked to the front of the room.

One down and one to go, Stein thought to himself. The guest of honor would be the last to arrive. Stein supposed that was on purpose. If the professor had arrived early, everyone would hound him about what news he had discovered. This way, as soon as Charles walked in, the meeting would begin. Stein smiled. He had always thought the professor was a bright man. Indeed, Stein had only known Charles a short amount of time, but, in that time, the professor had always had an air of competence surrounding him.

Hopefully the professor would not be too much longer. Stein felt the nervous anticipation in the room.

-

Kala walked arm in arm with her father, as they made their way toward the House of Worlds. She gave his arm a little squeeze in reassurance. “I am sure it will all go well, Dad. Don’t worry about it.”

Kala could tell he was nervous. He was starting to break out in a sweat on his forehead. That was a sign she had noticed in the past that gave away when he was nervous or worried about something.

He smiled at her. “Yes, I am confident the meeting will go just fine.” Charles gave her a little pat on her hand on his arm. “Thank you for escorting me to the Imperial Council Chambers. I haven’t been here enough times to know my way.”

“It’s only a little farther. I am sure everyone else will be there waiting for you to arrive.”

“I am sure you are correct. I am fashionably late. This I did on purpose, so I wouldn’t get cornered by one of the council members and feel the need to share what I discovered before the proper time,” Charles replied, with a smile.

“Great idea, Dad. I am glad you have a good head on your shoulders,” she said, as she elbowed him playfully in the side. “It’s just down this hall and to the right.”

As they arrived at the double doors to the chambers, Kala stopped to give her dad a hug. When she stepped back, she smiled at him and said, “Good luck.”

“Thanks, I think I might need it.”

Kala’s smile quickly faded, and she was about to ask a question, but the double doors opened. Charles winked at her and then walked through, and the doors quickly shut behind him.

Kala wasn’t sure if she should wait here or wait in her Royal Suite of rooms. In the end, Kala opted to sit across from those large double doors and wait. It could be a while, she knew, but she wanted to hear the news as soon as possible, and this was the best place she could think of to get that information the quickest.

As soon as her dad walked back out, he would tell her the big secret. Until then, she would try her best to patiently wait here on this most uncomfortable bench.

Chapter Two

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull was meeting on Bator Prime with the councilors from the other neutral races. Zang Councilor Crea asked, “Should we invite the Zynth to join our council?”

Ardon hesitated before saying, “I am afraid their true intentions might not be to remain neutral long-term. I am concerned it may only be until they have had the opportunity to rebuild their fleets.”

“That may be true, but the High Council of the Confederation kicked them out. So maybe this is our opportunity to bring them into the fold,” responded Crea.

Morphene Councilor Klug suggested, “Perhaps we can invite them to be a part of our council but keep anything having to do with the Humans out of that meeting. Maybe we will have a meeting beforehand to discuss everything we need to regarding the Humans and then everything else in the subsequent meeting that includes the Zynth,” added Klug.

Ardon nodded. “That does sound reasonable. After all, we would all benefit from trade with the Zynth. Perhaps they would be willing to join us in our new ways of ruling we are discussing in our areas of the Confederation,” replied Ardon. “It would be wise for us to assume, however, that whatever we discuss in that meeting will be shared with the Morag.”

“Yes, I agree,” whistled Crea, as his wings twittered slightly.

“Let’s invite them to our next meeting,” said Klug.

“Agreed,” Ardon replied. “I will extend the invitation, as soon as we finish here today. Perhaps we meet with the Zynth Councilor Conn on one day, and then the next day we have our meeting about the Humans,” Ardon commented.

“What about the Human fleet still stationed here in the Confederation?” asked Crea.

“I assume they will continue to attack Druin and Morag targets. They are also planning a massive attack on Morag Prime. It will consist of many races, not only the Humans.”

“Will you join them?” asked Crea.

“Yes, the Lormallian Ruling Triad has decided to join with the Humans in this attack. It may be our only chance to defeat the Morag. Regardless we already know the Morag will eventually come for us. With our role in the fracture of the Confederation and in producing the telepathic nullifiers, we are high on their list of enemies. We are just below the Humans in the Morag’s eyes, I am afraid. The Ruling Triad decided that this is our chance to reduce the Morag’s threat to everyone inside and outside the Confederation. We do not expect your races to join, however. I know you wish to remain neutral. However, it is in our best interests to join the Humans in this endeavor.”

“We will consult with our leaders and will let you know where we stand,” replied Crea.

“This is something we must not share or discuss around the Zynth. I am afraid they would inform the Morag,” Ardon said sternly.

“This is not something we want the Morag to know about, that is for sure,” said Klug.

The council met and discussed a few more things, before dismissing until the following week.

-

Zynth Councilor Conn had received an invitation from Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull to attend the next Neutral Races of the Confederation council meeting. It would be held the following week on Bator Prime. He gladly accepted the invitation on behalf of the Zynth.

Conn would meet with the Zynth Council of Elders to get their positions on all the potential topics that might come up. They needed to decide where they stood. Wherever that was, they did not want to stand on their own. If they could not stand with the Morag, Druins, and Lamothians, then it would be beneficial to stand with the Lormallians, Morphene, and Zang. If the Zynth had decided this when the Confederation fractured, it might have saved them a few shipyards, numerous warships, and the inhabited moon of Winsmere.

Conn would meet with the Council of Elders in a few short hours. They would have a lot to discuss.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn had been busy helping to establish a colony on the planet Tengoren, which was home to the Tengore. So far, the Lamothians have created enough shelters to house all their citizens. They had traded information for enough food for everyone. The Tengore were interested in putting a defensive grid around their planet. In exchange for the Lamothians helping them with this task, the Tengore would provide food for the Lamothians, as long as they remained on the planet.

Zahn also assisted in beginning the process of terraforming their moon above Lamodent. They would need a lot of supplies to do this. They didn’t have much they could trade. The Lamothians had already traded a few of their transport vessels for some raw materials they would need to start the process. They had a large number of transport vessels that they could use to trade for various goods. They needed to keep enough for their own use as well.

The surviving space stations over Zaneth had a few supplies the Lamothians could use. Some to help terraform the moon, some they could trade to get the things they needed.

One other thing high on the Lamothian priority list was a shipyard. They needed a place to repair and to build more warships. The Humans were only getting stronger and would likely be too strong to defeat by the time the Lamothians reentered the war. Which led to the question of what would they do?

Would it be in their best interests to make peace with the Humans for the Lamothians long-term survival? Zahn found that hard to stomach. The Morag would never help them terraform their moon if the Lamothians made peace with the Humans. If peace were possible, it would have to wait. For now, the Lamothians were relatively safe from a Human attack. The Lamothian fleet was too big for the Humans to challenge. At least with the size of the Human fleet they had currently attacking targets in the Confederation.

So, for now, the Lamothians could focus on rebuilding and not on defending.

-

Admiral Collison met with the other rear admirals gathered at their supply fleet, hidden in Confederation airspace. In attendance were Rear Admirals Barnes, Carrie, and Drake, plus the two captains from Earth, Captains Greeley and Sutton. This special combined fleet included a total of 380 battlecruisers, 141 dreadnoughts, 59 battlecarriers, and a little over 9,000 attack interceptors. He would make the best use of them all.

“With the attack on Morag Prime on the horizon, we need to do what we can to lessen the number of ships in and around Morag Prime. Any ideas on how we could do this?” Admiral Collison asked.

“What if we attack the planets where we have already destroyed the shipyards?” Rear Admiral Carrie suggested. “According to the scout ships, the Morag are focusing their warships in systems where they have shipyards. The systems without shipyards are less protected. If we destroy a few planets in these under-protected systems, the Morag will be forced to redistribute their fleets—which would pull more away from Morag Prime.”

“What if that plan backfires, and. instead of redistributing their fleets, they pull in more warships to protect Morag Prime instead?” asked Barnes.

“Surely the Morag have realized,” commented Drake, “that we attacked the planets of the Druins and the Zynth, where we had already destroyed their shipyards. Wouldn’t they expect that? Maybe even lay a trap for us there?”

“That would be a possibility,” Collison agreed, “except we have our scout ships positioned with all the larger Morag fleets. We know where they are and how far away they are. Using this knowledge, we can pick a target too distant for a sizeable fleet to come to their aid. Now we might not be able to do this twice. As soon as we attack one planet, the Morag will know what we are there for at the next planet, which would be more difficult to accomplish,” said Collison.

Drake frowned. “What if we attacked two back-to-back? Then maybe they wouldn’t have enough time to reposition their fleets before we were done. They are used to us taking a little more time between attacks,” said Drake.

“That’s a good plan,” Collison agreed. “When we jump out of the first system, we can check with the scout ships before we arrive at the second target. That way, we know what we are heading into,” said Collison.

“Which planets will we attack? And when do we leave?” asked Barnes.

“According to the scout ships, Morag Five is the least protected,” said Collison, looking over his notes.

“What about the first system we attacked that had the four inhabited planets?” asked Drake. “Maybe we could destroy four in the same system.”

Collison looked through a few more pages and then said, “No, it is still protected by a moderate-size fleet. We should stick to the one-inhabited-planet systems.”

“So, our first target is Morag Five. When do we leave?” asked Carrie.

“We leave in two hours,” replied Collison. “It’ll take us a few days to get there. Once there, we must eliminate the ships and the defensive grid, before sending the attack interceptors into the planet’s atmosphere to hit targets on the surface. Once enough missiles have hit the surface to cause serious damage to darken the skies, we can move on. Whoever survives the initial attack will die in the next few days from the aftereffects of the missiles,” said Collison. “Hopefully we can continue to attack Morag targets, keeping them busy and focused on us. That way, they will not see the larger attack coming, not until it’s too late.”

“Even if we get to that point,” Carrie noted, “we are mostly just attacking small groups of ships. We are still weakening the overall Morag fleet. We have to keep them busy and on their toes.”

Collison nodded. “We leave in two hours. Get your ships and crews ready,” Collison said, as he stood.

Everyone went back to their respective ships to prepare to enter hyperspace toward their first Morag target.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had Admiral Marcello stationed in the system where Morag Prime was located. Voxx wanted to use his fleet to set a trap for the Human fleet currently in the Confederation. He needed to rid the Confederation of this nuisance once and for all.

Voxx knew the Humans had been revisiting the previous star systems where they had destroyed the shipyards to now attack the planets. He knew this was most likely their plan for the Morag as well. He intended to set a trap for them at the first system they had attacked—where systems Morag Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen were located. Surely four planets to destroy in one system would be hard to pass up.

He had to make it look tempting to the Humans but not too tempting. Voxx would station fleets in other systems nearby that could get there in time to attack the Humans. Voxx was aware that Human scout ships were watching his fleet’s movements. So he had to figure out how to reposition some of his fleet without alerting the scout ships.

Shifting small numbers were the way to go. If he could position small task groups all around the systems where he wanted the Humans to attack, Voxx would have his trap set.

Moving his fleet around without the scout ships catching on would be the challenge. Voxx would test out his theory of repositioning small task groups. The Humans likely didn’t have enough scout ships to monitor all Morag-controlled star systems.

Voxx decided to start visiting star systems all around Morag space. He intended to leave a few ships in each system. The scout ship following his fleet would not stay and monitor the small groups he left behind. After a designated amount of time, these small task groups would regroup where Voxx was setting his trap. He also needed to take a few ships out of the system containing Morag Twelve. He needed to make it look a little weaker.

Lastly he would ensure his main fleet was stationed too far away from Morag Twelve to arrive in time to intervene, before the Humans could destroy the planets. Voxx felt confident in his plan. It was time to put it into action.

Voxx took his fleet and headed away from Morag Prime. He would leave ten battlecruisers and five battleships in each system. He thought that it would look like he was redistributing his fleet across their part of the Confederation.

Voxx also contacted Commander Nimin to have him send twenty-five battlecruisers and eight battleships to another star system. This would weaken the system of Morag Twelve, but not enough to warrant suspicions.

His plan would take a few days to set up, but Voxx thought he would have enough time to get it done.

-

Scout ship 173 was tasked with monitoring one of the large Morag fleets and noted the time and direction of the fleet’s hyperspace jump, as he followed them. The fleet only made a short jump to a neighboring system. Once there, they left a small number of ships. Not enough to warrant concern but Captain Noah made a note of it and again followed the large fleet as it entered hyperspace.

Over the next couple days, the fleet did this time and time again. They left the same number of ships, ten battlecruisers and five battleships in every system. Then they would move on to the next system. Noah made a note of each movement and the number of ships left behind. It appeared to him that this fleet was redistributing its ships all over the Morag-controlled part of the Confederation.

Noah sent all this information back to Fleet Admiral Marloo on Golan Four and Admiral Collison in the Confederation.

Eventually the Morag fleet stopped in the system containing Morag Twenty-Three. Here they stayed longer than they had in any of the other systems.

-

Zynth Councilor Conn was meeting with the Zynth Council of Elders. Ancient Elder Lengore led the meeting. “So we have now been asked to join in the Neutral Races of the Confederation. We all are aware that we need allies. We cannot stand alone. We need trading partners as well as military partners. For these reasons, I believe it is necessary to join with them.”

“Will this further anger the Druins and the Morag?” asked Elder Montfort.

“Possibly, but they kicked us out of the High Council of the Confederation, so what other options do we have? They have left us with no other choice,” responded Elder Nalom.

Zynth Commander Longmont added, “The Lormallians are supplying us with telepathic nullifiers for all our leaders and crews of our ships. The one thing I worry about is the Lormallians’ alliance with the Humans. They are trading with them. We do not know for sure how deep their alliance runs. If it comes down to us finding out information about the Humans plans, do we inform the Morag and risk alienating the Lormallians? Or do we keep the information from the Morag and risk alienating them forever?” asked Commander Longmont.

“Why don’t we worry about that situation when and if it actually occurs,” replied Lengore. “We will focus on trading with the Lormallians, Zang, and Morphene. If other things come up, then we will deal with those situations as we need to.”

Montfort said, “We will send a few transport vessels with you when you go to Bator Prime. That way, we have goods to offer our new allies at the beginning of our new alliance.”

“It’s not truly a new alliance, more like a reformation of an old one,” clarified Nalom.

“I think this alliance will be very beneficial to us,” Lengore stated. “We will not concern ourselves with war, even while we continue to build up our fleets—in case they are ever needed. Now is our time to prosper.”

-

Rear Admiral Drake was excited to get their next mission underway. In less than ten minutes, they would make their transition to hyperspace. Drake knew it was a long journey to the Morag-controlled part of the Confederation, but he couldn’t wait to get there. It was high time the Morag lost a planet or two. Plus it would be beneficial to chip away at their fleet numbers.

They had a lot of attack interceptors in their fleets, and they would be an integral part of these attacks. Both Earth and Empire Humans could build attack interceptors way faster than they could make a battlecruiser or a dreadnought. The interceptors also carried smaller crews. While human lives were lost every time one was shot down, it didn’t compare to the lives lost on a battlecruiser or a dreadnought.

Collison had mentioned that the attack interceptors would be their first line of attack and would also be responsible for destroying the planets. Drake’s task group would help eliminate the Morag fleet that remained after the attack interceptors had launched a round of their missiles at them. Then his task force would move on to destroy the defensive grid that protected the planet.

After that, he could sit back and watch the destruction of Morag Five. He would do so with pleasure.

-

Captain Greeley had mixed emotions about destroying a Morag planet. While, on the one hand, the Morag were the main enemy of the Humans; on the other hand, not every Morag was responsible for the destruction the Morag had brought on the Humans.

Greeley did agree on attacking shipyards and warships, but he was against the destruction of planets. He would follow his orders, but, when possible, Greeley planned to suggest attacking other targets besides planets.

He was confident that they would only have the chance to destroy possibly a couple planets, before the Morag repositioned enough warships to stop them from doing that again.

-

Collison was receiving reports from scout ship 173 that the Morag were in the process of redistributing one of its largest fleets. Collison was not surprised that the Morag were doing this. The Morag had a large area to protect. In total, they had ninety-two inhabited star systems. Captain Noah had reported that they were leaving the same number of ships in each system they visited. It wasn’t a significant number. In fact, it was not a number that concerned Collison in the least. In his mind, all the Morag were doing was spreading out their fleet and weakening themselves overall. It didn’t exactly make sense, but perhaps they thought they could chip away at his fleet in each system.

It still remained true that most ships were concentrated in systems that held shipyards, even more so in the systems that housed multiple shipyards. Collison would love the opportunity to destroy more shipyards. First, however, they would destroy a couple planets. Then they would regroup and decide which system they would attack next and what their target in that system would be. Another planet or perhaps another shipyard or even a small task group of warships? It all depended on how these first couple attacks went.

Time for the fleets to enter hyperspace. Their journey would take them three days. At the end of those three days, the Morag would realize how it felt to lose a planet. It couldn’t come soon enough, thought Collison.

-

Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds surveyed a newly completed dreadnought. He was amazed at how quickly the shipyards all across the Solar System had been able to build up this fleet that would destroy Morag Prime.

The fleet itself had been working on various battle formations. With each ship they added, they gained more and more strength. They would not only be sending battlecruisers and dreadnoughts but also battlecarriers, fully loaded with attack interceptors. They would also send supply ships, with even more attack interceptors, that would be stationed with the supply fleet to resupply the Human battlecarriers as needed.

Reynolds smiled just thinking about it. The Morag had no idea what would soon be headed their way. Reynolds wasn’t sure that destroying Morag Prime would be enough though. It might be that they also had to eliminate all the shipyards and warships that the Morag had. Did the Humans have enough ships for that? Reynolds didn’t think so, but, with all the other races committing to join the fight, they just might have enough.

They would inflict a severe blow to the Morag at a minimum. Hopefully the entire Morag High Council would be eliminated, along with Morag Prime. If the Morag leadership were destroyed, maybe they would have a more challenging time organizing their defenses.

Reynolds watched as the new dreadnought slowly left the hangar, where it had been built here at Pallas. This base had been built so long ago, with the hopes that someday they would destroy the Morag. That time had finally come. They were almost ready. In a little under two weeks, the fleet would set off for the Empire, where they would meet up with their allies. Then the journey into the Confederation to stir up some trouble, all before the main attack on Morag Prime would begin. They would continue to build more ships, even after this fleet set off on their journey.

Reynolds planned to be ready with more ships in case they were needed.

Reynolds felt they needed more ships in the Empire to help defend them. With the Empire being closer to the Morag than they were, they were more likely to face retaliation than the Solar System. The Morag would have to be crazy to attempt an attack on the planets in the Solar System at this point.

The Morag honestly didn’t have enough ships to attack the Solar System and to defend their own area of the Confederation. The Humans were putting the Morag exactly where they wanted them, between a rock and a hard place.

Reynolds planned to keep assisting all those attacks in the Confederation, until the Confederation crumbled even further than it already had. A new era would soon begin, one where the Humans no longer feared the Druins, the Morag, or the Confederation.

Chapter Three

Professor Charles Wright stood to give his report to the Imperial Council on his discoveries from the archives at Bator Prime. He surveyed the room, knowing that what he was about to say would change a lot of things. In many ways, he thought maybe they were better off not knowing. It was too late for that though. It was better to have more information to make decisions than less information.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and began. “I went to Bator Prime in search of information about the mysterious planet of Falton Two. As many of you know, Captain Hadley on scout ship 368 followed a transport vessel from above Xanther to see where the Lamothians were getting the Humans for their celebrations. This led her to Falton Two. From her scans of the planet, we know that the planet is a Human planet. It is also a Confederation core planet. They seem to have a good relationship with the Morag. In my research, I believe I have figured out why. According to what I have found, I believe these Humans are not like us. They are Humans, but they also have telepathic abilities.”

Everyone in the room took in a gasp of breath, and then everyone started talking a once. “So they have the same abilities as the Morag? Is that why they are aligned?” asked Chief Chancellor Stein.

“No. I believe the Morag have no idea about the Humans of Falton Two’s abilities. The Humans seem to control their alliance. Just as the Morag-controlled the High Council of the Confederation for thousands of years, these Humans have been controlling the Morag for thousands of years. I believe the Morag have no idea,” replied Charles. “It must be a different type of telepathic ability than what the Morag possess.”

“Then why would they send Humans to the Lamothians to be consumed at their feasts?” asked Layla.

“You are not going to like that answer. Some Humans are born without this special telepathic ability. This helps identify what we would call their class structure. The Humans with telepathic abilities are the leaders and the upper class. Those without these abilities are considered the lower class. They take Humans from this lower class and send them to the Lamothians. They do it as sort of a population control,” replied Charles. He looked around the room at the shocked looks on all the faces.

“So you are saying that an alliance with these Humans is not likely,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo.

“No. They would think of us as lesser than them,” replied Charles.

“If they are controlling the Morag, then do you think they are the ones behind the war? Are they using the Morag as a means to control our population?” Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters asked in a frightened tone.

“Yes, I believe so. I spoke with Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull. He said the Morag had always tried to control the populations of the other races in the Confederation. They never wanted to be outnumbered. The Morag were always insistent on lowering the population of our worlds. When the Empire couldn’t hit a quota, they had no qualms about dropping a few missiles on major cities. This helped reduce the population and also helped incentivize the people to work harder to meet their quota.”

Then Layla asked, “So are the Humans of Falton Two our enemies?”

“They would definitely never be our allies. They very well may be the reason the Morag are so determined to rule over us. The Humans of Falton Two are the ones controlling the Morag. Are they the reason the Morag are determined to rule over us? I believe that answer is yes. The Humans of Falton Two do not need a fleet of warships because, if they need a fleet, they use the Morag’s. Ardon and I both agree that the Morag have no idea they are being controlled.”

“What about their connection to Earth and to the Empire?” asked Prince Andrew, a look of concern on his face.

Charles nodded. “I found a ship buried deep underground at my dig site in Egypt. In it, there was an inscription. The only part still legible were the words ‘Exploring worlds beyond Falton Two.’ This is why I was in search of Falton Two.

“Ardon, his brother, Marlon, and myself concluded that the Humans of Falton Two wished to explore beyond Falton Two and used Humans without the telepathic ability to be their explorers. They thought there was a good chance they would never return. Thus they had no problems sending Humans without the special abilities. They were expendable. We believe a group crash-landed on the Earth. Also we believe some crash-landed here in the Empire, thousands of years ago as well. Another possibility is that they found Earth and Golan Four and decided it would be better to stay on these planets instead of going back to Falton Two.”

“So what you are saying is that our ancestors all came from Falton Two?” asked Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four.

“It appears that, at least on Earth, there were already Humans on the planet. I would assume that may be true here in the Empire as well. Once the crews from Falton Two landed on Earth, they eventually assimilated with the Humans already there. It looked like, for a time, the brave exploratory crews were celebrated on Earth. They were called ‘people from the sky.’”

“So do you think their telepathic abilities would work on us too?” asked Marloo.

“No. It appears it does not. That is why they physically control the population of those who do not have these abilities. They cannot mentally control them, and also they are seen as expendable, without the enhanced ability,” replied Charles.

“Would the telepathic nullifiers work against their abilities?” asked Derrick.

“If their telepathic abilities worked on us, they would sense Captain Hadley’s presence in orbit above their planet. As for the telepathic nullifiers, I am not sure if they would block their abilities or not. It seems their telepathic skill is slightly different than the Morag’s abilities, or I think the Morag would realize what was going on. Since the two are slightly different, who’s to say if the nullifiers would work or not.”

“How far from Morag Prime is Falton Two?” asked Stein.

“It looks to be a twenty-hour journey from Morag Prime to Falton Two,” replied Charles.

“How do you think they will react when we destroy Morag Prime?” asked Layla.

“That’s a good question. And one I do not have the answer to. They do not have a fleet of their own. No other fleets besides the Morag have been spotted near Falton Two. It is located in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. Which means the six other main Confederation races would not have been permitted to venture into Falton Two airspace with their fleets,” responded Charles.

“If so, then, once we destroy Morag Prime and a majority of their fleet, the Humans of Falton Two can’t send a fleet large enough to destroy us,” commented Marloo.

“True. I have thought about what we should do about this new discovery, how we should handle it, and I have not come up with anything.”

“Do we destroy the planet?” asked Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three.

“I don’t think any of us would feel comfortable destroying a planet of Humans,” Marloo replied. “I think the only thing we can do is continue with our plans to destroy Morag Prime. Once we have destroyed more of their shipyards and warships, the Morag—and thus the Humans of Falton Two—will have less power. We can plan to keep a scout ship stationed over Falton Two indefinitely,” said Marloo.

“We should have more than one scout ship,” Derrick suggested. “That way, they have the opportunity to come back to the Empire and resupply and take a break. Maybe have six scout ships, each one staying for a month. Each ship serves twice a year in orbit above the planet. It’s probably time to send another scout ship to relieve Captain Hadley and her crew. They can monitor the Falton Two communications and let us know if anything suspicious occurs,” said Derrick.

“Except, if they plan an attack on the Empire or the Solar System, it would be shared telepathically with the Morag. So there would be no verbal or written communication for us to intercept,” responded Charles.

“Sounds like we will have to station scout ships to monitor the Morag fleets indefinitely as well,” Marloo noted. “This would be the safest alternative.”

“We might need to build more scout ships,” said Littrel.

“I think we still need to focus on building warships. Once we have rebuilt our fleets, then we can build more scout ships,” said Marloo.

“Maybe we can have Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds build us a few scout ships in some of his bays. After they finish building up their fleet of course,” said Derrick.

“That’s a good idea,” Marloo agreed. “We do need to inform Reynolds at Pallas and Brett on Earth about what Charles has discovered. I don’t think we should send that in a hyperlight message. We do not want this information in the wrong hands. Professor Charles, are you planning to return to Earth soon?” asked Marloo.

“No. In fact, I would like to retire here on Golan Four. Spend the rest of my days here with my daughter and her family,” Charles said, as he looked at Andrew, with a smile.

Andrew returned the smile and said, “I am sure Kala would enjoy that very much.”

“Who shall we send with the news then?” asked Marloo.

“Mathew and I will go,” said Princess Krista. “It would be good for us to visit the Solar System and to see its improvements. Plus it would help strengthen our alliance. Maybe we could take something special with us? Something they do not have in the Solar System?” Krista asked, as she looked at Andrew and then Charles.

They looked at each other and then Andrew said, “I am sure we can come up with something.”

“This would mean you will be gone for at least eight weeks,” Layla said hesitantly.

Krista smiled and said, “I will return before you have the baby.”

Then Marloo added, “It would probably be wise to have Krista out of the Empire for that long. If things don’t go according to plan at Morag Prime and if the Confederation mounts an attack on Golan Four and the Empire, at least one member of the Royal Family would be elsewhere.”

Layla had a troubled look on her face, which changed to a look of concern, and then she took a deep breath and replied, “Yes, that does sound like a wise idea. I will miss you terribly, Krista, while you are gone for so long.”

“We can make the arrangements and decide what we have to send to the Solar System” Marloo offered. “We can have Professor Charles make a video, explaining the details of what he has discovered about Falton Two, which Princess Krista can show to the leaders in the Solar System. Then you can answer their questions afterward. I am sure they will have mostly the same ones we covered here today,” said Marloo.

“Will we tell the House of Worlds about Falton Two? Or will we keep it a secret?” asked Littrel.

“I think, for now, we must keep it to ourselves,” Layla replied. “Charles, you may talk to your daughter about it, since she is a member of the Royal Family. Other than that, I think it best that we keep it a secret. At least for the time being,” said Layla.

“What about the Lormallians? Ardon and his brother, Marlon? Will they tell anyone?” asked Stein.

Charles cleared his throat. “Ardon and Marlon were going to talk to their Ruling Triad about the discoveries but will wait until they hear from the Imperial Council before informing anyone else.”

“We need to send a message to Ardon then,” Andrew stated. “Ask their opinion on the matter. What were your impressions from them, Charles, on whether it should be kept secret or not?” asked Andrew.

“I got the impression that they thought it best that this information does not get out,” replied Charles.

“Good. We will send them a video message too, that the next transport vessel will take with them to give to Ardon,” replied Andrew.

“I know that we have learned a great deal today,” said Layla, “but our focus needs to continue to be the upcoming attack on Morag Prime. Any updates from Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds?”

“The special fleet is scheduled to leave in less than two weeks. He has not given us final numbers yet, but he assured me that it will be a very large fleet,” said Marloo.

“Have we determined yet how large a fleet we will send from the Empire?” asked Littrel.

“No, not yet. We also need to determine who will lead this Empire fleet to the Confederation,” replied Marloo.

Everyone looked from Marloo to Derrick and then to Layla. “It will likely be me or Admiral Cleemorl,” said Derrick, after an awkward silence.

“Yes, Admiral Cleemorl plans to stop by to discuss the options on his way back from his vacation,” commented Marloo.

“I think we have covered everything we had planned to cover,” Stein noted. “I will remind everyone not to share what you have learned today with anyone.” At this, Stein turned to Charles and Andrew and continued, “Except for Kala of course. We will determine what we can send with Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley to the Solar System. When do you plan to depart?”

“Within the next two days,” Krista replied. “I am sure they are very curious, as were we, about the news. No sense keeping them waiting longer than we have to.”

“Good. Anything else?” Stein asked, as he looked around the room. Everyone shook their heads, so he said, “Well then, this meeting is adjourned.”

-

Kala paced back and forth just outside the Imperial Council Chambers. What was taking so long? What could they possibly still be talking about? She had half a mind to put her ear up to the door to try to figure out what was going on. She probably would if it weren’t for the two Imperial Guards standing on either side of the entranceway. She eyed them carefully, before deciding that would be foolish.

Kala tried to sit back down and relax, but her nerves were shot. Her dad had seemed pretty anxious about this meeting, which was not like him at all. He was not one to be nervous about speaking in front of people. In fact, he took great pleasure in talking about his discoveries to anyone who would listen. So what had him so rattled?

Kala decided, as soon as the meeting was finished, she’d corral him into her suite of rooms and make him spill the beans. With that thought, she laughed. No one here would know what that phrase meant. Only her, Andrew, and her dad. She had never heard a phrase like that here on Golan Four.

Just as she was about to get up again and resume pacing, the doors to the Imperial Council Chambers opened, and everyone slowly began to file out. Many of them stopped to talk to her, and she did her best to be polite, but her gaze kept searching for her father and for Andrew. At last, the two of them emerged, deep in conversation. She managed to implant herself directly in between the two of them, at which time the conversation came to a stop.

“Kala, have you been waiting out here in the hallway the entire meeting?” Andrew asked her, surprised.

“Yes, of course. What else would I be doing? I am just as curious as the rest of you to hear the big news.” Kala noticed her father and Andrew exchange a glance. “Well, what’s the big news?”

“Let’s head to our suite of rooms and discuss it there,” Andrew said, as he steered them toward the Palace and their rooms housed there.

Kala thought it a little odd that they could not tell her right where they were, but she assumed they had good reasons for their decisions.

As they walked toward the Imperial Palace, Charles turned to his daughter and said, “Kala, I have decided to retire. I know you will find it hard to believe, but it is true. I have traveled farther and longer than I ever dreamed possible. With your approval, I would like to retire here on Golan Four. I intend to spend the rest of my days pestering you.” With that, he gave her a teasing smile.

“Wow, what a surprise. We would love to have you stay here on Golan Four. I just can’t wrap my head around you retiring though. I never even thought for a moment that would be something I would hear you say,” Kala replied.

“Well, I am not getting any younger. Plus I would like the opportunity to spoil a few grandkids,” Charles said, while giving her a wink.

Kala blushed and said, “Dad, we have not talked about children. You may be waiting a while for that.”

“That’s okay. I am quite certain I can find something to occupy me until the time arrives for me to be on grandfather duty.”

Kala couldn’t believe what she heard. This big secret must be a massive deal. She just couldn’t fathom why finding more Humans on a faraway planet could be so life-changing. Well, she would know in about ten more minutes, when they arrived at their suite of rooms. Maybe if she walked a little faster, her father and Andrew would as well. To her surprise, it worked.

The next few minutes went by agonizingly slow, as they made their way to their rooms. The conversation mostly revolved around trivial things, like the weather and food. Kala could tell both her father’s and Andrew’s minds were elsewhere.

As soon as Andrew closed the door behind them in their rooms, Kala said, “Please tell me what in the world is the big secret!”

Andrew and Charles exchanged looks again, and then Charles began his story. Kala sat in silence, while he explained everything. Even when Charles finished talking, Kala still sat here in shock.

“Kala, are you okay?” asked Andrew, as he came and sat down beside her.

“I just can’t believe what you are telling me. The truth of it is that these Humans are not our friends. They are more likely our enemies.”

“Except for that would not be necessarily true of all the Humans on the planet. Just the ones with the special abilities,” replied Charles.

“Are they born with this telepathic ability?” Kala asked.

“We are not sure when exactly the telepathic ability presents itself—like, if it’s something they can determine at birth or if it is something that happens later, like during puberty,” responded Charles.

“Can Humans without the telepathic ability have kids who have it?”

“That is another question we do not have the answer to.”

“We plan to keep a scout ship stationed above Falton Two indefinitely. We are organizing another scout ship to go relieve Captain Hadley, as we speak. They will know what they are to be looking for. We are taking the next forty-eight hours to determine what specific information we want them to make note of. For example, one of those is when and how they determine who does and does not have the telepathic abilities,” said Andrew.

“We are certain they do not know our scout ship is there?” asked Kala.

“Yes. There has been no chatter or movement of any ships in Hadley’s direction,” replied Andrew.

“I think I’m going to lose some sleep over this,” Kala said slowly.

“All of us are. Well, all of us who know the truth—which will be a very limited number of people. The Imperial Council, plus you, and the crews on board the scout ships stationed above Falton Two.”

“How many ships do we intend to have on duty above Falton Two?” asked Kala.

“Initially we discussed six, so each crew would be away one month, then home for five months. The more we discuss it though, the more I think we should have fewer crews. The fewer people who know the truth right now, the better. Maybe we could get by with three crews. They would be stationed above the planet for one month, then home for two months. I think that is doable,” Andrew said, as he thought through the options. “I will discuss this with Marloo and Derrick. See what they think. I will be back for supper,” he said, as he kissed Kala, then got up and headed to the door.

After her husband left, Kala walked over to her dad. She gave him a big hug and said, “I am sorry that you have had to shoulder this burden alone for so many days.”

Charles returned her hug and replied, “I am even sorrier that it is now your burden to bear.”

Kala took a step back and smiled. “I am glad you have decided to stay here. I will have the attendants get you a more permanent suite of rooms.”

Charles gave her a startled look. “I did not intend to stay here at the Imperial Palace. I just assumed I would find a place of my own.”

“I would feel much better if you stayed here, close to me. I’ve been away from you for so long now. It would give me peace of mind to know you are here safely inside the Palace.”

“All right, I will agree—for the time being—to stay here at the Palace, but, if it becomes too much for me, and I want more space of my own, I will find my own place.”

“Agreed,” Kala said, with a smile.

-

Andrew found Marloo and Derrick hard at work in the Command Center. Once he told them his thoughts of using fewer scout ships to monitor Falton Two, they both agreed.

“How did Kala take the news?” asked Derrick quietly.

“She was shocked. So shocked in fact that she was speechless.”

They all laughed at that. Then Andrew thought of another question. “How will the scout ships report their findings to us? They can’t send us a hyperlight message or even an encrypted message. Someone who is not privy to the information might see it.”

“Yes. This is something we are working on. We can’t wait over a month to know what’s going on there. So that is one more issue we need to resolve,” replied Marloo.

“I’ll work on it,” Andrew offered. “That will be one less thing for the two of you to concern yourselves with. Once I come up with a few solutions, I will present them to you two for the final decision,” responded Andrew. “This is similar to my situation on board the Endeavor back in the Solar System. I had to  communicate with the Imperials, without the rest of the crew knowing. Plus I was monitoring more things than my crew knew about. So you could say I have experience with this type of thing.”

“Great. Have your possible solutions to us within the next twenty-four hours,” Marloo said, as he eyed Andrew for his response.

“That’s doable. Consider it done.” Then Andrew left the Command Center to begin finding a solution to their problem.

Chapter Four

Captain Hadley, on board scout ship 368, was still in orbit above Falton Two. There was nothing new to report. Hadley began to wonder how much longer she would be stationed here. Suddenly alarms sounded. “Captain, we have Morag battleships dropping out of hyperspace,” stated Lieutenant Maddox.

“How many?” asked Hadley.

“Scans show sixteen battlecruisers and four battleships. Also two transport vessels,” replied Maddox.

“Stay on high alert. I don’t think they will sense us, but nevertheless let’s keep a watchful eye on their movements,” commanded Hadley. “Put the fleet on the viewscreen. Let’s see what exactly they are doing here.”

“The fleet appears to be going into orbit around the planet. Slightly closer than we are. They do not have their shields up,” reported Maddox.

“So they are not concerned for their own safety,” commented Hadley.

“They have not opened their weapons turrets either,” said Maddox.

“What are they doing here?” asked Hadley.

“Guess we will find out. They have sent a message to the surface to Emperor Rowan. Morag Councilor Addonis requests an audience with the Emperor,” reported the communications officer, Lieutenant Hudson.

“Have they sent a reply?” asked Hadley.

“No, no reply yet,” replied Hudson.

Everyone sat on the edge of their seats. After what seemed like an eternity, the reply finally came through. “The Emperor has agreed to see Addonis tomorrow morning,” Hudson said in surprise.

“Wow, making him wait until the morning. I think that tells us who is in charge of this alliance, and it’s not the Morag!” Hadley said in amazement.

“The Morag have responded to the message. They say, ‘Thank you for allowing us a meeting with Emperor Rowan. We will be honored to meet with him in the morning. We have brought along a few gifts for the Emperor as well. Shall we send them down now?’” reported Hudson.

“Wow. The Morag’s reply almost seems submissive,” Hadley said in surprise.

“Falton Two has responded. They say that Addonis can bring his gifts for the Emperor with him in the morning,” reported Hudson.

“I wish we could report this to Golan Four, but I don’t want to take any chance that would cause the Morag to realize we are here. I do not think we will be getting much sleep tonight,” Hadley remarked.

“I, for one, cannot wait to see what this meeting is about between Addonis and Emperor Rowan tomorrow morning,” said Maddox.

“Me neither,” said Hadley. “I wonder what gifts he brought the Emperor. Things are finally starting to get exciting around here.”

“Now would be the time our relief scout ship would show up, right as things got interesting,” said Hudson.

“That would be terrible timing,” said Hadley. “Especially with the Morag warships here in orbit. They would sense the radiation from our hyperspace jumps. However, as long as we don’t jump in or out of the system, they can’t sense us.”

“Didn’t Marloo say he would alert us to when our relief ship would be set to arrive?” asked Maddox.

“Yes, but, with everything going on—the attacks on the Empire and the attacks in the Confederation—it might have slipped his mind,” stated Hadley.

“The professor should have made it back to the Empire by now,” Maddox added. “He’s probably already revealed the big mystery surrounding Falton Two. I wonder what it was,” Maddox contemplated aloud.

“It looks like we will be the last to know,” said Hadley.

“I guess I will take that, since we have front row seats to whatever this meeting is about tomorrow,” Maddox commented.

“I think it’ll be a long night,” Hadley said slowly.

-

Morag Councilor Addonis was satisfied that Emperor Rowan had agreed to meet with him so quickly. Addonis had been concerned that he would be forced to wait a couple days. The last time he had come to meet with Rowan, he had to wait three days before he was allowed on the surface of the planet. He counted himself lucky this time to not have to wait as long.

Addonis knew he needed to return to Morag Prime as quickly as possible. The Humans would be attacking their next target at any time now. Addonis hoped it would be a Druin target but knew it was more likely to be a Morag one.

The Earth Humans and those from the Empire usually followed a pattern. Admiral Voxx had worked to set a trap for them, based on the Humans’ patterns of attacks in the Zynth-controlled and the Druin-controlled areas of the Confederation.

As long as the Humans didn’t change things up, Voxx would eliminate this current threat that had been plaguing the Confederation.

The Humans were getting bolder and bolder with their attacks. Addonis was concerned the Humans would target a Morag planet the next time they exited hyperspace. He doubted they would dare come anywhere near Morag Prime. It would be a fatal mistake if they did.

Since Addonis wouldn’t be heading down to the planet tonight, he might as well eat a good meal and get a good night’s sleep. He needed to be prepared for the meeting in the morning. A lot was riding on Rowan’s response. Hopefully he would have a way to sever the tie between the Earth Humans and the Humans of the Empire. If not, maybe Rowan would have a solution as to how to eliminate the threat these other Humans posed, once and for all. Either way, Addonis would find out in the morning.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had finished redistributing his fleet across the Morag-controlled star systems. He had also positioned the rest of his fleet nearest the star system that contained the most shipyards. They did not want to risk losing any more shipyards.

As Voxx analyzed all fleet deployments, he was satisfied that he had not overlooked anything. If and when the Human fleet did attack, the Morag would be ready for them.

A defensive grid protected each Morag-inhabited planet. Most were moderately strong when compared to anywhere else in the Confederation—however, not when compared to the Hagen Star Cluster or Golan Four in the Empire. It would be a good idea to enhance their defensive grids in the near future. They had never been needed in the past, but times were changing. It was still hard to fathom the idea that he was preparing for an attack of the Humans in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. How had this happened?

Voxx hoped that Addonis would come back from Falton Two with some ideas on how to defeat these pesky Humans. For now, Voxx’s trap was set. However, he needed no reminder of how well his previous trap had gone. It had failed and had failed terribly. This time it would be different. He was confident about that.

-

Admiral Collison went over the latest reports from the scout ships stationed all over the Morag area of the Confederation. It was surprising to him that a few Morag ships had left the star system the Humans had previously attacked, containing four inhabited planets. Why would the Morag leave this system less protected? If the Morag knew that the Humans had been attacking planets in star systems where they had previously destroyed shipyards, wouldn’t that warrant more ships? Not fewer ships?

The fleet that Captain Noah had followed had redistributed its numbers but had not visited the system with these four planets. Nor had it sent any ships to enhance their security. Why not?

As Collison reviewed the numbers, this star system was slightly less protected than any of the others. That alone did make it a high-priority target. They could destroy four planets in one system. With fewer ships defending it, Collison’s fleet would lose fewer ships in the process of destroying the planets.

Even though this star system was shaping up to be a very good option to target, Collison just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. Why would the Morag leave it less defended? If it were him and his planets he had to defend, what would Collison do?

Collison was glad he had a couple more days to figure it out. He still had more time to change their target, if he felt it was in their best interests to do so.

-

The day dawned quickly above Falton Two. Captain Hadley and her crew anxiously awaited the meeting between Morag Addonis and Emperor Rowan. It was almost like watching a suspenseful movie. What would happen next? Hadley laughed aloud as she contemplated getting some popcorn for everyone to snack on, while they awaited the meeting.

“Captain, a transport vessel is departing the Morag warship and is headed toward the surface,” said Lieutenant Maddox.

“Keep our cameras focused on that vessel. I want to see where it goes. We need to know where this Emperor Rowan lives. Too bad we can’t get eyes inside the room where the meeting will take place,” commented Hadley. “I would love to be a fly on that wall.”

They all watched as the viewscreen followed the transport vessel to the surface. The view wasn’t as detailed as Hadley would like it to be, but they could tell that a small number of Morag exited the ship and then stood at attention, as one Morag descended the stairs. This must be Addonis, thought Hadley.

Another group approached the Morag. She assumed this must be the Humans. They were all wearing red outfits. The view was not detailed enough to ascertain anything else specific about what they had on besides its color. The group of Morag then followed the Humans into a large building that looked more like a piece of art than a building.

Shortly after they had all gone inside, the group of Morag walked back outside, minus one who had entered. Hadley assumed that their leader, Addonis, had stayed inside. Now Hadley and her crew would have to wait. Hadley knew that whatever it was that Addonis and Rowan were discussing would remain a mystery. Since they would be having this meeting in person, there was no way she could hear what was said. It was unlikely it would be communicated in a way that they could intercept it. One could still hope, at least until the Morag left the system. Maybe after the Morag left, the Humans would communicate to each other in a way that she could intercept. Hadley sighed. More mysteriousness to consume her thoughts.

-

Morag Councilor Addonis woke early in anticipation of his meeting with Falton Two’s Emperor Rowan. As the time came to depart for the planet, a sense of peace washed over him. This meeting would go just as he imagined it would. He would leave knowing exactly what he needed to do.

As the transport vessel departed the battleship, Legion, that he would call home until he returned to Morag Prime, he gazed at the planet below. Falton Two was an astonishing place. One of the most beautiful places Addonis had ever had the privilege to visit. What a relief that outside influences had never threatened this beautiful planet. What a travesty that would be. These Humans were peaceful and intelligent, unlike the ones from the Empire and the Solar System.

Once the transport vessel entered the atmosphere of Falton Two, Addonis couldn’t help but smile. The clouds had an almost pearlescent shimmer to them. The sky held colors of blues and purples, interrupted only by the shimmery clouds. Why did he not notice the beauty elsewhere? Only when he came here? His gaze took in the rest of his surroundings, as the ship descended closer to the capital city. The air was completely pure, devoid of any pollutants. The city itself was clean and orderly. The traffic flowed smoothly. The transport vessel moved into their landing pad, a small area marked with a red symbol.

Once the hatch on the transport vessel opened, his guards moved out and assembled into two lines on either side of the stairway. Addonis stood tall and proud, as he slowly made his way down the stairs. The Humans were making their way toward him. He stopped and waited for them a short distance from his ship. When the Humans arrived at his location, he gave them a slight nod of respect. He admired the robes of red that they wore. Everyone who served the Emperor wore the color red. The Humans indicated for him to follow, which he gladly did.

They made their way across the courtyard to the building beyond. What a magnificent sight to see. Addonis envied the architecture displayed here. Morag buildings were more about power and practicality. Not about appearance and beauty. This was something that could inspire greatness.

Soon after entering the golden double doors inlaid with ribbons of red, their Human escorts stopped and turned. “This is as far as your guards may come. They are more than welcome to wait patiently for you outside in the courtyard,” the dark-haired Human said in a calm and confident voice.

“As you wish,” Addonis replied, wanting to make sure he did everything possible to please the Emperor. Addonis was honored to have the opportunity to meet with Emperor Rowan. He had known Rowan’s father and appreciated how Rowan had handled everything since he had ascended to become the new Emperor. It hadn’t been that long ago.

Addonis followed his Human escorts as he was led through various large corridors. All around him was opulence and beauty. It was easy to see that these Humans valued art and architecture over war and brute strength. How opposite they were from the Morag. The Morag would never spend the time and energy on a building such as this. Addonis did enjoy his surroundings though.

As they entered through another large set of double doors of wood inlaid with strands of gold and silver, Addonis felt the mood change. His escorts came to a stop and said, “You will continue on your own. Emperor Rowan is awaiting your arrival at the other side of the throne room.” His escorts then exited through the doors and left Addonis standing here alone.

Addonis slowly walked down the corridor. On each side of him were substantial stone pillars, carved to look like Humans. Addonis assumed they were the past Emperors of Falton Two. The last time he had come to meet with Emperor Rowan, they had met in the courtyard. He was glad that he was allowed to see inside this magnificent building. Addonis felt great honor at the opportunity.

As Addonis reached the end of the vast stone carvings, he saw Emperor Rowan, standing in front of the windows directly in front of him. Addonis continued to move forward slowly.

“Why have you come to my planet?” Emperor Rowan asked, as he continued to gaze out the windows.

“We need your help,” Addonis replied.

“What do the Morag need from us?”

“We need help defeating the Humans of the Empire and the Solar System.”

“Do you not have enough warships for this task?” Rowan asked, as he slowly turned around.

“We would have no problems defeating the Humans of the Empire. Our problem lies with the Humans of the Solar System. With their remote location, they are spared from attack and can send more ships to help the Empire. Together they are growing very strong,” Addonis replied. “They have even been attacking targets here in the Confederation.”

“The Humans of the Empire and the Solar System are here in the Confederation?” Rowan asked, surprised. “I didn’t think the Seven Races of the Confederation had grown so weak.”

“The Great Council of the Confederation has fractured, I’m afraid.”

“Why?” Rowan asked, his gaze fixed upon Addonis.

Addonis felt his heart pounding faster in his chest. This meeting wasn’t going as he had hoped. “The Humans of the Solar System have interfered. They informed all the races in the Confederation about the Morag’s telepathic abilities. The other races did not take well to this discovery. This was the flame that lit the fuse. Now the Morag only have two allies, the Druins and the Lamothians. However, the Lamothians have lost all their planets.”

“It sounds as though your greatest enemy is the Humans of the Solar System. If you cut off the head of the snake, the rest will die off with it,” Rowan said, as he walked to a door hidden behind a tapestry. “Follow me. I have something that may help you after all.”

-

Captain Hadley was surprised at how long the meeting between Addonis and Emperor Rowan had lasted. More than two hours later, Addonis finally emerged from the building. His guards then escorted him back to his transport vessel.

Soon afterward, the vessel headed back to the warship, where it had previously docked. Then the two transport vessels from the Morag formation headed down to the surface.

“Let’s watch where those vessels go. I believe those vessels should hold the gifts for the Emperor that Addonis had mentioned before. I am curious to see just exactly what the Morag would give the Humans as a gift,” Hadley commented.

All the crew watched the viewscreen that showed the transport vessels land. Slowly the rear of the ship opened, and Morag workers began to slowly unload crates from the vessel. It was impossible to tell what was in the crates. No visible markings were on them, at least not that could be seen with their technologies on the scout ship. The crates were taken to a nearby building. Once all twenty crates were unloaded from one transport vessel, the other one began unloading. The process repeated itself, until it was all unloaded as well. In total, forty-two crates had been unloaded.

Hadley realized her hands were closed into a fist. She was dying to know what was in those crates. Hadley relaxed her fingers and tried to calm her frustration.

Then two crates were carefully loaded onto the transport ships. It was impossible to tell what was on those crates either. Maybe there would still be some communication about the crates between the Morag and the Humans before the Morag left the system. It was probably only wishful thinking on Hadley’s part, but at least it was something.

Hadley’s hopes were dashed though, for, as soon as the transport vessels got back into formation, the task group entered hyperspace, leaving Falton Two behind.

A rush of disappointment crashed over Hadley and her crew. The mysteries just kept growing. She knew she needed to send an encrypted message to Golan Four, informing them of the events of the last twenty-four hours. Now that the Morag were not in orbit, she wasn’t worried about them intercepting her message and blowing her scout ship into millions of pieces.

At least she could breathe easier now that the Morag were not so close. “Lieutenant Maddox, send a message to Fleet Admiral Marloo about the events we witnessed here at Falton Two. Perhaps they can make more sense of it. Especially since Professor Wright has surely returned and revealed all he discovered about Falton Two by now.”

“Yes, Captain, right away,” responded Maddox.

Hadley relaxed in her chair. Now, back to observing. “Let’s watch the area where we know the Emperor was. If we can, I want all the communications from there closely monitored. If there’s anything unusual communicated, inform me immediately.”

-

General Gantts immediately tracked down Fleet Admiral Marloo, who was eating his evening meal, when she received the message from scout ship 368. “Admiral, we have received a message from Captain Hadley above Falton Two. I knew you would want to see it immediately.”

“Yes, thank you. Could you please contact Vice Fleet Admiral Masters and have him meet me in the Imperial Council Chambers please,” Marloo said, with a smile.

“Yes. I will do that now.”

“Thank you. Did you read the message?”

“Yes, sir. The Morag have visited the planet. Once I read that part, I knew immediately that you would want to see the message at once.”

-

Derrick was having dinner with Layla, when he received the message to meet Marloo at the Imperial Council Chambers. He thought that was an odd place to meet. Why not just in the Command Center? As General Gantts walked away, Derrick asked, “Do you know what this meeting is about?”

“Falton Two. We received a message from Captain Hadley,” Gantts replied.

“Thank you,” Derrick said, as he finished his meal. Then he stood to head to meet with Marloo. “Are you going to come along?”

Layla replied, “I wouldn’t miss it. Do you think we should get anyone else for the meeting? Professor Charles, perhaps?”

“Let’s see what the message says, before we stir up everyone to come along.”

Layla nodded her head in agreement and then took Derrick’s arm, as they headed out the door.

Once the three of them had arrived at the chambers, Marloo handed Derrick and Layla the message.

After Derrick read the contents of the message, he handed it to Layla, so she could see it a little better. “I wonder what that meeting was about?” Derrick asked aloud.

“And what’s in those crates?” added Layla.

“Is there a way for us to find out?” Derrick asked.

“I don’t think so. Not unless the Humans of Falton Two communicate about it or bring them outside to open them,” responded Marloo. “The good thing is that we now know who their leader is and where on the planet this Emperor Rowan lives. We can more closely monitor this area for communications and activity.”

“If they are telepathic though, they don’t need to communicate in the traditional ways that we do,” commented Layla.

Derrick and Marloo looked up, a bit surprised. “That’s true. I hadn’t thought much about that,” said Derrick. “At least we have confirmed that the Morag and the telepathic Humans do not communicate telepathically. Since the Morag sent a message to Falton Two requesting a meeting with the Emperor, this proves Professor Charles theory that their abilities are slightly different.”

“Good point, Derrick,” replied Marloo.

“Well we will not know what was said in that meeting unless the Humans without the abilities communicate about it.” Layla furrowed her eyebrows and looked deep in thought for a moment. “Do you think it is a possibility that there are Humans on the planet who may be planning a rebellion against the Humans with the telepathic abilities? Perhaps they are not content with the status quo? Maybe their communications would be more beneficial to intercept.”

“I like the way you think. However, if they were planning something, they would not use a means of communication that could be intercepted by just anyone,” said Derrick.

“If there is any unrest on the planet,” Marloo said, “there hasn’t been any communications about it that we’ve intercepted. I can have Hadley listen for anything along those lines though. Especially now that we know where this Emperor Rowan is at,” added Marloo.

“Do we have a way to discern which Humans do and do not have the telepathic abilities?” asked Layla.

“No. Hadley is unaware of that information, so she wouldn’t know to look for it. She and her crew will be briefed when they return from their post. Maybe at that time, she will have more insight into what’s going on there,” said Marloo.

“The relief ship and crew will be leaving within the next twenty-four hours. So Hadley and her crew will return in a little under two weeks,” said Derrick.

“I look forward to hearing from her,” said Layla.

“As do we,” said Marloo. “She will bring lots of data for us to sift through as well.”

“Good, maybe we will find something that will help us determine the involvement of the Morag,” replied Layla.

“Perhaps,” replied Marloo.

Chapter Five

Admiral Collison and his fleets closed in on their targeted star system. He had spent countless hours going over the reports from the scout ships and analyzing the data they had gathered. Which Morag-controlled star system was the best target? It wasn’t as clear-cut as it seemed. The best target wasn’t necessarily the one with the least ships to defend it. That could end up being a trap. Collison knew his best target would be one that surprised the Morag. One that they weren’t expecting. Since previously they had attacked planets in systems where they had already destroyed shipyards, he needed to change it up.

Collison wanted to destroy more shipyards. Yes, of course, he wanted to destroy a planet or two. Who wouldn't want a little revenge after all the Morag had done to the Humans in the past several thousand years? The question was though, what would help them win the war? It wasn’t destroying random Morag planets. Although he hoped that the plan to destroy Morag Prime itself would be the final blow that would sink the Confederation. For now, Collison needed to weaken the enemy further, which led him to the conclusion that his primary targets would be shipyards and warships. Planets would be a bonus.

Once Collison had drawn this conclusion, he narrowed down his options. The star systems with multiple shipyards were more heavily guarded, leaving the systems with one shipyard more attractive targets. He wanted to destroy Morag warships but not be outnumbered. If they could use the next couple weeks to eliminate smaller task groups of Morag ships, that could help the larger attack of Morag Prime be the final nail in the coffin.

Collison continued to pace back and forth in his office. He had already made his decision and confirmed the target with the others, but he found it necessary to double-check his choice. The wrong decisions would lead to the death and destruction of hundreds or thousands of Human lives on his ships.

Once he had reached the same conclusion numerous times, he felt confident he had made the right choice. Collison examined the holographic display again and mentally went over his plan of attack. Yes, he was ready. It was time to destroy more Morag ships and shipyards. He turned off the holographic display and then headed to the Command Center of his flagship.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes monitored the long-range scans of the surrounding star systems as they neared their target. Each system had a task group of ships patrolling. None of these task groups were larger than the Humans’ combined fleets, however. If the Morag all converged on the same star system, that would be a far different story.

Admiral Collison informed Barnes that he had done the calculations and felt confident that they’d have sufficient time to finish their attack on this target star system, before the surrounding enemy fleets would have the chance to arrive. Barnes trusted Collison’s judgment, so she wouldn’t worry about any enemy fleets not in the targeted system.

Her fleet would be focused on the one shipyard that orbited the Morag Twenty-Three planet—which they’d recently learned was also known as Mynderal.

When Professor Charles Wright had been doing his research on Bator Prime, he had found a map of part of the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. On this map were the original names of the planets. More recently the Morag had switched to the system of numbering their planets. The records showed they did this to be more efficient and to make it easier for their fleets to navigate their numerous planets and inhabited moons.

Either way Barnes looked at it, this planet—whether they called it Morag Twenty-Three or Mynderal—would soon face destruction.

Their main priority would be the shipyard and Morag task group, but they’d destroy the planet if time allowed. Barnes leaned back in her chair and sighed. The first attack of a Morag planet would soon commence and hopefully would change the trajectory of this war. The Morag would finally feel the loss of billions of their own lives.

Barnes closed her eyes, as she thought about those lives. She pictured Morag citizens on their way home from a day’s work, when a bright streak of light came toward them. Then a large explosion would level anything and everything in a twenty-kilometer radius, including the homes of the Morag she had pictured.

She opened her eyes and felt empathy for those she had pictured in her mind. Did they have anything to do with this war? Probably not, but they would pay the price for it anyway, as billions of Humans have already done so in the last hundred years. Now it was the Morag’s turn.

Time for Barnes to head to the Command Center. They would be exiting hyperspace in less than half an hour.

-

Newly promoted Rear Admiral Drake examined the holographic display of the star system they intended to target. It was a yellow-dwarf star system with six planets orbiting the star. Only one planet was inhabited. It had two moons that orbited the planet, but neither had been terraformed. The lone shipyard orbited the inhabited planet. The closest star system was a ninety-minute hyperspace jump away. Which was a good sign that help for the Morag would not be close enough to warrant concern.

Drake would stick with Admiral Collison to eliminate the defending enemy warships. They had agreed on the strategy of sending in the attack interceptors first. They would launch their missiles from medium-range and then return to the carriers. After the first round of attacks by the interceptors, Drake and Collison would move in to finish off the enemy ships.

After that, depending on how much time they had used up, they would then join Rear Admiral Carrie on the attack of the defensive grid and subsequently the planet.

Drake was ready to blow things up, whether that be an enemy ship, shipyard, or planet. He laughed to himself. When he was a young boy, he had used fireworks to blow various stuff to pieces. He had been fascinated with it. That was one of the reasons he had joined the military and then went on to be a pilot and worked his way up the ranks. He wanted to see things blown up, especially if it was his enemy.

As Drake focused again on the viewscreens showing the long-range scans, he thought back to his family on Earth. He hoped he would get to see them again someday. Maybe he would return a hero.

Alarms sounded, indicating the sensors had registered enemy ships in their nearing target. Drake glanced at the display. Sixty-one warships in the system. With the Humans’ superior weapons, they shouldn’t lose many ships destroying the enemy. Which meant Collison’s combined fleet could continue their attack on another Morag system and hopefully keep the Morag distracted long enough for the planned attack on Morag Prime to begin.

Drake smiled. That was one battle he definitely looked forward to. He could imagine the looks on the Morag leaders’ faces when they realized their fate. It would be priceless, and Drake hoped he’d still be around to participate.

That battle was a couple weeks or more away. For now, Drake’s attention needed to be on his first target, and that was only ten minutes away.

-

On board the battlecarrier Orion, Captain Jack Anderson had his attack interceptor crews preparing for their first attack. His crews would join the others in the first wave of interceptor attacks on the Morag fleet stationed in the target system.

Once they exited hyperspace and moved into position, Anderson would launch his interceptors. They could hopefully eliminate over half of the enemy ships.

After launching their missiles at the enemy ships, the interceptors would return to the carrier to rearm for the attack on the planet. While the fleet eliminated the rest of the warships and the shipyard, Anderson would be busy taking scans of the planet and determining targets for his crews to hit.

Anderson took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. He was ready, and his interceptor crews were ready.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie gripped the arms of her command chair, as the fleet exited hyperspace into the system containing their target, planet Morag Twenty-Three. Alarms sounded, indicating the presence of enemy ships. Carrie’s gaze shifted to the tactical display. It revealed sixty-one red threat icons. Fourteen of those were battleships, and the remaining ones were battlecruisers.

Once the attack interceptors engaged the enemy ships, her task group would jump to the far side of the planet and begin eliminating the defensive grid elements.

“Six minutes to our designated coordinates, where the fleet will stop to allow the interceptors to launch,” called out the tactical officer.

“As we close in on those coordinates, let’s get some detailed scans of the planet and its defenses. I want to know what we will be up against.”

-

Morag Commander Kornol had his task group on patrol in the system where planet Morag Twenty-Three was located. Nothing eventful had happened as of yet. He highly doubted the Humans would waste their time and resources coming after one shipyard. If it were him, he would target systems that contained multiple shipyards.

Systems check, he commanded. Kornol wanted to ensure his ships were battle-ready at all times.

Everything is 100 percent operational, Commander, replied the systems officer.

Sir, I have enemy ships dropping from hyperspace, noted the sensor officer in alarm.

Are they Human ships? asked Kornol.

Yes, Commander, two hundred and counting.

Kornol swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Send out a call for aid. We won’t fend them off for very long. How close is the nearest task group? He focused on the viewscreen in front of him. They were vastly outnumbered.

The closest task group is ninety minutes away, Commander.

What about Admiral Voxx? He was in the area not long ago.

His fleet has moved on. They are two hours away.

Move our fleet in closer to the shipyard. We will use their added firepower to eliminate as many Human ships as we can.

Do you think they will attack the planet? asked his first officer.

No. They wouldn’t dare, Kornol responded, as he narrowed his large eyes at his first officer.

They are ten minutes from engagement range, Commander, said the sensor officer.

What are we up against? asked Kornol. The tactical display was filled with red threat icons and even more red threat icons appeared.

The Humans have stopped their advance on our fleet. They appear to be launching their small attack craft, said the sensor officer.

How many of those do they have?

Our scans show 480 of the small attack craft have been launched from their carriers.

We need to destroy those carriers. Identify those carriers. I want half of our fleet to jump out there and attack them. I want only the carriers targeted. We must eliminate those ships, Kornol said, as he slammed down his large hand on the arm of his command chair.

The small attack craft are now inbound to our location. They are five minutes from engagement range, said the sensor officer.

As soon as the ships enter our combat range, I want half of our ships to jump out to those carriers and blow them out of the sky, commanded Kornol.

-

The Black Dart Squadron had launched from the Orion and were headed toward the enemy ships gathered now and already in formation around the shipyard. Group leader Captain Stephens lead his squadron of twenty attack interceptors toward the right side of the enemy formation.

“Lieutenant Vick, spread out our formation. We need to keep our distance from one another to make it harder for the Morag ships to target us.”

“Yes, Captain, right away,” Vick replied from his interceptor that had been just to the rear of Stephens.

Once Stephens was satisfied with the Black Dart Squadron’s more spread-out formation, they made their attack runs. They were to launch their missiles from medium-range. As soon as all missiles had been launched, they were to return to their carriers.

“One more minute until we reach medium-range, Captain,” said Navigator Ensign Brigum Meld.

“Prepare to launch all four fusion-tipped missiles at the right side of the enemy formation.”

Stephens felt his attack interceptor shudder beneath him, as the missiles were launched toward their targets. The Morag ships and shipyard had already launched a hail of weapons at the onslaught of the interceptors’ attack.

“Fusion energy beam fire is incoming, Captain.”

“Commence our evasive maneuvers,” Stephens said, as he glanced out the cockpit window at Lieutenant Mallory, who was approximately twenty-five yards off his starboard side. A fusion energy beam passed between the two interceptors, as both began their evasive maneuvers.

Stephens had his attack interceptor dive and spin, doing his best to avoid annihilation. Weapons fire could be seen out of each side of his cockpit window. He gritted his teeth, as he did his best to avoid the deadly firepower all around his vessel. As he closed in on his battlecarrier, Morag battleships and battlecruisers appeared between him and the Orion. The Morag ships immediately opened fire on the awaiting battleships, now in a vulnerable position, waiting for the interceptors to return to their landing bays.

Stephens felt like time had slowed down, as he watched in disbelief while the Morag’s firepower slammed into the energy screens of the battlecarriers. The carriers immediately returned fire. Space was alight with the intensity of the short-lived battle. The energy shields of three of the carriers glowed brighter and brighter, as more and more enemy firepower hammered the protective blanket that was the shield—the only thing standing between the life and death of thousands of people—and it held on only by a thread.

Suddenly a bright explosion shook Stephens’s attack interceptor, as one of the carriers succumbed to the intense firepower. The shield failed, and hundreds of antimatter missiles slammed into the hull, causing a chain of explosions that shook the entire fleet.

When the airspace cleared, and Stephens could see again, the amount of wreckage between him and the fleet was alarming. He worked his way around the remains and to the Orion, which was still in one piece.

The Human fleet had quickly readjusted and had destroyed the thirty attacking Morag ships. The Humans had lost two battlecarriers in the short span of the battle. Now the attack interceptors intent on heading back to reload on the Aurora and the Mariana had nowhere to land or to reload.

Stephens knew the only possible option was to reload them through the Orion. “All attack interceptors to the Orion. Quickly get reloaded and back out there. We have a lot of other interceptors that need to reload through our carrier.” He wasn’t sure how they’d handle transporting these now homeless interceptors, but they could reload numerous times through the Orion.

-

On board battlecarrier Orion, Captain Jack Anderson was still in shock over what had unfolded around him. It had all happened too quickly. One moment his attention was focused on the returning attack interceptors, watching them dodge the oncoming enemy fire. It was always intense to watch the pilots maneuver their vessels agilely to avoid annihilation.

Suddenly alarms had sounded, and Morag warships filled his viewscreens. His battlecarrier then shook beneath him, as the enemy fire began bombarding his ship.

“Return fire!” Anderson called out. The battlecarriers were thankfully designed to be lethal, when needed. This was one of those moments when they needed to be. “Fire everything we have at those Morag ships.”

Anderson watched in growing dread as the energy shields of the two surrounding battlecarriers grew brighter and brighter. They were successfully destroying the Morag ships, but Anderson was not confident the energy shields on those two nearby carriers would hold that long.

Collison had quickly changed the formation of the fleet to render more firepower toward the offending ships. Soon the enemy ships were no more. Only wreckage remained. Unfortunately not only Morag ships now floated lifelessly through the space between the Human fleet and the remaining enemy ships near the planet.

Anderson sat down in shock. The Aurora and the Mariana had been destroyed. His battlecarrier had been the only other one that the Morag had targeted that had not been destroyed. It was standard operating procedure for the attack interceptors to be launched in rotations, so as to protect their supply of the integral interceptors. So some would be fighting, while others were reloading or involved in routine maintenance, all as yet more crews were getting some needed downtime.

Thus the Morag had targeted the three battlecarriers currently with active interceptors in destroy mode.

Anderson felt lucky to be alive, as should the fifty-six other battlecarriers included in this fight. As Anderson’s gaze shifted to the tactical display, he realized they had another problem.

The initial group of attack interceptors that had made their attack runs to help eliminate the Morag fleet had now returned, only instead of their three empty battlecarriers to land on, they only had room to land on the one empty carrier.

His.

Anderson heard Captain Stephens, group leader of the Black Dark Squadron, give the command for everyone returning to reload to take turns landing on the Orion.  That was a great idea. They could get them reloaded and then out to the planet to hit their remaining targets there. Meanwhile, other squadrons standing by now headed out to join the fight.

However, the issue still remained that they had started this attack using only 480 attack interceptors from the first three designated battlecarriers. They had lost 67 interceptors in this battle so far, leaving 413 active interceptors. Yet, with the destruction of two of their battlecarriers to land on, Anderson now had those 413 attack interceptors but only one empty carrier—with room to land just 160 of them.

Anderson knew he wasn’t the only one troubleshooting the issue of how to accommodate the extra 253 interceptors with no battlecarrier, they could maybe squeeze in three more interceptors to each of the fifty-seven remaining battlecarriers on-site, including his ship, taking care of another 171 “homeless” interceptors. That still left 82 interceptors without a landing zone. What would they do?

-

Admiral Collison knew he had made a mistake. He should have kept the carriers safely on the inside of the formation. However, the three that had launched their attack interceptors had moved to the side of the formation to allow the interceptors quicker and easier access to land and to reload. Collison had learned a painful but a valuable lesson today. One that had cost thousands of lives. For now though, the battle must go on.

“Let’s get rid of the rest of this Morag fleet and begin our planned attacks,” Collison said, as he shifted his focus to what he needed to do next.

“Admiral, the attack interceptors are all reloading on the Orion and then will be ready to attack the planet,” said Captain Billingsly.

“Good. Assign a small task group of ships to defend the Orion and the four battlecarriers joining them, as they jump to the other side to assist Admiral Carrie. The rest of the battlecarriers will come with me. How far are we from engagement range of the rest of this Morag fleet?”

“Three minutes, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

Collison gazed at the tactical display. Now only fourteen Morag warships were left near the shipyard. The interceptors’ fusion-tipped missiles had done their job of destroying most of the enemy fleet. What was left of the Morag fleet would not take long to defeat.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes closed in on the shipyard. The Morag fleet was in formation around that shipyard—or what was left of it. Some of the attack interceptors’ fusion-tipped missiles had struck the shipyard and had helped to weaken the energy screen. It wouldn’t take but a few hits of the accelerator cannons to demolish what was left of the shipyard’s energy screen.

“One minute to engagement range of the shipyard,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire accelerator cannons. Let’s destroy this shipyard quickly, so we can move on to assist Admiral Carrie with the attacks on the defensive grid and the planet,” Barnes commanded.

Barnes’s gaze was fixed on the viewscreen in front of her. The Morag shipyard and fleet opened fire, just before the Humans reached engagement range. A large wall of weapons fire lit up the entire viewscreen. “Brace for impact,” she shouted.

Her dreadnought, Phobos, shuddered beneath her, as the energy shield was hammered with fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles. Barnes watched the viewscreen intensely, as her accelerator cannon fire reached the shipyard, pulverizing its energy shield. Soon afterward, the next round slammed into the now-unprotected hull, causing a chain of explosions that incinerated the shipyard.

Barnes evaluated the damage and noticed that Collison and Drake had finished off the Morag warships. Now was time to blow a hole through the defensive grid to get the attack interceptors through to the surface. She knew Carrie was probably close to that goal now.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie and her task group had jumped to the far side of the planet, as soon as the battle began with the Morag fleet and its shipyard. This planet had a pretty strong defensive grid, however, not as good as those that surrounded the core planets of the Empire.

The defensive grid opened fire on her fleet, as soon as they were within range. The energy beam satellites and missile platforms bombarded her fleet. Carrie focused her firepower on the closest defensive elements first and then worked her way slowly across the planet. She needed to open up a hole in the grid big enough to get the attack interceptors through, without the risk of them being fired upon.

Carrie grimaced; she lost a couple battlecruisers in the process but quickly had a hole large enough for the attack interceptors to slip through. She sent a message for the Orion and the orphaned attack interceptors to jump to her coordinates.

While she waited for them, Carrie continued to pick off one defensive grid element after another. Small explosions lit up the sky all around this side of the planet, as her task group continued to annihilate the defensive grid.

As soon as the Orion  and four more battlecarriers full of attack interceptors arrived, they quickly slipped through the hole in the defensive grid, which was growing by the minute.

Carrie watched as the attack interceptors headed to their designated targets, while she continued to eliminate the defensive grid. Carrie knew that shortly she would see the large mushroom clouds, evidence that the interceptors had hit their targets.

-

Captain Stephens and his Black Dart Squadron slipped through the defensive grid and headed to their various targets across the planet. As for his targets, his first was a power generation plant out in what appeared to be a dry wasteland. As he neared his target, he saw air cars evacuating the premises. Too little, too late, he thought to himself.

Stephens released one of his four fusion-tipped missiles and headed to his next target. The reflection of the large explosion could be seen on his cockpit window. After the initial blast, a larger one rocked the entire area. The mushroom cloud that ensued was the largest one he had ever witnessed. He turned his interceptor slightly as he headed to his next target, just to marvel at the size of the explosion. Stephens wondered what the Morag had been using to generate power that would cause such an intense explosion.

As Stephens continued to his next coordinates, a large mountain was visible on the horizon. Out of his periphery vision, he noted mushroom clouds rising to the sky all around him. The mountain got larger and more prominent in his cockpit window, and Stephens saw the snow that surrounded the mountain.

Just on the other side of the mountain lay a large city. Stephens skirted around the mountain and, in its large shadow, sat an equally large city. He flew low enough that he could see the panic on the faces of the Morag. He had never actually seen a Morag in person before. They resembled massive apelike creatures and stood nearly ten feet tall. Not quite like the aliens he had pictured as a child or saw in movies as he grew older.

Once Stephens reached his designated missile coordinates, he released his second fusion-tipped missile in the city park that sat in the city’s center. It looked like a pretty amazing park. Small boats were out on the water, with small lakes for fishing. Hundreds of Morag could be seen walking through the park. Some even rode other small vehicles with wheels, similar to bicycles. The vegetation was obviously manicured and well taken care of.

Stephens sighed and turned his interceptor toward his next target. He heard the explosion that resonated from the missile he had detonated above the park. He knew the park was no more.

His next target was a short flight toward the coast. From his list of targets, he saw this third one was a giant stadium-type structure. Once he made his way closer to the large building, he confirmed it was full of Morag. They appeared to be watching some game being played on the field in the center of the stadium. Stephens did not want to look too closely. So far, what he had seen made him realize that the Morag were not that different from him.

They played at the park, went to sports games to cheer for their favorite teams. How had they become enemies? What started this war between the Morag and the Humans to begin with? He had no answers to these questions, but he did have a mission to complete. Stephens pushed the button, releasing his deadly weapon on the thousands of Morag down below.

His fourth target was up the coast a short distance. It looked more like a resort-type town. One he would vacation at back home. He knew this time he would not fly in close enough to learn more about his target. He quickly launched his last and final missile at the medium-size town and then headed back toward the Orion.

-

Captain Jack Anderson watched the destruction of planet Morag Twenty-Three from his command chair on board the Orion. Debris clouds and mushroom clouds rose all over the planet. In total, over eight hundred attack interceptors had released more than 3,200 fusion-tipped missiles all across the surface of the planet. In a matter of minutes, the atmosphere would darken, blocking out the sun. The unfortunate Morag who did not die from the initial attacks would soon die from the aftermath of them.

Anderson took a deep breath to clear his head. The battlecarriers had made room for four additional attack interceptors each. It would be a tight fit, but it was doable. They all knew that, in each star system they attacked, they would lose more attack interceptors and would quickly find the carriers not so cramped.

As the last interceptor landed in bay two of the Orion, Anderson sent his all-clear message to Admiral Collison. Their mission had been accomplished here. All sixty-one enemy ships had been destroyed, the shipyard and defensive grid were no longer in existence, and soon all life on the planet would be extinguished.

The time had come to enter hyperspace and to head to their next target. It would be a five-hour hyperspace jump. In the meantime, he needed his crew fed and rested up for the next attack.

Chapter Six

Morag Admiral Voxx’s eyes glowed red in anger. He was furious when he heard from Commander Kornol. How dare the Humans attack the Morag again. The last he heard from Kornol, the Humans had destroyed the shipyard and almost all the warships in the system. Voxx assumed that, since he could no longer communicate with Kornol, that the commander’s ship had been destroyed as well.

Kornol had informed Voxx that part of the Human fleet was attacking the defensive grid of the planet. This could only mean one thing. The Humans intended to destroy the planet. All of those Morag lives on the planet would be gone. Voxx felt a deep rage building inside him. How would he stop them? He formed his hands into tight fists and slammed them on the arms of his command chair, breaking it into pieces. He growled in anger and then removed himself from the Command Center, so he could figure out how to stop these Humans from destroying more planets.

He stomped his way to his quarters. Voxx knew he could not think clearly in his current state of mind.

Once he had calmed himself slightly, he evaluated the situation. The problem was that they had too many inhabited planets to protect, with too few ships to protect them. Well, they were down one world. He did not want to lose any more. His fleets were spread out to cover all of their ninety-two star systems. The issue was that, if he split up their ships within each star system to start defending each planet full of Morag, Voxx would then not have enough to fight off the Human fleet.

The last time the Humans attacked, the Morag were able to catch up to them because Voxx had used scout ships to find the Human fleet. However, the Morag scout ships were not stealth. Thus the Humans could sense them. It would not be difficult to find the Human fleet, but to keep that ship that found them from being destroyed would be another matter altogether.

Voxx continued to pace back and forth in his quarters. There had to be a solution. After a few minutes of no solutions, he stumbled upon an idea. He didn’t need scout ships to find the Human fleet. Next time the Humans dropped from hyperspace into one of their systems, the Morag would know their location. Voxx just needed one of those Morag ships to stay until close to the end of the battle and then jump out. Then that ship could follow the Humans when they left.

The trick would be figuring out when the Humans were about to jump out of the system. That way, the Morag ship could jump back into the system, just as the Humans were jumping out, and then follow them. If the Humans chose a system with a space station next and didn’t destroy it, then they could let the ship know when to return to follow the Humans.

Their success in the endeavor would hinge entirely on timing.

Even if they did time everything correctly, the Humans could possibly drop from hyperspace immediately upon realizing they had been followed and could destroy the ship trailing them.

That’s what Voxx would do, if it were him.

For now, this was the only idea he had, so he would have to go with it. Voxx needed to speak with Addonis to see if he found out anything useful from his trip to Falton Two.

In the meantime, Voxx would put his plan into action. Based on the Humans’ previous attacks, Voxx knew they would not attack any system adjacent to the one they had just attacked. So that lowered the possibilities slightly, however, not enough to make much of a difference. Voxx let out a frustrated sigh. Damn these Humans.

-

Morag High Council Leader Addonis had recently returned from his pilgrimage to Falton Two. He was satisfied with what he had learned from Emperor Rowan. It amazed Addonis that, every time he went to Falton Two, he felt peaceful and more confident in their ultimate victory over these meddlesome creatures.

Addonis was in deep thought in his office, when he was suddenly interrupted by Admiral Voxx.

The Humans have attacked the planet Morag Twenty-Three. They successfully destroyed all sixty-one warships in addition to the shipyard. Commander Kornol had reported the Humans were targeting the defensive grid, before I could no longer connect with him. I have been unable to contact anyone on the surface, and I fear the planet is destroyed, Voxx reported.

Do we know where the Humans are now? Asked Addonis.

No. We do not even know in which direction they went after their attack. No Morag were left alive to report it.

Addonis narrowed his eyes and considered his options. Do you have any plans on how to eliminate this threat?

One. I am not confident it will work, however. I was hoping you would have some insight as to how to defeat them, after your return from Falton Two.

I do. It will take some time to put my plan into action. In the meantime, go ahead and initiate your idea. The Humans’ days of terrorizing the Morag will be short-lived, Addonis replied in a strong and confident tone.

Once his conversation with Voxx had ended, Addonis stood and walked to his terrace, overlooking the city below. How could he best play the cards he had been dealt? Rowan had given him some valuable information and, if played at the right time, could win the Morag this war. Was now the time? Addonis didn’t think it was. The time was fast approaching, but it was not here yet.

If the Morag could destroy this Human fleet now antagonizing their star systems, then Addonis could hold his winning hand until he really needed it. He had no doubt he would need it somewhere down the line.

Addonis walked slowly back to his seat. He looked over at one of his viewscreens that showed his winning hand was still safely where it should be. He smiled an evil grin, as he thought of how this would eventually play out. Addonis relished the thought of it. Then Addonis turned off the screen. The fewer Morag who knew of this, the better. He wanted no chance of the Humans finding out about his little surprise, until it was time.

-

Admiral Collison plotted his next move. He needed to do as much damage as he could before the Morag had the opportunity to strategize on how to stop him.

The next star system he would wreak havoc in was fast approaching. In their first attack, his fleets had lost fifteen battlecruisers and three dreadnoughts, plus the two battlecarriers, which had been the most damaging, but he had learned from it. From now on, the battlecarriers would stay in the center of the formation so that they were not exposed to the enemy. The attack interceptors would be forced to fly through the formation to launch and to land, but they were fast and maneuverable, able to handle the added complications that would bring.

Collison studied the holographic display in front of him, as he evaluated the reports from the scout ships. Not much had changed yet with the positioning of the Morag fleets, which he found a little troubling. Collison crossed his arms across his chest, and a worried look settled on his face. Collison had assumed the Morag would redistribute their fleets in one manner or another. So far, Collison had noted no such response to the Humans attack on Morag Twenty-Three. At least not in terms of Morag warship placement.

Not much Collison could do besides hit the next target. This particular star system held one inhabited planet and two terraformed moons. The planet had two shipyards in orbit. The system had a Morag task group of eighty-six warships at last report. Collison’s main goal was to take out the warships and the shipyards.

He was still undecided about the destruction of the planet and the terraformed moons. He thought his combined fleet had the means to take out all three, but he wasn’t sure the ends justified the means. Collison would lose ships just taking out the defensive grids. The Humans had already demonstrated to the Morag that they could destroy their planets at will. So maybe now it was time to focus on eliminating the Morag’s ability to make war.

Once Collison’s task group arrived at the upcoming Morag star system and did their detailed scans, getting the latest update on their intended targets, then Collison could evaluate the defensive grids of the planet and the two terraformed moons. Maybe one was more vulnerable than the others. Then they could plan to destroy the one least protected.

Collison continued to pace back and forth in front of the holographic display. He occasionally stopped, when an idea crossed his mind. He had to keep attacking star systems and eliminating shipyards and warships. The key was staying away from the large Morag fleets. Neither of the two largest enemy fleets were anywhere near their current location.

The other caveat was making sure the Humans were not tracked into hyperspace. That had been their undoing the last time they had attacked the Morag here in their area of the Confederation. It would happen eventually, and Collison needed to have a plan, when it did.

Rear Admiral Carrie had suggested they split the combined fleet into two groups and hit two star systems simultaneously. Collison liked that idea, and he knew he had ample leadership to get it done. He had told Carrie they would jointly attack this next target and then afterward split into two groups to attack two systems at once. They could always meet back up if they needed to.

In the meantime, Collison would evaluate what those two targets would be and where they would go afterward. He needed a carefully laid-out plan for them to follow, since communication would be kept to a minimum between the fleets. Plus Collison would pick out a rendezvous location and a designated time to meet there.

Collison had one more hour to make his plans. At that time, they would exit hyperspace at their second target.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo noted the successes Collison had so far in the Morag-controlled star systems. Sixty-one fewer Morag warships and one less shipyard. If Collison could keep this up for the next couple weeks, it would make the Humans’ planned attack on Morag Prime even more likely to be a success.

As for Falton Two, Marloo still wasn’t quite sure what to do with the new information he had and also with the lack of answers further questions had generated. The only thing that made sense to him was to focus on defeating the Morag. Once that was done, they could figure out what was going on with Falton Two.

It could definitely throw them a curveball, but Marloo hoped it wouldn’t be one they’d swing wildly at. Maybe it would be one they’d knock out of the park. Then he chuckled to himself. He obviously had baseball on his mind. One of the viewscreens in the cafeteria had been showing a baseball game from Earth. What an interesting sport it was.

Earth. Marloo was relieved to have such powerful allies. At one time in the not-so-distant past, Earth had been far behind in its technologies and space travel. That was not the case anymore. He had spoken with Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds this morning, getting an update on the timetable for the arrival of the Earth fleet along with the additional ships being built all over the Solar System, including Pallas. They had agreed not to mention specifics in their communications in case intercepted by the enemy.

The Earth fleet would be leaving in a little over one week. Shipyards in the Empire were constantly working, getting out as many ships as possible.

Marloo expected Admiral Cleemorl to arrive later in the day from his vacation. They had some serious issues to discuss, the biggest being, Who would lead the Empire fleet in the attack against Morag Prime? Would it be Dylan Cleemorl or Derrick Masters? Each had their strong points. They were both amazing leaders. One was married to the High Princess of the Empire, who was now pregnant, both of which might make him the less likely one to lead the fleet. Or quite possibly the best. That would be a great symbol of confidence, sending Derrick. He did outrank Cleemorl.

Oh, well, Marloo had decided to let Cleemorl and Derrick hash it out themselves. Let them decide who would go. Marloo suspected that they both actually wanted to go. Both of them would want to see Morag Prime destroyed. Honestly Marloo would like to see that firsthand himself.

Marloo had no idea how many ships Earth would add to this joint endeavor to take out the Morag. The Humans knew from their scout ships in Confederation airspace that the Morag still had over five thousand warships patrolling their systems. With Collison slowly eliminating more, their odds of winning were increasing with each attack. They just needed to keep it up, to keep the Morag on the defensive for another few weeks or so.

-

Admiral Dylan Cleemorl and his wife, Cheryl, had finished up their vacation and were now headed to Golan Four. Dylan knew Cheryl was excited to see Layla and Krista. Cheryl hadn’t seen them since just before the Confederation had attacked the Hagen Star Cluster and the inhabited moon of Gideon.

Gideon had rebuilt their base and all their defenses. They were still working to repair and to restore the moon to what it was before the attack. Most people still lived in the underground bunkers, but progress had steadily been made to make the surface livable again.

Admiral Cleemorl’s Imperial First Fleet constantly grew, first replacing the ships he had lost in the Confederation attack here and more recently the ones that had left with Admiral Collison. Dylan would be more comfortable once First Fleet’s numbers rivaled that of what they had been before these current attacks in the Confederation, but that hadn’t happened yet. Dylan had hoped to have his fleet entail one thousand battlecruisers and two hundred dreadnoughts, before they attacked Morag Prime. He was not confident that would happen in time now.

Dylan looked forward to seeing Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters. It always felt good to strategize with the two of them. Dylan knew that they had a lot to discuss, including how to best protect the growing Human Empire and to aid Earth in this coordinated attack of Morag Prime.

Dylan’s vacation had been a great respite from all the troubles that accompanied his job. Being responsible for protecting billions of lives weighed heavily on him. His escape to the mountains had been a much-needed breath of fresh air. Plus the uninterrupted alone time with Cheryl had been quite enjoyable as well.

Dylan smiled to himself, as he stole a glance at Cheryl. He was one lucky man. He looked forward to a time when defending the Empire wouldn’t take up a majority of his time, and he would have more downtime to enjoy with his wife.

That time was not now, but he felt it was almost within his grasp. They were so close, he could feel it.

-

Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters walked around the grounds again with his wife, High Princess Layla. They had started to make this walk through the grounds of the Imperial Palace a daily routine.

“It sounds like the Lormallians are on board with this attack on Morag Prime,” said Derrick.

“We can use all the allies we can get. Have they been able to contact very many other races to join them?” asked Layla in return.

“A few, but it appears the Visth and the United Worlds Alliance are having better success. I am guessing many of the races are having a hard time trusting the Lormallians.”

“I can understand that. What about the Zynth? Any more news of them?”

“Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull sent word that the Zynth are joining their Neutral Races of the Confederation Council. They will attend the next meeting.”

Layla looked at him in alarm. “Won’t they send word to the Morag if they hear of our plans to attack Morag Prime?”

“Reull believes so and plans to proceed with caution. He informed us that they would not discuss anything that has to do with us when the Zynth are around. The others will meet first, the day before the Zynth arrive. Or they will meet the day after the Zynth leave.”

“Will the Zang or the Morphene join us in our fight against the Morag?” Layla asked slowly.

“Reull does not believe so. The others intend to continue to remain neutral throughout the entire war. I think they still fear the wrath of the Morag.”

“I think we all fear that. We would be lying if we said otherwise,” Layla said solemnly.

“There will be a day, a day fast approaching, where we will no longer fear the Morag. We have them on the defensive right now, and we will keep them there.”

“Yes, we will,” replied Layla in a confident tone. “Our child will never know what it’s like to live in fear. In fear of the Morag or any other race. This child will know peace and prosperity, not war and struggle.” Layla rested her hand on her growing stomach.

Derrick looked at Layla and smiled. “I can’t wait to meet our child. But first, we will defeat what is left of the Confederation.”

They laced their fingers together and walked slowly back toward the Imperial Palace, hand in hand.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull surveyed their growing warfleet, alongside his Fleet Admiral Garr. Reull was impressed with how many ships they had built. A smile slowly spread across his face. “The Morag will soon face their destruction by a united front of so many races. The Morag will find themselves vastly outnumbered.”

“Do you think destroying Morag Prime will be enough?” asked Admiral Garr.

“No, but it will be a good start. After we destroy Morag Prime, we will destroy all their shipyards—well, whichever ones remain, after the Human fleet currently working on eliminating them. We must then destroy all their remaining warships. It won’t be easy. It will not be quick, but it can be done. It must be done.”

“Won’t the Morag rebuild and come after all of us who dared to defy them?” asked Garr.

“Yes, yes, they will. It will take them a long time to claw their way back up from the ashes, but they will do it. We must always monitor them and do our best to prevent them from succeeding in this endeavor. First though, we must destroy Morag Prime. In order to do that, we need more ships. We also need more telepathic nullifiers. All races besides the Humans must wear the nullifiers, or the Morag will use those people against us.”

“I will work on getting you more ships. I can’t help you with the nullifiers,” replied Garr.

“Our production facilities are producing as many as possible. The Visth and their alliance also have the plans to make them and are doing so with urgency. Between all of us, I believe we will have a sufficient number,” replied Reull.

“Are we prepared for an attack? What if the Morag decide to strike us before this scheduled attack on Morag Prime?” asked Garr.

“We are continually strengthening our defensive grid. All of our planets are protected by defensive grids. Now we are focusing on enhancing them all. Our fleets are on high alert. With the Human fleet attacking targets in the Morag portion of the Confederation, I doubt the Morag will spare any warships to attack us.”

“I hope you are right,” Garr said, as he gazed out on the fleet. “This is by far the largest Lormallian fleet I have ever seen in all my days. What a privilege it will be to command it in the upcoming battle against the Morag.”

The two men slowly exited the observation deck and returned to the viewing area, where they could watch the newest warship getting its finishing touches, before launching on its maiden voyage.

As Reull watched the new warship launch from bay five of the shipyard, his confidence grew in their ability to aid the Humans in the Morag’s destruction. Reull was proud of what his race had accomplished since they had left the Great Council of the Confederation, also leaving the undue influence the Morag had had on the Lormallians for thousands of years, simply through their secret telepathic skills.

Reull knew they still had a long way to go to get back to where they were initially as a race, before the Morag had come along. It wouldn’t be something that happened quickly. Ideologies took time to change, possibly generations. Also important was the task of how to govern all the other races in their areas of the Confederation.

At one time, each race that joined the Confederation was promised a seat at the council. That way, each race could have input into how decisions were made and in the making of those decisions and laws. That never happened beyond the seven main races of the Confederation. Reull intended to change that. He had heard much about the Visth and their United Worlds Alliance. Reull was aware that they had modeled their form of government after the Human Empire and their House of Worlds. Reull was determined to learn more about it.

The first place he would look would be in the archives, with help from his brother, Marlon. If anyone could find more information about it, it would be Marlon. Reull already knew the archives had a record of the intentions of the original Great Council of the Confederation. Maybe it went into more detail about how it had been intended to run.

It would take time to implement this new form of government and possibly even longer to earn the trust of the other races in the Lormallian-controlled part of the Confederation. Maybe one place to start would be to stop calling it the Lormallian-controlled area. He would do a little research and then begin to meet with the leaders of the other races. Reull hoped to be an example to the other Neutral Races of the Confederation as to how to do this successfully.

He would bring this topic before the next meeting of the Neutral Races of the Confederation. Together they may solve the problems that would come up more quickly. He also valued their input and suggestions. Together they could make the Confederation what their ancestors had once dreamed it could be.

Chapter Seven

Rear Admiral Carrie was satisfied to hear that Collison planned to go along with her suggestion of splitting the fleet, after this second target had been jointly taken care of. Separate, they could cover more ground. Keeping track of two different fleets attacking two different star systems would be more of a strain on the Morag too. It might even give the Humans more of an advantage.

For now though, it was time to focus on this next star system and their second target. This system contained Morag Thirty-Five and two terraformed moons. The two shipyards orbited the inhabited planet, which, according to the holographic display, was the fourth one from the sun. However, the two terraformed moons were orbiting the third planet from the sun.

As the Humans exited hyperspace, the sensor alarms sounded. Carrie glanced quickly over to the tactical display, where eighty-six red threat icons now appeared on the screen. “Run the detailed scans of the fleet. We need to know what we are up against.”

After a couple tense moments, the sensor officer replied, “The Morag fleet has seventy-four battlecruisers and twelve battleships. They are taking up a defensive formation around the two shipyards.”

“We will employ the same strategy as before. Once we reach the designated coordinates, we will pause our advancement and let the attack interceptors launch and close in to fire their missiles. Hopefully they can eliminate at least half of the enemy ships and do some heavy damage to the energy screens that protect those two shipyards. Remember that the battlecarriers will stay in the middle of our formation. We do not want to chance the Morag attacking our carriers again.”

Carrie monitored their progress, as she stood from her command chair. She looked around the room at her crew. How lucky she was to be surrounded by such a talented group of people. They had been through a lot together and had plenty more battles headed their way.

Admiral Collison had tasked her fleet with destroying the farthest shipyard. Carrie gazed at it, as one of the viewscreens zoomed in on it. The shipyard was massive, probably one of the largest she had ever seen. The destruction of this shipyard would definitely be a blow to the Morag. It had numerous weapons turrets that even now opened to prepare to send their devastating firepower at the ever-closer Human fleets—her fleet specifically, as hers would be the one to attack it.

Carrie felt her flagship halt its forward progress. They had made it to the coordinates where the attack interceptors would now launch and form into their squadrons. Carrie took a deep breath and hoped that most of the interceptors and their crews would make it back safely to their carriers.

As Carrie slowly sat back down in her command chair, the viewscreen filled with a wave of attack interceptors. She took in a sharp breath. Maybe the interceptors would take care of all these targets. There were definitely enough of them to do some serious damage.

That was one thing they did have an abundance of—attack interceptors. They still had fifty-seven battlecarriers, and each held 160. Well, they now held a little over that. Which meant they had well over 9,000 interceptors to use to soften their targets. As long as they had the time, they would use the interceptors as their first wave of attack.

These attack interceptors were more challenging for the Morag to hit since they were smaller and more maneuverable than the battlecruisers and dreadnoughts. The Humans would lose some of them and their three-person crews in most attacks, but, overall in this battle, they would lose fewer Human lives using the interceptors than if they used the battlecruisers and dreadnoughts to destroy all the targets. In fact, they were likely to lose fewer Human lives on the interceptors in this battle than those who could die on one battlecruiser.

That was their ultimate goal here. To destroy their targets with the least amount of Human lives lost.

Carrie continued to watch the interceptors spread out and descend on their targets. They were on high alert in case the Morag ships decided to jump out to their location and engage the fleet. Carrie knew that eventually the Morag would discern that engaging the Human fleet itself with the Morag’s warships—instead of the Morag fighting the attack interceptors—would be a more effective way of destroying the Human fleet as a whole. More bang for their buck, so to speak.

Once the Morag started to do this, the Humans’ strategy would need to change. Carrie hoped they could continue to send in the attack interceptors first for a few more star systems. She knew though that it was only a matter of time before the Morag wised up.

-

Lieutenant Garland from the battlecarrier Freedom led her squadron toward the Morag warships. The warships surrounded the two shipyards. Her squadron was tasked with targeting the warships around the farthest shipyard. That shipyard was a behemoth. Garland swallowed the lump forming in her throat, as she saw it for the first time, noting the weapons turrets with the massive fusion energy beam cannons protruding from them.

As they got ever closer, the shipyard took up her entire cockpit window to her attack interceptor. She had a really uneasy feeling about this. Maybe she needed to go about this differently. She knew that they needed to launch their missiles at medium-range. How could they avoid the weapons of this shipyard and destroy the ships surrounding it?

Whatever she did, she would be in range of the shipyard and its weapons—whether she went below, above, or along any side. There was no escaping its armaments. She and her squadron would just have to outmaneuver them. A smile crossed her face. That was something she could practically do in her sleep.

Suddenly the shipyards and the warships began firing their weapons at the incoming wave of attack interceptors. All around her, Garland saw the missiles and energy beams. She rolled and dove her interceptor one way and then another. Before she realized it, her green indicator light lit up, informing her it was time to launch her payload at her inputted targets. Garland felt her interceptor shudder beneath her, when she launched her four fusion-tipped missiles.

Now it was time for the dangerous journey back to the carriers. Garland turned her interceptor and headed back through the minefield of weapons fire that filled the space between her and the awaiting Human fleet, flashes of light filling the periphery of her vision. With each burst of light, she winced, knowing that another interceptor had been eliminated.

The fleet was now moving in toward combat range, closing the gap she had to cross to get to safety. It was imperative that Garland and her squadron stayed out of the line of fire. Garland sent a message to all her squadron. “We need to be lower than the fleet. That way, they can begin firing on the Morag, once they reach engagement range, without us caught in the cross fire.”

Then Garland dove her interceptor down beneath where the Human fleet would need to be and continued toward the Freedom. Her squadron, or what was left of it, followed closely behind.

Once they managed to reach the safety of the fleet, weapons fire erupted all across the front line. The battlecarriers were now located toward the back of the formation, and Garland quickly maneuvered through the rest of the formation to approach her carrier.

As she landed, Garland let out a sigh of relief. She had done her job. Now it was up to the rest of the fleet. Her interceptor would be resupplied for the next time she would be needed, whether that was to destroy a planet or an inhabited moon in this system or in the next system to soften the targets.

-

Rear Admiral Drake and his task force would stay with Admiral Collison’s ships and focus on the remaining Morag warships. Once they were all destroyed, they would turn their attention to the two shipyards and help Carrie and Barnes finish them off.

Drake watched as the attack interceptors’ missiles struck their targets. Not much could withstand the power of so many fusion-tipped missiles. Soon large explosions rocketed their way through the Morag warships; meanwhile the enemy tried their best to eliminate the threat that the Humans’ attack interceptors posed. More often than not, their attempts to destroy the interceptors were fruitless. The interceptors were just too fast and maneuverable to hit.

Once the attack interceptors made their turns to head back to the fleet, the Human fleet began their advancement on the remaining Morag warships. “Three minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

Drake was worried that the interceptors would be caught in the cross fire but was relieved when they dove down below the fleet. He did not want to be responsible for any friendly fire accidents.

The attack interceptors had done a great job of eliminating a majority of the Morag fleet. By the looks of it, they also had successfully damaged the shipyards’ energy screens. Drake smiled. That just made his job much more manageable. Not to mention safer. Fewer enemy warships meant less firepower targeting the Human fleet. That resulted in fewer ships being destroyed and fewer Human lives lost. A win all around, if anyone asked him.

“Engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

Drake stood from his command chair, as the first round of accelerator cannon fire launched toward the surviving Morag ships. It quickly slammed in and through the energy screens of the warships. As the second round arrived, numerous Morag ships were blown to pieces. Drake smiled. Now that’s what he liked to see.

Suddenly the energy screen of Drake’s flagship was pummeled with fusion energy beam fire and antimatter missiles. Drake was alarmed by the intensity. He knew his energy shield could not withstand much more of this. “Find out what is targeting our ship and destroy it before it destroys us!”

Drake’s gaze shifted to the viewscreens, trying to determine which Morag ship sent the onslaught of these weapons. A bright flash ignited the sky, as the last few Morag warships were terminated. Drake let out a sigh of relief and sat back down in his command chair.

“That was a close call,” his first officer said.

“Yes, it was. How is our energy screen holding up?”

“It’s at 60 percent,” responded the systems officer.

“We need to keep an eye on it. If it gets down to 30 percent, we must return to the supply fleet for repairs,” commented Drake.

“Yes, sir. I will keep a close eye on it.”

“Is there any way for us to repair it from here before our next battle?”

“Yes, we can improve its functioning a little bit. Not completely until we can get some time in a repair yard.”

“I will let Admiral Collison know we are pulling back to the rear of the formation to make a few repairs. It looks like our fight is over for the day.”

-

Rear Admiral Barnes and her task group intensely focused on destroying the smaller of the two shipyards that orbited the Morag planet. The attack interceptors had weakened the energy shield slightly, and, when faced with the power of the accelerator cannon projectiles, it failed completely. Soon afterward, a succession of explosions riddled the shipyard, as it began to fall from orbit.

“Shall we continue to break apart the shipyard?” asked Captain Borrel.

“No, let it fall back to the planet. Maybe it will take a good chunk of the defensive grid with it,” Barnes replied.

The crew watched the viewscreen, as the shipyard fell toward the planet. It seemed like it happened in slow motion, but it quickly smashed into various defensive grid elements and then entered the planet’s atmosphere. The other defensive grid elements in range of the falling shipyard began trying to break it up before it could impact the surface of the planet.

“It looks like we just opened up a hole in the defensive grid,” said Barnes, with a smile. “Send a message to Admiral Collison and see if we can send some attack interceptors through the hole to hit some strategic targets on the surface.”

“Collison said he’s already given the command. He said to keep hitting all defensive grid elements in the area. We don’t want any of them targeting the attack interceptors,” said the communications officer.

“Let’s get it done. Let’s make that hole even bigger,” replied Barnes, and they moved in closer and began targeting the defensive grid elements surrounding the hole that the falling shipyard had made.

Barnes continued to watch the viewscreen focused on the shipyard hitting the surface of the planet. The Morag had managed to break it into about ten smaller segments that then drifted apart and impacted the surface separately. The pieces of the shipyard exploded upon hitting the surface of the planet, sending debris into the air.

Barnes smiled again. Taking out the shipyard was even more advantageous than she thought. Not only was the shipyard destroyed but it also took out a portion of the defensive grid; plus it did damage to the surface of the planet. It couldn’t be much more efficient than that.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie was doing her best to destroy the massive shipyard. Not only was it the largest shipyard she had ever laid eyes on but it was also the most well-armed shipyard she had ever encountered. There seemed to be weapons turrets all over the shipyard. Carrie made sure to take very detailed scans of the behemoth as they were working on destroying it. The Empire and Earth could maybe learn something from this shipyard.

Carrie’s ship shook slightly, as it launched another round of accelerator cannon fire at the shipyard. This shipyard had to be defended by a much stronger energy screen as well because it had held out longer than any other energy shield when up against the accelerator cannons. Even with this stronger energy shield, it still failed rather quickly against the steady hits of the projectiles.

Once the energy shield was out of the way, Carrie focused her firepower on the shipyard’s weapons. It would take a much higher number of hits than the standard shipyard. Her entire fleet constantly hit the shipyard with their accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons. How it was still in orbit, Carrie had no idea.

Some explosions started to spread across the shipyard now. However, it didn’t seem to cause as much damage as she’d hoped.

The firepower from the shipyard was very intense. Energy screens all across Carrie’s fleet glowed brightly. They needed this shipyard destroyed now. “Focus our firepower on the center of the shipyard. Let’s split it into two pieces and knock it out of orbit,” Carrie commanded.

Shortly after that, all the weapons fire was focused on the center of the shipyard. With so much firepower hammering one area, the tactic proved to be too much for the shipyard. A series of giant explosions fractured the shipyard right down the midpoint.

The shipyard then fell from its orbit. Before it reached the defensive grid, the grid itself began targeting the shipyard. “Tell all of our ships to stop targeting the shipyard. It’s been knocked out of its orbit and will fall to the planet,” commanded Carrie.

Carrie watched as the massive shipyard continued to fall toward the planet. A few explosions could be seen at various locations across this location, as the defensive grid continued to fire on its own shipyard.

Suddenly a massive chain of explosions erupted from one end of the shipyard. Carrie quickly shielded her eyes from the intense light that radiated from the explosions. Once she could look again, she was shocked to see the shipyard had been obliterated. “What just happened?” Carrie asked in confusion. “Surely the defensive grid could not have caused that large of an explosion.”

“No, it didn’t. It must have been some self-destruct sequence,” said the tactical officer. “Nothing the defensive grid was firing at the shipyard could have caused that much damage so quickly.”

“Self-destruct sequence,” Carrie said slowly. “Why was there not one initiated on the other shipyard?”

“My best guess is that they were more worried about the larger shipyard falling out of orbit than the smaller one. Maybe they thought that they could destroy the smaller one before it hit the surface of the planet,” replied Major Sullivan, her XO.

-

Morag Commander Asire admired his newest battleship that had just come off the production line, when alarms blared, and red lights flashed. He felt panic rise in his chest. Surely the Humans were not here in this system. He quickly ran to the Command Center of Cygnus, the largest shipyard in all of the Morag-controlled star systems. It had been finished and building warships for a little over one year now. Commander Asire was honored to be chosen to command the monstrous shipyard.

It was state of the art. Its energy screen was the strongest the Morag had ever built. Plus it had the most weapons ever put on a shipyard. Basically it was indestructible. Nothing could bring it down. Nothing the Morag at that time could even conceive.

Now, however, the Humans had a new weapon. One that tore straight through energy screens like they weren’t even there. Those Humans were currently exiting hyperspace in his star system. Asire knew he didn’t have enough warships to thwart the Human attack. He hoped that the shipyard could drastically reduce the number of enemy ships in the Human fleet though.

As he made his way to the Command Center, he communicated with his crew telepathically and knew before he reached his destination that they were drastically outnumbered.

By the time he stepped inside the Command Center, the Human fleet had already come to a stop. What are they doing? Are they sending us any communication? Why did they stop? he asked his crew, as he tried to ascertain the situation. Then he saw the hundreds and then thousands of smaller red threat icons now lighting up the tactical display.

The Humans are launching their small attack craft. We will have a hard time targeting those because of their size, commented his tactical officer.

Asire ordered, Launch everything we have in that direction as soon as they are in range. Maybe we will get lucky and hit a few.

Asire watched as the Human small attack craft neared their engagement range. Once they reached the edge of that range, the shipyard opened fire. A smile crossed his face, as he watched the wall of firepower headed toward the incoming ships. That smile quickly faded, when he watched how effortlessly those small attack craft outmaneuvered the weapons meant to send them to their deaths.

His eyes glowed red in anger. Keep firing. We must destroy as many of them as we can. They must not launch their weapons! Asire walked closer to the viewscreens, showing the ever-closer Human crafts. His eyes grew wider as he saw them begin to launch their weapons. Each one launched four missiles. He now stood in shock, as thousands of missiles headed toward the Morag fleet and both shipyards.

What should we do? asked his first officer.

Target those missiles and try to destroy them before they hit the fleet. Asire watched as the Morag fleet continued to target the small attack craft. Every so often, a small flash of light could be seen as one met their end. There were not enough flashes though.

The wall of missiles began impacting the energy shield of his shipyard. Asire’s gaze shifted to the console that displayed the energy screen’s status. So far, so good. Although he wasn’t sure how long that would hold true.

On the main viewscreen, he saw larger explosions of light in the periphery. He determined these were Morag warships being destroyed. Then his gaze shifted to the screen showing the enemy fleet now advancing toward them again.

How many warships do we have left? Asire asked his sensor officer.

Thirty-eight, Commander, was his reply.

Continue to target the Human fleet as soon as they are in range. Either we will destroy them or they will destroy us. Asire crossed his giant arms and focused his gaze on the enemy fleet.

Once they reached engagement range, the battle heated up. It didn’t take long for the Humans’ two new weapons to annihilate what was left of the Morag fleet. Before the last ship could be destroyed, Asire noticed it jumped out of the star system. This puzzled him, but then he remembered that Admiral Voxx was hoping to track the Humans into hyperspace, so they could catch up to this nuisance and rid the Confederation of their threat.

A portion of the Human fleet was now focused on his shipyard. Asire had a bad feeling that this wouldn’t end well. He noticed his energy shield was quickly overwhelmed. It wouldn’t be long now before it failed.

Suddenly he watched in growing dismay as the other shipyard succumbed to the Humans’ attack and began to fall from orbit.

Destroy that shipyard before it can hit the surface of the planet, Asire ordered quickly.

He watched in growing alarm as the shipyard took out some orbiting defensive grid elements in its fall to the surface. Part of it did burn up in the atmosphere, and the remaining defensive grid was able to break it into smaller pieces. Asire took in a sharp breath and winced slightly, as he saw it hit the surface. Large explosions detonated where the fragments of the shipyard hit the ground.

We must not let that happen to this shipyard. Ours is much larger than that one. If we begin to fall out of orbit, we must initiate the self-destruct sequence, Asire commanded, as he went back to his command chair.

His gaze quickly shifted back to the console displaying the status of the energy screen. His eyes grew wide as he saw it fail. It wouldn’t be much longer now. They had to take as many enemy ships with them as possible.

Time seemed to slow, as he witnessed numerous enemy ships being blown apart by the shipyard’s massive amount of firepower. A sinister smile spread across his face. Then he noticed the Humans shift their firepower to the center of the shipyard, right where his Command Center was located.

Asire moved his hand to the self-destruct buttons. He swallowed the bile in his throat and quietly lifted the cover. He then slowly put in the required sequence of numbers, all but the last one needed to begin the self-destruct option. His hand rested just over the top of that final digit. Perhaps this explosion would take out a good portion of the enemy fleet with it.

Asire was suddenly knocked from his chair, as the shipyard shook violently, and the sound of tearing metal was deafening. It grew louder and louder, as he quickly tried to stand up. Sparks flew everywhere from the damaged consoles—most of which were no longer functional. A few small fires had erupted, and the crew was quickly putting them out.

Commander Asire, the shipyard has been torn into two pieces, and we are now falling toward the atmosphere of the planet.

Asire clawed his way to his command chair, and, with one last look around his beloved Command Center, he hit the last number to implement self-destruct mode.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron were headed for the hole in the defensive grid. It was plenty large enough to get through, but a few of the defensive grid elements were still close enough to turn their weapons on the attack interceptors.

The weapons fire was pretty easy to avoid with all the experience the Humans had fighting various enemies.

Once safely through the hole and out of range of the defensive grid, Garland and her squadron flew toward their targets. She was close enough to the surface to see the Morag down below. There was obviously panic in the streets. It appeared that all traffic in this particular city had come to a stop. Not that they could get far enough away to survive this attack. Garland frowned. This was the part she didn’t like. She didn’t want to see the faces of those she was about to kill.

Garland moved her interceptor a little higher to avoid seeing the Morag below. It was easier that way. While the Morag looked very different than Humans, they were still living creatures. The Morag were large apelike creatures. Most of these Morag had probably never even heard of a Human before. She doubted the average Morag citizen even knew who was attacking them.

Garland’s first target was the center of the city. It was similar to some Human cities, with tall buildings all congregated together in one area. As she released her first missile, Garland turned her interceptor toward her next target. She heard the loud explosion, right when the missile detonated just above its target. In her mind, she saw the resulting devastation that would have quickly enveloped the city.

Her next target was some park that reminded her of what an amusement park back home would look like. She launched her missile at the target and watched the resulting explosion level the entire area.

Then Garland headed to her third target—a hydroelectric dam. She sent the missile toward her target and watched as the explosion leveled the dam and sent an enormous wall of water down to the valley below. Not only did the explosion destroy everything in the blast zone but the water that the dam had held back did damage even farther down the valley than the explosion. It flooded numerous towns and agricultural land for miles and miles into the valley.

The last target on Garland’s list was another city. This one was more spread out than the last one. It also had fewer skyscrapers in the center of the city. Once Garland launched her last missile, she watched as it detonated above the city. The large mushroom cloud rose high into the sky, and, in its blast radius, everything was leveled.

As Garland headed back toward the hole in the defensive grid, she focused on avoiding the Morag weapons fire aimed at destroying her squadron. Not much was getting close to them. Admiral Carrie’s fleet must have eliminated more defensive elements since Garland and her squadron had entered the planet’s atmosphere.

In the periphery of her view from her cockpit, Garland watched mushroom clouds rising all over the planet. No doubt this planet would soon be unlivable. At least for a while. She doubted the Morag citizens of this planet had underground bunkers to retreat to, like the Humans of the Empire had. That was probably something that would change in the future.

As Garland landed on her battlecarrier Freedom, she hoped that this future attack they were planning on Morag Prime would be as successful as they hoped it would be. Given that the Human fleet was destroying Morag planets might cause the Morag to strengthen the defenses of Morag Prime, possibly strengthen the defensive grid, which would all make it harder to destroy that planet when they attacked it in a few weeks.

Maybe the Morag would remain confident that the Humans wouldn’t dare attack their home planet, since the Morag had such a large fleet protecting it. The Human fleet in the Confederation now was not even close to big enough to challenge the Morag fleet stationed in the star system where Morag Prime was located. Maybe that would give the Morag a false sense of security.

For now, Garland would rest and prepare for the next battle. She had been informed that her battlecarrier would be assigned to go with Rear Admiral Barnes and Rear Admiral Carrie. Their next target was a seven-hour hyperspace journey away.

-

Morag Captain Denning had orders to follow the Human fleet when they exited the system. He had jumped out of the system before his three ships could be destroyed. Denning didn’t jump far before turning around. He monitored the minds of Morag on the surface of the planet. His telepathic abilities were strong but not as strong as some.

Once he telepathically saw that the Human small attack craft were headed back to their carriers, he waited ten more minutes and then jumped back into the system. The Human ships were in the process of jumping out of the system. Denning had timed it perfectly! Now he would follow them and inform Admiral Voxx where the Human fleets go.

Denning smiled. He would be getting a promotion for sure now.

Chapter Eight

Morag Captain Denning had followed the Human fleets for only a short distance when they exited hyperspace. He checked his holographic display and was alarmed to see it was an uninhabited star system. They must intend to destroy my ship. Denning decided against following them out of hyperspace. What would he do now?

He quickly notified Admiral Voxx and Admiral Marcello of the Human Fleets’ location. Perhaps they were stopping to make some repairs after that last battle.

Denning decided to exit hyperspace in a nearby system. There he would wait a while and then check on the Human fleet again.

-

Admiral Collison went over the reports for the battle, including ship losses and damaged ships, when his sensor officer interrupted his thoughts.

“Admiral, we have a problem. Three Morag ships are following us.”

“Just three?”

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Find me an uninhabited star system, and let’s drop out of hyperspace and blow apart this trio. We do not need the Morag knowing our location,” commanded Collison.

“According to our maps, an uninhabited star system is nearby,” replied the navigation officer.

“Great. Inform the fleet about the situation and let’s get rid of this threat immediately,” responded Collison.

They soon exited hyperspace in the uninhabited system. Once the entire fleet had arrived, they waited for the appearance of the three Morag ships that had been tailing them. Nothing happened.

“Looks like he decided not to follow us after all,” said Captain Billingsly.

“Guess not. Inform Rear Admiral Carrie and Rear Admiral Barnes that they can head to their target. We will wait ten more minutes and then head to ours.”

Shortly afterward, approximately half of the ships of the combined fleets entered hyperspace, while the rest remained with Collison and Rear Admiral Drake.

Once Collison was satisfied that the three Morag ships would not be making an appearance, he ordered his fleet back into hyperspace. They had a three-hour jump to their next target.

He had a lot of work to do in those three hours. The combined fleets had lost 312 attack interceptors, 19 battlecruisers, and 6 dreadnoughts.

Collison and Drake would attack the star system containing planet Morag Thirty-One next. The system contained two inhabited planets and three terraformed moons. There was only one shipyard and, at last report, forty-three warships on patrol. The nearest relief fleet was an hour away. Collison’s task force should have plenty of time to jump in and to destroy the shipyard and the Morag fleet. He had no intention of wasting ships on attacking the defensive grid. They had successfully destroyed two planets. For now, that would have to do.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes surveyed the holographic display, as they made their way toward their target. She and Rear Admiral Carrie would be attacking planet Morag Thirty-Eight. The system only had the one inhabited planet in addition to one terraformed moon, plus one lone shipyard in the system that orbited the planet. The reports showed a Morag task force of forty-one ships.

Rear Admiral Carrie would focus on the Morag warships, while Barnes and her fleet focused on the shipyard. They would not attack the planet itself or the terraformed moon, unless it could be done with a minimal loss of ships. So, unless the shipyard took out a good chunk of the defensive grid as it fell from orbit, the planet would remain unharmed.

Usually the shipyard disintegrated from the explosions caused by the impact of the Humans’ accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons. What had happened in the previous system had not been normal. Barnes did not expect to see that happen again.

With Barnes and Carrie, they had 173 battlecruisers, 66 dreadnoughts, and 29 battlecarriers. Barnes also had a list of targets to attack. Barnes felt that she and Carrie had enough ships to attack multiple star systems before regrouping with Collison and Drake. Once they had destroyed the targets on their list, they would rendezvous with Collison and Drake in an uninhabited star system. Collison had already given them the coordinates.

As Barnes walked around the holographic display, she plotted out their course. They would meet up with Collison again in a few days. In the meantime, they had three star systems with seven shipyards and the warships protecting them to rid the Morag of.

Barnes smiled. She was looking forward to this task. Destroying Morag shipyards and warships would be challenging and satisfying. The next few days would be thrilling.

-

Morag Captain Denning decided it was time to go back to the uninhabited star system and check in on the Human fleet. He reasoned that they would have had enough time by now to do their maintenance work. Which would mean they were preparing to enter hyperspace.

Denning knew his timing would need to be impeccable. The Human fleet would blow his ships to pieces if he arrived too early. If he arrived too late, he would have lost them. He swallowed. If that happened, he would have failed in his mission. That would be unacceptable.

As he neared the uninhabited star system where he had left the Human fleet, he had his sensor officer do long-range scans of the system. The scans came back clear—no ships in the system. Denning decided to check the system even though the scans showed nothing.

When Denning emerged from hyperspace, he realized with frustration that the scans had been correct. The Humans had left already. Now what would he do? Denning surveyed the holographic display and tried to reason where the Humans would go next. If they didn’t return the way they had come from, and they didn’t travel in a straight trajectory from the last two targets, then they would probably head in one of two other paths. Denning paced back and forth as he went over all of the possibilities. He wanted to have a plan, before he contacted Admiral Voxx.

After several minutes passed by, Denning had finally formed a plan. He would head in the direction he thought the Humans had headed. He would find them again. He had no doubt. The only question would be if he could follow them without being destroyed.

As his three ships entered hyperspace, he decided he better go ahead and contact Admiral Voxx. Once he had connected with Voxx, he told him what had happened. Admiral Voxx said, We thought that might be how the Humans would react. Keep searching for them and try again. My larger fleet will patrol a few systems. I assume that the Humans are tracking my fleet with one of their stealth ships. I think that the Humans will stay away from my location. I plan to patrol the star systems near Morag Prime.

I will do my best, Admiral, to find the Human fleet again and to track them to their next target. Hopefully we can destroy enough of their ships that they stop their attack.

Yes. I am not sure how long that will take. We are at a disadvantage because they know where our fleets are stationed. They will stay away from the largest fleets and target the systems with fewer warships in them. They will systematically destroy as many shipyards as they can, responded Voxx.

We will prevail, Admiral. These are Humans we are talking about after all, said Denning.

True. We will defeat them. This time we will show no mercy. We will destroy all their ships. No Human will be allowed to leave the Confederation. They came here. They will die here. Let me know once you find the Human fleet again.

Yes, Admiral.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo monitored the news from the Confederation. Collison and his fleets were still having success in slowly weakening the Morag. The large Druin fleets were being monitored by the Humans’ stealth scout ships and were currently staying in their area of the Confederation. The Lamothians were still being watched by Captain Malachi on scout ship 255. As for the Zynth, they were scheduled to meet next week with the other races of the Neutral Races of the Confederation Council. Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull planned to inform the Humans how that meeting went.

As for Falton Two, Captain Hadley’s relief crew and scout ship were headed in her direction. It would arrive in the next five days. Marloo looked forward to updating Hadley on all they had learned and to hearing more from her about all she had observed. If only they could figure out what was in those crates the Morag had left. Also what was in the crates the Morag had loaded onto their ship? That would be a mystery for another day.

For now, Marloo needed to prepare to meet with Admiral Dylan Cleemorl. Marloo expected Dylan to arrive within the next hour and looked forward to seeing Dylan again and strategizing with him and Derrick Masters. They had much to discuss and plan. They would also bring Dylan up to speed with what they knew of Falton Two. Marloo was sure Dylan might bring a different perspective than they had considered.

-

High Princess Layla awaited the arrival of Admiral Dylan Cleemorl and his wife, Cheryl. Layla hadn’t seen Cheryl since she and Krista had left for Tantula Five to ride out the Confederation’s attack of the Hagen Star Cluster and Golan Four.

They had decided it was best to split up the two Princesses, if the worst were to happen, if the Confederation had succeeded in destroying one of their targets. Then at least one Princess would still be alive to continue on. Cheryl had gone with Krista to keep her company and to be closer to her husband, Dylan, during the attack.

All had turned out fine for the Princesses and their entourages during that attack. Layla was excited to see Cheryl again. It seemed like it had been ages since the last time.

As the transport vessel landed near the Imperial Palace, Layla’s heart beat faster in anticipation. Cheryl and Dylan were like family to her. The ship opened its doors, and Dylan and Cheryl slowly walked out. Layla quickly stepped forward and enveloped them in hugs.

“Oh, Layla, look at you,” Cheryl said, as she took a step back and looked at the pregnant Princess. “You look so beautiful. And look at that baby bump! I can’t wait to meet your little one.”

“We are looking forward to it too,” Layla said, with a smile. “How was your little vacation?”

Cheryl and Dylan exchanged smiles, and then Cheryl said, “It was amazing. It was exactly what we needed. I am also glad that we could stop here at Golan Four to see you.” Cheryl glanced over at Dylan. “I am sure you are itching to find Marloo and Derrick. Run along, and us girls will go catch up, while you do your catching up with the guys.”

Dylan smiled at Cheryl. “You always know exactly what I am thinking.”

“Yes, it’s a special gift I have,” Cheryl replied, with a sly smile. “Have fun with the boys, and I will see you at dinner.”

Dylan smiled at Cheryl and Layla and then said, “You ladies have a nice visit.” Then Dylan headed off in the direction of the House of Worlds and the Command Center housed underneath.

“He’s been going crazy, not knowing what’s been happening. I am sure he’ll feel better once he’s brought up to speed,” Cheryl said, as they headed into the Imperial Palace. “Do you have the baby room set up yet?” Cheryl asked, excited.

“We have started working on it. Would you like to see it?” Layla asked, still smiling.

“Yes, I would love to see it.”

They headed off in the direction of the Royal Quarters, excitedly chatting about all sorts of things, especially the baby.

-

Dylan walked as fast as he felt was appropriate. He didn’t feel like he should be spotted running. That might elicit some panic, if someone saw one of the admirals running to the Command Center. So he set a quick pace and managed to get pretty quickly to his destination, only slightly out of breath.

He smiled as he noticed Marloo and Derrick were already waiting on him. After the greeting was out of the way, Dylan asked the question he’d been wondering about all week. Well, one of them anyway. “How is Collison doing in the Confederation?”

Marloo responded first, saying, “The fleets are doing well. So far, they have attacked two Morag star systems, destroying three shipyards and a total of 147 warships. The fleets have now split into two groups to hit more star systems.”

“That’s great news. What about the planned attack on Morag Prime? How is that coming along?”

Derrick responded this time, saying, “Coming along as scheduled. Between the Lormallians, the Visth, and the United Worlds Alliance, we are amassing quite a group of allies, all willing to join us in our cause. They are also manufacturing the telepathic nullifiers that we will need for all these other races to be safe from the Morag’s telepathic abilities. We expect the fleet from Earth to leave the Solar System in the next few days.”

“Do we know how large of a fleet Earth is sending?”

“No. We won’t know until it shows up here. They plan to rendezvous with our fleet in the Hagen Star Cluster that we are also sending to the Confederation. The Earth fleet will spend a few days there, making repairs from their long hyperspace jump and preparing for their journey into the Confederation,” said Marloo.

“Where will the fleets rendezvous in the Confederation?”

“They’ll rendezvous in an uninhabited system near the Lormallian-controlled area of the Confederation. The date is tentatively set for four weeks from now. Once the Earth fleet arrives, we will contact the proper leaders to firm up that date,” replied Marloo.

“What size fleet will we send?”

“As you know, we have been running full throttle, trying to build as many battlecruisers and dreadnoughts as possible. We have also increased our production of battlecarriers and attack interceptors. We feel we need to send a significant-size fleet to help Earth destroy Morag Prime. We also must leave enough here to defend against an attack from the Druins or the Morag. We can’t leave ourselves vulnerable here,” responded Marloo.

“How big are our fleets currently?”

Derrick answered, “As of today, First Fleet is up to 617 battlecruisers, 78 dreadnoughts, and 14 battlecarriers. Fifth fleet currently has 801 cruisers, 117 dreadnoughts, and 13 carriers.”

“What about the Resistance Fleet?” Dylan asked. “They could play a major role in protecting the Empire, while we attack Morag Prime.”

“The Resistance fleet has 345 battlecruisers and 743 support ships,” Derrick said. “We have also been adding attack interceptors to all the worlds and inhabited moons in the Empire. We hope that we can station a large-enough fleet of attack interceptors on each planet and moon to significantly help protect it from attack. As you know, we can make attack interceptors much faster than the other warships,” Derrick added.

“That’s a good idea. Considering how many ships we currently have and how many we can finish between now and when the Earth fleet arrives, how many will we send to the Confederation?” Dylan wasn’t sure he would agree with Marloo’s numbers. They had to make sure their first priority was keeping the Empire safe.

“We plan to send 500 battlecruisers, 75 dreadnoughts, and 8 battlecarriers filled with attack interceptors. These ships will come half from First Fleet and half from Fifth Fleet,” said Derrick.

Dylan thought those numbers would be a little risky. Especially after the battle for Morag Prime ended. That’s when the Druins might take advantage of the Humans’ diminished fleets and attack the Empire. “Who will lead our fleet from the Empire?”

They all exchanged glances. Derrick finally said, “I know Layla will not like it, but I would like to take our fleet to Morag Prime. I think it sends a strong message that I am there, leading our fleet.”

Dylan took in a long breath and slowly let it out. “I agree with you. Even though it’s a big risk, if the Morag hear you are on one of the ships, they will no doubt make it their goal to destroy you.”

“I know. Being that my new dreadnought is the largest in the Empire, it will be obvious which ship I’m on.”

“Then perhaps you should take a different ship. One that blends in with the others. What if we built a new flagship for you to use in the Confederation? Maybe one with stealth capabilities?” suggested Dylan.

“I don’t feel that would be fair to the rest of the fleet. I do agree that I will need to take a different dreadnought. One that will not stick out like a sore thumb. The Destiny will stay here to protect Golan Four,” said Derrick thoughtfully.

Dylan knew that Layla would not like Derrick going to the Confederation to fight the Morag. Dylan also knew there was nothing he could say to change Derrick’s mind. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go in your place?” Dylan figured he would at least try to talk Derrick out of it. “You will be a father soon. None of us would want to see the young Prince or Princess grow up without their father. Plus it’s always a good idea to have more than one heir,” Dylan said, with a grin.

“I have no intention of dying. If things look bad, I will leave. Once our energy shield gets down to 30 percent, I will order the ship to return to the supply fleet for repair. That’s what our orders will be for the rest of the ships in the fleet as well. As to the last part of your statement, I intend to have many heirs.” With that, Derrick smiled. “Now we have something more mysterious to fill you in on—Falton Two.”

As Derrick and Marloo shared all they had found out about Falton Two, Dylan became more and more troubled. “So basically, what you are telling me is that these Humans on Falton Two might be the ones causing the Morag to be enemies with us? They are using the Morag as a means of controlling our population?”

“That’s one of the theories,” said Marloo.

“Once this war with the Morag is over, will we fight the Humans of Falton Two?” Dylan asked.

“We don’t know. We are trying to focus on one enemy at a time. We will defeat the Morag, and then we will see how Falton Two reacts,” said Marloo.

“You said the Humans on Falton Two have no warships. So without another race to control, they are defenseless?” asked Dylan.

“It seems that way. So far, Captain Hadley has not sensed any warships on the surface of the planet. We believe they use other races to fight their battles for them,” replied Derrick.

“So the Morag Councilor has visited them and left a gift and took something from them with him. I would love to know what’s in those crates. What could it possibly be? A new weapon perhaps? It has to be something they needed.” Dylan crossed his arms and had a puzzled look on his face. “A lot of unknowns there. To think we may be fighting a war against our own kind? Humans with telepathic abilities? Who would have thought!”

“It’s a lot to process,” Marloo agreed. “A lot of variables at play here. That’s why we’ve decided to focus on defeating the Morag and to keep monitoring Falton Two in the meantime,” said Marloo.

“Are we certain they cannot use their telepathic abilities on us?” asked Dylan.

Derrick shook his head. “Not according to the information Professor Charles found at Bator Prime in the archives. Also, since Captain Hadley’s ship has remained undetected, we believe, had they been detected, that the Humans of Falton Two would have informed the Morag, and they would have blown Hadley’s ship out of the sky,” said Derrick.

“And we are certain the Humans are controlling the Morag and not the other way around?” asked Dylan.

“According to what we know, that’s what makes the most sense,” responded Marloo.

“Wow. I think it’ll take me a while to fully grasp everything the two of you have told me here today,” said Dylan.

“We are not telling very many people about it for now. The Imperial Council knows, plus a few others,” said Marloo.

“That’s probably for the best,” responded Dylan.

They discussed a few other issues and debated over strategy on attacking Morag Prime and what to do after Morag Prime falls. Then Dylan and Derrick left to meet up with their wives for dinner.

-

Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley were headed to the Solar System. They had taken the Royal Dreadnought Starburst. They had a few transport vessels with them, all loaded with gifts. They also had a small group of battlecruisers and dreadnoughts escorting them to their destination. It was unlikely they would run into any danger, but they didn’t want to take the chance with Princess Krista on board. It would take them approximately three weeks to get from the Empire to the Solar System. They would make a couple stops along the way in uninhabited star systems to do some maintenance and to recharge their hyperdrives.

Krista was enjoying the extra time she now spent with Mathew. They had already been underway for five days now. Ensign Brenda Allert was along for the trip too. The three of them spent a lot of time together.

Mathew seemed to always find his way to the Command Center a few times a day. Krista knew he enjoyed it there. She suspected that someday he might move up through the ranks and end up as an Admiral himself. Admiral Mathew Barkley. That had a nice ring to it.

When Krista had volunteered herself and Mathew to take the news of Falton Two to the Solar System, she had a couple things in mind. One was that it would allow her to spend a considerable amount of time with Mathew, and, maybe more important, it would keep Mathew from going with the Empire fleet to the Confederation to attack Morag Prime. She wanted him safe. On this mission, he would be safe. Safe and by her side. She couldn’t ask for much more.

Krista glanced over at Mathew, as he looked at the holographic display. He enjoyed monitoring their progress through the galaxy. He pointed out different star systems to her, telling her all he knew about the different places along the way. He was a good guy, and she was lucky to have him.

Chapter Nine

On scout ship 112, Captain Tanner and his crew were headed to relieve Captain Hadley. Tanner was excited to be on the front line of discovering the mysteries of Falton Two. He looked forward to hearing from Hadley what they had discovered so far. The plan was to exchange information with Hadley and her crew via encrypted hyperlight messages. With both of the scout ships side by side in the system, there would be an almost zero chance that the messages could be intercepted.

Tanner would arrive above Falton Two in approximately four more days. Then he would remain above the planet to observe the activities of the Falton Humans and their visitors for the next thirty days, then Captain Elise would arrive to relieve his crew.

After that, Tanner would constantly rotate with Captain Hadley and Captain Elise to keep a watchful eye on Falton Two. He hoped it would be an exciting assignment but also knew it would have its mundane moments as well. There was a lot to learn and to discover about this previously unknown planet. Well, unknown to the Empire and to the Solar System. How long would it be before they made contact with these Humans of Falton Two?

Tanner was excited to arrive and to get the opportunity to solve some of the mysteries that still plagued them. He had an entire list of questions the Imperial Council had come up with for him and his crew to try to figure out. He also had with him a few more specialized pieces of equipment to aid him in getting his answers.

The scientists on Golan Four had developed a stealth drone the size of a small grasshopper. Tanner had three of them to fly down to the surface of Falton Two and to explore things a little closer. He couldn’t wait to try them out. Only a few more days left before they would make their maiden voyage to this unknown and mysterious planet full of Humans.

-

Admiral Collison and Rear Admiral Drake neared their dropout point for their next target. He imagined the Morag would be even more alarmed when they realized the Humans would now be attacking two Morag star systems at a time.

This star system held six planets, with the third and fourth ones containing life, Morag Thirty-One and Morag Thirty. Morag Thirty-One had two terraformed moons orbiting it, while Morag Thirty had one terraformed moon orbiting it. The lone shipyard in the system orbited Morag Thirty-One.

As Collison ran the long-range scans, they confirmed that, indeed, forty-three warships patrolled the system. Their plan was for Collison to attack the Morag ships and for Drake to attack the shipyard. They would first utilize the attack interceptors but were cautious that the Morag fleet might jump out to engage them.

Once they emerged from hyperspace, Collison set a warning timer for sixty minutes. That was how far out the nearest Morag fleet was that could come to aid the ones in this system. If he was going to fight more enemy ships, he wanted to destroy a shipyard as well. Not have them come to him in a system where he was already going to eliminate a shipyard.

Soon after they arrived, Collison noted two warships had left the system. He assumed these would be the ones tasked with following them when his fleet entered hyperspace.

As the Human fleet closed in on Morag Thirty-One, the enemy fleet formed into a wedge formation. Collison’s fleet continued their advancement until they were near the engagement range. There they halted their progress and launched the attack interceptors.

-

Captain Stephens of the Black Dart Squadron had his attack interceptors launched and in their loose formation. They wanted to keep a lot of space between them, which would make them harder to hit.

As the squadron closed in on their targets, the enemy fleet launched their weapons. Space lit up with the intensity of the weapons fire. Stephens took a deep breath and said, “Let’s light them up!” With that command, the squadron launched their weapons at the enemy fleet. Soon afterward, the Morag fleet disappeared.

“Where did they go?” asked Lieutenant Gains.

“I don’t know, and I don’t like it. What should we do, Stephens?” asked Lieutenant Carr.

“Everyone still has two missiles remaining, correct?” asked Stephens. All the interceptor pilots replied in the affirmative. “Let’s go hit the shipyard.”

Alarms sounded on the console, as the enemy fleet exited hyperspace near the main fleet. “While the enemy is away, it’s time to play,” laughed Gains.

“Yes. Let’s use what we have left to attack the shipyard. We can’t return to the battlecarriers while they’re in the middle of a gunfight. At least not as safely as we could if we wait until the battle is over,” said Stephens.

The squadron closed in on the shipyard. As they reached the combat zone, the shipyard launched their weapons at the interceptors. Stephens checked his tactical display and was relieved to see that the rest of the interceptors had followed his lead and were slightly behind him. They were down half their weapons, but, with a bit of luck and some great timing, maybe they could do some damage to this shipyard, while the main Human fleet dealt with the Morag warships.

Stephens hit the comm button connecting him to all the attack interceptors. “Wait for my command. We will launch our weapons at the same time. That will hopefully give us enough firepower to overwhelm and to overload the energy shield protecting the shipyard.” He waited until he thought they were as close as they could get, without adding undue risk, and sent the command to all attack interceptors, “Fire!”

A wall of fusion-tipped missiles now headed toward the shipyard. It altered its targeting from the interceptors to the interceptors’ missiles. Stephens recognized the moment for what it was—time to get out of here. “Fall back to the closest uninhabited planet. We’ll wait out the battle from there.”

While turning to leave, Stephens watched as the missiles reached their target, causing the shipyard’s energy screen to glow brighter and brighter, until it failed. A few missiles made their way to the shipyard itself, causing minor damage. Not enough to destroy it, but they had managed to take down the powerful energy shield protecting it. Now Rear Admiral Drake would make quick work of destroying the shipyard, when he had the chance.

On the way to the safety of the nearest uninhabited planet, Stephens switched his focus to the battle between the fleets. The Morag fleet had been overwhelmingly outnumbered. They stood no chance of significantly weakening the Human fleet.

Stephens noticed large pieces of debris floating around the fleets. Collison and Drake were focused on finishing off the remaining two Morag battleships. It didn’t take long. A bright explosion filled Stephens’s cockpit window, as the last of the enemy ships was eliminated.

Now that the coast was clear, time to land on the carriers and to get reloaded for the next battle.

-

Collison hadn’t been surprised when the Morag fleet disappeared. In fact, he had pretty much expected it. Sooner or later, he knew the Morag would realize they stood a better chance of destroying his fleet but only if they actually fired on his fleet instead of the attack interceptors.

The Human fleet was ready for the Morag. As soon as they emerged from hyperspace, Collison’s fleet launched their accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons at the enemy ships. The targeted ships quickly saw their energy shields overwhelmed and shattered, as the projectiles from the accelerator cannons slammed into them. Shortly after that, the ship was destroyed by the next round of projectiles.

Collison again thought about how lucky they were to have the superior weapons. A lot of lives, Human lives, were saved by that fact.

As Collison and Drake continued to eliminate the enemy ships, Collison’s gaze shifted to another viewscreen. He smiled, as he realized the attack interceptors were headed to the shipyard. He was glad they could improvise and move on to another target, since their first target was now engaged with his fleet.

It was easy to see that the enemy fleet had every intention of eliminating the battlecarriers. All of their weapons fire was focused in that direction. Unfortunately for the Morag, the battlecarriers remained protected in the center of the fleet. A couple of fusion energy beams penetrated the formation and hit one of the battlecarriers, but its powerful energy shield prevailed.

The battle against the Morag ships ended rather quickly. Collison had lost more ships than he had expected, since the attack interceptors had no opportunity to take out part of the enemy fleet first.

Now to finish off their targets. “Rear Admiral Drake, it’s time for you to take your task group and destroy the shipyard. The attack interceptors have already destroyed its energy screen. I will remain here with the carriers, while the attack interceptors land and prepare for our hyperspace jump.”

“Yes, Admiral, right away,” Drake replied.

-

Rear Admiral Drake quickly made his way to the exposed shipyard. Once in range, the shipyard did its best to eliminate the threat headed for it.

Drake took aim on the shipyard. After only a couple rounds of accelerator cannon fire from his task group, the shipyard succumbed to the intense destruction being unleashed upon it. Explosion after explosion rattled the shipyard, until it was completely shattered into millions of pieces.

Drake smiled. Time to move on to their next target. He knew only a few star systems were left that only held one shipyard. Most held multiple shipyards. With the multiple shipyards came a larger Morag task group patrolling it. It would only get more complicated from here.

With each Morag system hit, the Human task group lost a few more ships. Eventually, for numbers’ sake, they would rejoin Barnes and Carrie. He hoped they were seeing as much success as he and Collison were.

-

Two Morag warships followed, as the Human fleets left the destruction behind in their wake and entered the safety of hyperspace. The direction of the Human fleet was noted and was reported to their superiors and to other fleets in the area.

The two ships had been instructed not to follow the Human fleet if it exited hyperspace. They would only follow for about one-quarter hour and then change course.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie went over her last-minute checklist before she and Rear Admiral Barnes exited hyperspace near planet Morag Thirty-Eight. They had forty-one ships to destroy in addition to the one shipyard. They had planned to divide and conquer, allowing them to get in and out of the system as quickly as possible.

Carrie’s task was to eliminate the enemy warships. She planned first to use the attack interceptors to lower the number of ships she was up against. Then her task group would finish what enemy ships survived the first wave of attacks.

Before closing in on the shipyard, Barnes planned to hold off until Carrie had engaged the enemy fleet in battle.

As the Human fleet exited hyperspace, the sensor alarms sounded, confirming the presence of the forty-one enemy warships. Carrie ordered her fleet into a globe formation to better protect the battlecarriers.

The enemy fleet quickly entered hyperspace. Carrie stopped, a little surprised. Were they fleeing? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the Morag warships exited hyperspace within weapons range of her fleet. The Morag immediately fired their weapons.

Carrie’s fleet was not entirely in the globe formation, and a couple battlecarriers were hit by enemy fire. Their energy screens lit up brighter and brighter. Carrie took in a sharp breath as she watched the screens flare up on the viewscreen before her. No, no, no! They couldn’t lose a battlecarrier full of attack interceptors!

Just as the screen looked like it couldn’t take any more, one bright explosion was captured on a neighboring viewscreen. The weapons fire targeting the carriers had stopped.

Carrie quickly checked the tactical display. Many of the red threat icons had disappeared. Her fleet was doing their job, and the accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons were very effective. They had taken out the enemy ships targeting the two carriers. Now the fleet was in the globe formation, and the carriers were protected.

Carrie’s fleet quickly destroyed the remaining Morag warships, while Barnes took her fleet to the shipyard.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes was relieved they had not lost any battlecarriers, but it had been close. They would need to be more prepared next time. The Morag would probably attack them immediately when they exited hyperspace from now on.

Barnes decided to use the attack interceptors to help destroy the shipyard. Her ships needed to do a little repair work while they had a chance.

Once they neared the shipyard but were still out of range, they came to a stop to launch the attack interceptors. Barnes informed her fleet to get as many repairs done as possible while the attack interceptors headed in to destroy the shipyard. Barnes hoped the interceptors could blow apart the shipyard, without having to reload.

-

Lieutenant Garland led her squadron toward the shipyard. They spread out to make themselves harder to hit. The shipyard began firing on them as soon as they were within range.

Garland flew erratically to avoid the weapons fire aimed at her ship. She knew she needed to get a little closer before she launched her missiles at the shipyard. Not that it would be hard to hit it but she didn’t want to give the shipyard the chance to shoot down her missiles.

Garland felt the sweat pouring down her face, as she flew closer and closer to the shipyard. She finally made it to where she felt the missiles had a good chance of reaching their target. Her interceptor shook beneath her as the four missiles launched at their target.

Once the missiles were underway, Garland waited to see the destruction unfold before her. So many missiles were headed toward the shipyard. The shipyard was doing its best to shoot down as many as possible. Now that the shipyard was busy with missile interdiction, she didn’t have to worry as much about being the target.

Garland held her breath, as the missiles began to hit the shipyard’s energy shield. The missiles kept coming and coming, until it was too much for the energy screen to handle. The screen failed, and then the missiles began to hit the side of the shipyard. As the missiles now exploded against the shipyard, Garland could finally let out the breath of air she had been holding.

She continued to watch intently, as the missiles slammed into the shipyard. Explosion after explosion rocked the shipyard, causing catastrophic damage. Garland smiled when the shipyard began to fall from orbit. Garland thought maybe it would take out part of the defensive grid but was slightly disappointed when a massive explosion disintegrated what was left of the shipyard.

Time to head back to the carriers. The return trip would be much less eventful, since now no enemy fire tried to destroy her attack interceptor.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie sighed in relief as she watched the last remaining attack interceptor land safely back on its carrier. Time to head for the next target. The days of easy targets were over. There would be no more attacks on one shipyard with under fifty warships protecting it. Now the Human task force moved on to star systems with multiple shipyards and more warships defending them.

As the fleets entered hyperspace, Carrie surveyed their losses. They had lost a total of fifteen battlecruisers, three dreadnoughts, and forty-three attack interceptors. They had come close to losing two battlecarriers. They had made a few repairs and were still operational. Their energy screens were not performing at 100 percent but could sustain a few hits.

Carrie knew the battlecarriers were the targets of the Morag fleets. So her fleet must be prepared to fight immediately after dropping out of hyperspace. The first priority would be to protect the carriers and then to destroy the enemy ships. From now on, with their task group up against larger Morag fleets, Carrie and Barnes would stick together to defeat the enemy warships. Once that goal was accomplished, they would split up to eliminate all the shipyards in the system.

Time to get a bite to eat and to have a little rest. They had nine hours until they’d be dropping out of hyperspace at their next target.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had been woken up by the terrible news that they had lost two more shipyards and eighty-two warships. At least his two spy ships were unharmed. The Human fleet had split into two groups and had hit two Morag planets simultaneously. What would Voxx do? How could he stop them?

Voxx slammed his fist down onto the table, thinking furiously for a plan. The Humans had to rendezvous with their other fleet at some time or stop to make repairs after battles. What if Voxx left scout ships in each of the uninhabited systems in the areas near where the Humans were attacking? As soon as the Humans exited hyperspace, the Morag scout ship would immediately enter hyperspace. They would know the Human fleet’s location.

Based on the length of time the Humans stayed there, that meant they were regrouping and doing maintenance, recharging their hyperdrives, or more major repairs. If there for a more extended period of time, maybe Voxx had long enough to get some smaller fleets to converge on that location.

Voxx still had the Human stealth ships to worry about. Would they follow the smaller Morag fleets? If he assumed the Humans had one stealth ship in each Morag-inhabited star system, monitoring the ships there, how could Voxx get those scout ships not to follow the warships?

In the past, when they had succeeded in fooling the Human stealth ships not to follow, the Morag only used a small number of ships from each system. The stealth ship stayed to watch the larger fleet and did not follow the few that left. This is what they would have to do again.

Voxx took a deep breath. How many could he use from each system without causing alarm? Maybe three or four from each of the star systems in the area? When would he implement this strategy? He knew he didn’t want to raise any suspicions.

Voxx decided he would now proceed to station a scout ship in each uninhabited system. Then he would see where the Humans attacked next. At that time, he would order three to four warships from the surrounding star systems to rendezvous in one of these uninhabited systems. There they would await word from the scout ships.

Voxx smiled. This plan could work. It had to. Now that he had the Morag fleets attacking as soon as the Human ships began exiting hyperspace and targeting the battlecarriers, they were destroying more of the Human ships.

It was only a matter of time before he figured out how to catch these invaders in a trap. He would prevail. The Morag would reign supreme.

-

Morag Captain Denning had heard the news of the Human fleets attacks on the two separate planets. He was close to Morag Thirty-Eight and continued on his trajectory when he heard the two spy ships from Morag Thirty-One had tracked the other Human fleet into hyperspace. So Denning was headed in the right direction. A smile crossed his face. He had a pretty good idea what their next target was. Should he inform Admiral Voxx? What if Denning was wrong? What if he was right and did nothing?

In the end, Denning decided he should share his theory with Voxx. Then Admiral Voxx could decide what to do with it. Either way, Denning would continue his hunt for the Humans. Eventually he would catch up to them. When he did, he would not lose them again.

-

Morag Councilor Addonis walked silently in front of his secret weapon. He narrowed his eyes, as he looked the room over. Then a smile crossed his face. The Humans had no idea what they were in for.

Addonis slowly walked toward the exit. He was deep in thought. How could he use this weapon to his most significant advantage?

The Humans attacking the Morag star systems were a nuisance but not a threat to Morag Prime. What was the Humans’ end game? They didn’t have enough ships to take on a major Morag fleet. They couldn’t even begin to challenge Morag Prime itself.

Addonis did not fear the Humans of the Empire. Nor did he fear the Earth Humans—for what he had could fracture that alliance. He had something the Humans of the Empire would want but that the Earth Humans wouldn’t. So how would their alliance survive this test? It wouldn’t be much longer until they found out.

-

Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds surveyed his fleet. It would be departing for the Empire in a few days. Its final ships were getting their finishing touches. The fleet had been practicing its formations and working on various battle simulations. They were almost ready.

Reynolds wished he could take the fleet to destroy Morag Prime but knew it was his duty to stay behind and to guide the fleets left in the Solar System. He didn’t believe they were in danger of attack. The Empire had scout ships watching the Druins and the Morag. If their fleets left their star systems, Reynolds would know about it.

Plus Reynolds knew it would take a massive fleet to threaten the Solar System, and the Confederation did not have that size of a fleet anymore. Not with only three races remaining in the alliance that still considered themselves enemies of the Humans.

Also the Confederation had to leave sufficient warships in their star systems to protect them from attacks from the Human Fleets already there. Reynolds smiled. It was a good thing Collison’s combined fleet in the Confederation kept the Morag occupied.

Currently the only race that might consider attacking Human targets outside the Confederation would be the Druins. Yet the Druins did not presently possess enough warships to protect their planets and to also mount an attack outside the Confederation.

Reynolds took a deep breath and smiled at the fleet outside his observation deck. With the size of this fleet, plus the Empire’s fleet and the additional fleets from all the other races who had agreed to help in this mission, the Morag didn’t stand a chance.

Chapter Ten

After dinner with Cheryl and Layla, Dylan and Derrick headed back to the Command Center. Once they arrived, Marloo updated them on the progress of their fleets in the Confederation. “They’ve eliminated two more shipyards and eighty-two more warships. We are chipping away at their numbers,” Marloo reported. “The next attacks are a few more hours away.”

“What happens when the larger Morag fleets catch up to Collison and the others?” asked Cleemorl. “We don’t have a fleet waiting to protect them at the supply fleet this time.”

“No. We don’t,” Marloo confirmed. “We will hopefully have enough lead time to figure something out though. I am not sure the Morag will be willing to engage us in a fleet-to-fleet battle. They’d lose too many ships,” replied Marloo.

“Would the Lormallians be willing to help if that situation did arise?” Derrick asked. “They weren’t willing before, but now they are planning to join us in attacking Morag Prime. Maybe they would. It would give us a head start on destroying even more enemy ships.”

“That’s an idea. It could work, but I’d rather not have to depend on them. I know they are our allies, but I’m not sure I want to test our alliance like that,” said Marloo.

“What about the Visth? How fast could they react?” asked Cleemorl.

“They couldn’t get to the supply fleet before the Morag,” said Marloo, as he looked at the holographic display.

“Hopefully Collison won’t run into trouble then. At least not until we have the fleet from the Solar System. They will be leaving in the next two to three days,” said Derrick.

“Do you think it’s probable that Collison will keep attacking targets in the Confederation for another three-plus weeks?” asked Cleemorl.

Everyone went silent for a few moments, while they considered this. “No, I don’t,” replied Marloo.

“We need to figure something out,” said Cleemorl. “If we send more ships to Collison, that would have to be from what we intended to send to attack Morag Prime. These ships could rendezvous with the supply fleet, and then, if they aren’t needed there, they can meet up with the rest of the fleets at our rendezvous location.”

“It would leave the Empire more vulnerable for a longer period of time,” said Marloo. He took a deep breath.

Derrick frowned. “We could have Collison’s fleet flee all the way to the Empire. If we did that, we would have enough time to stage a fleet there. That keeps the Empire safe, until we are needed. Not sitting around waiting for a possible attack,” said Derrick.

Cleemorl was thoughtful for a moment, before responding, “What if the Morag use that opportunity to bypass that awaiting fleet and move on to our less protected systems? That would be the opportune time to attack the Hagen Star Cluster or Golan Four.”

Silence followed his revelation. “That’s true,” Marloo began, “but would the Morag be willing to risk that many ships? The number of ships they would lose when attacking Golan Four would be disastrous to the Morag’s overall fleet numbers. They can’t afford to attack us right now because the number of ships it would take to win would be too big of a loss for them. We have them right where we want them. I would be much more comfortable with another thousand warships, but we don’t have that,” said Marloo.

“No, we don’t,” Derrick confirmed. “What we do have an abundance of though is attack interceptors. Not that the attack interceptors could destroy an entire enemy fleet, but they could do some major damage. When we do send a fleet to the Confederation, we will partially make up for those missing numbers with attack interceptors,” said Derrick.

“Yes,” Marloo agreed. “The fleets attacking the Morag have been using the interceptors very effectively. The Morag seem to be catching on though, so it will be interesting to see how it works out moving forward,” said Marloo.

“The only downfall of using the attack interceptors for planetary defense is that they have to reload after shooting their four missiles. Reloading means going back down to the planet, reloading, and then heading back into space to engage the enemy. It would take a larger number of interceptors to  stagger their attack to keep a steady stream of missiles hitting the enemy ships,” said Cleemorl. “I will take as many attack interceptors as I can get my hands on to help protect the Hagen Star Cluster. Don’t get me wrong.”

“Of course,” Marloo said. “We are also working to increase the number of battlecarriers so that, in a battle situation, they can use the carriers to reload before heading back into battle. That saves them the trip back down to the surface of the planet and back. Keeps their downtime lower and helps them get back to hitting their targets quicker,” explained Marloo.

“I hope Collison and the others can destroy a lot more shipyards and keep reducing the number of Morag warships before the larger Morag fleets catch up to them,” said Cleemorl.

“Time will tell,” Marloo replied. “If and when they have to make their retreat, we will need to scramble quickly to decide upon our plan of action. Keep thinking of possible solutions. Think outside the box. Maybe we can think of something that won’t expose our core systems to attack,” said Marloo.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull had received word on the success the Human fleets were having against the Morag. If they could continue to weaken the Morag fleet, it would make the chances of success even higher when the Humans and their allies hit Morag Prime.

Ardon had considered the likelihood that the Humans would be chased out of the Morag-controlled systems again by a large Morag fleet. It was only a matter of time. This time though, the Lormallians would step up and aid the Humans.

The longer the Humans could make it until this occurred, the better. Ardon knew they still had a little more than three weeks before all the allied races were scheduled to rendezvous not far from here to coordinate their attack on Morag Prime. He was really looking forward to it.

For now, the Neutral Races of the Confederation would meet for the first time with their newest addition, the Zynth. Nothing would be said about the upcoming attacks in front of the Zynth. The Zang, Morphene, and Lormallians had all agreed to meet a day before the Zynth arrived to discuss the Humans’ plans.

As for what Ardon would say to the others races, he wasn’t sure. None of the others had agreed to join in the attack on the Morag, so there wasn’t any point in giving them all the details. Ardon definitely wouldn’t mention the new information about Falton Two. That would remain a secret until after the successful attack on Morag Prime.

Ardon understood why the others were hesitant to attack the Morag. It was necessary though, if they were ever to hope of a time when they weren’t constantly cringing every time ships exited hyperspace into one of their systems. The fear of an attack by the Morag caused all of them to lose a little sleep at night.

Ardon had to do everything he could to ensure his people remained safe. Safe to build a new future free from the Morag’s constant threat of aggression. He could see it, and it was within his grasp. He only needed to play his cards right.

-

Admiral Collison ran long-range scans of the system up ahead, containing planets Morag Forty-Three and Forty-four. The scans showed eighty-three warships patrolling around those fourth and fifth planets. The two shipyards that also orbited these two planets wouldn’t be an easy kill.

This system also contained three terraformed moons. Collison suspected that a major base was on one of these moons. The scout ship stationed here had noted warships emerging from the surface of the moon. This led Collison to believe this particular moon also built warships.

Collison had decided that he and Drake would eliminate the defending warships first, and then they would split the fleet. Collison would take a task group to attack the moon that they suspected produced the ships. Rear Admiral Drake would take out the two shipyards.

The battle in this system would be more intense than the previous ones. Collison suspected the Morag fleet would immediately jump to their location as they exited hyperspace. He knew the Morag’s target would be Collison’s battlecarriers. So what could he do to protect them? Various scenarios played out in his mind as he considered this. He wanted to protect the battlecarriers and the attack interceptors they had on board. Collison paced as he considered all his options.

Collison pressed the comm link that allowed all the vessels in the fleet to hear him. “Remember that we will be jumping into a combat situation. The Morag fleet will most likely jump to our dropout point and immediately attack us. Their target will be the battlecarriers. We will immediately form up to protect our carriers. Be prepared to target and fire on the enemy as soon as we drop from hyperspace.”

As Collison released the comm link, he sat down in his command chair. He knew his crews would need a little longer break after this upcoming battle. He had picked their next target with that in mind. It would be across the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. It would take them almost an entire twenty-four hours to get there.

With that long of a hyperspace jump, they would need to exit in an uninhabited system first to make repairs and to do some maintenance work. That way, they could also recharge their hyperdrives, if they needed to make a hasty exit once they reached their intended target. Well, they had to get through this upcoming star system first. Then they could get some good rest.

As the fleet neared their dropout coordinates, Collison moved the fleet to Condition One and edged to the front of his command chair. “Prepare to fire all weapons upon our exit from hyperspace.”

-

Rear Admiral Drake would be positioned toward the rear of the fleet, behind the battlecarriers. He was determined to keep the carriers from being hit by enemy fire. The battlecarriers had strong energy screens, but two of them had already been targeted in the previous system, and their energy screens were not functioning at 100 percent.

Drake was on the edge of his command chair as the fleet exited hyperspace. The sensor alarms sounded, alerting them to the presence of the Morag fleet.

Drake’s gaze focused on the tactical display and all the red threat icons shown there. He watched for them to disappear, which would indicate they would be under imminent attack soon.

All the crew in the Command Center felt the tension hanging in the air. There was total silence, as they all waited in anticipation for the Morag to make the expected move.

Drake took in a sharp breath, as the red icons began to disappear. “Prepare to fire all weapons,” Drake called out.

When the enemy ships reappeared near them, Drake clenched his hands around the arm of his command chair. “Fire, fire, fire!”

Drake felt the powerful weapons release from his dreadnought and head straight for the enemy warships. They had launched their weapons first, and soon the accelerator cannon fire reached the enemy ships and smashed through their energy shields. The next round rammed into the hull of the powerful enemy warship, causing multiple explosions to spread across the length of the ship. What remained of the ship was disintegrated upon the arrival of the next round of the powerful projectile from the accelerator cannons.

Bright explosions lit up the space around the fleet, as ship after ship met its fiery end. Drake felt his heart skip a beat as he realized one of his battlecarriers had been hit by enemy fusion energy beams. Drake quickly ascertained where the beam came from and fired on the Morag ship.

Within moments the enemy ship was no more.

Again and again, Drake targeted one Morag ship after another. He focused so intently that he was surprised when no more enemy ships remained to target. Drake released his grip on his chair and took a deep breath of air. Phase one of the attack was now complete. Now for phase two.

-

Admiral Collison breathed a sigh of relief, when he realized all enemy ships had been eliminated, and all Collison’s battlecarriers remained intact. Rear Admiral Drake had done a fantastic job protecting the rear of the fleet.

The time had come to split the fleet. Collison and his task group headed toward the terraformed moon that orbited the sixth planet in the system. This is the moon where the scout ship had observed the warships being produced.

As Collison and his ships approached the moon, he had his sensor officer run detailed scans of the surface. “We need to locate the base, where the ships are being produced. I want it targeted first—after we relieve the moon of its defensive grid of course.”

“Scans are detecting warships near the South Pole of the moon. We may end up with more ships to destroy. Appears several are on the surface,” reported the sensor officer.

Collison nodded. “Keep an eye on them. Let’s prepare to target the defensive grid above the moon’s South Pole. We need to open a hole large enough to safely get the attack interceptors through,” commanded Collison.

“We are three minutes from engagement range of the defensive grid, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

“As soon as we destroy this grid we’ll launch the interceptors. Warn the crews there might be resistance from the ground, when they attack that base.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Captain Billingsly.

Weapons fire headed in their direction, as soon as they neared the weapons range of the defensive grid. Fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles filled the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center.

“Targeting defensive grid elements in range,” called out the tactical officer. “Also launching missile interdiction protocol.”

“This appears to be a very strong defensive grid. Must be protecting something pretty important,” Collison commented, as he watched the viewscreen in front of him. “Makes me wonder how many of these bases the Morag have on their planets and their terraformed moons.”

“We should have the scout ships run detailed scans of each Morag-inhabited planet and terraformed moon to identify which ones may be home to these warship-building bases,” suggested Billingsly. “It would provide us with more targets.”

“Yes. These bases may produce more warships than the shipyards orbiting their planets and moons,” replied Collison. “The Morag might have more warship-making capabilities than we ever imagined.”

Collison switched his focus back to the task at hand. The defensive grid was quickly weakening under the constant barrage of weapons fire from his task group. Less and less firepower was directed at them.

Once Collison felt that the defensive grid had been eliminated enough for the attack interceptors to get through safely, he said, “Launch the attack interceptors. Have them focus their missiles at that base first. I want it destroyed.”

Billingsly smiled. “Right away, Admiral.”

-

Captain Elliott, on board the battlecarrier Deneb, received his orders to attack the Morag military base on the surface of the terraformed moon.

Elliott passed on the warning from Admiral Collison about possible ground defenses around the base. This would certainly be a new experience, attacking an armed military base. One he hoped they would learn from and not lose many interceptors and crews. This was a high-priority target but possibly a very dangerous one.

Elliott watched his viewscreens, as the attack interceptors launched and formed into their squadrons. Then they made their way through the hole in the defensive grid. Elliott was on the edge of his seat, as the interceptors slowly made their way toward the Morag military base.

-

Lieutenant Burr led his squad, the Scorpion Squadron, through the damaged portion of the defensive grid. They were on high alert. The task group had done a great job of eliminating all defensive grid elements that could fire on them.

The one thing that weighed heavy on Burr’s mind was what waited for them at the military base. Would this base be armed? Were there more Morag warships waiting to target them? Either way, they would soon find out.

As the attack interceptors made their final approach to their target, Burr’s heart beat faster and faster. Sweat beaded and trickled off his forehead. He swallowed, trying to soothe his dry throat. This was what he had been trained to do.

The Morag military base was now in view. Burr locked his four fusion-tipped missiles on his target. Then suddenly he saw the moon’s missile tubes open, and alarms sounded all across his consoles. “The base is preparing to fire!” Burr exclaimed, as he sent his payload toward its target.

Burr watched as the enemy firepower began to take aim at the interceptors’ incoming missiles. Bright fireballs lit up the sky above the base. It appeared these turrets were for defending the base. Burr took one last look, as some of the missiles slipped past the ring of energy beam turrets.

When Burr turned his attack interceptor around to head back through the opening in the defensive grid, he saw large explosions detonating all across the base. He breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully it would be enough to destroy the base.

Of course, if that base was anything like the ones they had in the Empire and the Solar System, who knew how deep it went underground. In the reflection of his cockpit window, he saw massive fireballs reaching up into the sky.

-

On board the battlecarrier Deneb, Captain Elliott intensely watched as the interceptors returned to the carrier. The destruction of the Morag military base on the moon’s surface appeared to be catastrophic. Nothing recognizable remained. At least not that they could see with their scans and their viewscreens.

They had observed six Morag warships take off from the base and head to the far side of the moon. Elliott had monitored their movement, as they exited the atmosphere of the moon. Soon they cleared the area above the moon, and they entered hyperspace.

Elliott had been concerned they might target his battlecarrier or one of the others. The Morag must have reasoned that they stood no chance against the Humans with only six ships. Elliott had no doubt that they would run into these six Morag ships again.

The terraformed moon had not been completely destroyed, but they had succeeded in destroying the Morag military base. Elliott was not sure if Admiral Collison would order the interceptors back to the moon to finish it off. Regardless, once all his attack interceptors landed safely back on board the carrier, they would be reloaded with four more fusion-tipped missiles. Elliott wanted them battle-ready, wherever needed.

-

Admiral Collison was relieved that the Morag military base had not taken aim at the attack interceptors. They had instead tried to intercept the missiles headed for their base. The Morag had successfully destroyed a large number of the fusion-tipped missiles, but enough had slipped through.

Things could have turned out much differently if the Morag had taken aim at the attack interceptors instead of their missiles. Collison was concerned that would be what happened next time. The destruction of the base was inevitable due to the sheer number of missiles targeting it.

With that information, if Collison were in charge of the base, he would have targeted the enemy ships to decrease the size of the enemy fleet. That would give the next target a better chance of surviving. The question remained though, Did the Morag see it the same way Collison did? More than likely, Collison would get the opportunity to find out.

As Collison switched his gaze to the viewscreen showing the two shipyards, he hoped Rear Admiral Drake was having success destroying those. Then they could get out of this system before reinforcements had time to show up.

-

Rear Admiral Drake took his task force and headed to the closest shipyard. He stopped just out of range of the shipyard’s weapons. He would use the attack interceptors first to damage the shipyard as much as possible. Drake did not want to lose any battlecruisers or dreadnoughts if he could avoid it.

Drake sat back in his command chair and watched as the attack interceptors launched and headed in toward the shipyard. They were soon within range of the shipyard’s weapons, and the enemy began launching their weapons at the attack interceptors.

Drake was still amazed every time the attack interceptors used their maneuverability to avoid being hit by enemy fire. They were so agile. It was fun to watch. A smile spread across his face, as he watched them grow ever closer to their target, without being hit.

Bright little flashes of light could be seen as the interceptors continued on their path. Drake’s smile slowly disappeared—at the reality of what those flashes of light symbolized. Drake closed his eyes, silently thinking about those crews out there, putting their lives on the line.

When Drake opened his eyes again, his gaze quickly went to the viewscreen. The attack interceptors had launched their missiles at the shipyard. Drake leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, linking his fingers together in front of him, intensely focused on the shipyard. Would these missiles be enough?

It seemed to happen in slow motion, as Drake watched the missiles begin to strike the energy shield of the shipyard. Come on. Come on. Overload, Drake thought to himself. The energy shield glowed brighter and brighter, as the fusion-tipped missiles continued to hammer the one thing standing between the shipyard and total destruction.

Then the energy screen failed, allowing the rest of the missiles to strike the shipyard’s hull. Drake stood and took in a deep breath. This was it. Time to see if it would be enough to destroy the target. Explosions rattled the shipyard, as more and more missiles hit their mark.

Finally the shipyard seemed to split in two, as a massive explosion emerged from its center. The two pieces began to fall toward the planet. The blast had been strong enough to knock it out of orbit.

Drake continued to watch as the remaining missiles hit their targets, further damaging the now doomed shipyard. The pieces would soon hit the defensive grid. How much damage it would do remained to be seen. Would it be enough to create a hole big enough to send in the attack interceptors? He didn’t have the time to stick around and find out. He still had another shipyard to destroy.

The attack interceptors were still returning to their battlecarriers, but Drake knew he needed to finish off the remaining target quickly. He didn’t have time to wait for the interceptors to return and reload before heading to the next target. The next shipyard, the battlecruisers and dreadnoughts would have to eliminate.

Drake quickly assigned a portion of his task group to protect the battlecarriers, while they waited for the attack interceptors to return. The rest he took with him to the far side of the planet, where the last remaining shipyard still orbited.

Once there, Drake’s task force promptly closed in on their target. “Two minutes to engagement range of the shipyard,” called out the sensor officer. “The shipyard is firing their weapons.”

Drake knew the shipyard was trying its best to eliminate as many of his ships as it could. Especially since they were attacking with their warships instead of the smaller attack interceptors. The larger ships were much easier for the shipyard to hit.

Once Drake’s task group reached the engagement range, already a wall of weapons fire was headed their way. Drake braced himself for what was to come. He was aware he would lose a few ships, but the faster they could destroy the target, the shorter the time the shipyard had to target his ships.

The accelerator cannons launched their projectiles at their designated target, smashing through the energy shield as if it weren’t even there. The next round hammered the shipyard. It was too much for the shipyard to withstand.

Explosions quickly spread all across the side of the shipyard, until a bright nova-like explosion consumed the entire thing. Drake shielded his eyes from the brightness. Once his gaze found the space where the shipyard had orbited the planet, his smile returned. Job well done. Target had been utterly destroyed.

Drake swiftly checked in with Admiral Collison, confirming his target had been eliminated as well. Collison gave the all clear for all Human warships to enter hyperspace. The coordinates to their next dropout point were distributed. Drake and his crew now had a little more than twenty-four hours to get some rest, before they dropped out of hyperspace in an uninhabited system close to their next target.

Chapter Eleven

Rear Admiral Carrie prepared her fleet to exit hyperspace into the system containing planet Morag Forty-Nine. “Be prepared to fire all weapons upon our exit from hyperspace. I expect the Morag warships to immediately jump out to our location and target our battlecarriers.”

The long-range scans showed eighty-nine Morag warships patrolling the system. That was double what they had been up against in the previous system. However, the reward was also much better. This system had three shipyards. It also held two inhabited planets, Morag Forty-Nine and Fifty, with four terraformed moons.

Carrie had heard from the scout ship that two Morag military bases might be located on two of the moons.

This was a new target that they didn’t have any experience with. The scout ship had also reported that the military base Collison had just destroyed had been surrounded by a ring of missile turrets. These missile turrets targeted the incoming weapons fire but could possibly change targeting to the attack interceptors.

Carrie needed to remain on high alert. She and Rear Admiral Barnes had agreed that they would face the Morag fleet together and then separate to hit the other targets. Carrie would take the two Morag military bases, and Barnes would destroy the three shipyards.

The unknown variables of what the Morag military bases could possess was a little unnerving. Carrie felt her heart beating faster. She couldn’t explain the uneasy feeling she had.

First, they had to eliminate the Morag warships that patrolled the system. Their fleet began exiting hyperspace, and Carrie stood and focused her gaze on the tactical display. “Prepare to fire, if those Morag ships enter hyperspace.”

Everyone watched the tactical display. Carrie’s fleet quickly moved into a wedge formation, with the battlecarriers moving to the center.

The red threat icons began disappearing from the tactical display. “They’re jumping,” called out the sensor officer in dismay.

Carrie swallowed and steadied herself. Here they come, she thought to herself.

The Morag warships exited hyperspace near her fleet. As soon as they appeared, Carrie’s fleet started targeting the enemy ships. Accelerator cannon fire and particle beam fire lit up the space between the two fleets.

Carrie felt her ship shake beneath her, as her energy shield withstood the hits of several antimatter missiles. She braced herself against the consoles in front of her. The ship continued to take a pounding. “We’ve got to destroy the Morag ship targeting us!” Carrie ordered.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes noticed that Carrie’s flagship was taking a beating. They had to eliminate the enemy ship targeting her—and quickly. Barnes shifted her focus and identified the responsible Morag ship. The accelerator cannons took aim and launched their projectiles. Barnes leaned forward, as the projectiles neared the Morag battleship. She took in a sharp breath, as the projectiles smashed through the ship’s energy screen. As the next round hit the ship’s hull, a large explosion engulfed the entire vessel.

Barnes shifted her gaze back to the viewscreen showing Carrie’s flagship. The ship was no longer under enemy fire. Barnes breathed a sigh of relief. Then her eyes grew wide in alarm, as she noticed a battlecarrier under heavy fire. The energy screen glowed brighter and brighter, until suddenly it failed. Barnes watched in horror, as three antimatter missiles then struck the side of the hull.

It seemed like the explosions detonating along the carrier all happened in slow motion. Attack interceptors were doing their best to launch and to escape certain death on the carrier.

The viewscreens remained focused on the carrier, as the explosions spread all over the vessel. More and more attack interceptors swarmed out of whatever launch bay they could. Barnes knew she had to look away from the impending devastation that would soon follow. She had to focus her crew on destroying the rest of the enemy fleet.

As Barnes quickly scanned the tactical display, she noticed they had already destroyed more than half of the enemy ships. They still had another half to go.

With her full attention now back on the battle, the remaining Human fleet battered the Morag warships, one after another, until none were left to fight. Not until all enemy ships had been eliminated did Barnes allow herself to look back at the battlecarrier.

It had not been completely destroyed. It was now safe to send crews in to rescue as many personnel as possible, as well as supplies and munitions. If the carrier could not be salvaged enough to enter hyperspace and to head back to the mobile repair yards at the supply fleet, then it would have to be scuttled.

Barnes assigned a task group to help the battlecarrier with the tasks needed, while she and Rear Admiral Carrie headed to destroy the shipyards and military bases. Barnes knew time was not on their side. They only had about three-quarters of an hour before reinforcements could arrive. Barnes had no intention of still being in the system at that time.

Even if that meant they had to scuttle the battlecarrier.

-

Carrie headed toward her next target, a Morag military base on the terraformed moon that orbited the fifth planet from the sun. The attack interceptors that had been able to evacuate from the damaged carrier had followed her fleet. They would aid her in attacking the base, but first she had to blow a hole in this defensive grid.

The detailed scans of the moon revealed the location of the military base. It even appeared that the defensive grid was more robust in this area. Carrie quickly evaluated her options and sent out the commands to her task group.

Soon afterward, the space above the moon came alive with weapons fire from Carrie’s fleet and from the defensive grid. It grew in intensity and then quickly dissipated, as the defensive grid was blown from its position of protection above the moon.

Time for the attack interceptors to do their part. Carrie watched as they made their way through the hole in the defensive grid. No longer were any defensive elements in range of the fleet. The only possible threats came from the base itself.

Carrie was on edge, and the tension in the Command Center grew as the interceptors grew ever closer to the base. The detailed scans showed multiple hangars on the base. Carrie was concerned with what could possibly be housed there. More ships possibly or even weapons of some type.

The hangars began to open, and the weapons turrets revealed their weapons. Carrie cringed as the weapons took aim at the attack interceptors. “Tell those attack interceptors to launch their weapons at the base now. They are close enough,” ordered Carrie. She needed as many as possible to make it back to the fleet.

While weapons fire was not the most accurate in destroying the attack interceptors, since they had the ability to outmaneuver them, it was pretty accurate in intercepting the missiles they had launched at the base itself.

More and more attack interceptors launched their missiles, and eventually a few made it through. Carrie loosened the grip she had on her armrests and tried to make herself relax a little. Just as she was beginning to succeed in this endeavor, alarms sounded.

Carrie searched the screens for the source of the alarm. “We have enemy warships emerging from the moon above the sixth planet,” said the sensor officer.

“How many?” Carrie asked.

“Twenty-three.”

“Is that all of them?” Carrie asked.

“No, it appears more are launching from the base on this moon as well,” replied the sensor officer.

“We must shoot them down! We can’t allow them to target our battlecarriers. Switch all ships’ focus to this new threat,” ordered Carrie.

As the new threats came into range, the enemy immediately targeted the battlecarriers. Carrie launched all their weapons at these newest Morag warships. She could not lose another carrier.

“There are now a total of thirty-six Morag warships,” said the sensor officer.

“Let’s see how they stand up to a little accelerator cannon fire,” Carrie said, with a smirk. Unless the Morag had figured out how to defend against their powerful accelerator cannons, these enemy ships would soon be eliminated.

The accelerator cannons’ projectiles hurtled toward the Morag warships. Carrie and her crew watched intently, waiting to see if the Morag had been successful in making these newest ships more powerful. Carrie’s heart skipped a beat as she considered the fact that these newest enemy warships might have new weapons technology on board.

Her fears were extinguished as the projectiles sailed right through the energy shields and then penetrated the ships’ sides. “Guess they hadn’t had enough time to figure out how to defend against the accelerator cannons yet,” Carrie said sarcastically.

“Thank goodness. If they had, it would spell disaster for our fleet,” said Major Sullivan.

The newest Morag ships were soon nothing more than twisted molten wreckage, floating above the moon. Carrie returned her focus to the base. Had the attack interceptors demolished it? She surveyed the damage they had done but wasn’t quite satisfied. “Let’s move in closer and fire a few antimatter missiles at the base. That should finish it off.”

Soon, more large mushroom clouds rose from the debris of what once was the military base on the terraformed moon orbiting planet Morag Forty-Nine. Carrie scanned the area to make sure she had not missed anything. Once she was satisfied, she relaxed a little in her command chair. “Time to move on to the second Morag military base.”

-

Rear Admiral Barnes closed in on the first shipyard. With so many targets and so little time left to destroy them all, Barnes decided to hit two shipyards simultaneously. These two were in close proximity to each other.

Barnes would stick with the strategy of sending in the attack interceptors first. She split her allotment of carriers into two groups, each group containing seven carriers, with a full load of 160 attack interceptors. That would provide her with 1120 interceptors to attack each shipyard. Her task group also split into two to help protect the carriers, should trouble arise.

With all warships eliminated from the system, the only probable place for a threat to come would be from hyperspace. Barnes had warned her task group to stay alert and to be prepared to form into a combined larger fleet, if a threat was detected.

The two task groups under Barnes’s guidance stopped short of engagement range of the two shipyards. Then the battlecarriers got to work, launching their payload of attack interceptors.

Barnes smiled at the sight of the viewscreen in front of her, showing the sheer number of attack interceptors that had formed into their squadrons and were now headed straight for the shipyards. The thought of being up against so many small attack craft was enough to intimidate even the bravest of leaders. Barnes was glad that these interceptors were full of Humans and that she wasn’t the one facing the onslaught of such a sheer number of enemy vessels.

Soon the attack interceptors reached the engagement range of the shipyards. Both shipyards opened fire as the small craft crossed into that engagement range. Barnes switched focus from one viewscreen to the other, as two battles waged on simultaneously.

-

Morag Commander Hamlin stared at the tactical display in alarm at the sheer number of red threat icons represented on it. Over one thousand enemy small attack craft were currently headed toward his shipyard. From reports he had heard of these small vessels, they each held four missiles, which meant that soon he would face over four thousand missiles. There was no feasible way the energy screen could hold up to that amount of firepower.

We must eliminate these small attack craft. Send a barrage of fusion energy beams in their direction. Also release the antimatter missiles. Set them to detonate at medium-range instead of on impact. That way, we have a better chance of destroying these ships in the force of the explosions, Hamlin ordered to his command crew.

Hamlin watched as the fusion energy beams launched and took aim at the incoming ships. He slammed his hands down on his command chair in frustration. These small attack craft were almost impossible to hit. They were so maneuverable. Maybe the explosion of the antimatter missiles would have better luck.

Send the missiles! Hamlin commanded.

As the antimatter missiles launched from the shipyard, Hamlin held his breath, hoping they could make a difference in this battle. Shortly after the missiles had launched, the Humans’ small attack craft began launching their missiles. Hamlin took a deep breath and steadied himself. Here it comes. This is how it ends. Focus the fusion energy beams to take out those incoming missiles.

Hamlin watched the viewscreens in the front of the Command Center. The entire screen was full of incoming missiles. The fusion energy beams took out a large number of them but not near enough.

Meanwhile the antimatter missiles detonated about halfway between the awaiting Human fleet and the shipyard. Hamlin smiled. The antimatter missiles were effective. With each detonation, multiple Human small attack craft were destroyed.

Hamlin knew he needed to let the other commanders know how to eliminate these small attack craft. They didn’t seem to have energy shields protecting the entire vessel, so an explosion of an antimatter missile in the vicinity of one of the small ships would take it out.

Soon after he sent his message to Admiral Voxx, the Humans’ missiles detonated against the energy screen of Hamlin’s shipyard. Hamlin held his breath, hoping it would hold. The missiles kept coming and coming. The screen glowed brighter and brighter, as it worked to dissipate all the energy exploding against it.

Hamlin swallowed. He knew the end was near. The screen glowed brighter for a moment and then failed, as more enemy missiles continued to come. He closed his eyes, awaiting his fate.

The fusion-tipped missiles slammed into the side of the shipyard. Hamlin felt the impact, as the shipyard shook beneath him. Already red warning lights were lit up across the systems console, indicating damage. Bulkheads began to shut, trying to contain the explosions and the damage from spreading. Red lights flashed, and the warning alarms sounded, filling the air with the warning of the impending devastation.

There wasn’t much else Hamlin could do besides keeping the antimatter missiles continually launching as long as he could. The more of these small attack craft he could destroy, the better. Maybe not for him and his crew but for the next system and their crew.

The rumbling Hamlin felt began to grow in intensity. He heard the sounds of explosions growing nearer. The echoing screams could be heard throughout the vessel. He took one last look around his Command Center and the crew surrounding him. Sparks fell from the ceiling, and numerous small fires had begun to burn.

His gaze shifted back to the viewscreen; he took one last deep breath of the smoke-filled air, and then he ceased to exist, as the explosions consumed him and the shipyard.

-

Barnes’s eyes grew wider, as the shipyard’s antimatter missiles began to detonate in the midst of the attack interceptors. Every interceptor in the vicinity of the explosions was destroyed. “Tell the interceptors to avoid those antimatter missiles. They need to move in closer to the shipyard. They need to get out of the range where those missiles are detonating,” commanded Barnes.

The other shipyard appeared to be following suit and launching the antimatter missiles and detonating them at medium-range. The interceptors had to get out of that area of the battlefield and quickly.

Once the interceptors passed the target range of the enemy’s missiles, things for the Morag started looking grim. Their energy screen was quickly overloaded, and, shortly after that, the shipyard was demolished.

Barnes’s gaze shifted to the viewscreen showing the other shipyard. The last of the fusion-tipped missiles slammed into the already-damaged shipyard. A large explosion engulfed the entire vessel, blasting what remained into millions of pieces.

Two shipyards down, one to go, Barnes thought, as the attack interceptors landed back on their carriers to reload. It would take the interceptors ten minutes to reload. Barnes knew they were pushing their luck on time. She needed to destroy this last shipyard and quick.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie closed in on the second Morag military base in the system. This terraformed moon was slightly larger than the last one had been. The scout ship had reported the base was located on the far side of the moon. This was also where the defensive grid was the strongest.

Carrie steadied herself. They needed to finish this as quickly as possible and move out of this system. She looked over at her display, showing how long they’d already been in the system. Carrie thought they had enough time to destroy this base, as long as everything went according to plan.

Once within range of the defensive grid, the battle began. Carrie’s task group had improved on efficiently eliminating the defensive grid elements. Faster than the last one, they had their hole in the grid opened up.

The attack interceptors quickly launched and headed through the hole. As they closed in on the military base, the defensive turrets began to open. Carrie held her breath.

-

Lieutenant Garland led her squadron of interceptors toward the base. When the missile turrets opened, her heart began to beat faster. Would they target the interceptors? Or would they only target the interceptors’ missiles? Garland hoped it would be the latter.

As they got in range of the base, they launched their missiles. Garland targeted the missile hatches first. If she could take out a few of those, it would mean more missiles hitting the base and fewer interceptors being targeted.

Garland’s first missile hit her target and destroyed it. Two fewer missile turrets to worry about, she thought to herself. Her second missile was destroyed before it hit its target.

As Garland launched her third missile, alarms sounded on her console. She had a missile lock on her vessel. Immediately Garland began her evasive maneuvers and quickly evaded the missile. Once in the clear, Garland launched her fourth missile. Now was time to get out of here.

Once Garland left the moon, she turned to survey the damage done to the base below. Numerous mushroom clouds rose from the area where the base had once been. It appeared that their mission had been a success.

As Garland carefully landed her attack interceptor on the battlecarrier, she checked in with the rest of her squadron. She was relieved when everyone checked in. None of her squadron had been lost.

-

Carrie had more detailed scans of the Morag military base done after the attack interceptors had finished launching their missiles at the target. The scans showed total devastation. Their target had been destroyed.

A smile spread across Carrie’s face. Two Morag military bases had now been destroyed by her task group. Now it was time to check in with Barnes and get out of here.

Barnes was in the middle of her attack on the third shipyard, so Carrie would check back in with the damaged battlecarrier. It was almost time to make the final decision on what to do with it. Was it able to travel in hyperspace? Time was quickly ending on making any repairs here. If it couldn’t make the jump within the next ten minutes, it would have to be scuttled.

-

Barnes had decided not to use the attack interceptors to destroy this last shipyard. They had been through enough. It was time for the main warships to pull their weight. They were quickly running out of time. Barnes did not want to remain in this system long enough for any Morag reinforcements to have time to arrive.

“Three minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire all weapons. We need to obliterate this last shipyard quickly,” commanded Barnes.

The shipyard started firing its weapons just before they reached the engagement range. Barnes braced herself, as the fleet came in range, with the enemy’s weapons fire impacting the energy screen of her ship.

The Human fleet fired its accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons at the shipyard. Upon arrival, the cannon fire smashed right through the energy screen of the shipyard. Soon afterward, the final blow was struck, as the accelerator cannon projectiles hammered the side of the now-unprotected shipyard. Explosions spread and quickly consumed the entire shipyard. Finally one last massive explosion blew the shipyard into pieces.

Barnes surveyed the tactical display and was troubled when she realized the shipyard had successfully destroyed eight battlecruisers and one dreadnought. Thousands of Humans had just lost their lives. All because of a decision she had made.

Maybe she had made the wrong call in having the warships attack and not waiting for the attack interceptors to reload and relaunch. There would have been fewer Human lives lost. Lesson learned, and she would not make the same mistake again.

-

Carrie was relieved to hear that the battlecarrier Pegasus could enter hyperspace. It would operate with a skeleton crew under Captain Elias, in the event they could not make it all the way back to the supply fleet. Two damaged battlecruisers and one damaged dreadnought would escort it. If, for any reason, the battlecarrier could not make it all the way back, they would be forced to destroy the ship—especially if they were in danger of being captured. Under no circumstances would any Morag be allowed to board the carrier.

The crew had their orders, and Carrie held her breath as they entered hyperspace. She hoped she would see them all again.

Now that the damaged ships were on their way to the supply fleet, time for the rest of the fleet to make their exit as well. A long hyperspace jump to their next target would be a welcomed respite for all the crews in the fleet.

Just as the fleet began to make their transition to hyperspace, alarms sounded, indicating the presence of enemy ships. Rear Admiral Barnes had already entered hyperspace, so it was up to Carrie to face whatever was coming.

“What do we have?” Rear Admiral Carrie asked, as she sat forward in her command chair.

“Three Morag warships. Appears they are charging their hyperdrives to reenter hyperspace,” said the sensor officer.

“Let’s get out to their location and destroy them, before they can make their jump. We don’t want them trying to follow us.”

The ships quickly jumped out to the Morag warships’ location, but, before they arrived, the enemy ships had vanished.

“Let’s head to our next destination. We need to be on alert for these Morag warships. We cannot allow them to follow us,” Carrie said, as she sat back in her command chair. “Keep scanning as we jump to ensure we are not being followed.”

Chapter Twelve

Captain Elias, on board the damaged battlecarrier Pegasus, headed toward the supply fleet. Currently he was four days from the safety of the Lormallian-controlled star systems.

Elias was in his quarters, examining the holographic display. He needed multiple options as to where he could drop from hyperspace safely, if need be. Elias knew his ship was incapable of making that long of a hyperspace jump all at once. Thus his journey would entail multiple stops. His current task was to find those safe havens he could use to repair and to recharge his carrier’s hyperdrive.

From the information the systems officer could provide him, they estimated they would need to stop three times. One of those would be in a Morag-controlled star system. They were deep in Morag space and couldn’t make it all the way out without this one pit stop, not with the ship’s current condition.

Elias had already narrowed down the possible Morag stopover system to a couple choices. Both were uninhabited, but that did not mean no Morag ships were there. Once they got close, they would run some long-range scans to ensure no threats were in the system.

Elias knew the best way to make it through was to focus on one leg of the journey at a time. He had two battlecruisers and a dreadnought escorting him. All three were damaged and needed repairs, but he did feel a little better that he and his crew weren’t on this journey alone.

The first planned stop was twenty-one hours away. Elias thought it best to get a little shut-eye. As long as they were in hyperspace, they were safe.

-

Morag Captain Denning couldn’t believe his luck. He had picked up on some Human ships, just as they jumped out of the last system.

Denning had instructed his crew to follow the ships and to keep as far away as possible, while still tracking them.

Next he contacted Admiral Voxx. Admiral, I have detected a group of Human ships and am following them through hyperspace. This group only contains four vessels, so I am guessing they are the stragglers. They must have needed a few more repairs before they entered hyperspace. I am sure the rest of the fleet is farther ahead of them, too far for my scans to recognize.

Voxx replied, Great work, Commander Denning. Send out your location and in which direction you are traveling. With this information, we plan to intercept this fleet when they exit hyperspace at their next target, sent Voxx.

We appear to be traveling back toward their original target systems. They may be headed back to pick up some more targets in that area, responded Denning.

I will send some more ships to those areas. At least we have found one of the fleets. Now we need to find the other one. Keep following at as far a distance as you can. We do not want to alert them of your presence, until we are ready. Maybe we can set a trap for them.

Won’t they scan any system before they exit hyperspace? asked Denning.

Yes. We will make sure there are no ships to be scanned. We need to time it to arrive at the location slightly before our task force that I am sending to destroy them.

Will your task force be followed by a Human scout ship?

No. I am taking precautions to have only a few ships disappear at a time, so as to not raise suspicions of the Human scout ships, replied Voxx.

That is excellent news. I will continue to follow this group of Human ships and will continue to update you on our location.

Contact me again if there is any change in their direction or if they drop out of hyperspace.

Yes, Admiral.

Once Denning finished his discussion with Admiral Voxx, Denning felt confident in their plan. He would likely be rewarded handsomely for this mission. A promotion would definitely be on the horizon.

-

Zynth Councilor Conn neared the Lormallian-controlled star systems. This would be his first official meeting with the Neutral Races of the Confederation, and he was a little apprehensive about it. Would they trust him? Could they all benefit from this alliance? What could the Zynth gain from this? Trade perhaps, maybe a mutual defense agreement. Who would that defense agreement protect them from? The Humans? The Morag? Conn was not precisely sure who the Zynths’ enemies were. He did not trust the Humans, but, for the preservation of his race, it was imperative the Zynths continue to honor their agreement with the Humans.

One thing he knew for sure was that he needed to tread lightly at this first meeting. Trade between the Zynth, Lormallian, Morphene, and Zang could be very beneficial in the long term.

In the back of his mind, Conn also knew that, if the Morag ever decided to attack the Zynth, the Zynth would need all the help they could get. It was the same with the Humans. The Zynth alone could not stand against the Morag.

As the Zynth ships emerged from hyperspace in the Lormallian system containing Bator Prime, alarms sounded. Conn’s breath caught in his throat, as fear overtook him. The tactical display in front of him showed hundreds of red threat icons, but then the alarm stopped, and the red threat icons turned green. Conn let out a deep sigh. It had been a false alarm. The computer had mistaken the presence of the Lormallian fleet as an enemy at first.

Conn surveyed the tactical display a little closer and then switched his gaze to the viewscreens in front of him. He was impressed by the size of this Lormallian fleet. They had been busy building warships since the fall of the Great Council of the Confederation. Of course, of all the races in the Neutral Races of the Confederation alliance, the Lormallians had the most cause for concern. Conn was confident that the Lormallians ranked second on the Morag’s list of enemies, after the Humans.

Which brought to mind a question that had been nagging Conn for some time. What if he signed a mutual defense pact with the others at this meeting today? When it came time for the Morag to attack the Lormallians, would the Zynth aid the Lormallians against the Morag? Was Conn willing to wage war against the Morag? He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Would it come to that? He hoped not but knew, in all reality, it likely would. The Morag would have to defeat the Humans first though.

Knowing now that only the Morag and the Druins were against the Humans, Conn wasn’t sure that he had to worry about a Morag attack on the Zynth anytime in the near future. The Confederation had their hands full with the Humans, and that war didn’t look like it would conclude anytime soon.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull awaited the arrival of Zynth Councilor Conn. The other two councilors had already arrived and enjoyed some refreshments in the council chambers. Reull and the others had already determined what they would discuss with the Zynth today. Ardon had hoped that this meeting would go relatively smoothly and would encourage the Zynth that they had made the right decision to join the Neutral Races.

As the Zynth Councilor’s shuttle landed, Ardon moved closer to greet him. His main goal in this meeting today was to entice the Zynth to sign their mutual defense pact that the others had already agreed to. In addition to that, they needed to reestablish trade with the Zynth, which could be very lucrative for them all. Ardon also wanted to mention his ideas for how the Lormallians would govern their area of the Confederation. Not that the others had to do the same, but he hoped, in time, they would.

Zynth Councilor Conn walked toward Ardon with a friendly smile. “It’s good to see you, Ardon. Thank you for inviting me here today,” Conn said warmly.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here,” Ardon responded. “The others have already arrived and are in the council chambers. Please follow me.”

As they walked into the large building, Conn said, “I noticed you have quite the fleet stationed in this system. Am I correct in assuming this is not your only one?”

Ardon wondered why the Zynth Councilor was asking about their fleets. Was it to report back to the Morag? Or was he just assessing how strong this new alliance would be? “You are correct. It is not our only fleet. We have been working to grow our fleets large enough to protect our systems from attack. Where in the past an attack in the Confederation wasn’t even a possibility, it now has become much more common.”

“Are you concerned about the Humans or the Morag?”

“The Humans have signed an agreement not to attack us, unless provoked—which I assure you that we have no intention of doing. The threat I worry about is the Morag. With our development of the telepathic nullifiers and our role in the fall of the Great Council, we are high on their target list, I am afraid.”

“Yes, I would assume you are as well. I also noticed your defensive grid around the planet. It is very strong. The Zynth would be interested in trading for some of these defensive grid elements. It has come to our attention that our planets are very vulnerable to attack, and we would like to change that.”

“I am sure that can be arranged. We can discuss it at the meeting,” Ardon replied, as they entered the council chambers.

-

Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds took one last look at the fleet that would leave for the Empire in the next few minutes. He had already given Rear Admiral Martinez, who would be leading the fleet, his permission to head out of the Solar System. Rear Admiral Martinez would be taking his fleet as well as the additional number of ships that the various shipyards all across the Solar System had been able to build over the past weeks.

Reynolds felt great pride in the fleet they had amassed over the last few weeks. Without being under the threat of attack, they could focus entirely on building up the fleet, and what a fleet it was. Undoubtedly the largest one they had ever sent to the Empire.

Reynolds wished he were leading this fleet to the Empire but knew his place was here. Rear Admiral Martinez would have the privilege of taking this massive fleet to the Confederation to destroy Morag Prime. First he would meet up with the fleet from the Empire at the Hagen Star Cluster. They would all then travel to meet the other races in the Lormallian-controlled space, including Collison’s combined fleet.

As Martinez’s fleet entered hyperspace, Reynolds relaxed into his chair. It would be three weeks before this newest Earth fleet arrived in the Empire. They would continue building warships. They may still be needed in the aftermath of the Morag Prime battle. Once the Morag were defeated, the Humans still had the Druins to be concerned about. The expert military consensus was that the Druins would be willing to surrender after the Morag were defeated, but the Empire needed to be prepared nonetheless.

The Solar System seemed empty without the large fleet that had been dominating it for the past few weeks. They still had more than enough ships remaining to defend the Solar System from attack, but it had felt very reassuring with the other fleet here.

Now Reynolds needed to prepare for the arrival of Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley. They would be here within the next couple weeks. They carried news of what Professor Charles Wright had discovered while at the archives in Bator Prime. It was something big, since they were sending Princess Krista.

-

Princess Krista was disappointed that she would arrive on Pallas after the new Earth fleet’s departure to join part of the Imperial Fleet at the Hagen Star Cluster, before both continued on to attack Morag Prime in the Confederation. The rumors Krista had heard were hard to believe. Of course rumors tended to grow, so she would feel better about it once she arrived in the Solar System and talked to Fleet Admiral Reynolds.

The size of the fleet the Solar System were sending had been kept secret for fear of their communications being intercepted by the Confederation. For the same reason, Golan Four leadership had not communicated the news of Falton Two either. That was the purpose of Princess Krista’s visit to Pallas first, then on to Earth. Plus it was always a good idea to foster goodwill with one’s allies.

Over the past weeks, she and Mathew had gotten even closer. The realization that they still had five to six weeks until they would return to the Empire was a little exhilarating. The plan was to remain in the Solar System until the attack on Morag Prime had concluded. Krista intended to take advantage of this diplomatic goodwill trip and to spend as much of it as possible with Mathew. She knew her future was by his side. It was only a matter of time until it became official.

-

Zynth Councilor Conn had arrived back on his transport vessel. The meeting today had gone better than he had expected. A supply vessel would join his convoy within the next couple hours. On this supply vessel would be various pieces for a defensive grid. The first planet they would fortify would be their home planet of Zynthian. Then, as they received more defensive grid elements, they would fortify more and more of their inhabited planets in the Zynth star systems.

They would also receive a shipment of telepathic nullifiers in the next few days. Now that they were no longer in an alliance with the Morag, the nullifiers were paramount to their future success.

Trade agreements had been discussed and agreed upon. A mutual defense pact had been agreed to. Overall Conn came out of the meeting with a positive hope for the future. Maybe the Zynth could flourish without the Morag after all.

Some discussion had also begun about how to govern their territories. Each councilor had agreed to seriously consider what options they had and which one they thought would be best. At the next meeting, they would discuss the subject again. Whatever they decided, it would take time to implement.

Changes were coming. That was one thing Conn was sure of. For the first time in a long while, Conn was confident this change was for the best.

As for trading with the Human Empire, Conn wasn’t entirely comfortable with that prospect just yet. For now, he had agreed to trade with the Neutral Races. He was okay with trading goods with the other races who came from the Human Empire; Conn just didn’t want to deal with the Humans himself.

Overall this trip had been a great success. He looked forward to briefing the leaders of the Zynth when he returned home. The trip wasn’t a long one. He would return here to Bator Prime in two weeks for the next meeting of the Neutral Races of the Confederation.

Once the supply vessel arrived at the convoy, they jumped into hyperspace and headed back to the Zynth star systems.

-

Soon after the Zynth ships had exited the system, the other three councilors reconvened for the second part of their meeting. This portion of the meeting would be about the Humans.

“I believe our alliance with the Zynth will be very profitable for us all,” Morphene Councilor Klug said, as they all sat back down around the table.

“I agree,” said Zang Councilor Crea. “I will admit that I was a little apprehensive about it, but it went better than I expected.”

Ardon Reull noted, “Trade with the Human Empire is going well. We are receiving many goods and raw materials that we do not have in abundance here in our star systems. Plus we are improving our relations with the Humans at the same time,” said Reull.

“What about their Human fleet already attacking the Morag?” asked Klug.

“From what I have heard, it is going well. They are destroying more shipyards and warships with each attack, further weakening the overall ability of the Morag to attack anyone,” Reull responded. “I think that’s good for us all.”

“What if the fleet is chased out of the Morag systems again, like last time?” asked Crea.

“Then we will be waiting for them. The day is fast approaching when we will have to fight the Morag. We know the Lormallians are high on the Morag’s list of enemies. I understand why the two of you are hesitant to join us against the Morag. They will come for us Lormallians first. When they do, we will be ready,” Ardon stated. “If the Morag chase the Human fleet, then the Human fleet will find the Lormallians ready to assist them. Unlike last time, we will be prepared to fight.”

The other two councilors nodded their heads in understanding. “I doubt the Zynth would join in that fight,” stated Klug.

“I agree with you. They are not ready for that. Maybe someday they will be, but that day is not now,” said Ardon.

“What about the plan to attack Morag Prime? How is that coming along?” asked Crea.

“It is going better than expected. The Human fleet from the Solar System is already headed to the Empire to rendezvous with one of their fleets. Then they will meet up here in the Confederation with the Visth and their United Worlds Alliance. Between the Visth and their allies, they’ve brought an impressive amount of worlds on board to participate in this attack. I won’t know the total ship count, not until everyone meets up at the rendezvous location. I have a feeling it will be more than enough to get the job done.”

The Zang Councilor spoke in a trilling sound, consistent with his birdlike race and their ability to fly. “The Zang still plan to remain neutral. While we would aid you or the Morphene, should either of you came under attack by the Morag, we cannot agree to attack the Morag, not without proper provocation. We plan to steer clear of any conflict with the Morag, if possible. I hope you can understand our position,” trilled the Zang Councilor.

Klug, the Morphene Councilor added, “The Morphene are on the same page as the Zang. If the Morag attack us, we will retaliate. We are not willing to serve the first blow, however. We do wish your endeavor the best of luck though,” said Klug, whose race could morph at will, changing their appearance. Klug’s current form highly resembled a humanoid, with a slightly larger head.

Ardon nodded. “I sympathize with your reasoning and respect your decisions. Know that you would be more than welcome to join us, if you change your mind. We still have a few more weeks to prepare,” Ardon said, as he folded his long fingers together on the table in front of him.

After a few more minutes of discussion, the meeting adjourned. The Zang and Morphene Councilors headed back to their transport vessels and then toward their homeworlds.

-

Captain Hadley on board scout ship 368 had been monitoring the vicinity where the Morag leader had met with Emperor Rowan. Hadley and her crew had never witnessed anyone, who could be the Emperor, leave the building, unless he had disguised himself as a guard. Considering that he had no reason to do that, the theory was an unlikely explanation, since the Humans of Falton Two did not know they were being watched.

There had been no intercepted communications about the Morag visit. It was almost as if the Morag had not even appeared on Falton Two.

Hadley was curious about this Emperor Rowan. What did he look like? Was he an older or younger ruler? Not that any of that mattered, but it had been a few of the things that had crossed her mind.

They had run very detailed scans of the planet to ensure they had not missed anything. One item in particular they had been looking for was military bases, hidden or not. How could this planet not have a way to protect itself? Hadley knew that all these scans would be analyzed and, when combined with whatever Professor Wright had discovered while at the archives on Bator Prime, would hopefully provide them with some answers to their questions.

Hadley knew her time here was running out. Soon her relief ship would arrive. Once it did, Hadley and her crew would begin their journey back to the Empire. Hadley was ready for some rest and relaxation. Plus she had a lot of questions for Professor Wright.

Evening fell on the building where the Emperor was suspected to be. She noted what seemed to be a slight uptick in activity around the perimeter of the building. People began to arrive and enter the building. What could possibly be going on? Hadley zoomed in on the area and watched as aircar after aircar stopped in the front of the building and let out their passengers.

It almost reminded Hadley of a party back home. Hadley arched her eyebrows and wondered what was going on. Then she made a note of it in her logs. Maybe this was some important date, and the Emperor’s guests were here to celebrate something. The guests did seem to be dressed up. They weren’t wearing uniforms. Something else she wouldn’t have the answer to anytime soon.

Hadley rested her chin in the palm of her hand and let out a deep sigh. She would love to go to a party right about now. The music and the food. Hadley smiled. Then she closed her eyes and pictured what it might be like at the party. Then she shook herself from her reverie. No parties up here. Just her and her small crew. They were all ready to get home and to breathe some fresh air and to get some space away from each other.

Before she retired for the evening, Hadley checked in with the scout ship coming to take her spot. They would arrive within the next twenty-four hours.

Once the other scout ship arrived, Hadley would send them all the data and information they had amassed thus far. Then they would begin their journey back to the Empire. Hadley took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. It was time for her to get a little shut-eye.

Chapter Thirteen

Admiral Collison examined the holographic display in front of him. The decision of where to exit hyperspace so they could safely do some maintenance work and a few repairs weighed heavily on his mind. The Morag had no idea where the Humans would attack next. They still had the element of surprise. If he picked the wrong system, that could change quickly.

The holographic display showed three uninhabited systems relatively near his next target. Which one of those would be the best option? Perhaps the one farthest away, and then they could backtrack slightly to hit their target. If they were spotted in the uninhabited system, backtracking a little would likely throw the Morag off their track.

Collison sat down and reached for his steaming cup of coffee that he had placed next to his command chair. He took a sip and slowly leaned back in his chair. The smell of the coffee cleared his senses and helped him focus. He smiled. His decision was made. They would exit hyperspace in the farthest uninhabited system of the three he had selected. It would take an extra hour to get there, but something told him it was the right move.

Over the last day, the crew and Collison had gotten some rest and ate a couple healthy meals. This next battle would sure to be just as intense as the last one. The scout ship stationed in the target system had reported four shipyards. This system had no bases located on the surface. At least none that they had found yet. Now that they knew what to expect, the scout ships across the Morag star systems ran more detailed scans of all the planets and terraformed moons, looking for more hidden Morag military bases. More were sure to be found. It helped explain how the Morag had built such an enormous fleet of warships.

So, destroying the shipyards orbiting the planets and moons would not eliminate the threat of the Morag amassing another fleet of similar size in the future. Collison’s task force would need to locate and destroy these bases that were found on the surface too.

So far in their more detailed scans, twenty-one of these bases had been located. As much as Collison would like to focus on destroying those bases they had already identified, that would narrow down his targets, and the Morag would quickly catch on and readjust their resources to defend their military bases better. That was one thing Collison did not want to happen.

Now that Collison had decided where they would make their repair stop, he sent the coordinates to the rest of the fleet. It would take them about two more hours to get there. Once there, he hoped they would be ready to make their jump to their target within three hours. He couldn’t risk sitting in one place for too long. The longer they stayed in the uninhabited system, the more likely they were to be found by the enemy.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx grew more concerned with each passing hour. The Human fleets had not attacked any targets in almost twenty-four hours. Where could they be?

Captain Denning followed a few ships currently traveling in hyperspace toward the original systems the Humans had targeted. He knew Denning assumed these ships were the end of the larger fleet. So, assuming he was correct, where was the other fleet? They could be almost anywhere by now.

So far, they had not appeared in any of the uninhabited systems either. Voxx had ships frequently checking all the uninhabited systems within the Morag area of the Confederation. The Human fleet had not been spotted yet. Which led Voxx to think either they were traveling a long distance to their next target or they were leaving the Morag star systems and possibly heading to attack the Druins. Voxx had warned the Druins of this possibility.

Then Voxx intensely studied his holographic display. If he considered where the fleet had been previously located and then calculated how long it had been since the Humans had been spotted, the possible locations could be narrowed down. The star systems near the Humans’ last targets could be eliminated as their next potential targets. Moving out from there, even more could be ruled out, given the amount of time since there had been a reported sighting of the Human fleet. Also Voxx had all the uninhabited star systems monitored. So where could the Humans be?

Voxx slowly circled the holographic display, as he continued to rule out more and more star systems. They must be headed to the far side of the Morag star systems. Voxx narrowed his eyes and focused on one particular area. Three uninhabited star systems were in that specific location. None of them were currently being monitored since they were so far from where the Humans had been attacking.

When Voxx considered the length of the hyperspace jump required to arrive at one of those systems, he was even more convinced that he was on to something. He immediately made the necessary arrangements for those uninhabited systems to be monitored. It would take a couple hours, but Voxx was confident that, if he were right, and the Humans had stopped in an uninhabited system first to make some repairs, Voxx’s scout ships might have enough time to get there before the Humans moved on to their next target.

Now Voxx had to figure out what their actual target might be. The Humans had unfortunately discovered the hidden Morag military bases, where they built more warships. The Humans made a point of destroying those. So most likely that would be what they were looking for as their next target. Within the area of the projected three uninhabited star systems, nearby were three more star systems, which held major military installations—all possible targets for the Humans. Time to beef up the security in those systems. Now how to do that without the Human scout ships noticing?

Voxx had already accumulated a sizeable fleet, specifically to monitor the uninhabited systems. He could send it to beef up the security in these particular star systems, but it would take a while to get there, possibly too long. Voxx growled under his breath. A few of the crew nearby flinched at the sound.

It would be noticed if he sent more ships from surrounding areas to increase the warships above the military bases. Although the Humans might not be surprised by the move, they might not realize Voxx was on to them. After all, it would be expected that the Morag would increase the number of warships to protect these military bases.

As Voxx sent out the orders, he decided to head in that direction himself. He was a good fourteen-hour hyperspace jump away, but he needed to be closer to where these future attacks might happen. If he couldn’t catch up to the Humans in Voxx’s chosen system, perhaps Voxx could in the one after that.

One thing he was sure of; he would catch them eventually.

-

Captain Elias on the damaged battlecarrier Pegasus prepared to exit hyperspace in an uninhabited system near the edge of the Morag star systems. The long-range scans had shown no ships in the system at present. His other option was to stop in another uninhabited system a couple hours farther. Elias was concerned that enemy ships could be present in the other system, so he better take advantage of this one while he could.

The crew in the Command Center were slightly on edge. Everyone knew they would be at risk while making their repairs and recharging their hyperdrives. They would be in this system for approximately two hours, and an anxious two hours it would be.

Elias was glad they were not alone on this journey back to the supply fleet. The other ships would stay with his carrier, doing their own repairs and recharging their hyperdrives. All four ships needed major repairs but could still defend themselves, unless they were drastically outnumbered.

As the four ships dropped from hyperspace, Elias held his breath and gripped the sides of his command chair. No alarms sounded. Everyone let out the breaths they’d all been holding. Elias released his grip on his chair. What a relief. “All right, the coast is clear. Let’s get what repairs done that we have time for, as our hyperdrives recharge. Stay on alert. We will keep the ship at Condition Two while we’re in this system.”

Elias evaluated the next leg of their journey. It would be approximately a twenty-hour jump. He had input the coordinates already into the computer in case they had to make a hasty exit out of there. The other three ships were given the coordinates as well.

Elias looked at the large viewscreen in front of him, with the star system in view. This particular system held a red giant with twelve planets orbiting it. The closest planet appeared to be a gas planet, shaded in various blues and purples. He smiled. For all the destruction and death that they had witnessed since coming to the Confederation, much beauty could be found here as well. To see places like this was why Elias had joined the fleet in the first place.

Elias knew he was lucky to be alive. In that last battle, he had come very close to dying with his ship. Even now, Elias was not confident the carrier would make it all the way back to the supply fleet and the mobile shipyards stationed near Lormallian worlds. If everything went right, and they didn’t encounter any opposition on the way back, then maybe, just maybe, they’d make it.

His gaze shifted back to the tactical display. It was still free of red threat icons, and he hoped it stayed that way.

-

Morag Captain Denning knew precisely where the enemy was. As they ran their long-range scans, he was perplexed by what it showed. Only four ships were in the system. Where were the rest of the fleet? Denning wasn’t sure what to think or what to do. He decided to reach out to Admiral Voxx.

Once he was able to contact Voxx, Denning apprised him of the current situation. What do you think is going on?

Voxx replied, If there are only four ships, then you must not be following the main Human fleet. It must be damaged ships headed back to the Empire for repair. This means there’s still another Human fleet out there, preparing for an attack. We sent extra ships in the direction you were headed to eliminate the bigger fleet, once they started their next attack.

Denning suggested, Maybe that bigger Human fleet will attack targets in this area. We haven’t had any reports of them hitting targets elsewhere. Perhaps they are farther ahead of these four ships. Maybe these four ships exited hyperspace in this system to stay out of the battle. If they are damaged, they wouldn’t want to be involved in an attack. Then after the battle, they will meet back up.

That is a possibility, Voxx admitted. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Should we exit hyperspace and destroy these four ships?

I don’t want you to lose them. Go ahead and join them in the uninhabited system. Stay as far away from them as you can. Maybe they won’t worry about you. Continue to follow them when they enter hyperspace. Perhaps they will lead you to the larger fleet.

Yes, Admiral. I will do as you command.

Denning was concerned that the Humans would jump to his location and destroy his three warships. The Humans still had the upper hand with their superior firepower—unless their four ships were damaged enough that they were no longer weapons-capable. Only one way to find out.

The small Morag group began to exit hyperspace on the opposite side of the star system. Keep a close eye on those Human ships. We can’t let them leave without us. Plus be prepared to be fired on. Keep our weapons ready.

-

As Captain Elias oversaw some repairs in another part of the ship, alarms sounded. Elias’s heart sank. He immediately ran to the Command Center. This couldn’t be good. Red lights flashed along the corridor, as he quickly headed to the Command Center. Once there, he said, “Report!”

“Sensors show Morag warships exiting hyperspace on the far side of the star system, Captain,” said his sensor officer.

“How many?”

“Scans show three Morag ships. One battleship and two battlecruisers.”

“Raise our ships to Condition One. We must be prepared to fight these enemy ships,” commanded Elias. “If those ships jump or make any move in our direction, I need to know.”

“It appears the enemy ships are stationary. They are currently not headed in our direction,” answered the sensor officer.

“They may intend to follow us to find out where our supply fleet is waiting. Or follow us back to our main fleet. Still, we have them outnumbered, even though we are all damaged. Maybe they will not engage us,” said Elias.

“Maybe once they realize we are damaged, they will attack us to finish the job,” said his first officer.

Elias took a deep breath. “Let’s hope not. I think we could destroy the three ships, but we wouldn’t all make it out of that battle alive.” Elias sat down in his command chair and slowly leaned back. “I need a report on our weapons systems as soon as possible. Also on our energy screen. How effective is it? If those ships attack us, we will be their priority target.”

Everyone in the Command Center exchanged knowing looks. They had all been thinking it, but, now that Elias had said it out loud, it made it all the more real.

“We have repaired a portion of the energy screen. It’s now functioning at 20 percent. It might withstand a couple missiles or fusion energy beams, but not much more,” said the systems officer.

“Our weapons are functioning at 50 percent, Captain. Our accelerator cannons are off-line, but we do still have the particle beam cannons,” said the tactical officer.

“Well, it could be worse. How much longer until we can jump?” Elias asked.

“A little over ninety minutes, Captain.”

“It looks like it will be an intense ninety minutes,” Elias replied.

-

Admiral Collison and his fleet had exited hyperspace two hours from their next target in an uninhabited system. They had quite a few repairs to be made. He had the fleet at Condition Two for the duration of their stay in this system.

The scout ships in the area hadn’t reported any unusual activity with the enemy ships they monitored. The only activity that had occurred was a few ships had left a couple of the systems and then appeared at another. Collison surmised that the Morag were moving more ships to the systems which held the military bases on the surface of the planets. For his next target, this focus by the Morag was a plus. Collison was not planning to attack a system with a military base this next time. He smiled. It would help throw the Morag for a loop. He was not following the plan the Morag thought he was.

As long as all these star systems didn’t combine their fleets into one, Collison’s task force should be fine. Collison decided to double-check his earlier calculations of how far the star systems were from each other. He needed to confirm that help couldn’t reach the enemy in time.

After reviewing all his calculations, Collison felt confident they had plenty of time to destroy the warships and shipyards in the target system before reinforcements could arrive.

Collison looked around the Command Center and then decided that now was as good a time as any to get a bite to eat. His stomach growled loudly enough that a few of his crew had looked at him oddly.

-

Morag Commander Kano had received the order from Admiral Voxx to investigate the three uninhabited systems nearest his current coordinates. Kano took with him three battlecruisers to supplement his battleship. Voxx was confident Kano would find the Human fleet in one of those systems. His orders were to find and to follow the Human fleet.

Kano planned to run long-range scans on the three uninhabited systems without exiting hyperspace. Once he found the fleet, he would not be exiting hyperspace in the system with them. He had no doubt the consequences of that would be certain death for him and his task group and he harbored no intentions of dying today.

His first uninhabited star system he had been tasked with scouting was thirty minutes away from his current coordinates. Soon he would begin his long-range scans of the system.

Admiral Voxx had begun moving a few ships in this sector of space to help protect the systems that contained their large military bases. Kano knew that they needed to keep the Humans away from these installations. It was one thing for the enemy to destroy the shipyards, but the military bases were even more vital to the supremacy of the Morag in the Confederation and the entire universe. These bases not only built double the number of warships that the shipyards did but they also trained crews and developed more weapons.

As Kano examined the holographic display before him, he estimated it would take him just over three hours to scout the three systems where Voxx suspected the Human fleet to be. Kano could feel the energy pumping through him. He would be the one to find the enemy. He would not fail.

-

Captain Elias, on board the battlecarrier Pegasus, anxiously awaited the word from the systems officer that the hyperdrive was charged and that they were ready to enter hyperspace. Thus far, the three Morag warships had not moved in their direction. Elias was positive that the ships intended to follow them out of the system. What would he do about that?

Elias worried that, with a high degree of possibility, more enemy ships were on their way and could drop out of hyperspace at any moment. Elias had tried his best to remain calm but had caught himself, more than once, biting his fingernails. It was a bad habit he had kicked but apparently had resurfaced.

As he thrummed his fingers on his command chair quietly, he thought out his options. He needed help, but he was unsure how much help he needed. Elias needed to get back to the supply fleet but couldn’t lead the enemy to their location. So what he needed was more ships to meet up with him at his next dropout point.

However, that was only twenty hours away. Even the ships at the supply fleet couldn’t meet him there in time. Would these enemy ships have time to muster more ships to annihilate Elias’s four damaged ships? So many unknowns. What would Admiral Collison do in this situation?

One thing Elias knew was that he didn’t have time for help to arrive at his next dropout coordinates—but maybe the one after that. Would the three Morag ships be content with following them to see where they would go? Surely they would reason that eventually they would be led into an ambush?

“Captain Elias, our hyperdrive is charged and ready to engage,” said the systems officer.

An audible sound of relief could be heard from all around the Command Center. “Check with the other three ships to confirm they are ready as well,” commanded Elias.

“I have confirmation from the other three ships, sir. They are ready to enter hyperspace at your command,” said the communications officer.

“Let’s get out of here then,” Elias responded. Soon afterward, he felt the twinge in his stomach, as his ship entered hyperspace. Safe once again but for how long? He slowly allowed himself to relax. He had a problem to solve, but he knew he could ask for help. Elias took a deep breath and said, “Let’s notify Golan Four of our situation and ask for possible solutions to our problems. Perhaps they can figure out how we should handle this.”

“Right away, Captain,” replied the communications officer.

Elias knew this was the time to get some food and shut-eye. The military leaders on Golan Four would no doubt have a solution for him before too long. In the meantime, he planned to put it out of his mind.

-

Marloo was combing through the reports from all the scout ships when General Gantts interrupted his thoughts. “We have received a message from Captain Elias on board the battlecarrier Pegasus.” With that, Gantts handed him the message.

As Marloo read over the message, his brows furrowed in thought. “This is a dilemma. Could you summon Derrick to the Command Center, please?”

“Yes, right away,” Gantts replied.

Marloo analyzed the situation, while he waited for Derrick. What would the best solution be? One thing was, he didn’t want those ships with Elias leading the Morag to the supply fleet. Which meant Marloo should have a few ships protecting the supply fleet meet the damaged ships at their third pit stop. There wasn’t enough time to have them rendezvous at their next star system they would stop in. Elias had already planned out his next two star systems, where he would stop to recharge his hyperdrive, and had included that in his previous message to Marloo.

The unknown that troubled him though was if more Morag ships were en route to intercept the four damaged Human ships. Surely the Morag wouldn’t commit a larger task force to this mission. How many ships would Marloo send if it were him?

Once Derrick arrived, Marloo brought him up to speed. The quandary they were in was that they didn’t want to lose more ships protecting these four than they would lose if they didn’t protect them. What if they sent thirty ships to meet up with the damaged ships, then a larger task group of Morag ships arrived? Then they’d lose more ships in that battle. Marloo slowly let out a deep breath.

They finally agreed to a compromise and began putting the plan into action. Now how to bring Captain Elias up to speed? The message would likely be intercepted since the Morag ships were so close to the Human ones, so they didn’t want to give too much away. But they also wanted to dissuade Elias’s worries.

-

“Captain, we have received a message from Admiral Marloo,” said Elias’s communications officer.

“What does it say?” asked Elias.

“It says to keep on our current plan. They have everything worked out for us to get to our destination safely,” replied the communications officer.

Elias sat down in his command chair and slowly thrummed his fingers on the armrest. It was clear to him that Marloo was being vague with the plans in case the Morag ships intercepted the message.

Elias was concerned that the three Morag ships following him were waiting for a larger task group of Morag to arrive to eliminate Elias’s ships. Would it occur in the next star system they stopped in? He knew help could not arrive there in time. Elias took in a deep breath. They would need to be prepared to fight the next time they dropped from hyperspace.

Elias glanced over at the display that showed they had fifteen more hours until they exited hyperspace again. He hoped again that his ship could make it that far. The Pegasus was severely damaged. Since they only had a skeleton crew aboard—in case they couldn’t make it all the way back to the supply train—Elias wasn’t sure how effective they would be in a combat situation.

All he could do now was wait. They were in the safety of hyperspace for a while now. Once they emerged, they would deal with whatever the Morag had in store for them. Until then, Elias would try to put it out of his mind. No use worrying over something he couldn’t control.

-

Captain Avery with the supply fleet had received his message from Fleet Admiral Marloo. Avery was slightly concerned about the plan, but he had his orders. He quickly contacted the ships Marloo required and sent them on their way to the designated coordinates.

Avery felt very exposed, with fewer ships protecting the mobile repair yards. He wasn’t 100 percent confident the Lormallians would aid them, if the situation warranted it. The Lormallians did have a large fleet stationed nearest to Proxy Seven. Perhaps just the presence of that large fleet would be enough to deter an attack. It’s all Avery had for now.

-

Morag Commander Kano had already scanned the first uninhabited system and found no ships in the system. He now neared the second of the three systems he had been instructed to search. As the long-range scans returned, it found no ships were in that system either. Only one possibility remained. The Humans must be in the red giant system. Kano sent this information to Admiral Voxx.

Confirm our suspicions. Once you have, do not drop out of hyperspace in the system. So it seems my suspicions were accurate that three nearby star systems are the Humans’ next targets. I am still headed in your direction. I am about eleven hours away from the red giant system. I doubt the Humans will remain in that system very long. Maybe I can catch up to them before they launch their second attack. Keep me informed, once you find them, and do not lose them, Voxx said.

I will find the Humans, Admiral. I will keep track of them until you catch up with them and annihilate them.

-

Admiral Collison once again studied his holographic display. The Morag had continued to beef up the task groups stationed in their systems with confirmed Morag military bases. Collison was still amazed at how many had been found so far. This new development would undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences on the Humans’ future targets. These bases would need to be destroyed after Morag Prime was destroyed. If even one of them survived, the Morag would undoubtedly use it to rebuild their fleets.

With the larger task groups now assigned to these star systems with military bases, they would need to be avoided for the time being. Collison didn’t have enough ships to sustain attacks on the larger task groups and keep attacking targets over the next few weeks. The attack on Morag Prime fast approached, but Collison still had a few weeks to keep the Morag fleets busy.

The more Collison thought about it, the more he knew they would need to return to the supply fleet for repairs and resupply soon. He would attack two more systems and then meet Rear Admirals Barnes and Carrie at the rendezvous coordinates. Depending on their combined fleet numbers, they could determine whether to attack another target jointly, before returning to the supply fleet.

For now though, they had not quite half an hour before they entered hyperspace and headed to their next target.

Chapter Fourteen

Rear Admiral Barnes studied the screens in front of her. The last reports from the scout ships showed the Morag adjusting their fleet deployments slightly. Ships were being redistributed, taking them from the star systems with only shipyards to protect those systems and placing them where the Morag military bases were.

Upon further examination, it appeared the Morag were giving away the locations of all their bases. Ships were being moved into systems where the scout ships had not been able to confirm military bases yet. According to the Morag fleet numbers, sixty-three systems had more ships than the others. Morag Prime was still heavily defended. The scout ships had only found twenty-eight Morag military bases at this point. They had missed quite a few.

The scout ships in these star systems were running even more detailed scans, trying to determine the location of these bases. Another sixty-three Morag targets to add to the list. Barnes smiled. It looked like they needed to change their targets again. Hit a couple systems without the military bases. They could eliminate more shipyards and warships, without facing the larger task groups. Barnes was sure the Morag might redistribute their ships again, after they realized the Humans weren’t targeting their bases.

What an advantage the Humans had in the scout ships. Keeping an eye on the larger Morag fleets and task groups was invaluable. No doubt the success of Collison’s task group thus far was due to the scout ships.

Taking into account the newest warship numbers from the various star systems nearby, Barnes picked out their next target. She wouldn’t pick the easiest target in case it was meant as a trap. Barnes settled on a yellow giant system with two inhabited planets—Morag Ninety-One and Morag Ninety-Two—plus three terraformed moons. Due to fewer ships present in the system, Barnes assumed this system did not contain a Morag military base. It did, however, contain two shipyards. The last report from the scout ship stationed there had confirmed forty-seven warships in the system.

Barnes and Carrie had learned some lessons in the previous attacks. The Morag had figured out how to cause the most damage to the fleet. They now knew to jump out to the Human fleet location and attack as soon as the Humans exited hyperspace. The Morag also had been targeting the battlecarriers. Knowing this, Barnes and Carrie had reminded their fleet that they would be jumping into a combat situation.

As soon as they emerged from hyperspace, they were to get in formation to protect the carriers and to be prepared to fire. Hopefully they would lose fewer ships and protect the carriers, knowing this situation was likely to occur.

Barnes took in a deep breath and switched her focus to the tactical display. The long-range scans showed up and confirmed what the scout ship had reported, forty-seven ships defending the system. In a matter of minutes, those Morag ships would realize today was their last day to live.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had moved the fleet to Condition One. They would be exiting hyperspace in the yellow giant star system, where their next target was in less than five minutes. Carrie and Barnes had agreed to destroy the enemy task force together, and then they would split their fleet. Carrie would take half the ships and head to destroy the shipyard that orbited the farthest planet. Barnes would take her half of the ships and close in on the shipyard that orbited one of the terraformed moons.

Carrie and Barnes were confident that no Morag military base was in this system, but they planned to do more detailed scans of the two inhabited planets and the three terraformed moons, all before they exited the system. If a hidden base were in the system, they would find it. Carrie leaned in the direction that they wouldn’t find one, since the Morag had moved a few warships out of this system and sent them to another system.

As Carrie surveyed the holographic display of the area where they were currently, her mind began to wander. Would they have enough ships to continue to hit targets in the Morag-controlled part of the Confederation for the next few weeks, right up to and until the main attack on Morag Prime commenced? Carrie was doubtful they could keep up these attacks for that long without reinforcements. So what could they do? Spread their attacks out more? Ask for more reinforcements? Her thoughts were interrupted by the navigation officer.

“Emerging from hyperspace.”

Carrie pressed the comm button that allowed her to speak to the entire fleet. “Remember that we are jumping into a combat situation. We expect the enemy to attack immediately. Get into formation as quickly as possible and protect our carriers.”

As Carrie released the button, her gaze shifted to the viewscreens at the front of the room. The tactical display confirmed the ship count of the enemy. Carrie held her breath as she watched those red threat icons. When would they jump? Her brows furrowed. If it were her in command of the enemy ships, she would have already made the jump. To destroy the carriers, they needed to be fired upon before the formation was complete. Why weren’t they jumping?

As she watched, red icons began to disappear. “Prepare to fire!” Carrie commanded. She gripped the armrest of her command chair. The red threat icons emerged close to her fleet.

-

Morag Commander Samkin was in charge of a small task force stationed in a yellow giant system containing planet Morag Ninety-One and Ninety-Two. Admiral Voxx had advised him to be on the lookout for the Human fleet but did not expect them to hit his star system. The Humans had discovered the Morag military bases and were now focused on them.

Considering no such military bases were present in Samkin’s star system, he would likely not see the Human fleet. Voxx also had mentioned that he was convinced the two Human fleets were nowhere near this star system. Under those assumptions, Samkin was not in the least bit ready for an attack.

Samkin was asleep in his quarters when the alarm rang out. He awoke to red lights flashing and alarms ringing. As he shook the sleep from his head, he tried to figure out what was going on. He reached out to the minds of the crew in the Command Center. Samkin quickly determined that the Humans had indeed picked his star system to attack.

As fast as he could, Samkin made his way to the Command Center. When he arrived, chaos ensued. Apparently his crew had been unprepared for this attack as well. How many ships do they have? Samkin asked, as he took his seat in his command chair.

The enemy fleet has a little over two hundred ships, Commander, replied the sensor officer.

Should we jump out to engage the fleet? asked his tactical officer.

Samkin considered his options. If he took his task force to the awaiting enemy, he and his ships would be destroyed quickly. He would take some enemy ships with him, but he would still die. If he waited for the enemy ships to attack him, he would still die. He knew the Humans possessed more powerful weapons than the Morag currently had. The Morag had no defense against these weapons—as of yet.

So Samkin’s other option would be to exit the star system and to join another task group. Maybe then the combined task group would be large enough to take on this invading enemy fleet.

This idea he liked the best but wasn’t sure how Admiral Voxx would take it. Would Samkin be branded a coward? He didn’t want that. Samkin would rather die now than be labeled a coward just to then die in the next attack. Dying while fighting one’s enemy brought honor and pride to one’s family.

Well, the decision was made. He would die today, but he would do it bravely, taking as many enemy ships with him as he could.

Samkin knew he needed to target the battlecarriers, but they had already lost valuable time due to the Morag not being prepared for this attack. The Humans were already moving into a globe formation to protect the carriers. Damn. He may have missed his opportunity. Jump out to attack the Human fleet. Prepare to fire as soon as we emerge from hyperspace.

The Morag task group entered hyperspace and shortly exited near the enemy fleet. Fire, fire, fire! Let’s take as many of these incessant creatures as we can!

-

Rear Admiral Barnes began firing at the Morag ships as soon as they exited hyperspace near her fleet. The entire area was alight with all the weapons fire. The accelerator cannon fire hit the enemy fleet before the Morag’s weapons had a chance to impact the Human fleet. The accelerator cannons did tremendous damage to the enemy ships.

Bright flashes of light occurred, as explosions rattled the enemy ships, one after another. Barnes slowly let a smile spread across her face. Then she narrowed her gaze at the viewscreen, showing what was left of the enemy fleet. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

The smile faded from her face as Barnes noticed two green icons disappear from the tactical display. She closed her eyes and thought about all the lives that had just been lost.

-

Morag Commander Samkin gripped the console in front of him, as he watched the destruction of his fleet on the viewscreens above. He swallowed, as the bile rose in his throat. How had they let the Humans develop superior weapons? He had a deep sense of foreboding growing inside him, not only of his death but also of the future of the Morag.

His task force had dwindled to three ships. It wouldn’t be long now. Suddenly Samkin realized that he needed to try to follow this fleet when they left this system. He quickly sent commands to the two other ships and then immediately jumped into hyperspace.

Samkin would keep tabs on the progress of the attack from the minds of the Morag stationed on the space station. He would make a quick jump to a neighboring system. Then he would return and follow the fleet into hyperspace. It looked like he wouldn’t die today after all.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie was surprised to see the last remaining Morag battleship enter hyperspace. The two battlecruisers left behind were quickly decimated. Why would that ship leave? The only plausible explanation she could think of was that it intended to follow them when they left the system. She would need to be vigilant in watching for that possibility.

Now time to split the fleet into two task groups. Carrie’s group would head to destroy the shipyard that orbited the planet. As they closed in on the shipyard, they did some detailed scans of the target. It was another one of the larger ones. Maybe they could learn something from these Morag colossal shipyards. One thing Carrie knew was that it wouldn’t be as easy to destroy as the smaller ones.

Carrie had the task group stop just outside of weapons range of the shipyard. She then ordered the attack interceptors to launch and to head in closer to fire their missiles at the shipyard. Since Carrie’s goal was to destroy this shipyard with a minimal loss of Human lives, the interceptors would play a significant role in the plan.

The attack interceptors quickly launched, formed into their squadrons, and headed toward the behemoth that was the Morag shipyard. Carrie swallowed the lump forming in her throat, as she leaned forward and narrowed her gaze at the viewscreen, showing the interceptors’ advance.

-

Lieutenant Garland had her squadron flying in toward the shipyard. This shipyard was so massive that it filled up her entire view. If it weren’t a facility that made warships for her enemy, she’d be impressed. Instead she felt a little intimidated, if she were honest. Garland knew that would be short-lived because soon this warship-making behemoth would be blasted into oblivion.

Not long afterward, the shipyard launched its weapons at them. Garland focused on avoiding the enemy fire, and there was a lot of it. Obviously with a larger shipyard came even more firepower. It also probably included a more powerful energy screen.

Garland’s orders were to have her squadron launch two of their fusion-tipped missiles at the shipyard from medium-range distance. The hope was that, with all the interceptors launching half their missiles at approximately the same time, it would be enough to overload the energy screen.

Then they’d fly in closer and launch their two remaining missiles. This would hopefully be enough to heavily damage this shipyard. If they were needed at that point, the main task group would move in and finish off the shipyard. It sounded like a solid plan to Garland.

As Garland neared the medium-range point, she continued to dive and spin, twisting one way and then the other, trying to avoid being eliminated by the enemy firepower. As soon as her indicator light switched from yellow to red, she pushed the button, releasing two of her missiles. Soon afterward, the shipyard switched its targeting to the incoming missiles and away from the interceptors.

Garland let out a small sigh of relief.

Now on to part two of the mission. Garland continued to move in closer to the shipyard. As their missiles closed in on the shipyard, Garland found herself holding her breath. She was really hoping this first round would destroy the energy shield, just like they had hoped it would.

The missiles began to impact the shipyard’s energy screen, and the energy it dissipated caused the screen to grow brighter and brighter. Garland murmured to herself, “Come on. Come on.”

The screen was so bright that Garland had to look away. Half of the interceptors were then ordered to launch their two remaining missiles at the shipyard. They were hoping this would be enough to make it falter. Garland and her squadron were not in the group ordered to launch their remaining missiles.

The plan worked. Suddenly it seemed as if space was consumed by a massive ball of resplendent light. When the light faded, all that remained in Garland’s view was the shipyard, now left unprotected by its energy screen.

Garland’s squadron continued to move in closer. The enemies’ weapons fire was once again focused on the interceptors. Garland used all of her skill to avoid the firepower of the shipyard. As soon as she reached the designated coordinates, she launched her two missiles at the shipyard. Then she quickly dove out of the way. Garland knew that the task group would now be moving in to finish what was left of the shipyard. She hoped their last barrage of missiles eliminated a majority of the shipyard’s defenses.

Her squadron would wait out the rest of the attack well out of range of the shipyard’s weapons. Once the target had been destroyed, they would safely return to their battlecarriers.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had watched the viewscreens at the front of Command Center, as the interceptors had launched their attack of the shipyard. They had successfully destroyed the energy screen and about half of the shipyard’s weapons. Now it was up to the rest of them to finish off the enormous shipyard.

The ships moved into the weapons range of the shipyard and immediately began to bombard the shipyard with both accelerator cannon fire and particle beams. They launched four rounds and then changed their focus to destroying as much of the incoming firepower as possible. Carrie felt like it wouldn’t take much to destroy the already damaged shipyard.

As the accelerator cannon fire reached the shipyard, the rounds slammed into the side of the shipyard. Explosions began all across the enormous hull. When the next round hit thirty seconds later, the damage spread. After all four rounds had smashed into the doomed shipyard, it was engulfed in explosions. The particle beams had torn large holes all across the shipyard, opening the compartments to the unforgiving vacuum of space.

The massive shipyard then broke into large pieces and fell toward the planet below. The defensive grid elements in the vicinity fired on the shipyard, trying to break it up further. A large chunk of the once-colossal shipyard suddenly was consumed by a giant explosion. Carrie assumed this shipyard had some built-in self-destruct sequence. Although, since the shipyard had broken into pieces first, this feature couldn’t successfully fulfill this command earlier.

Carrie found herself smiling, as the shipyard entered the planet’s atmosphere. She was confident the pieces were large enough that they wouldn’t be completely broken up until they impacted the surface. Not only had they successfully destroyed the shipyard but it had also taken out part of the defensive grid and would shortly damage the surface of the planet. All in all, Carrie would call it a success.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes neared the shipyard that orbited one of the terraformed moons. The moon itself was a sight to behold. It was many different shades of blue and green. Barnes was a little relieved the mission wasn’t to destroy that moon. It was so beautiful—although it was home to her enemy.

She planned to use the attack interceptors to soften the target a little. The fewer dreadnoughts and battlecruisers she lost, the better. It meant they could continue to weaken the Morag, as Collison’s task group targeted more shipyards and military bases and destroyed the Morag warships that protected them.

Barnes had her task group stop just short of the weapons range of the shipyard. She watched as the interceptors launched and began their journey toward the target. The shipyard instantly commenced its defense, as the interceptors entered its weapons range. Barnes smiled as the interceptors expertly avoided the Morag’s attempt to eliminate them. Her smile faded as a few small flashes of light were visible on the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center. She knew what that meant.

Barnes took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It made more sense to send in the interceptors. The loss of life was significantly less than it would be otherwise. However, there was still a loss of life. Someone’s daughter, son, sister, or brother had just breathed their last. The cost of war was always high.

Barnes shifted her focus back to the mission. The attack interceptors had reached their first coordinates, where they were to launch half their missiles. Soon a large wall of missiles was headed toward the shipyard. So the shipyard had stopped targeting the interceptors and instead began trying to eliminate the wave of destruction headed straight for it.

The Morag did manage to eliminate a small number of the missiles, but the rest soon hammered the energy shield of the shipyard. It grew brighter and brighter, as it tried to dissipate the energy from the missiles. It proved too much for the energy screen to handle. With a bright flash of light, the screen failed.

The interceptors took this as their cue and launched their other two missiles at the now-unprotected shipyard. Explosions had consumed the shipyard before the interceptors could get back to their battlecarriers. Then one last massive explosion blew the shipyard to oblivion.

Barnes waited, as the attack interceptors landed safely back on their battlecarriers. This mission had been deemed a success. Her task group had lost no battlecruisers or dreadnoughts. The reports were still coming in on the number of attack interceptors lost. She wouldn’t have the final numbers on that until they had all returned to their carriers.

Once the interceptors had been accounted for, she checked in with Rear Admiral Carrie. Carrie was just finishing off her target. Barnes watched what once was an enormous shipyard fall to the surface of the planet. Carrie’s shipyard had been much larger than the one Barnes had destroyed.

From Carrie’s reports, she had not been as lucky in terms of destroyed ships. Carrie had lost four battlecruisers and one dreadnought, as well as a few more interceptors than Barnes had. All in all, they had done pretty well not losing many ships, considering they had eliminated two more Morag shipyards of a massive size. The loss of Human life, however, was always unsettling.

Barnes closed her eyes and stilled her mind, as she thought of those who had lost their lives in service to their race. Hopefully that sacrifice would not be one that they would have to pay for much longer.

Once the attack on Morag Prime concluded, hopefully the loss of Human lives in battle would cease.

It was hard to imagine a time when they might not have to worry about the Confederation. As Barnes considered the future, she knew that, even if they subdued the threat of the Morag and the Druins, it wouldn’t last forever. Eventually the enemy would rebuild their fleets of warships, and the war would begin again. Perhaps though, for the rest of Barnes’s life, there could be peace.

First though, they had to destroy Morag Prime. That mission was still a few weeks out. Until then, her mission was to continue destroying the Morag’s ability to make war. She had every intention of doing just that.

Once Carrie sent word that her task group was ready to head toward their next target, Barnes gave the order to enter hyperspace.

-

Unbeknownst to the Human fleet exiting the system, the Morag on the space station that orbited planet Morag Ninety-One had sent word to Commander Samkin that the Humans were charging their hyperdrives. Samkin knew it would shortly be time to drop back into the system and to follow the enemy fleet.

As he received the confirmation that the fleet had begun to enter hyperspace, Samkin dropped out of hyperspace into the star system near an asteroid belt. He hoped the Humans would not pick up on his arrival, as fewer than ten Human vessels remained when he arrived. He quickly followed what was left of the Human fleet.

Chapter Fifteen

Morag Commander Kano had briefly stopped in a nearby system to recharge his hyperdrives. He assumed the Human fleet would be in the last uninhabited system he had left to check. He wanted to be ready and able to follow them. Kano knew he couldn’t waste much time, or he risked the chance of missing the Humans. So as soon as the hyperdrives of his three battlecruisers and his battleship had enough time to recharge, he ordered his ships back into hyperspace. He would be near enough to the target system within the next thirty minutes to run long-range scans to see if the Humans were, indeed, where Morag Admiral Voxx suspected them to be.

As soon as Kano’s ships were able, the long-range scans began.

The sensor operator stated, Commander Kano, our scans show over two hundred ships in the red giant system. It looks like we’ve found them!

Kano replied, Indeed, we have. I will contact Admiral Voxx immediately.

After speaking with Voxx, Kano knew he must ensure to not lose the Human fleet. That would be a little tricky. He could keep them on the scans as he neared the system but couldn’t actually follow them unless he dropped out of hyperspace as the Humans left the system.

As luck would have it, when his small group of ships neared the red giant system, the scans showed the Humans beginning to enter hyperspace. Let’s exit hyperspace into the red giant system on the far side. Then we will follow the last Human ships back into hyperspace.

All the Morag in the Command Center were a little anxious. If they exited too soon, the Humans would destroy them. If they exited too late, they’d lose the Humans.

As the Morag warships exited hyperspace, the last few remaining Human ships were entering hyperspace. Follow them! Kano said, with a smile. He had them now!

-

Admiral Collison had his fleet ready to enter hyperspace. They were only waiting on his command. They would have a two-hour hyperspace jump to their next target. He was ready to get underway. “Billingsly, let’s go destroy some more Morag targets.”

Billingsly smiled and said, “Yes, Admiral.”

The fleet began to enter hyperspace. They had thankfully had enough time to do some needed minor repairs and maintenance. Now it was time to get back to their mission.

Collison took a sip of his steaming cup of coffee, swallowed, drew in a deep breath. Collison enjoyed the smell of a fresh cup of coffee. It helped heighten his senses. It also reminded him of home. He took in another deep breath and savored the aroma. He could almost fool himself for a moment, picturing himself on his back porch back home, enjoying the view. It had been a long time since he had sat in his chair on that porch. He looked forward to doing it again. Hopefully within the next couple months, they could get this war with the Confederation wrapped up, and he could return home to enjoy some downtime.

Collison was interrupted from his thoughts of home by Billingsly. “Admiral, we have a problem. We are being followed.”

“What! How can that be?” asked Collison, as he quickly put down his cup of coffee and looked at the screens in front of him.

“It appears these ships followed us out of the uninhabited system. They must have appeared as we were leaving,” replied Billingsly.

“I’m sure they have already notified the surrounding systems to be on high alert and alerted them of our location and direction. I am also sure they think we are headed to destroy more of their military bases, which is incorrect. We can safely assume that more Morag ships are now headed our way. The question is, will it matter, since we aren’t hitting the targets they suspect? They will likely beef up security in the systems in this area with military bases. That doesn’t change our plans, since we are not hitting those targets. The Morag won’t realize their mistake until we drop out of hyperspace in our target system. There we have a scout ship, who will notify us if things change,” said Collison.

“Should we just drop out of hyperspace at the next safe system and destroy these ships?” asked Billingsly.

“We could try. What’s the closest Morag system without a military base?” Collison asked the navigation officer.

“A white dwarf system containing Morag Seventy-Five is approximately thirty minutes away. It has two shipyards and three inhabited planets. The last scout ship reported thirty-nine warships were in the system,” replied the navigation officer.

“Let’s try that one then. Hopefully, since the Morag just now confirmed our location, maybe Morag Seventy-Five is not so close that the Morag have enough time to get near here yet. How close is the nearest enemy fleet that could come to their aid?”

“According to our most recent data, just over one hundred Morag warships are stationed in a nearby system, a forty-minute hyperspace jump away,” replied Billingsly.

“We will have to be quick about destroying our targets then. Our first priority will be the thirty-nine defending warships, plus the four tailing us. Once they are eliminated, we will destroy the two shipyards. We will have to watch our time though. We don’t want to face a Morag task group of one hundred ships alone, without Barnes and Carrie. We would lose too many ships,” commanded Collison. “Prepare the fleet and inform them of our target change.”

“Yes, sir,” responded Billingsly.

-

Where are the Humans headed? asked Morag Commander Kano’s first officer.

Admiral Voxx believes they will target one of these three systems here, Kano said, as he pulled up the holographic display to show his first officer. Voxx will be here in another ten hours.

The Humans could do a lot of damage in ten hours, replied the first officer.

True. Voxx repositioned warships all over this area to help protect the military bases. The Humans will face more firepower and thus lose more ships when they attack their next target, remarked Kano.

If the Humans are still watching us with their scout ships, won’t the Humans know where our larger task groups are stationed and thus avoid those star systems? asked the first officer.

Kano felt a cold chill run down his spine. Yes. That is a good point. The Humans may avoid all systems with the military bases for now. Especially since they are more protected than the star systems with only shipyards.

The more Kano considered this, the more uneasy he felt. Which systems near here only have shipyards and no military bases?

There are two. One here and the other a little farther—in the direction we are headed. The first officer pointed to the two systems he referred to on the holographic display. What should we do?

I will notify Voxx of our suspicions and see what he wants us to do. For now, we will keep following this fleet, said Kano.

-

Admiral Voxx was once again at a crossroads. Should he move ships away from the star systems with military bases and to the ones Kano suspected, where the Humans might be headed? Voxx growled loudly and knocked the papers from his desk.

In the end, he decided to move fifteen ships of over one hundred ships from each of the three systems, all toward the closest star system where Kano thought the Humans might be headed. That would still leave around ninety ships in those star systems and add another forty-five ships to the white dwarf system.

Combined with the thirty-nine ships already stationed there, they would really do some damage to the Human fleet. Perhaps enough to end the attacks for a while. Allow the Morag time to rebuild and repair. The time they desperately needed. With any luck, the Human scout ships would not follow these supplemental ships into hyperspace.

It would take them about an hour for the farthest ships to get to the white dwarf system. The plan was for them to arrive at approximately the same time. The Humans would quickly destroy them if they arrived separately. No way the extra Morag ships would arrive before the Humans though.

Voxx was frustrated that he wasn’t any closer. He would quickly rid the Morag of this annoying Human fleet that plagued them. The other Human fleet was on the other side of the Morag’s star systems, eliminating targets there.

Based on just the number of the Human warships alone in each task group, not counting the small attack vessels, Voxx assumed the two separate Human fleets would need to meet back up again soon. That rendezvous would no doubt be in an uninhabited system. Voxx now had almost all the uninhabited systems monitored. No way would he let the Human fleets leave the Morag area of the Confederation. The Humans would die here, and no doubt that would be soon.

-

Admiral Collison had moved his fleet to Condition One, as they would exit hyperspace in a matter of minutes. Who knew what was headed their way? Collison had received reports from three of the scout ships in the area, all informing him that fifteen ships from each of the bigger Morag fleets had entered hyperspace not long ago.

If Collison assumed they were headed in his direction, he had about thirty minutes to destroy his targets and get out of the system, once he arrived there. It was a tight timetable, but he was confident they could get the job done.

Collison leaned forward and intensely gazed at the tactical display before him, as his fleet began to exit hyperspace. Alarms immediately blared, and red threat icons appeared on the tactical display. Collison quickly counted the number of ships, confirming the scout ship’s report of thirty-nine enemy warships in the system.

Collison had warned his fleet to be prepared for the Morag warships to engage them as soon as they dropped from hyperspace. That seemed to be the enemies’ latest strategy, to jump to the Human fleet’s location and target the battlecarriers. However, the Morag did not do as Collison expected. They did not jump out to the Human fleet’s location. Instead they got into formation around the larger of the two shipyards.

“Do you think they are trying to stall to give their reinforcements time to arrive?” asked Billingsly.

“Yes. That is what I would do. Let’s send in the attack interceptors. Let them do some damage, before we bring the fleet into weapons range. Let’s keep an eye on the time. We can’t take too long. What happened to the ships following us? Did they drop out of hyperspace too?”

“Yes, they did. They exited hyperspace on the other side of the star system, Admiral. Should we send a small task group to destroy them, while the attack interceptors move in to launch their missiles at the shipyard and enemy task group?” asked Billingsly.

“Yes. We don’t want them following us again. Send three dreadnoughts and six battlecruisers to eliminate them. That should be more than enough. Let those ships know to fire their weapons as soon as they exit hyperspace,” commanded Collison.

“Right away, Admiral.”

-

Rear Admiral Drake took the small task group of nine ships to destroy the smaller Morag task group that had followed them out of the last system. Drake’s crew began firing on the Morag as soon as the Humans dropped out of hyperspace near the enemy ships. Drake smiled as he realized these Morag ships were unprepared for this attack.

The Humans destroyed three of the enemy ships very quickly. The fourth ship jumped out of the system almost immediately after the Human task group began firing on them. Drake assumed the Morag leader of this force just escaped.

As Drake rejoined the rest of the fleet, he told his sensor officer to watch the tactical display for that ship to reappear. If it intended to follow them again, it would need to renter this system before the Human fleet left.

Drake intended to be the last ship to enter hyperspace. That way, he could eliminate this ship when it came back to tail them again.

-

Lieutenant Burr with his Scorpion Squadron headed toward the thirty-nine Morag ships near one of the shipyards, all defending Morag Seventy-Five. With any luck, Burr’s squadron could destroy at least half of these ships and take down the shipyard’s energy screen. Then the fleet could move in and finish the job.

As they entered the weapons range of the enemy, the Morag launched their weapons. Burr had his Scorpion Squadron spread out, so they were harder to hit. He always worried about his squadron but also had faith in their abilities to outmaneuver this incoming firepower to the best of their ability.

Burr dodged and wove, as he avoided the antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams the Morag pounded them with. A few small flashes of light dotted the area on his periphery, but Burr kept his focus on the task at hand.

Once his squadron reached the designated coordinates, they released two of their four fusion-tipped missiles at the awaiting enemy fleet and shipyard. Once the enemy weapons fire switched to targeting the incoming missiles, Burr took his interceptors closer to their targets.

Burr watched as a massive wave of fusion-tipped missiles detonated against the shipyard’s energy screen and the enemy ships that surrounded it. Burr waited for the sign he was looking for—an overloaded enemy energy screen. As multiple Morag ships lost their protective shields, Burr had his Scorpion Squadron target the now vulnerable enemy ships.

Once Burr’s Scorpion Squadron had exhausted all their missiles, they headed on to rendezvous at a moon of the planet, not far from the action. They intended to stay out of the weapons range, until the shipyard and all enemy ships had been eliminated. Then they would head back to their battlecarriers and reload.

-

Collison was satisfied with the damage the attack interceptors had caused the enemy. They had successfully destroyed the energy shield of the shipyard and twenty-three of the enemy’s thirty-nine ships.

Now he launched his second wave of attack interceptors. Collison had only sent in half his interceptors for the first wave, avoiding any reloading delay. Now the second wave closed in.

Collison also ordered the attack interceptors from the first wave to head back to the battlecarriers. He advised them to do so carefully to stay out of range of the enemy firepower.

-

Drake watched as the second wave of attack interceptors launched their first round of missiles at the enemy. He leaned forward and held his breath, as the missiles detonated into the enemy targets. A smile spread slowly across Drake’s face, and he slowly let out his breath. This was precisely what he had hoped to see.

The interceptors continued in closer to their targets and then launched their second round of missiles. This round caused massive damage to the shipyard. Explosions rippled through the vessel, tearing it apart. The surviving ships moved away from the dying shipyard to not be caught up in the ensuing destruction. Many of those ships found themselves the target of the second round of the attack interceptors’ missiles. When all the missiles had found their targets, only two ships remained.

The attack interceptors closed in on these two remaining ships and used the energy beams to finish them off. Once their task was accomplished, they headed back to their carriers to reload.

Drake glanced at the timer. They didn’t have much time left to destroy the other shipyard. Thankfully the attack interceptors from the first wave had all returned to their carriers and were being reloaded.

-

Collison had a decision to make. He still had one target left. He would lose fewer ships sending the interceptors to destroy the remaining shipyard, but using the attack interceptors took more time. Time he did not have. Should he leave this shipyard for now and plan to come back for it later? If they stayed, they might not make it out before the other Morag reinforcements arrived.

Collison knew the wisest choice was to move on. He didn’t want to risk the larger mission for one shipyard. “Let the fleet know that, as soon as we have word from the battlecarriers that all attack interceptors are secured in their bays, we will jump out of this star system.”

“Yes, Admiral,” replied the communications officer.

-

Drake watched his tactical display, as the fleet prepared to jump out of the star system. Maybe the Morag ship that had followed them before would be caught off guard, since they were leaving before destroying the second shipyard. He watched the display intently, just in case.

Drake held his ship back, while the fleet began making their transition to hyperspace. No enemy ships appeared, so Drake followed the fleet. He was the last ship to make the transition to hyperspace.

-

Morag Commander Kano had barely escaped the white dwarf system alive. The same could not be said for his small task group. They had all been destroyed.

He had made his way to a neighboring system, where he kept tabs on the battle using his telepathic abilities. He would need to time his reappearance perfectly, if he had any hopes of following the Human fleet to their next target.

Kano had already entered hyperspace to head back to the white dwarf system, just when he received word from a commander on the second shipyard that the Human fleet was entering hyperspace.

Kano slammed down his large hand on the table in his quarters. No way he could follow the Humans now. The shipyard commander had given Kano the direction the Humans had gone, so at least Kano had that. He was surprised the Humans had not stayed to destroy the second shipyard. The only explanation he could think of that reasonably made sense was that the Humans knew reinforcements were closing in.

According to reports from the commander of the second shipyard, the Humans had lost no warships in the white dwarf system. They had exclusively used the small attack craft to destroy the first shipyard and all the Morag warships in the system. The Morag had successfully destroyed some of the small attack craft. Still, the Humans could attack Morag targets for a long time with the number of ships they had remaining, especially if they didn’t lose any of their larger warships. Something had to change and change quickly, but what could that be?

Kano knew it was time to contact Admiral Voxx, and he would not be happy with this latest news. It seemed the Morag were always just one step behind the Humans.

-

Admiral Voxx was livid when he finished his update from Commander Kano. Not only had the Morag lost another shipyard and another thirty-nine warships, plus the three that had accompanied Kano, but the Morag also had no idea where the Humans would strike next.

Voxx growled loudly and threw his logbook across the room. Now what? He needed to talk to the Morag High Council and Councilor Addonis. Voxx felt it was time to use whatever special weapon Addonis had gotten from Falton Two. Otherwise the Humans could continue plaguing them for weeks to come. Voxx was ready to put an end to this.

Voxx changed course and headed for Morag Prime. He needed to talk to Addonis as soon as possible. This conversation needed to happen in person, not telepathically. Voxx was ready to see this secret weapon for himself. He had no idea what it could possibly be. Addonis had said it would put a rift between the Humans of the Empire and the Humans of Earth. What could it possibly be?

-

Admiral Collison had his fleet headed to the supply fleet. He still wanted to target one more star system before he left the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. He needed to get word to Rear Admirals Carrie and Barnes. It was time for them to meet back up. They already had the coordinates to the rendezvous location. Collison should arrive before Barnes and Carrie. In all likelihood, Barnes and Carrie were still attacking targets.

Collison had sent four battlecarriers back to the supply fleet for resupply. They had moved attack interceptors around to fill the ones they had remaining. Maybe he would attack one more system as he neared their rendezvous location. Although, if he did that, he would give away their location.

Currently the Morag had no idea where he was headed. It would take him fourteen hours to reach the rendezvous coordinates. He had a little time before he had to decide. Collison did not want to be chased out of the Morag star systems, like they had been last time. He was not prepared for a fleet-to-fleet battle, only smaller hit-and-runs, like they had been doing.

Before he had left the white dwarf system, Collison had sent a message to Golan Four to update them on his fleet’s progress. They continued chipping away at the Morag fleet numbers. Collison still had a lot more to do before the main attack on Morag Prime. He wanted to weaken the Morag fleet numbers as much as he could. The more he could eliminate now, the higher their chance of destroying Morag Prime. He could not wait to be a part of that attack. It was now not quite three weeks away.

Three weeks was a long time when in enemy territory. How could he take a small break to do maintenance, without worrying the Morag scout ships would find them? The Morag were obviously checking the uninhabited systems for the Human fleets. Was there another safe haven he hadn’t thought of? Maybe one of the races who planned to join them in their attack of Morag Prime?

The Humans and their allied races could use a little time to work on battle formations and training, while Collison got some maintenance work done on a few of his ships. The question remained, however, which ally they would choose? Which race was the most advanced? Was Collison sure the Morag wouldn’t detect the Humans? He didn’t want to be responsible for exposing one of the Morag’s enemies before the time was right.

Collison needed to research and to comb through all the information he had on the other races who planned to join the fight against the Morag. Collison had to figure out where their star systems were located too. See which ones were nearest to where they wanted to be for their subsequent attacks. Then he had to figure out how to let Barnes and Carrie know of his plan.

First things first though, time to comb through a lot of data.

Chapter Sixteen

Captain Tanner neared the star system where Falton Two was located. In an effort to be extremely cautious, Tanner would exit hyperspace on the outskirts of the system and then use his sublight drive to rendezvous with Captain Hadley. It would take a lot longer to get to Hadley’s location in orbit above Falton Two, but they did not want to take the chance that their vessel could be detected in any way.

When Hadley had arrived, she had been following a transport vessel, so, if the Humans on Falton Two could sense the radiation from a hyperspace jump like the Morag, they wouldn’t have suspected anything, since the transport vessel had arrived simultaneously in the system. Tanner would be arriving without another ship to hide his ship’s release of radiation with a hyperjump. Thus they would proceed with caution.

As they exited hyperspace in Falton Two’s system, the small crew held their breaths. Tanner had Lieutenant Finley monitor all communications in the system for any evidence that they had been detected. Finley found none. Once they were satisfied that they had not raised any alarms, they began their slow journey toward Falton Two.

Tanner had many things they’d been instructed to research here. Specifically to look more closely for any hidden military-type bases. Now that they had discovered quite a few in the Morag systems, Marloo suspected they might also be found on Falton Two. If none are detected, Finley was to search the planet for underground anomalies, where a base could be hidden. Like Pallas in the Solar System.

It had been decided that no contact would be made with Falton Two until after the attack on Morag Prime. Once the Morag were neutralized, contact would be made with Falton Two. Once the attack commenced, he would be on high alert for any reaction from the Human planet.

Tanner was excited to use the stealth drones he had on board to explore the surface a little more. He had had extensive training with the drones before he left the Human Empire.

The exchange of information from Captain Hadley’s scout ship to Tanner’s would occur as soon as they reached orbit alongside Hadley’s vessel. Then Hadley and her crew would head back to the Empire.

It would take them nearly an entire day to reach Falton Two with their sublight drive. In the meantime, Tanner and his crew would begin scanning the planets they passed and continue to monitor all communications in and around the system.

Tanner was eager to see Falton Two for himself and to begin to solve some of the questions the Imperial Council wanted him to look into. It would be tough to answer these questions, especially since it was highly probable that the Humans with telepathic abilities would communicate that way, making it impossible for Tanner and his crew to monitor those types of communications.

Since these Humans with this enhanced ability were supposedly the ones in charge, it left Tanner at a disadvantage. He looked forward to trying to answer these questions in other ways though, since listening to their communications would not be possible.

One thing was certain. Tanner couldn’t wait to get started.

-

Captain Avery remained on high alert at the supply fleet. After sending part of his fleet to rendezvous with Captain Elias, Avery felt more vulnerable than ever. The mobile repair yards were hard at work repairing the damaged ships coming in from the attacks in the Morag-controlled star systems. It sounded like Collison, Barnes, Carrie, and Drake were having great success. Avery hoped it continued.

The Lormallian fleet stationed on the far side of the system continued to grow in numbers. Avery suspected that this was the fleet that would accompany the Earth fleet and the Human Empire Fleet to attack Morag Prime. That attack was just around the corner. The Earth fleet was due to rendezvous in the Hagen Star Cluster within the next two weeks.

Avery looked over the reports from the scout ships stationed all over the Confederation. The Druins seemed to be spread out to protect their remaining worlds. The Lamothians were still building their new colony on the planet inhabited by the Tengore. Work had begun on what the Humans guessed would be a space station above one of the moons that orbited what was once Lamodent. This, the Humans had reason to believe, was where the Lamothians planned to terraform a moon. It appeared they were receiving help from the Morag. A scout ship continued to monitor the Lamothian fleet. Half of the Lamothians’ remaining fleet was stationed above the new colony, and the rest were stationed near the space station being constructed near Lamodent.

So far, all of the Humans’ enemies were accounted for.

The Morag were still constantly repositioning their fleets and task groups to try to defend against the attacking Human fleet. Avery knew that eventually Collison’s luck would run out.

Of course it wasn’t entirely luck he was counting on. Collison also had all the reports from the scout ships and knew where the larger enemy warships were congregated and could avoid those systems altogether. The largest fleet was stationed above Morag Prime. Another large fleet appeared to be headed toward Morag Prime. This left the rest of the Morag-controlled star systems more vulnerable. Avery wondered where Collison, Barnes, Carrie, and Drake would strike next.

As Avery examined his holographic display of the Morag area of the Confederation, alarms sounded. Avery immediately felt panic rise in his chest. He quickly ran toward the Command Center. Once there, out of breath, he asked, “Who is it?”

The alarms stopped, and Avery glanced over at the tactical display. He saw the icons turn from red to green. “It appears to be a Human fleet from Earth,” replied Lieutenant Dan.

“We weren’t expecting any more reinforcements before the large fleet arrives, so what’s going on?” asked Avery.

“We are receiving a transmission from one of the ships, Captain,” said the communications officer.

“Put the caller up on the screen,” commanded Avery.

“Hello, Captain Avery. I hope we did not cause you too much alarm. We were sent to help reinforce the fleets currently attacking the Confederation,” said the friendly face on the screen. “I am Captain Jane Russell. Fleet Admiral Reynolds thought Collison could probably use a little more help before Rear Admiral Martinez arrives with his fleet and the rest of the reinforcements to attack Morag Prime. Our task group is not as large as previous ones, but Reynolds thought a few reinforcements now were better than none.”

“I am sure Collison would be happy to have more reinforcements. If you and your task group can use the next few hours to do your maintenance and to recharge your hyperdrives, we will send with you all the repaired ships here, as you rendezvous with Collison. In total, we have twelve battlecruisers and three dreadnoughts repaired and ready to send with you. In another twelve hours, another two battlecruisers will be finished with their repairs as well,” replied Avery.

“Do you know where we can rendezvous with Collison and the rest of the fleet?” asked Jane.

“He is currently in hyperspace. The scout ships will know his location once he exits hyperspace. They can pass on the message to him that you are headed his way and when,” replied Avery.

“You don’t have many ships here with you to protect the supply fleet. Why not?” Jane asked.

“They were sent to rendezvous with Captain Elias on board the battlecarrier Pegasus and the three ships with him. They are headed here for repairs and are being tailed by a few Morag warships. A task group was sent to intercept them at their third rest stop. The carrier is too damaged to make it all the way here in one jump. Since we have scout ships stationed all over the Confederation, we are not too concerned with any enemy fleets making a surprise appearance here,” replied Avery.

“I hope all goes according to plan,” Jane replied, with a smile. “We will prepare our ships for the next leg of our journey and will be ready to enter hyperspace in twelve hours.”

“Good luck,” Avery said, as the video terminated. “Lieutenant Dan, how many ships are with Captain Jane?” asked Avery, as he turned his gaze to the tactical display.

“Fifty battlecruisers and fifteen dreadnoughts,” replied Dan.

“Well, I guess that’s better than nothing,” responded Avery. “Let’s try to figure out where we think Collison is headed and where we can recommend Jane rendezvous with him.”

“Yes, sir,” responded Lieutenant Dan.

-

Captain Elias on board the damaged battlecarrier Pegasus anxiously paced in his quarters. He knew the time neared to exit hyperspace at their next designated coordinates. His ship needed more repairs and to recharge its barely functioning hyperdrive. He prayed they would make it all the way to the supply fleet. Of course the viability of the hyperdrive was not his only concern. The small Morag task group still tailed them. Elias was troubled with the thought that had plagued him since they had appeared. What if they get reinforcements?

Elias knew he also had reinforcements inbound, but they had to survive this next stop first and the hyperspace jump after that. The two battlecruisers and dreadnought with him were in slightly better shape than his vessel, but all were operating with skeleton crews. They could fight in a combat situation, but not as effectively without full crews and complete weapons capabilities.

Elias looked at his watch and realized it was time to head to the Command Center, before they dropped out of hyperspace in five more minutes. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves on his way there.

Once he arrived, Elias sat down in his command chair and surveyed the room. What crew he had were hard at work. They all were aware of the dangers that were ahead of them.

The familiar twinge in the pit of his stomach confirmed what Elias saw on the viewscreen in front of him. They were exiting hyperspace. The system he had selected was an uninhabited system near the Lamothian area of the Confederation. The system had six planets, but none supported intelligent life. At least not according to his maps he had access to.

Shortly after they arrived, their sensor alarms sounded as the tailing Morag ships exited hyperspace. Elias was tense as he waited to see if more enemy ships emerged with the original three. None did. Elias felt a little relieved but knew that enemy reinforcements could arrive anytime in the next two hours they had scheduled to stay in this system. “Keep the ships at Condition One in case the enemy attacks.”

Elias headed to Engineering to see if he could help with the repairs they were working on there. He didn’t have the patience or the desire to do nothing but sit and wait for the enemy to attack for the next two hours. He needed to stay active.

-

Morag Captain Denning and his small task group continued monitoring the four Human ships they had been following. Due to the fact that the Humans had still not attempted to attack his ships, Denning was more convinced than ever that those Human ships were damaged. The question remained whether he should attack and destroy them or see where they were headed. Denning knew that, if he arrived at wherever the Human ships were headed, Human reinforcements would most likely be waiting to destroy him. Surely they would not lead him to their staging area? They wouldn’t be that stupid. Although he was talking about Humans.

Denning would continue to watch and wait. If these Humans were headed back to the Human Empire, they still had a few more stops they would have to make, considering the time between their last two jumps. They must have a damaged hyperdrive. Denning wanted to eliminate that battlecarrier, especially knowing how much destruction the battlecarriers were responsible for over the previous few days and weeks.

According to reports and what he had witnessed himself, the battlecarriers housed the Humans’ small attack craft that were now the primary means of destroying Morag shipyards, warships, military bases, and planets. One less battlecarrier would be a good thing for the Morag.

Denning decided to contact Admiral Voxx again. Denning was sure his small task group could jump over, target the battlecarrier, and jump away, without losing any Morag ships. Then they could still follow the other three ships to see where they went.

-

Elias checked his watch for what seemed like the thousandth time. He still had another hour to wait before they were ready for the next leg of their journey. He had thankfully been helpful in aiding in a few repairs in the engineering section of the ship. Yet they could only do so much themselves, and some could only be attempted when the ship was not in hyperspace. The other repairs were planned and prepared for while the ship was in hyperspace. That way, they could make the most efficient use of their time, whether traveling through hyperspace or not.

As Elias made his way back to the Command Center, he received a page over the comm system. “Captain Elias, proceed to the Command Center immediately.”

What in the world was going on now? Elias ran the rest of the way to his post. Once he arrived, he saw by the looks on his crew’s faces and knew that something was amiss. “What is going on?” he asked, as he took his place in the command chair.

“The Morag are warming up their hyperdrives. We believe they are preparing to attack,” responded the sensor officer.

Elias swallowed the lump of fear rising up his throat. “Prepare to fire the particle beam weapons. We will be their main target, no doubt.”

“The other ships are moving into a protective formation, Captain,” said the tactical officer. “The three other ships are preparing to launch their accelerator cannon fire, as soon as the enemy makes their appearance within range of our weapons. Most of our ships have damage to their weapons systems too but should be able to get off at least a couple rounds of projectiles, before they malfunction.”

“Let’s hope it’s enough,” Elias said slowly. He gazed intently at the viewscreen as the three Morag ships suddenly disappeared. “Here they come!”

When the Morag ships dropped from hyperspace near the Human ships, weapons fire instantly broke out. The three Human ships with the accelerator cannons quickly destroyed two of the three Morag ships. The last quickly hightailed it back to the other side of the star system.

Elias let out the breath he’d been holding. They had made it. They had survived the attack. He knew the relief showed on his face, but, as he looked at his sensor officer, he knew something was wrong. His gaze quickly shifted to the tactical display. It now showed only two green icons. His battlecarrier and one of the battlecruisers. The other battlecruiser and dreadnought had been destroyed. It had all happened so fast. Elias had been so intensely focused on the destruction of the enemy ships that he hadn’t noticed that two of the giant explosions were Human ships, not Morag.

Now only three ships were in the system. Two Human ships and one Morag.

-

When Denning had gotten the go-ahead from Admiral Voxx to attack the Human battlecarrier, Denning had been elated. It should be an easy kill. The Human ships were sitting ducks. He prepared his task group to make the quick jump to the Humans’ ships location. They would drop out close enough to the enemy ships to immediately fire on them. Hopefully they would take them by surprise and make the kill without losing any of their own. That’s not what happened at all.

Denning was not sure exactly where or how it all went wrong, but now he was the only Morag ship left. The other two had been destroyed. The Humans had been expecting them and had launched their weapons immediately. His other two ships were gone before they had launched many weapons. The couple of antimatter missiles they had launched had impacted two of the Human ships. Denning had also quickly fired antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams before retreating to the safety of the opposite side of the star system.

From the destruction that had happened, Denning realized that the energy screens of those two ships must have already been heavily damaged. He had failed in his mission to eliminate the carrier. The Human ships had moved to protect it. The carrier was obviously very important to the Humans. The carrier itself had also fired on his ships. Denning had witnessed the particle beam cannons fired from that carrier.

Denning let out an angry growl. Voxx would not be happy to hear his report of the battle. On the bright side, he had eliminated two Human ships. Yet he had also lost two of his own. Now he would plan to follow the remaining Human ships to wherever they were headed. He also had a surprise headed to intercept these two ships and whatever aid they might have coming. Denning smiled an evil smile, as he thought about what would unfold over the next twenty-four hours. More Human destruction. And he looked forward to witnessing it.

-

Elias mourned the lives of those who had just been lost. He was a little comforted knowing it had been only a skeleton crew of a couple hundred instead of a few thousand. Still Human lives were lost, and they had put themselves in the line of fire to protect him and his crew.

Before leaving the system, Elias sent a message to Golan Four and toward the supply fleet. He wasn’t sure it was worth the risk of more lives to save the two remaining ships. It was not his decision to make, however. There remained only one enemy ship, but that could change at any moment.

Elias glanced at the viewscreen focused on the system, currently showing the nearest planet. It was a red-and-purple-colored gas giant. A beauty to behold. What amazing things he had had the privilege to witness on this mission. He hoped it would not be his last.

His thoughts were interrupted by the systems officer, as she said, “Captain, the hyperdrive is charged. The battlecruiser is ready to make the jump as well.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here. At least we will be safe for the next eighteen hours, until our next designated stopping point,” responded Elias. “Take us into hyperspace.”

Elias got up from his command chair and headed back to his quarters. It had been a very stressful and devastating few hours. He needed some perspective and some time to reflect. Once he reached his quarters, Elias sat down on his bed and took the picture off the nightstand—him and his family together on a camping trip. He smiled at the memory and at the feelings the image brought to life inside him. He desperately missed his family and looked forward to seeing them again.

Then Elias laid down and tried to keep his mind from falling down the abyss into the darkness that was near his thoughts. He had to remain positive. For his sake, his crew, and his family waiting back home on Earth.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo in the Command Center on Golan Four had received the message from Captain Elias. One thing he was sure of was that no man would be left behind, not on his watch. Since Marloo was, indeed, the one in charge, the rendezvous would still go on as scheduled at Elias’s next stop. Elias would arrive shortly before the task group sent from the supply fleet, but not by much.

Marloo knew he would feel better once the enemy was no longer following them.

As for any surprises the Morag might have in store, Marloo had no doubt a group of Morag ships were headed Elias’s way. According to all the data that they had gathered from the scout ships, about sixty Morag ships were unaccounted for. They had disappeared from one system or another. In small amounts so as not to cause the Human scout ships any alarm.

From the information gathered from Collison, Barnes, Carrie, and Drake, most of the uninhabited systems were being scouted by the Morag. This is how Collison’s fleet had been found. As Barnes and Carrie made their way through Morag space, they did long-range scans of every system they went near. They had learned that at least one Morag ship had been stationed in every uninhabited system. They reported this to Golan Four the last time they had made contact.

Marloo knew that soon it would be time for Barnes and Carrie to hit another target. After that, they were set to rendezvous with Collison. The plan had been to rendezvous in an uninhabited system, but, since these were all being monitored, it would have to be somewhere else.

Where that would be was what had consumed Marloo’s attention for the last couple hours. Collison had communicated with a scout ship about his thoughts of finding a safe haven with an ally pledged to join the attack on Morag Prime. Marloo liked this idea. The Morag wouldn’t think to look in those places. At least not for a while.

Hopefully by then, the attack on Morag Prime would be underway. Plus it would give at least some familiarity between the Human fleet leaders and one of the races who would risk their lives and planets to overthrow their oppressors.

Marloo had analyzed all the data he could get his hands on. He had concluded that the Barsoons would be the best bet. They inhabited twelve star systems on the fringe of the Morag-controlled part of the Confederation. The Barsoons had evolved into an intelligent species that resembled a large upright bee. Marloo had been able to confirm that transport vessels had delivered telepathic nullifiers there in the past week.

Marloo would send this recommendation to the scout ships, who would then pass on the information, not only to Collison but also Barnes and Carrie. The scout ships were able to communicate securely between each other. Since the current locations of the Human fleets were unknown, it would be up to the scout ships to get the message to them once the fleets appeared in the systems where a scout ship was patrolling. Without knowing the exact location of the fleets, Marloo would have to send a directional hyperlight message to the fleets, which could be intercepted. The scout ships were once again proving themselves invaluable. Marloo had selected the Barsoons’ star system that contained their homeworld for the revised rendezvous location. This would be the most likely place to find the leader of the Barsoons, the High Queen.

Things seemed to be falling into place. Marloo had a lot of things going on, but he felt like he was managing to stay on top of it all. He hoped Barnes and Carrie would succeed in their next target system and would not run into any trouble.

Chapter Seventeen

Rear Admiral Barnes was concerned with the number of ships that were disappearing from all over the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. She had a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn’t right. Why were they repositioning? What did the Morag know?

“Captain Borrel, check in with the ship at the rear of our fleet. Have them do a scan to see if we are being followed,” ordered Barnes.

“Yes, ma’am, right away,” replied Borrel.

Barnes waited for the response with growing concern. When the response came back, her fears were confirmed. They were being followed. Only one ship showed up on the scan, but there could always be more, farther behind.

“What should we do?” asked Borrel.

“The sooner we stop, the less time the Morag have to position themselves. I will talk to Rear Admiral Carrie and figure out our options,” replied Barnes.

After talking to Carrie and evaluating their options, they decided on Morag Nine in a yellow dwarf system about half an hour away. It had three shipyards with two inhabited planets and three terraformed moons. A military base was on the surface of one of the moons.

Until recently ninety-four warships were in the system, but now only sixty-one remained. According to the scout ship, the ships had left the system a few at a time. Where they had gone remained a mystery. Barnes knew this could be a trap, but, at this point, any system could end up being a trap.

Barnes and Carrie had decided to destroy the warships first and then the base. If enough time remained, they’d take out the shipyards too. The nearest known reinforcements were one hour away. Theoretically this gave them a bit more time to eliminate their targets.

The two rear admirals presumed the Morag would target their battlecarriers first. They had instructed their fleet that they’d be jumping into a combat situation. They didn’t want to be caught off guard, although Barnes hoped they’d be catching the Morag off guard. The ship tailing them was most likely broadcasting their location to all enemy ships in the area. The Morag had no idea where the Human fleet would stop though.

Barnes took another look at the holographic display in front of her. She hoped they had made the right decision. The wrong one could very well cost them their lives.

-

Morag Commander Samkin grew impatient. When would these measly Humans attack? And where? Morag warships were inbound from all over the area. Whenever these Humans did decide to exit hyperspace, they’d be in for a surprise. Samkin couldn’t wait to watch the destruction of this Human fleet.

His sensor officer spoke up. Commander, the Human ships are exiting hyperspace in the yellow dwarf system where Morag Nine is located.

Good, Samkin replied. Inform all Morag ships inbound to our location of the coordinates where the Humans are headed. Plus I need their estimated time of arrival, added Samkin. Also inform whoever is in charge in this system that they must take their time in this battle. Attack slowly to keep the Humans engaged and busy, until reinforcements can arrive.

Do you have any suggestions on how they can do that? asked the tactical officer.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I will contact them myself.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie stood in front of her command chair and scanned the various consoles, as they exited hyperspace. The tension in the Command Center was high, as they awaited the expected attack. Soon after they had all emerged from hyperspace, twenty of the Morag warships jumped to their location and focused their firepower on the two Human battlecarriers.

Carrie took in a sharp breath, as the energy screens of the targeted ships started to overload. “Get those enemy ships destroyed as fast as possible!” Carrie called out. The fleet quickly moved into position and eliminated the twenty Morag ships. Carrie had lost five battlecruisers, and the two targeted battlecarriers now had a functioning energy screen, if only at 40 percent. As long as they survived the battles in this system, the two of them would be sent back for repairs.

The tactical display showed no other Morag ships were charging their hyperdrives. Carrie was thankful more of them hadn’t jumped out to add to the firepower of the first wave’s attack. They might have lost the two carriers with all of the interceptors on board.

“Ten minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare to launch the attack interceptors once we reach the three-minute mark. We will send them in to destroy the lion’s share of enemy warships. That leaves us available to destroy any newcomers to the system. We need to be prepared for more enemy ships to join at any time,” said Carrie. Carrie would feel better once they had the interceptors launched. Carrie’s main fleet could take on more ships with the aid of the interceptors.

“Twenty Morag ships destroyed, and forty-one more enemy ships left to eliminate,” said the sensor officer. “Plus, the one that followed us here is trying to hide on the far side of the outermost planet.”

“Yes, we will send a few ships to eliminate that nuisance. As soon as the interceptors head to the enemy fleet, I want five battlecruisers to jump out and destroy that Morag ship,” Carrie commanded. He would have no idea what was coming for him, Carrie thought, as she sat back down in her command chair.

-

Morag Commander Samkin had his warship hidden in the shadows of the farthest planet in the system. He was confident the Humans had their hands full, and he could remain hidden here to watch the battle unfold. Samkin looked forward to watching the Humans die.

He narrowed his gaze toward the tactical display and watched as hundreds of small red icons appeared. It looked like the Humans were launching their small attack craft. He smiled, knowing what would happen next. Those small ships wouldn’t fire one missile at the fleet. The fleet would soon jump to another location. Playing a little game of cat and mouse would keep the Humans occupied until reinforcements could show up.

Samkin took a deep satisfied breath. This would be very entertaining. Suddenly five Human ships appeared in front of him. Samkin’s heart pounded in his chest. Let’s get out of here! he said, watching in fear as the Humans fired their first round of firepower at his ship.

Samkin glanced at the navigation officer, who was quickly inputting coordinates for them to jump to. Then Samkin’s gaze shifted back to the viewscreen, showing the Humans’ projectiles slamming into his energy screen. It failed immediately.

Then Samkin looked around the room frantically, trying to make something happen. The coordinates were now in the computer, and they were preparing to jump, but, before they could, another round of projectiles arrived, blasting the ship into a million pieces.

-

Carrie had kept an eye on the five battlecruisers that went after the lone Morag ship. It had been taken by surprise and didn’t even get one shot fired at the battlecruisers. The ships were now headed back to the formation. Mission accomplished. One less ship to destroy, Carrie thought to herself.

The attack interceptors now neared the engagement range of the remaining Morag fleet defending Morag Nine. The Morag launched their weapons as soon as the interceptors crossed that weapons range, hoping to eliminate some of the Human ships.

“Rear Admiral Carrie, the Morag ships are charging their hyperdrives,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire. They must be planning to attack us here again,” Carrie responded. She gripped the sides of her command chair and waited for what was sure to come next. Carrie watched the viewscreen as the Morag ships disappeared. Here they come, she thought to herself. To her surprise, they didn’t show up. “Did they leave?” Carrie asked the sensor officer.

“No. They are now near the moon where the military base is located,” replied the sensor officer.

What were they doing? Then Carrie had a sinking feeling in her gut. She knew exactly what they were doing. They were stalling for time. That could only mean one thing. More ships were coming.

The question now was how could the Humans use this to their advantage? Carrie quickly ordered the attack interceptors to head for the nearest shipyard. Might as well use them to eliminate something.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron had been surprised when their targets had disappeared. Now what? What was their closest enemy target? Garland quickly evaluated what their options were. It wouldn’t make any sense to chase the enemy fleet.

It didn’t take long for her squadron to receive their orders. They were to head to the shipyard orbiting the nearest planet and destroy it. Garland smiled. The Morag warships could watch them destroy the shipyard, if that’s what they preferred.

Garland, her squadron, and the other attack interceptors headed to the shipyard.

-

Barnes had decided that, while the interceptors attacked the first shipyard, her remaining fleet would jump over to the enemy fleet at one of the moons. Barnes had a feeling the Morag fleet would retreat again, which would then allow part of her fleet to take aim at the defensive grid of the moon. Once that was destroyed, they could deploy the remaining attack interceptors to enter the moon’s atmosphere and destroy the military base which she fully expected to be there.

While part of Barnes’s fleet focused on the defensive grid and military base, another part of her fleet would protect the carriers and the rear of the fleet. Meanwhile Barnes would then send Carrie to hunt down the Morag fleet. One way or another, all those ships must be annihilated before they could leave this system.

Otherwise the Humans would be tailed by another Morag ship to the next target. If Carrie’s fleet would launch their weapons as soon as they exited hyperspace in their short jump over to the enemy fleet, they may get lucky and destroy a few of them. Barnes intended to do that as they jumped to the enemy fleet’s current position above the moon. Only one way to find out if it’ll work, she thought to herself.

Barnes quickly relayed her orders to the rest of the fleet. On her orders, they made their short jump to the moon and the enemy fleet awaiting them there. “Prepare to fire as soon as we exit hyperspace,” Barnes ordered the fleet.

As they did, they immediately fired, right as the Morag fleet made their jump to another location. “Did we destroy any of them?” Barnes asked her sensor officer.

“It appears they have five fewer ships than they did before the attack,” replied the sensor officer.

“We might not get such an easy shot at them next time. I imagine they will charge their hyperdrives when they realize we are. Then make their jump as we do,” replied Barnes. They would shortly find out, but, first, time to eliminate a defensive grid above the military base on this moon.

“Let’s get rid of this defensive grid that’s preventing us from destroying this Morag military base. Have the forward fleet focus on the defensive grid. Carrie and her fleet will continue to follow the enemy fleet.”

-

Rear Admiral Carrie knew that destroying this Morag fleet would not be as easy as it had been in other systems. The Morag were changing their tactics. They were evolving. Thus the Humans must evolve along with them. “Charge the hyperdrives. Let’s hunt down this fleet. If the Morag make another jump, we will too. Prepare to fire upon emergence from hyperspace.”

Carrie tightened her grip on the arms of her command chair. Would this work? She certainly hoped so. Otherwise she wasn’t sure what they’d do.

The Human fleet fired as soon as they exited hyperspace. The Morag ships had already started their own hyperspace jump. The Humans hit two of the stragglers. The last two ships to enter hyperspace were now no more. Carrie clenched her fist in a small celebration. Two more down, thirty-four to go.

Carrie’s fleet immediately followed the Morag to their next location. She could play this cat-and-mouse game all day. Except that she really couldn’t. Morag reinforcements were inbound and could show up at any moment. Carrie took a deep breath to steady herself.

-

Barnes began targeting the defensive grid elements. These Morag planets and moons were thankfully not as fortified as the Solar System, Golan Four, or the Hagen Star Cluster. With each explosion of another defensive grid element, Barnes was closer to her target. She felt the tension in her shoulders and in her neck. She tried to focus on her task and not constantly check the tactical display. How was Carrie faring? Was their tactic working? What would they do if it didn’t work?

A large explosion woke Barnes from her thoughts and back to her task. A battlecruiser close to her dreadnought had been destroyed.

A few minutes later, they had a hole in the defensive grid large enough to safely send the attack interceptors through. “Launch the remaining interceptors,” commanded Barnes.

-

Lieutenant Cody formed up with his squadron of attack interceptors. They quickly made their way toward the hole in the defensive grid of the moon.

As they neared the weapons range of their fusion-tipped missiles, they began to launch. They would fire two from this range and move a little closer before sending the other two missiles to their targets.

Right as they launched their missiles, dozens of missile turrets opened up on the surface of the moon. Part of these focused on shooting down the incoming missiles, and the rest began to take aim at the interceptors.

As the missiles reached the base, they exploded into an energy shield. Cody was surprised. They had not known an energy screen was present above the base. The energy screen was quickly overwhelmed with the sheer number of missiles detonating against it. A bright flash occurred, and then the energy screen was no more.

Cody found himself preoccupied with avoiding the weapons fire from the turrets aiming at him. A little closer and he would launch his two remaining missiles. Hopefully, shortly after that, these turrets would be eliminated, and the attack interceptors could have a much safer journey back to their battlecarriers.

As Cody dodged a few more fusion energy beams, he finally arrived at his optimal firing distance and released his weapons. The rest of his squadron did too. His squadron alone had just sent forty fusion-tipped missiles at the base. Explosion after explosion detonated across the base, causing massive destruction. The other squadrons had released their missiles as well. The enemy weapons fire soon ceased as the missile turrets were destroyed.

Now, with no more enemy weapons fire, time for the attack interceptors to head back up to their battlecarriers to reload and to prepare to destroy the next target.

-

Carrie and her fleet exited hyperspace again after their short jump to the Morag fleet’s newest location. At each jump, her fleet had eliminated at least one or two ships. At this rate, it would take a while to destroy this enemy fleet.

Carrie grew more and more restless with each jump. She knew time was running out.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron had reached the extreme combat range of one of the three shipyards. The shipyard had begun its attack against the incoming threat. Antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams were constantly launched in the direction of the attack interceptors. Garland did her best to outmaneuver and to avoid the deadly weapons.

The interceptors used a two-stage attack. First they would launch two of their missiles from a medium-range position, then move in closer to launch their final two missiles. Hopefully by the time they launched their second wave of missiles, the shipyard’s energy screen would be nonfunctional.

Garland spun and dipped, piloting her interceptor one way and then another. She barely avoided the enemy fire but finally made it to her first stage launch zone. There Garland fired her two missiles, feeling the shudder of her interceptor as the missiles were launched.

Now Garland waited for the rest of the interceptors to launch their first two missiles; then they all headed closer to the shipyard, while watching and hoping the first round was enough to take down the energy shield. Garland’s gaze focused on the energy shield that glowed brighter and brighter. It finally gave way, as the last few missiles detonated against it.

“Yes!” Garland exclaimed and pumped her fist in the air. Now for the second wave of missiles. The attack interceptors moved in closer, continuing to use their skills to survive and miss the deadly enemy firepower aimed at them.

Once Garland reached her next and final missile launch point, she quickly fired her two missiles and then held her breath, hoping this final wave would do the trick. She was elated, as the wall of missiles slammed into the side of the shipyard, causing massive damage across the width of it. Explosions shook the shipyard, and then a much larger explosion fractured the entire thing into multiple chunks. These explosions knocked the large pieces out of orbit, and then the planet’s gravity pulled them down into the planet’s atmosphere.

Garland watched as the defensive grid then riddled the falling pieces with firepower to eliminate the threat they posed to the surface. Garland sighed in disappointment, as the defensive grid was successful in destroying all the pieces. None would impact the surface of the planet.

Now it was time to head back to the battlecarriers and reload. Who knows what they might need to blow up next?

-

Carrie had made her fifth jump, trailing the Morag fleet and slowly pecking away at their numbers. At this rate, it would take too long. Not to mention that, since she had her fleet do these microjumps, their hyperdrives did not have the opportunity to recharge.

Something had to change. Carrie needed to talk to Barnes. Maybe time for them to trade tasks. Let Carrie’s fleet have a chance to recharge their hyperdrives, while Barnes took a turn at chasing the enemy fleet.

They still had twenty-six enemy ships to destroy, before the Humans could safely leave the system. The clock was ticking, and Carrie felt her stress level rise, as more time continued to pass without the destruction of the Morag ships.

The Humans still had two more shipyards and the remaining Morag fleet to eliminate. Suddenly Carrie had an idea. What if they did something that made the Morag attack them? What the Humans needed to do was attack a planet. There was no chance the remaining Morag fleet would sit idly by and watch one of their worlds be destroyed. Carrie quickly contacted Barnes and made a quick jump back to her location.

The best and easiest option was to destroy the terraformed moon that they had already attacked. The military base was destroyed, as well as a good portion of the defensive grid. It wouldn’t take much to have the interceptors go back in through the area where they had destroyed the defensive grid and attack targets across the entire moon.

They could create a firestorm of destruction that would destroy all life on the surface of that moon. With any luck, the Morag fleet would engage the Humans to prevent the loss of the Morag moon full of Morag inhabitants.

-

When Barnes heard Carrie’s idea, Barnes was confident the plan would work. It would also give Carrie’s fleet some time to recharge their hyperdrives.

The attack interceptors that had attacked the military base were currently being rearmed. The other group of interceptors was almost back to the carriers. It would be another fifteen minutes before they were ready. Barnes figured she’d use the ones that had already attacked the moon and leave the other group for whatever came next.

They would need to ensure they kept the battlecarriers protected from all sides in preparation for the suspected full-on attack the Morag fleet would mount, once they realized what was afoot.

Barnes was ready to get this plan started. As soon as Carrie’s fleet arrived, they quickly got into the formation to keep the carriers safe and to destroy the Morag ships that would surely engage them to protect their moon from total destruction.

Once all ships were in place, the attack interceptors launched and headed back to the hole in the defensive grid on the moon. Barnes watched the tactical display, waiting and anticipating the Morag fleet to jump to engage them. This plan had to work.

-

Lieutenant Cody headed in through the hole in the defensive grid, his squadron following close behind. They didn’t expect much defense from the ground, since they had already destroyed the base.

As Cody and his squadron reached the largest city on the moon, he was surprised to see weapons turrets open up and begin to take aim at him and his friends. Cody knew they had to take out the missile turrets if he wanted to ensure all his friends survived this attack.

Cody instructed his squadron to focus on eliminating the missile turrets with their first two missiles and then, with their two remaining missiles, to hit the first two strategic targets assigned to them in their target package.

As Cody approached his first missile turret, he found himself the target of the barrage of weapons fire coming from the nearby turrets. He quickly aimed and launched his first missile at the turrets and then maneuvered his interceptor toward another turret a little farther away. The blast that resulted from his first missile eliminated the enemy weapons fire that had been focused on him and his interceptor.

When he released his second missile toward the next weapons turret, it went up in a giant explosion that took out another turret with it.

His next missile would be aimed at the downtown area of the city. With the destruction of almost all the weapons turrets that had once protected this city, his worries had decreased. Cody flew his interceptor toward the city’s center and then shot his missile at his target. The missile detonated and caused a massive explosion, and fires spread. The blast wave spread out, destroying everything in its path.

His last remaining missile would be launched at the power plant located just outside of the city. Cody knew that this missile might cause even more damage from subsequent explosions, as it destroyed the power plant. This missile would be launched from farther away. No way did he want to get too close to whatever the Morag were using to generate power when his fusion-tipped missile hit it.

Cody launched his missile at the power plant and then got out of the area as fast as his interceptor would take him. The resulting explosion shook his ship. He swung the interceptor around to witness the aftermath and was surprised at what he saw. Where once a large power plant had been was now a giant crater, consumed by smoke and fire. The debris cloud was enormous.

A smile spread across his face. The Morag deserved this for all the Humans they had killed over the years. The scorecard was nowhere near even.

With debris clouds rising up all over the planet, Cody knew it was time to head back to his battlecarrier to reload and to prepare for their next target.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie watched for the enemy fleet, waiting for them to take the bait. Nothing happened. How could this be? she asked herself. They must be waiting on reinforcements. Maybe the Humans should target another shipyard and planet, so the Morag realized that the Humans intended to destroy all the moons and planets in this star system, unless the Morag came to stop the Humans.

After discussing the options with Barnes, while the attack interceptors made their way back to the carriers, they prepared to move to the next closest planet with a shipyard. The plan was to have the attack interceptors that had been reloading during the attack on the moon launch now take on the task of destroying the shipyard. The fleet would move a little farther over, out of range of the shipyard, and begin taking out the defensive grid. Hopefully this would be enough to get the Morag fleet to engage them.

Once all the attack interceptors had landed safely back on their carriers, the fleet made the short jump to their next target. The interceptors launched and headed to their newest target, another shipyard. As soon as the interceptors had all safely launched and formed into their squadrons, the rest of the fleet moved over a little farther from the shipyard and began their attack on the defensive grid.

-

Lieutenant Garland once again found herself and her squadron of attack interceptors headed toward another Morag shipyard that they would hopefully soon destroy. The plan of attack was the same as last time. Launch half of their missiles from a medium-range position to overload the shipyard’s energy screen. Then launch the other half of the missiles at the shipyard itself, after the energy screen had failed. It worked last time, and this shipyard looked to be about the same size as the last one. They had lost a few interceptors in their previous attack, so they didn’t have quite as much firepower as before.

The shipyard began firing their fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles as soon the interceptors entered the weapons range of the shipyard. Garland and her squadron flew toward their designated area to release the first wave of missiles.

The incoming weapons fire from the enemy shipyard was intense. Garland shuddered every time she saw a small flash of light in her periphery, knowing that the flash was the result of the destruction of another interceptor. It was also quite likely someone she knew.

Garland took a deep breath and focused her attention on avoiding the enemy fire. She did not want to end up as one of those bright flashes of light. Garland wanted to return to Earth and to see her family again.

Once Garland reached the range where they had been tasked with launching their first wave of missiles, she quickly launched half her payload and then watched to see if their plan would work. Would it be enough to overload the defensive grid? Garland found herself tightening her grip on the pilot’s chair she sat in.

The missiles from the attack interceptors slammed into the energy screen of the shipyard. The screen glowed brighter and brighter, trying to defuse all the energy from the missiles. More and more missiles hit the energy shield, until it finally gave way.

Garland smiled and headed in a little closer to launch the rest of her payload.

-

Barnes monitored the attack interceptors, as they headed toward the second shipyard. The rest of the fleet moved over to stay out of range of the shipyard and began to target the defensive grid elements within range. Bright flashes of light signified the destruction of the grid, one after another.

Soon after the Human fleet began firing on the defensive grid, the sensor officer said, “The Morag fleet is charging their hyperdrives.”

Barnes smiled. This is what she wanted. The plan had worked like a charm. Half of the fleet turned to face the coming attack. Rear Admiral Carrie would continue to bombard the defensive grid, while Barnes and her fleet annihilated the Morag fleet.

The enemy fleet appeared within weapons range of the Human fleet and immediately began to fire their weapons.

Simultaneously alarms suddenly sounded, and Barnes felt her heart sink. That must be the Morag reinforcements. “How many more ships do they have?” asked Barnes.

“Thirty-two additional Morag warships have just exited hyperspace. They will be within weapons range in seven minutes,” replied the sensor officer.

“That gives us time to eliminate this first fleet, and then we can tackle the second separately,” Barnes said to her crew.

“The new fleet is charging their hyperdrives. I’m guessing they are going to microjump and get in closer,” said the sensor officer.

“Okay. We can handle this. Launch the remaining attack interceptors to help destroy the new ships,” commanded Barnes.

Barnes kept her gaze glued to the viewscreen in front of her, as the newest Morag ships jumped in closer. “How close are they now?”

“One minute to engagement range,” replied the sensor officer.

“Have the attack interceptors attack the Morag fleet from the right flank. We will continue to attack from here. If we need more firepower, we can have Carrie’s fleet stop their attack of the defensive grid and start helping us instead.”

-

Carrie and her fleet were focused on the defensive grid within range of the fleet. Soon they would have it eliminated, and then they could send in the attack interceptors. However, now Barnes was using the remaining interceptors to help her eliminate the newly enlarged Morag fleet. With the additional ships, the Morag now had a fleet of fifty-eight warships. Carrie was confident they could eliminate the Morag ships, as long as more reinforcements didn’t keep coming.

First she would finish this defensive grid; then she would help destroy the enemy fleet.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron of attack interceptors had now reached the final coordinates and launched the last two remaining missiles from her interceptor. Garland kept one eye on the shipyard, as she still needed to dodge the weapons the shipyard still fired at the attacking ships. She also kept her eyes on the additional Morag ships that had arrived to reinforce the defending fleet stationed here. Hopefully no more would show up.

Garland’s gaze switched back to the shipyard as the missiles began impacting the side of the vessel. Explosions detonated all across, as missile after missile hit the shipyard. Weapons fire from the shipyard slowed and quickly stopped altogether. The shipyard didn’t break apart, but it was falling out of orbit.

A smile spread across Garland’s face. The defensive grid elements in the area began firing on the shipyard, as it fell within range of their weapons. The defensive grid would now finish off the job of destroying the shipyard, just so that it wouldn’t impact the planet. That might be a futile objective, since soon the planet would be destroyed anyway.

-

Lieutenant Cody and his squadron launched and headed to attack the now reinforced Morag fleet. He had no doubt this enemy fleet would perish. He just hoped the Humans didn’t pay a high price for it.

Cody led his squadron to the right flank of the enemy fleet, and then they began their attack runs. Not only did they have to avoid enemy weapons fire, but they also had to avoid friendly fire. To help achieve this, the interceptors would launch their weapons from medium-range position, so they could hopefully stay out of the cross fire.

Once the attack interceptors reached the agreed-upon range, they began targeting Morag ships. The Human fleet pounded the Morag ships with accelerator cannon fire, pulverizing ship after ship. With the addition of the fusion-tipped missiles, the enemy fleet was quickly being eliminated.

-

Once Lieutenant Garland and her group of attack interceptors had successfully destroyed the second shipyard, they carefully headed back to their carriers. It wouldn’t be easy, as the carriers were currently being attacked. Thankfully the carriers were in the center of the formation and were not being hit by any enemy fire. Still, the interceptor pilots would have to keep an eye out for any stray enemy fire that made it through the fleet.

Thankfully the Human fleet was quickly eliminating the amount of enemy firepower, as Morag ships were blown apart. Garland and the rest of her group of attack interceptors were able to safely make it back to their carriers.

They would quickly reload and then head down to destroy the Morag planet. Since the defensive grid had now been destroyed, all of the Human battlecruisers and dreadnoughts were engaged with the enemy fleet. It would take ten minutes to reload.

-

Once Carrie and her fleet joined the attack on the Morag ships, the battle ended quickly. Debris filled the space around the planet. As Carrie breathed a sigh of relief, alarms sounded again. Carrie stood and walked closer to the consoles. “How many more ships do we have to destroy now?”

“Another forty Morag ships are now in the system,” replied the sensor officer.

Carrie let out a frustrated breath. How many more were coming? Hopefully this fleet would attack them too. As long as they were now threatening the planet, Morag Nine, the enemy fleet would be willing to engage them, at least she hoped.

“The Morag ships are seven minutes to weapons range,” said the sensor officer.

“Good. That should be long enough to finish reloading the attack interceptors, so they can attack the planet. Then we need to get out of here, before even more ships show up,” said Carrie.

-

Garland and her squadron had reloaded and were now headed to the hole in the defensive grid of Morag Nine. She knew the enemy fleet would shortly be in weapons range of the Human fleet. Garland hoped they could get this planet destroyed quickly—or at least damaged enough that life couldn’t be sustained for many years to come.

The faster they could get this done and back to the carrier, the quicker they could exit this system. Garland was tired. She was ready for a rest. They had already spent more time in this star system than they usually did, and they weren’t done yet.

As Garland neared her targets on the planet, she kept a watch out for any weapons turrets that might open and take aim at her and her squadron. None appeared. Garland was surprised that the moon would have them, but the planet would not. Maybe it was because of the military base that had been on the moon. Yet the planet looked to be heavily populated.

Garland’s first target was a large city near a coastline. It looked like a beautiful place to live; however, it was home to her enemy. She quickly launched one of her missiles at the city center and then turned to head for her next target.

Her next target was a large sports-looking arena. It was full of Morag. When Garland flew in closer for a peek, she noted the Morag arena was in pandemonium. It looked like they were all trying to exit the arena at once. Garland knew their efforts were futile. The entire area would be demolished at the push of a button, her button. She flew back around a little higher and pressed her button, sending a missile of death toward the panicked crowd below.

Garland’s third target was another large city situated at a higher altitude. She decided not to look closer this time, deciding instead that she didn’t want to remember the faces of those she was about to kill. A large mushroom cloud rose from the target, as Garland moved on to her fourth and final target.

The last target was a water treatment plant. The plant was surrounded by houses. It reminded Garland of a suburb back on Earth. A suburb that would soon be in ruins. Garland launched the last remaining missile and turned her interceptor back to the hole in the defensive grid. Time to attempt to get safely back to the battlecarrier and reload. Hopefully they would not need to be deployed again in this star system.

Garland felt like she could sleep for days.

-

Barnes watched the viewscreen that showed the interceptors attacking the planet below. Large mushroom clouds rose into the atmosphere all over the planet. Then Barnes narrowed her gaze to the tactical display. The Morag ships were almost in range.

“Thirty seconds to weapons range,” said the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire,” commanded Barnes.

Weapons fire broke out between the fleets, as the two fleets came into range of each other. The intensity of the fight was alarming. Barnes saw dreadnoughts and battlecruisers’ energy screens fail under the bombardment of the Morag fleet. Bright explosions could be seen on the periphery of the viewscreens at the front of the Command Center.

The tactical display showed green icons swell and then disappear from the tactical display. Barnes swallowed the bile rising in her throat. The Humans would pay a heavy price in this system. Of course they were destroying more Morag ships. Plus they had destroyed two shipyards, a military base, a terraformed moon, and now a planet.

The remaining Morag fleet found their energy screens smashed by the Humans’ accelerator cannons, and then the ships were pulverized, as the second round hit. Explosions consumed the Morag fleet. Debris littered the space all around the fleets.

As the last Morag ship succumbed to the Humans’ attack, Barnes breathed a sigh of relief. A quick check of the tactical display revealed no more Morag ships in the system.

Captain Borrel said, “Should we target the last shipyard?”

“No. We need to get out of here before any more Morag warships show up,” replied Barnes. “How are the attack interceptors? How much longer do they need to all be safely on board their carriers?”

“The captains of the battlecarriers are reporting they will be ready to enter hyperspace in another five minutes,” responded the communications officer.

Barnes took a deep breath to steady herself. It would be the longest five minutes of her life.

-

Carrie watched the viewscreens as the last remaining attack interceptors landed in their landing bays. Her gaze turned to the tactical display. Still no enemy ships had appeared. Carrie found herself holding her breath and forced herself to slowly let it out.

Suddenly the all clear came through on the comm, and then Carrie said, “Get us out of here!” The fleet began entering hyperspace. Carrie had decided her dreadnought would be the last one out of the system. She needed to know that they were not being followed.

As the last remaining ship, other than hers, entered hyperspace, she scanned the tactical display one last time, before they made their transition into hyperspace. The coast was clear. No enemy ships had entered the system.

Carrie sat on her command chair and slowly let out a deep breath. Sweat poured from her brow. What a relief it was to be in hyperspace and without enemy ships trailing behind. Carrie suddenly felt the weight of the last star system’s attacks.

She was exhausted, and she knew the rest of her crews were as well. Thankfully it was time to meet up with Admiral Collison and to make plans for future attacks. They were well over one week away from the fleets meeting up in the Lormallian area of the Confederation. They had to keep the Morag busy until then.

In total, the Human fleets had lost forty-one battlecruisers, seven dreadnoughts, and still an unknown number of attack interceptors. Carrie had received the new rendezvous coordinates from the scout ship stationed in the system, as they were preparing to leave. It would take the fleet twelve hours to get to the coordinates. Until then, Carrie would get some shut-eye and a delicious meal and savor the victory they had just achieved.

They had a long way to go, but they were still alive to do it.

Chapter Eighteen

Captain Avery at the supply fleet had prepared Captain Jane as much as he could for the next leg of her journey. She would meet up with Admiral Collison and Rear Admirals Carrie, Barnes, and Drake in a star system of a newly found ally—the Barsoons. They were descended from a bee-type race who had advanced and had become intelligent. The Barsoons had been informed of the Human fleets’ impending arrival.

The others would all arrive a couple days before Jane, while their crews made repairs and did some maintenance on their ships. During this time, Admiral Collison would meet with the High Queen of the Barsoons and then possibly work on some fleet formations.

Avery had given Jane all the information he had on the Barsoons. When she had learned the Barsoons descended from a bee-like species, she was more than a little apprehensive. Jane had told him about her fear of bees and that she was a little frightened about the prospect of meeting alien races.

Avery had to admit that he might be too, if he were in her shoes. Avery reassured her that the other admirals would communicate with the Barsoons, and, more likely than not, she wouldn’t actually see them herself. Any face-to-face interactions would likely be with Collison, Barnes, Carrie, or Drake. That seemed to reassure Jane, at least as far as Avery could tell.

Time to send Jane on to meet up with the others. As Captain Jane and her task group left the Lormallian star system and entered hyperspace, Avery felt lonelier than ever. Jane had taken all the resupplied ships and those that had been repaired. When Avery looked at the tactical display, he didn’t like what he saw. He still had a small contingent of ships to protect the supply fleet, and the Lormallians did have a large warfleet stationed in the system, but Avery felt vulnerable. This was a feeling he did not like.

Then Avery’s thoughts turned to the ships that had been sent to help Captain Elias and the others, who were being tailed by now the single Morag ship. Were reinforcements coming on the enemy side as well? There were many unknowns, and, not for the first time, Avery was relieved he was in charge of the supply fleet, even though he currently felt it was under-protected.

All he could do for now was to remain on high alert and to continue to repair the ships that came here from the battles. They would be needed again, especially if they planned to keep the Morag busy until the large attack on Morag Prime was set to begin.

-

Captain Tanner on scout ship 112 had finally reached Captain Hadley above Falton Two. They had already begun the exchange of information. Tanner realized that it might be a little tougher to gather information on the planet than he had been expecting.

Hadley had passed on all she had gathered so far, which wasn’t a lot. More like it didn’t answer many of their questions. Tanner knew he had his work cut out for him, and he looked forward to getting started.

Once all the information had been exchanged, Tanner said farewell to Hadley, as her scout ship used its sublight drives to head to the edge of the system.

Now it was time to begin. Tanner had planned to do a detailed scan of the planet first. Then he would listen for a few days, specifically to a few key things. The Imperial Council had wanted him to figure out when the unique telepathic ability showed itself in these Falton Two Humans. Whether it was when they were born or later in life, the Imperial Council had designed a computer program that would analyze all the information they had collected already and would collect in the future. It was programmed to check for specific keywords. Hopefully they’d get some more information this way. For now though, Tanner would be doing a lot of watching and listening.

-

Hadley was ready to start the journey back home. She looked forward to feeling the sun on her face and the fresh cool breeze in her hair. She had a long journey to go though. It would take almost a day at sublight speed to reach the edge of the Falton Two system, where they could more safely jump without potentially being noticed.

The news Tanner had shared with her was surprising. The Humans on Falton Two were telepathic! Well, at least some of them were. This made a little more sense now that the Morag had not attacked these Humans—because they were using the Morag. Wow, Hadley just couldn’t get over it.

Except these Falton Two Humans were using the Morag to attack the Human Empire. It just didn’t make any sense to her. Why would the Humans of Falton Two attack their own race? Hadley had a lot of questions, even more than she had had before, now knowing about the telepathic abilities of some of these Humans on Falton Two.

Hadley would have the next few days to reexamine the data and communications they had recorded, all in light of the new information she now had. Maybe she could make more sense of some of it. She had flagged several things that she thought might be important. That was where she would start.

-

Captain Elias had had a good six hours of sleep and a delicious breakfast of French toast. He chuckled under his breath. French toast was one of his favorites growing up. Having it now reminded him of home. He was far from there and likely would never have the privilege of seeing Earth again.

He sighed heavily, as he knew their next stop was coming quickly. The skeleton crew had been keeping a watchful eye on the hyperdrive and the rest of the systems needed for hyperspace travel. They were all still holding on.

Elias still held out hope that they could make it back to the supply fleet. Of course that one Morag ship still tailed them. That’s something else they kept close tabs on. Not that they were likely to lose the ship but that they were hoping it would remain only the one ship. So far, according to the scans, the ship was still on its own.

They were close enough now that they could start the long-range scans of the star system they intended to drop out in. This one was not in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. In fact, it was in the Lamothian part of the Confederation—on the outskirts, nowhere near the systems where the Lamothian fleet was stationed.

Elias shivered at the thought of being captured. No way would he allow that to happen. He had no desire to be eaten by the Lamothians.

This system was also not close enough for the Lamothian fleets to reach before Elias could make their next jump. With only two Human ships left, including his own, Elias hoped that they wouldn’t be a big-enough temptation for any more enemy ships to waste their time on. At least that’s what he hoped the enemy races thought.

The long-range scans came back showing no ships in the system. Elias confirmed with the crew, and they began to exit hyperspace in the unoccupied and uninhabited star system. After again confirming no ships were in the system, the crew began their maintenance and repair work. Elias would not go down to Engineering this time. He needed to stay in the Command Center in case the Morag attacked.

Unbeknownst to Elias, enemy ships were inbound to his location, but they weren’t Morag.

-

Morag Captain Denning exited hyperspace, soon after the remaining Human ships. Denning had called for reinforcements, but Admiral Voxx had rerouted his extra ships when they realized these few Human ships were damaged and not with the larger fleets. Voxx had told Denning that all the available warships were needed in the Morag star systems. If Denning could get help from one of their allies, since that was the direction the Humans were headed, then that would be the best course of action.

Denning had then contacted the Lamothians and the Druins for help. The Lamothians had quickly declined, saying that they couldn’t commit the resources right now. They also said that they did not want to further anger the Humans at this point. So Denning’s only hope was the Druins.

Based on the trajectory they had been on, it appeared the Humans were planning to avoid the Druin area of the Confederation altogether. Of course Denning hadn’t informed Druin Admiral Falorr about that when he had contacted him for assistance.

Denning smiled when he thought back to the conversation with Falorr. He made Falorr believe that these Human ships were headed in his direction. They would probably meet up with a larger Human fleet to attack one of the Druin planets. Falorr had immediately agreed to send ten warships to join Denning to eliminate these Human ships. It might not be the large Human fleet, but destroying any Human ships was a win. Falorr had been even more agreeable when Denning informed him one of the ships was a battlecarrier.

These Druin warships would hopefully arrive before these Human ships left the system. Denning’s smile widened, as he thought about watching the destruction. For that was precisely what he intended to do, watch from a safe distance.

-

Admiral Marloo and Admiral Derrick Masters reviewed the data pouring in from the Confederation. A lot was going on, between the fleets attacking targets in the Confederation and the preparation for the attack on Morag Prime.

Currently the attacks in the Confederation were on a short hiatus. Of course the Morag did not know that. The two Human fleets were meeting up in the home system of the Barsoons. Once there, they would make repairs and work with the Barsoons’ fleet on some battle tactics and formations. It would allow the crews time to rest. This would also give the newly arrived reinforcements from Earth the chance to meet up with the rest of the fleets.

In the meantime, there was the added dilemma of the two remaining damaged ships surviving the trek back to the supply fleet. The lone Morag ship still followed them. No one knew if enemy reinforcements were headed that way or not. If they were, it would probably only be a small number of Morag ships—for the scout ships stationed all across the Confederation had not reported any significant number of ships missing.

The Human ships were now out of Morag-controlled space but still deep in enemy territory. Some ships from the supply fleet were headed Elias’s way but wouldn’t meet up with them until their next stop. Marloo hoped Captain Elias would make it that far.

Marloo and Masters were also hard at work coordinating with the Visth and all their allies about the attack on Morag Prime. More races were joining their alliance every week. Additionally they wanted to help destroy the Morag. Visth Councilor Karn had reported that they were manufacturing telepathic nullifiers day and night. All races, except the Humans, would be equipped with the nullifiers.

Shipbuilding was still going strong within the Visth alliance. The Humans and their allies needed as many ships as they could get their hands on. Not only to take to the Confederation to attack Morag Prime but also to keep in the Empire. They did not want to leave Golan Four, the Hagen Star Cluster, or the core worlds under-protected.

Marloo knew that Pallas and Earth was sending Rear Admiral Martinez and his entire fleet, in addition to the extra contingent of ships the Solar System had produced, with the specific objective of ending this war. That left Fleet Admiral Reynolds and Rear Admirals Mendoza and Everett still in the Solar System to adequately protect them from an attack. The only possible attack would be from the Druins or Morag, but, with the scout ships monitoring the larger fleets of the enemy, they’d know if trouble was amiss.

The Earth fleet would arrive in the Hagen Star Cluster in about one week. Marloo really wanted to go see the fleet himself, but his duty was here, on Golan Four.

Admiral Cleemorl had already returned to the Hagen Star Cluster to help prepare for the arrival of their guests. Marloo knew that Cleemorl really wanted to be the one to go to the Confederation to destroy the Morag’s home planet, but Derrick had decided it was his duty to go. Marloo wasn’t sure that Derrick had told Layla yet, but Marloo could imagine how that conversation would go—not well, even more so now that she was pregnant with their first child.

Then there was the issue of Falton Two. So many questions there. Marloo had discussed in length with Derrick about what they should do. They had agreed that, after the Morag had been dealt with, the Human fleet might have to make a pit stop over at Falton Two and figure out the situation for themselves.

First things first though, they had to destroy the Morag. That would be no easy task and would come at a high price. Marloo glanced over at Derrick. He sincerely hoped it wouldn’t cost Derrick his life.

-

Princess Krista was in her quarters on board the royal dreadnought Starburst, looking at a picture of her parents. She missed them so much. She couldn’t help but wonder what her life would have been like if her parents hadn’t been banished—or worse—with High Prince Aiden, Layla’s brother. Krista was sure her parents would have approved of Mathew. He was a great guy, and Krista looked forward to their future together. She just wished her parents had been able to meet him.

Krista and Mathew had left Golan Four over two weeks ago to head to the Solar System. She had big news to share with the leaders there of Falton Two. Plus this allowed her and Layla to be in two different places, if the worst happened. Krista shuddered at that thought. Layla had assured her that nothing bad would happen.

Krista was mostly concerned about Derrick leading the Empire fleet to attack Morag Prime. If something happened to him, Layla would be devastated. Krista wished that Derrick would sit this one out but also knew that it was not in his character to let others shield him from the dangers of his position. He was the Vice Fleet Admiral, and, as such, it was his duty to lead this attack.

It wouldn’t be much longer before the fleet from the Solar System arrived in the Empire and then met up with Derrick and the Imperial fleet accompanying him to the Confederation. When the attack on Morag Prime occurred, Krista intended to be in the Command Center on Pallas. That way, she would know what was going on. Hopefully everything went as planned.

This journey to the Solar System was a long one. Krista was ready to be off this ship. Not that the ship wasn’t comfortable; it was pretty well-appointed. Krista was looking forward to seeing Pallas again. It had been her home away from home when they had escaped the Druins and the Confederation when they had attacked and defeated the Human Empire so many years ago. It had been her and Layla’s safe haven. In many ways, it seemed like such a long time ago, and, yet in others, it seemed just like yesterday.

A knock at her door woke her from her reverie. She carefully put the photo back in the drawer and went to the door. Krista smiled to see Brenda on the other side. “I thought you might be getting hungry,” Brenda said, as she came through the door.

“I am. I thought I would wait for Mathew though,” Krista replied.

“Mathew was just headed here to get you for dinner, when I interceded to come after you myself. He was talking to a few of the crew members he’s befriended. He said he’d meet you in the cafeteria,” Brenda added, with a smile.

“I’m glad he can make friends so easily,” Krista said, as she walked out of her quarters into the hallway.

Brenda joined her, and they walked side by side to the cafeteria.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr had taken nine ships with him to eliminate the two Human ships the Morag were following. He didn’t want them anywhere near his star systems. Since things were quiet currently in the Druin systems, Falorr decided to take on the task himself. He had no intention of engaging the ships himself. He’d let his task group handle that. No need to put himself into any unnecessary danger.

They would rendezvous with Morag Captain Denning in not quite half an hour. Falorr smiled, as he thought about destroying the Human battlecarrier.

The Human fleets in the Confederation had to be attacking the Morag star systems, but Morag Councilor Damora had not informed the Druins of the attacks. Falorr made this assumption, since the Morag were chasing Human ships out of their systems.

Falorr couldn’t help but wonder how much the Humans had weakened the Morag. His eyebrows rose as he also thought about the fact that the Humans must be losing ships as well. Maybe it was time to launch another attack on the Humans? If they were so focused on destroying the Morag, perhaps that would present the Druins with an opportunity to attack the Humans and to catch them off guard.

Then his mind wandered to the Human scout ships. They presented a problem. No doubt the scout ships would follow them and would report their intentions to the Human Empire. Maybe if ships slowly started disappearing now and meeting somewhere else, the Human scout ships would not be concerned with monitoring them. It would have to be just a few ships at a time, so that the scout ships wouldn’t decide to follow them. He must discuss his thoughts with Druin Councilor Clun. First, he had a few Human ships to destroy.

-

Captain Elias anxiously waited for the hyperdrives to finish charging. He had a report from Engineering that said they were almost ready. Elias couldn’t help but feel on edge. A few more minutes, then he could relax again. “How much longer?” he asked his systems officer.

“We estimate another six minutes, Captain. The other ship is ready to enter hyperspace at your command,” the systems officer replied.

All of a sudden, alarms sounded. Elias’s heart sank. They weren’t ready. His gaze shifted to the tactical display, as the red threat icons appeared and remained red. A small part of him had hoped that, perhaps, the icons would turn green but to no avail.

“Captain, we have ten Druin warships that have just exited hyperspace,” called out the sensor officer, with more than a hint of fear in her voice.

“How soon will they reach engagement range?” asked Elias.

“Seven minutes, Captain.”

“Inform Engineering that, if we are not out of here in six minutes, we will die,” said Elias.

Silence filled the Command Center, as they all waited for the response from Engineering. They all knew they could be living the last few minutes of their lives. Minds were on the impending danger here and thoughts of their families back home.

The systems officer said, “They said to wait as long as we possibly can before we enter hyperspace. The hyperdrive needs every second it can get to finish charging, if we want to make it to our next stop.”

“Tell him they have four minutes. Also inform the other ship we will jump in four minutes.”

Silence continued to fill the Command Center. All gazes were glued to the viewscreen in front of them. On one of the screens, it showed the countdown to engagement range. It seemed as if time had slowed. Elias felt like he was living in slow motion, as memories of his life crossed his mind. He thought of his wife and kids back home. What would they do without him? Tick, tick, tick went the timer. Were these their final seconds of life? Elias felt his heartbeat quicken, as the time slowly ticked away.

“Four minutes is up! Let’s enter hyperspace,” commanded Elias.

The navigation officer put in the commands, but nothing happened. Elias’s eyes widened in fear. The hyperdrive wasn’t engaging.

“Ninety seconds to engagement range,” said the sensor officer.

“Contact Engineering and see what the problem is!” commanded Elias. “Tell the other ship to get out of here!”

Elias watched the viewscreen as the other Human ship exited hyperspace. As it did, they received a message from the ship. It said, “Thank you for your service to the Human race and to the fight for freedom. It was a pleasure to call you my friend. Good luck and Godspeed.”

“Thirty seconds, Captain.”

Tick, tick, tick. Elias stood to face his imminent death head-on. He looked around the room at what was left of his crew. Thank goodness they had only brought a skeleton crew. At least the other part of his crew would survive. His heart ached for his family and for the future that was now lost for him. Perhaps they had helped secure a brighter future for his family after all.

“Prepare to fire all weapons. We will not go down quietly,” commanded Elias.

As the clock wound down to zero, weapons fire erupted between the lone Human ship and the Druins ships. For Elias, it seemed that time slowed even more. Then suddenly he was knocked to the ground hard, as a missile struck the ship. Sparks rained down, and smoke began to fill the room.

Elias felt for his picture in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the faces of his family.

Elias heard a loud rumble growing louder and louder.

Then time stopped. At least for the Humans who had bravely served on what once was the battlecarrier Pegasus.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr was elated that they had successfully destroyed the Human battlecarrier. Unfortunately the other Human ship had left the system right before they reached engagement range.

Falorr had contacted Morag Captain Denning to follow it. The Druin ships would eliminate the battlecarrier and then follow behind. They would hunt down the other Human ship and destroy it too.

Now that the battlecarrier was only a bunch of glowing wreckage, the Druin ships would follow Denning and hunt down the other ship. Falorr smiled, satisfied at the destruction he had witnessed. One less Human battlecarrier to worry about.

Falorr was not happy he had lost a battleship in the process of destroying the Human carrier, but he felt like the prize was worth the cost. Now time to hunt down the other ship.

The Druins entered hyperspace in the same direction as the Morag ship and the Human ship.

Chapter Nineteen

News of the death of Captain Elias and his crew had reached Admiral Marloo back on Golan Four. The surviving ship had notified Marloo when he had lost contact with Elias, after leaving the system. The captain of the surviving ship had reported to Marloo that the battlecarrier’s hyperdrive had failed to engage. Elias had ordered him to get out of there. The captain still felt extreme sadness and guilt for leaving Elias behind. Marloo had reassured him it was the right thing to do. No way a damaged battlecruiser could have taken on ten Druin warships and survived.

Now they still had the same issue. The remaining damaged battlecruiser was still being tailed by the Morag ship and presumably the Druin ships. It was unknown if any Druin ships had been destroyed in the attack on Captain Elias.

The task group from the supply fleet was still inbound to the next system where they would rendezvous with the remaining Human battlecruiser being followed by the enemy. Marloo was confident in the task group’s ability to eliminate the threat of the Morag ship and the additional Druin ships. The task group was due to arrive about an hour before the enemy showed up. They still had another nineteen hours to wait until the skirmish would begin.

Marloo stood and examined the holographic display. Admiral Collison would soon be arriving in the Barsoons’ home system. This would be the first Human contact with the Barsoons. Unless of course, the Humans of Falton Two had made contact. This thought troubled Marloo deeply. Surely the Barsoons wouldn’t have agreed to attack the Morag if the Humans of Falton Two were controlling them. Marloo let out a deep sigh. How could these telepathic Humans work against their own kind? That was hopefully an issue they’d get to the bottom of, after they eliminated the threat of the Morag.

As for the Druins, Marloo hoped they would surrender, once they realized the Morag had been defeated.

-

The remaining Great Council of the Confederation met on Druin Seven. Morag Councilor Damora simmered in a barely controlled rage. These other councilors had no idea the Morag systems were under attack. He had no intention of telling them. Except now the Druins knew of them.

Druin Councilor Clun asked, “I assume, since one of your warships contacted our fleet for help in destroying some retreating Human ships, that your star systems are currently under attack by the Humans. Am I correct in this assumption?”

Damora growled under his breath. “Yes, you are correct. We are handling it though. No need to worry.”

“How many ships do the Humans have in your system?” asked Clun.

“Why?” asked Damora, with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Admiral Falorr had an idea that we should attack the Humans at their home, while they have ships occupied in the Confederation, maybe catch them off guard,” said Clun.

“They will know. Their scout ships will realize something is amiss,” replied Damora. “Plus, right now, not enough Human ships are in our systems to leave the Human Empire vulnerable.”

Clun cocked his head. “We plan to start moving a few ships slowly out of our systems. A small number each time. Perhaps one or two. We’ll decide upon a rendezvous location and then slowly, over the next couple weeks, accumulate a large fleet that can then attack a target in the Human Empire.” Clun then added, “Or the Solar System.”

Damora slowly sat forward in his chair. “You want to attack the Solar System?”

“Yes, it wouldn’t be expected. It would catch them off guard.”

“The Humans in the Solar System have had the opportunity to reinforce their system unencumbered for months. Not to mention build up fleets. It would take a fleet much larger than the Druins have to seriously threaten the Earth Humans. It would be foolish at this point to attack the Earth Humans alone,” Damora said. “And we do not have any extra ships to commit to the endeavor either.” Damora didn’t want Clun getting any ideas. “Your target will need to be the Human Empire. It’s closer, and they have fewer ships,” replied Damora.

“We know it wouldn’t make sense to attack the Earth Humans. We don’t have the numbers right now. The most vulnerable targets lay in the Human Empire,” responded Clun.

“I hope your plan succeeds. We will rid the Confederation of its current threat of the Humans. Maybe they will send more reinforcements and, therefore, leave themselves unprotected,” said Damora. He inwardly hoped the Humans would take a turn at destroying Druin targets and leave the Morag alone. Maybe the Human scout ships would realize what was going on and would then use the missing Druin ships’ absence as a prime time for the Humans to attack more Druin targets. Either way this worked out, Damora didn’t see how it could harm the Morag.

“The Humans are turning out to be harder to defeat than any of us thought,” the Lamothian Councilor interjected.

Damora turned his attention to the Lamothian Councilor. “How are things going with your new colony?”

“Things are progressing well. Our colony is nearing completion. Progress is being made on the space station above the moon that orbited Lamodent. Once the space station is complete, we will begin terraforming the moon. When that project is completed, we will move all the Lamothians to the moon,” the Lamothian Councilor responded. “We have also begun some new mining operations to help with the procurement of supplies for our projects. These mining endeavors are turning out to be more fruitful than we thought.”

“Good. I am glad to see the Lamothians beginning to thrive again. There may come a time when we all need to come together again to attack the Humans. First, we need to teach them to stay out of our areas of the Confederation. It stretches our forces too thin to fight a war on multiple fronts,” Damora said.

The meeting continued for a couple more hours, as they discussed various topics of defense and trade.

When the meeting had adjourned, Damora stood and headed back to his ship. He needed to get back to the Morag area of the Confederation. They must rid their area of the infestation of inferior beings who had run rampant all over the Morag star systems. The sooner, the better.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx neared the star system where Morag Prime was located. He was filled with anticipation to see what weapon Councilor Addonis had brought back from Falton Two. It had to be a game changer. Voxx thought it was high time they used it. Otherwise these Humans were going to continue attacking and destroying Morag targets. They needed to be taught a lesson and quickly.

The Human fleets were dwindling, but so were the Morag ones. The Humans lost not quite half as many ships in each attack as the Morag. The Morag did have a large number of shipyards and military bases to continuously build more warships. So even though they were losing warships in each battle, Voxx was confident that the Morag had a larger capacity to build warships than the Humans. Did this outpace the fact that they lost double the ships the Humans did? Voxx was not sure.

At this rate, the war could go on forever. The Morag needed to intimidate the Humans and get them out of the Confederation once and for all. What they needed to do was destroy Golan Four. To do that, they would need a considerable fleet or superior weapons. Both would be ideal.

Voxx knew the scientists were developing the accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons. It wouldn’t be much longer before they had them ready to install on the ships. That process would take a while, but then they’d take on the Humans on a more even playing field. And they could go after Golan Four. Voxx would love to see that planet a desolate wasteland. Soon, very soon, they’d do it. Maybe this weapon Addonis had would be instrumental in defeating these Humans once and for all.

Voxx would arrive at Morag Prime in the next hour. Then he’d meet up with the Morag High Council, and hopefully Addonis would reveal the weapon he had procured from Falton Two. Voxx could hardly contain his anticipation.

-

The High Queen of the Barsoons was anxious about the impending arrival of the Human fleets. A Human scout ship had been stationed in her system to keep her up-to-date about the news of the attack on Morag Prime. It had been helpful in assisting them in procuring telepathic nullifiers for her entire army.

The High Queen had had enough time to wake her sleeping army and to prepare them for the battle to come. Her warships were still hidden in their underground hives. The crews had taken them out in small groups to practice flying. The High Queen only allowed them to practice for short periods. She was fearful they would be discovered by roaming Morag fleets before they were ready. The High Queen did not want anything to mess up their chances of crushing the Morag. When the time came, she was confident her army would be ready.

Her new guests were due to arrive in the next hour. Well, the first fleet, led by an Admiral Collison. The second fleet, led by Rear Admirals Barnes and Carrie, would arrive a few hours later. The High Queen was worried about meeting the Humans. She had never seen one face-to-face before. Her only experience with them had been the broadcasts the Humans had sent about the Morag’s secret abilities, the wedding of the Human High Princess, and the Princess’s various warnings to the Lamothians, who did not listen to her and had paid a significant cost for those choices.

It was apparent that the Humans grew more and more powerful. Hopefully powerful enough to destroy the Morag. The High Queen also hoped the Humans would not rule the galaxy the same way the Morag had. Her fear was trading one tyrant race for another. How would the Humans handle power? She hoped it would be different than the Morag had.

-

Admiral Collison took a deep breath and watched the viewscreens at the front of the Command Center, as his fleet exited hyperspace in the home system of the Barsoons. He knew the Barsoons expected them, thanks to the scout ship stationed in the system.

Collison would meet with the High Queen of the Barsoons in a few short hours. Once his fleet had taken up a position near the planet where the High Queen resided, he would take a transport vessel to the surface. There he would meet with the High Queen and her military advisors. He would also be given a tour of their deep underground military base, where their warships were produced and housed. Collison looked forward to seeing how advanced the Barsoons’ weapons technologies were. He had been warned that it might be pretty primitive, especially when compared to what the Humans had.

Collison was anxious about the meeting. He had not had much experience in dealing with leaders of other races. Especially ones who didn’t resemble Humans at all but rather an insect. One that he wasn’t particularly fond of himself. He had considered pushing off the meeting until Barnes and Carrie arrived, but that would waste valuable time. He was the highest-ranking Human officer currently in the Confederation, and, as such, he would do his duty and would meet with this alien race. He was tempted to take Rear Admiral Drake along to teach him a thing or two about diplomacy but decided to keep him with the fleet, out of an abundance of caution. It was unlikely a Morag ship would come here but not impossible.

The time passed quickly, and, before he realized it, Collison was headed to the planet. The planet itself had obviously been bombarded in the recent past by what he assumed had been the Morag.

His transport landed at the coordinates they had been given. The area looked like a desolate wasteland. He didn’t see anything resembling life in the area. “Are we sure we have the correct coordinates?” he asked his pilot.

“Yes, sir, these are the coordinates the Barsoons gave us,” replied the pilot.

All of a sudden, the ground gave way, and the piece of land they had landed on began to descend into the planet itself. It seemed they were on some sort of large elevator. It took them and their ship deep into the planet. As they neared what appeared to be the bottom, a large cavern opened up. Through the cockpit of the transport vessel, Collison gazed out at the massive base that unfolded before them.

Collison had never seen anything like it. Of course they had underground bases and bunkers back in the Solar System, but this was something else entirely. Many tunnels led off the central area, where they now were. Tunnels at various heights were all around. It looked like the inside of a beehive. He grinned. That’s because it was the inside of a beehive, more or less.

This was a species that descended from bees. It would make sense that their home—or military base, in this instance—resembled a beehive. He chuckled to himself. The cavern was buzzing with activity, literally. Collison shook his head. He would have to make sure and not let any of these off-handed jokes come out of his mouth when he spoke to the Barsoons. They might not think it was as funny as he did.

Collison glanced at his translator device that hung from his neck. He had been assured that it would work and that he could communicate clearly with the Barsoons.,

As Collison made his way to the rear of the transport vessel, the gate lowered, revealing a group of advanced bee-type creatures, currently standing on two legs. The other four legs hung at their sides like Human arms do. Their wings stood out behind their body. Collison was mesmerized. He walked forward down the ramp to meet the Barsoons.

One of the Barsoons stepped slightly forward. Collison was unsure how he was to greet this High Queen. Should he bow? Should he extend his hand for a shake? One thing at a time, he thought to himself. He smiled as he reached the assembled group. The Barsoon, who had stepped forward, smiled in return and bowed slightly to him. Collison, in return, did the same.

“Hello and welcome to our main military hive. As you can see, we are deep underground the surface, protected from discovery by the enemy. I am High Queen Amaneia. It is an honor to meet you, Admiral Collison. The enemy of my enemy is always welcome here,” buzzed High Queen Amaneia of the Barsoons.

To Collison, the language did, indeed, sound like varying tones of a buzz. However the translator picked up the nuances, and the translation made perfect sense to him. “Thank you for allowing us to take refuge here in your system. As you may know, our fleets have been attacking various Morag targets for the last few weeks. We are slowly weakening them to help ensure our victory when we launch our main attack on Morag Prime. We have another fleet that will be joining us in the next twelve hours or so.

“I am very impressed by what I have seen thus far of your hive. I am intensely looking forward to seeing the rest of it. What a magnificent structure you have created here. I am in awe,” Collison responded, as he gestured with his arms around the enormous cavern. He hoped he wasn’t doing anything that would offend the Barsoons. With new races met for the first time, there were bound to be some misunderstandings. He hoped they would be few and not detrimental to their alliance.

“Yes, we look forward to showing you around our hive. We have many warships for you to see. Perhaps you will have a few suggestions on how we can improve them in the time we have left, before we join in the attack on Morag Prime,” buzzed Amaneia. “We look forward to hearing your advice on our ships as well as on tactics we might use against the Morag. We must remain vigilant not to be discovered by the enemy until the right time.”

“I believe we can only stay here three to four days, before the Morag begin searching for us here. They will wait to see if we appear in one of their inhabited systems. Then they’ll double-check all their uninhabited systems. Lastly they’ll move on to the systems they rule over in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. We do have scout ships stationed in systems around here that would hopefully warn us that Morag ships were looking for us in this area. Then we could leave before they have the opportunity to find us here.

“We have more ships headed to meet us here from Earth too. They will arrive in two days. In the meantime, we will begin to work on a few ship formations. One thing we plan to do is demonstrate these formations to your fleet, so that they may  replicate it on their own, after we have moved on,” said Collison, as he followed the Barsoon entourage across the cavern.

They soon reached a door made from something Collison did not recognize. His head moved back and forth as he took in the sights all around him. This was amazing. Collison was witness to how another race lived and worked. Each worker appeared to have a job to do, and they were focused entirely on that job. Most did not look up at him. The only acknowledgment he received was when the workers would stop their work and bow to Amaneia, as she passed by them.

Collison followed Amaneia through a long corridor and into another vast cavern. Here hundreds of warships were docked. Collison looked around for a way that the ships might exit the cavern and enter the space above the planet. He saw none.

“I am sure you are wondering how the ships exit the cavern, Admiral. We have a large door that opens just there.” Amaneia pointed to a spot on the far side of the cavern, near the ceiling. “Another disguised door opens on the surface too. This is to help hide our hive from the Morag. We are deep enough that they cannot detect us here.

“They have threatened to install a military base of their own on the surface of our planet but, so far, have not followed through with their threat. We hope now that the Morag will never have that chance.”

Collison tried to take in everything he saw, as they walked closer to a ship. He had brought a couple of his crew members to help him in his observations. Collison was well aware that Golan Four and Earth would want a detailed report on this visit. “Are your warships equipped with energy shields to help protect them?” Collison asked.

“Yes. However, they are not as strong as the ones the Morag possess. We have a tactical engineer here who will answer all your questions regarding the weapons and defense capabilities of our ships,” Amaneia replied.

“It might be beneficial for me to send down a team of our engineers, who might enhance what you already have,” Collison said, as he followed Amaneia on board one of the ships. “I am sure there is much we can learn from each other.”

“Would you like to take a short ride to see our weapons capabilities, Admiral?” Amaneia asked, with a smile.

“Yes, I would.” Collison sat down where Amaneia indicated and strapped himself in. So far the ship looked very similar to the support ships that the Resistance fleets had. He watched as the flight crew began their preflight checklist. Once satisfied, the ship slowly moved up from the ground and toward the hidden door that Amaneia had pointed out earlier. Collison’s heart beat rapidly. He was certain he might be the first Human to fly on an alien spacecraft, at least the first Earth Human. He was a little nervous, to put it mildly.

Once through the first door, they ascended a long narrow tunnel, where another door opened. Then they were flying above the surface of the planet. Amaneia pointed out various things on the surface, and the ship flew to parts of the planet that still held life. Amaneia was proud of what she showed him. He could tell by the tone of her voice. Tears had even come to her eyes, as she described how beautiful her planet had been before the Morag had bombarded the surface.

“We will do our best to ensure that does not happen again,” Collison said passionately. He was so thankful the Confederation fleets had been stopped before they had had a chance to do this type of damage to Earth. He knew he was endangering the Barsoons by having his fleet here. He hoped the Morag would not discover them before the main attack on Morag Prime.

The ship then moved up through the planet’s atmosphere and into space. “We will go out toward the asteroid field, so we can target one with our weapons systems. That will show you what our weapons can do,” Amaneia said, as the ship headed out, away from the planet.

“I will have a few of our ships come and watch, so our engineers will have an idea of what your weapons are capable of and then how we might strengthen them,” Collison said, as he had one of his lieutenants contact the proper officers to get the command in motion.

Collison watched the displays at the front of the ship. One showed the other ships in the system. They all showed green. He smiled. It was good to have allies. He just hoped these allies possessed strong weapons.

As the ship approached a small asteroid belt, Collison knew he was about to find out how strong these weapons were. He held out hope they would be strong enough to make a difference in this war. Or, if not, that the Humans could help the Barsoons improve them.

Amaneia stood and moved to the front of the vessel, indicating Collison should follow her. From the new vantage point, he watched the crew target the asteroid. Then a beam fired a red burst of focused energy at the asteroid, blowing it apart.

Amaneia turned to Collison and said, “The last time the Morag attacked us, our weapons were useless against them. We have spent considerable time and research working to make our weapons stronger. We want to help destroy the Morag, not just be cannon fodder. We hope that, with your help, we can make our weapons even stronger.”

Collison smiled and said, “I will send a group of our engineers down to your military hive immediately. Hopefully they can help make your energy screen stronger and your weapons a little stronger as well. I am very impressed with what I have seen here today. I didn’t know what to expect, but you have exceeded those expectations.”

Once the group returned to the hive, Collison arranged for their best weapons and systems engineers to come to the hive to work toward making the Barsoons’ ships stronger and more deadly. It looked like this pit stop would be a great one, indeed.

Amaneia took Collison farther into the hive, showing him where the various workers lived and worked. He was even allowed to see where more of her army slept, waiting to be hatched, if needed. Amaneia showed him where they build their warships, which were still in full production, making more ships.

“Our shipbuilding members work long shifts, so that ships are being built at all hours of the day and night. Other members are responsible for keeping us all fed. Still others are responsible for training the crews to fly and to command our warships. Everyone has a role to play in our hive,” Amaneia told Collison.

“Wow. This is a very impressive structure. I am honored to have had the opportunity to see it myself. I am afraid, when my rear admirals arrive, I will not be able to describe to them the amazing sights you have shown me today.”

Amaneia smiled and said, “I would be happy to give them a tour as well, whenever they arrive, as long as time allows. I understand we are on a tight schedule.”

“Yes. I am confident that our engineers will have some suggestions for you before we must leave your system,” said Collison, as he walked beside Amaneia.

“We have a large fleet ready to aid the Humans in this most unprecedented attack on our enemies,” Amaneia said, as they stepped back into the original cavern, where Collison’s transport vessel awaited.

“How many ships will you send to join us in our attack on Morag Prime?” asked Collison.

The High Queen smiled and said, “We will keep a portion of our fleet here in case of any retaliation for our involvement in the attack. We plan to send with the Humans two thousand of our warships. I realize our warships are a good deal smaller than yours, but I hope they will add to our overall chances of defeating the Morag.”

Collison looked surprised and said, “I did not see that many ships here today. Am I correct in assuming this is not your only hive?”

Amaneia responded by saying, “That is a safe assumption. We have hundreds of hives all across our planets. We are sending with you half of our ships.”

Collison nodded. “I believe the Barsoons will play a significant role in our victory over the Morag. I also speak for the leaders of our race when I say that I hope for a future where we can trade and help each other in other ways as well.”

“Yes, we would like that as well,” replied Amaneia.

When the tour ended, Collison thanked the High Queen for her hospitality. The engineers had already arrived and were working with the Barsoons to improve their technology on their ships.

As Collison headed back to his flagship, he couldn’t help but smile. It felt good to have allies. Especially allies who were so close to the enemy targets. Also allies who were armed and capable of helping to defeat the Morag.

Collison had learned a lot today about the Barsoons. He hoped that they would remain allies with them in the future, and he hoped the Humans could protect the Barsoons from the wrath of the Morag.

Chapter Twenty

Rear Admiral Barnes was deeply saddened that Captain Elias and the skeleton crew on board the battlecarrier Pegasus had been killed by the Druins. Anger filled her, but she knew eventually she would have revenge on the Druins. Hopefully the ships headed from the supply fleet would decimate the Druin ships that had killed Elias and his crew. Revenge would come swifter than the Druins realized.

According to Barnes’s calculations, her task group neared the star systems of the Barsoons. Admiral Collison should have already arrived and met with the High Queen of the Barsoons. Barnes’s eyebrow rose, as she thought about that meeting. She was relieved Collison had arrived first and not her and Carrie. Barnes didn’t have any experience interacting with alien races. Especially ones resembling bees.

Barnes had every intention of keeping herself in space and not on the surface of the planet. That way she could stay away from the Barsoons. Not that she wasn’t curious, but bees made her uncomfortable. Picturing large bees the size of Humans sent shivers down her spine.

For all she knew, they were friendly and not hostile toward Humans at all. Well, she would find out all she could from Collison, and then perhaps she would face her fear of bees and meet the Barsoons herself. Surely her fears were unfounded.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie sat in her command chair in the midst of the busy Command Center. Time to exit hyperspace in the home system of the Barsoons. The long-range scans showed Collison’s fleet already stationed near the planet, where they had been instructed to rendezvous.

As the fleet exited hyperspace, Carrie’s heartbeat quickened. She was excited to talk to Collison and to get an update on how his fleet had done and how the meeting with the High Queen of the Barsoons had gone.

The fleet quickly made its way to Collison’s fleet location. Carrie let out a deep sigh of relief at having the larger fleet back together again. They needed more ships. No more attacking targets separately. From now until the attack on Morag Prime, they would stick together. She knew more reinforcements were coming from the supply train. Thankfully Fleet Admiral Reynolds in the Solar System had thought to send a few more ships to supplement what they had. This group of ships should arrive within the next day.

Until the reinforcements arrived, her fleet had lots of repairs to undertake. Plus this time would give them the chance to do some maintenance work that they had been putting off.

Carrie positioned her flagship Exeter near Collison’s. She knew he would call for a meeting soon, and she wanted to be close by when he did.

-

Admiral Collison was pleased when Barnes’s and Carrie’s fleets began exiting hyperspace. Now they needed to make their plans for what came next. He would give them a few minutes to get settled, and then he would summon them over for a meeting.

In the meantime, he requested some snacks be set up in the conference room. Collison would use any excuse for some good snacks.

By the time Barnes, Carrie, and Drake arrived, everything was set up and ready in the conference room. Collison greeted the three rear admirals with a smile. “I’m so glad to see the two of you alive and well,” he said, as he smiled at Barnes and Carrie.

Barnes smiled and said, “I cannot wait to hear how your meeting with the High Queen of the Barsoons went.”

Carrie nodded in agreement. “What was she like?”

Collison smiled. “You both will have the opportunity to see for yourselves. I have another meeting set up for all of us with High Queen Amaneia in the morning.” Collison had to laugh at the look on their faces. It was a mixture of dread and excitement. “I hope that I can put your minds at ease that you have nothing to fear. We currently have a team of engineers down in the hive, helping the Barsoons figure out a way to strengthen their energy shields and their weapons.”

“They are in the hive?” Carrie asked, mortified.

Collison laughed so hard that he had to put down his drink. “Yes. That is where we will go in the morning. Queen Amaneia will take the three of you on a tour of the hive, while I check in with our engineers on their progress.”

“You are going to leave us alone with her?” Barnes asked slowly.

Collison smiled again. He was probably having a little too much fun with this at the rear admirals’ expense. “Yes, of course. Amaneia is a very kind and welcoming queen. The three of you will get along great with her.”

“How will we know what she’s saying? Do we have a translator?” asked Barnes.

“We do have a few more translator devices that you can wear around your neck. They worked well for me on my first visit. The Barsoons’ language sounds a lot like different tones of buzzing. The translator picked up on the various nuances, and I completely understood what the Barsoons were saying. It was remarkable. The hive was astonishing as well. It’s massive. I can’t wait for the three of you to see it.”

Collison could tell that Barnes and Carrie were still a little anxious about the visit. Drake seemed fine with it. “I promise that you will be completely safe. The most dangerous thing we have to worry about right now is the Morag discovering our location and attacking.”

“Do we have scout ships in the area to help keep watch for roaming Morag scout ships?” asked Carrie.

“Yes, we do. The only thing I am worried about is one of those enemy scout ships being near enough to the system to run long-range scans on the system. If they noticed our fleet here, they would attack. Then the Barsoons would face the brunt of the Morag anger for harboring us,” replied Collison.

“You said the Barsoons have warships that we are trying to strengthen. Is there any way our ships could fit in their hangars and could remain hidden from the Morag—in case they do scan the system?” asked Barnes.

“Their ships are much smaller. They are more along the size of the Resistance fleets’ support ships. Larger than an attack interceptor but much smaller than a battlecruiser. Our ships are too big to make it through the hidden doors and the shaft down to the Barsoons’ ship bays. That is a good idea though. We might ask Queen Amaneia about it tomorrow. Perhaps one of the other planets has a space that could house our fleets,” said Collison.

“The hives are located underground and are, therefore, undetectable to the Morag. This planet was recently bombarded by the Morag, for rising up after the news that the Morag were telepathic. The Morag used this planet as an example of what would happen if the other races continued to revolt against the Morag and the Confederation. The other Barsoon planets have hives still on the surface, as well as hidden ones underground. I do believe that this alliance will be mutually beneficial,” Collison continued.

“It sounds like we will learn a lot tomorrow,” Barnes said, with a slight hint of a smile growing on her face.

“You will. I hope that our engineers work quickly to help the Barsoons. We cannot stay here long, without the risk growing too high of the Morag discovering us,” Collison said, with a sigh. “Unless the Barsoons have a place where we can hide from the Morag.”

“We can’t stay too long either way because we need to resume attacks on the Morag. The more we can eliminate from the enemy fleet and the more shipyards and military bases we can destroy, the better chance we have of winning this war,” Barnes remarked.

“Is there something we can do to help protect the Barsoons from the Morag?” asked Carrie.

“The Barsoons are amassing a large fleet. They plan to send half of it to help us destroy Morag Prime. The other half will stay here to defend their star systems,” replied Collison.

“What about a defensive grid? Can we teach them how to build some of the elements that make up a defensive grid? Then they’d be better able to protect their planets from the Morag,” said Carrie.

“That is a great idea. Why don’t you set up a task group of engineers who will help teach the Barsoons how to do that? They need to know what materials they will need and how to build them. With any luck, they will have a little time to at least get up a few defensive grid elements, especially around their planets where the Barsoons still inhabit the surface.” Collison smiled. This was a great idea and a way to help protect their new allies. Not to mention help foster goodwill between the two races.

“It sounds like we have a lot to do in very little time,” said Barnes.

“Yes, we do. We also need to evaluate our next few possible targets. We can’t let the Morag get comfortable and allow them time to prepare a counterattack on the Empire or the Solar System,” Collison said warily.

“I will analyze the various targets, Admiral, and get a list ready that we can go over, once the reinforcements arrive. Then we can decide how many targets we want to destroy on this next attack run,” Barnes said, as she piled more snacks on her plate.

Collison stood and walked over to the table, where the snacks were laid out. Enough food was here to feed a whole basketball team. He smiled as he thought about basketball. His son was no doubt playing the sport now. Collison loved watching his kids play sports. Hopefully he would get a chance to catch a game before this season ended.

Collison filled his plate again with his favorite snacks. This meeting wasn’t over yet. Might as well take advantage of this feast laid out for them.

Carrie asked, “Do you think Captain Jane, with her reinforcements, will have an idea how many ships the Solar System is sending for the mission of destroying Morag Prime? The Morag have thousands of ships stationed in that system. Even with us having the superior firepower, it will still take a considerable amount of ships to accomplish the goal,” Carrie said, a worried look on her face.

“Last I heard, it would be Rear Admiral Martinez and his entire fleet. Plus the extra ships they had the chance to stockpile. Not a small number but I am sure Captain Jane will have more information for us when she arrives,” Collison said confidently.

“Will we rendezvous with the main fleet? Or will we continue to attack targets here in the Morag star systems? That would keep the Morag busy all the way up until our surprise that we have for them,” Carrie commented.

Collison was quiet for a few moments, as he thought about what Carrie said. “I think it would be wise for us to continue to attack Morag targets all the way up until the main attack on Morag Prime. It will keep them occupied and less likely to launch any attacks on the Empire.

“We will not take breaks in uninhabited Morag systems, however. If we need minor repairs done, we will have to come back here. We must be extremely careful that we are not followed. We cannot risk exposing the Barsoons.”

“I will make that list of targets then. I assume we will be sticking together for the rest of our missions?” asked Barnes.

“Yes. We need the numbers. We can attack a couple targets, then come back here to reevaluate the next targets, before heading out again. We can consider this system our home base for the foreseeable future. I will discuss this with High Queen Amaneia tomorrow to make sure that is okay with her. It will be putting her race and planets at a higher risk,” Collison said, as he considered the possibilities.

“The Morag have adapted their strategy,” Barnes said. “In the last system we attacked, the fleet microjumped to keep from being destroyed. It took a lot more time to hunt them down. We think they were stalling for time until their reinforcements arrived. We finally attacked a planet to get them to engage us. Their reinforcements did arrive, but we were able to destroy them all,” said Barnes.

Collison considered her remarks and then said, “We should assume they will continue this new strategy. It gives them time to get reinforcements and keeps us busy from destroying all our targets. In the next couple days, we need to strategize how we can best counteract this strategy. The two of you did well. Attacking the planet might be what we have to do each time. It takes a lot more time, but, if that’s how we can get the enemy fleet to engage us, then that might be what we have to do. Let’s give this some more thought, before we leave this system.”

Collison discussed a few more topics with Barnes and Carrie, before the meeting ended. More food and drinks were enjoyed; then Barnes and Carrie headed back to their flagships.

-

The next morning came quickly for Rear Admiral Carrie. She was still a little apprehensive about the upcoming meeting with the Barsoons’ High Queen Amaneia. Thankfully Carrie would not be alone though.

The transport vessel arrived to pick up Carrie and to take her to the surface. When Carrie got on board, Collison, Barnes, and Drake were already there. Carrie had arranged for a group of engineers to come with them. These engineers knew how to build defensive grid elements and would be tasked with teaching the Barsoons how to do it themselves.

Carrie didn’t think they would have much time to get many elements put into place before the attack on Morag Prime. She hoped for the best though. Maybe the Barsoons would have enough time to protect a few of their worlds before the Morag could recover and mount an attack on them. As far as she knew, the Barsoons were the closest race to the enemy. Their star systems lay inside the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation.

As the transport vessel made its way to the planet below, Carrie tried to remain calm. Her heart beat quickly. She gazed over at Barnes. She looked a little nervous too. When Carrie’s gaze shifted to Collison, he smiled at her. “Nothing to be worried about, I assure you,” Collison said.

Drake tried to contain his laughter. He obviously wasn’t nervous about this meeting at all.

Carrie looked back out the window, as they now neared the surface. She couldn’t see anything but a desolate wasteland. Then a large doorway opened up, and the transport vessel flew through the opening. They seemed to be in a tunnel, not much larger than the transport vessel. Carrie understood why Collison had said that their ships would not fit through the passageway to the safety of the underground hive.

When the transport vessel came to a stop, Carrie took a deep breath. It was time, time to be brave. She smiled at Barnes and Collison, as she stood up. She touched her translator that hung around her neck. The back door opened, and they walked down the ramp toward the assembled Barsoons below.

Carrie focused on putting one foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Once she reached the bottom, she put a smile on her face and looked up to their awaiting hosts. They looked friendly enough.

Collison spoke first, saying, “Queen Amaneia, this is Rear Admiral Lira Carrie, Rear Admiral Stella Barnes, and Rear Admiral William Drake. We have also brought with us another group of engineers, who we thought might teach your people how to build defensive grid elements, like we have in the Empire and the Solar System. This could help protect your planets from Morag aggression in the future.”

Queen Amaneia smiled and replied, “Welcome to our hive. Thank you for coming. What a magnificent idea to teach my workers how to build a way to defend our planets more efficiently. We will be forever indebted to you.”

Carrie felt the tension in her shoulders and head begin to subside. Amaneia sounded very nice. She was also very large compared to any bee Carrie had ever seen. She walked on two legs and stood a good foot higher than Carrie herself.

“Barnes, Carrie, and Drake would love a tour of your hive. I plan to check with the engineers to see their progress on making your energy shields and weapons stronger. If that is okay with you, of course,” Collison said calmly.

“Yes. That will work fine. These escorts here will show you to the lab where your engineers are. The new group of engineers can follow you as well. They will be shown where they can have a space to do their work too.”

Collison and the engineers followed the escorts out of the area. Carrie smiled again at Amaneia. “This place is amazing. It’s massive.”

“Thank you. Please follow me. I am sure you will have plenty of questions along the way. Please feel free to ask them when one comes to mind.”

“How many citizens do you have living in this particular hive?” Barnes asked, as they began to follow Amaneia.

“In this hive alone, we have over five million citizens. We have over one hundred hives on this planet. Plus more on each of our other planets. We do have a huge population. We also have plenty more we could wake up if we needed to,” replied Amaneia.

“What do you mean, when you say, wake up?” asked Carrie.

“We have millions of eggs that can be hatched for our purposes. Each bee has a job. If we need more, we can quickly hatch another. I am sorry if that sounds unfeeling to you. It is the way things are done here,” Amaneia said, as they moved down a long corridor. “I am sure you are most interested in our warships. First, I will show you to our Command Center. We monitor all the activity in our systems from there.”

Carrie, Barnes, and Drake followed Amaneia through a doorway and into a very busy Command Center. Carrie smiled, as the familiarity of it made her feel at ease. It was not too unlike the Command Center on her flagship.

“If we have any enemy ships show up in any of our star systems, we will know it,” Amaneia said confidently.

“This is pretty impressive,” Carrie said, as she looked around.

“Follow me, and we will go see our warships next.”

Carrie looked all around, as they made their way to the warships. Collison had not been joking when he had said this place was impressive. It rivaled any bunker she had ever seen.

When they entered the hangar, Carrie was again surprised by the number of ships that were present. Collison’s descriptions of the ships had been very accurate. They were larger than the attack interceptors. Shaped similar to the Resistance support ships. Slightly smaller though.

As they approached one of the ships, Admiral Collison appeared. Smiling, he asked, “How has the tour been so far?”

“Remarkable,” replied Carrie.

“The first set of engineers assure me that they are making progress on a solution and hope to have a workable plan by this time tomorrow,” Collison said confidently.

“That sounds promising,” replied Amaneia. “We are truly grateful you decided to stop in our systems. I believe it will change the course of our future.”

“I am glad we stopped here too. We were discussing last night if there might be a possibility that our ships could hide in one of your underground hangars, if we needed to. I wasn’t sure if possibly some of your hangars might have larger doors?” asked Collison.

“Hmm. I will check. To my knowledge, all our hangar doors will be of similar size. Which would be nowhere near the size needed to get your ships inside. I will double-check to make sure though and will let you know.”

“We were also hoping to use your system as our safe haven over the next week or so, until the main attack on Morag Prime. Meanwhile, we will attack Morag targets and then, when we need a rest, we will come back here—making sure, of course, that we are not being followed. I know this puts your planets at a higher risk, but we need a safe place to rest. Will you please consider this proposal and let us know your decision?”

“Your fleets are welcome here anytime, Admiral Collison. We are allies now. You will always find a home away from home here,” Amaneia replied.

“Thank you, Queen Amaneia. We are grateful for your hospitality and kindness,” replied Collison. “We have more reinforcements that will arrive later today, so don’t be alarmed when more ships show up. We should be ready for some training flights with your warships this afternoon.”

The High Queen nodded. “I believe our chief military advisor will be organizing those details with you. I look forward to watching myself. We have a lot to learn in very little time. We will take full advantage of your help, whenever we can get it.”

The tour finished with a closer look at the warships and a look at where they built the ships. As the tour ended, Carrie felt confident this alliance would be one that would last as long as they could defeat the Morag.

Once Collison, Carrie, Barnes, and Drake were back on the transport vessel and headed to their flagships, Collison said, “Well, was it as bad as you thought it would be?”

“No. It went really well. You were right, Admiral. No need to worry. The only worry we have is the Morag figuring out where we are,” replied Carrie.

“I learned a lot today. The Barsoons look to be prepared for war. I don’t think they could stand alone against the Morag though. And I fear they will be the first to receive retribution , after the attack on Morag Prime,” said Barnes.

Collison replied, “I am more convinced than ever that we need to do more than just destroy Morag Prime. I think we must destroy all their shipyards and military bases. Most of their warships will need to be eliminated too. I am also certain the Morag will rebuild and will come for their revenge. We need to remain vigilant and not get complacent after our victory.”

“Will we keep ships here to monitor the Morag? To help ensure they do not build up another fleet?” asked Barnes.

“That’s what the Morag did to the Human Empire, and look where that got them. It took the Human Empire a long time to build up fleets in secret. Plus they had our help from the Solar System. I am guessing it would take the Morag years to recover, but I have no doubt they will recover. First though, we have to win this war. To do that, we need to decide which Morag star systems we will attack next,” said Collison.

Barnes said, “I have started narrowing down the targets. We can’t choose any systems close to here, so we will have a good distance to travel before attacking. We don’t want the Morag figuring out that we have been here or are using this system as our home base.”

“Good thinking. We would be wise to attack targets nowhere near here,” replied Collison. “We also need to conserve our warships as much as possible. We don’t want to face any large Morag fleets.”

The transport vessel docked to Collison’s flagship, Mercury. “Remember. We are working with the Barsoons this afternoon on some battle formations. Also Captain Jane will arrive later this evening.” As he stepped off the ship, he turned and said, “Glad the three of you had a good meeting with Queen Amaneia. Who knows how many other allies we might be meeting with in the future?”

Once Carrie returned to her flagship, she went straight to her quarters to relax for a few minutes. It sounded like it would be a long day.

Chapter Twenty-One

Morag Admiral Voxx headed to the surface of Morag Prime to meet with Councilor Addonis and the Morag High Council. He knew that Addonis would reveal the secret weapon he had obtained from Falton Two after the council meeting. Voxx was aware that, so far, very few knew what the weapon was. He would be honored to be one of the privileged few who would know.

Once Voxx arrived at the chambers, where the Morag High Council would meet, he grew more anxious. He was ready to get this meeting done, so he could find out about the secret weapon.

Finally all the council members arrived and took their respective spots around the table. Voxx sat off to one side. He doubted he would be a part of this meeting. He intended to be only a spectator.

Councilor Addonis stood and said, Admiral Voxx, please bring us up to speed on the Humans’ attack on our star systems.

Voxx was caught off guard at the question. He had already updated Addonis on the situation. Voxx stood and said, The Humans have not attempted an attack in our systems in the last twenty-four hours. We believe they are headed toward the Druin systems.

What makes you think that? asked Councilor Brant. Perhaps they are planning another attack on the other side of our star systems. We have many systems that are more than one day apart.

We have a scout ship following what once was a small group of damaged Human warships. Only one now remains. They are headed out of our systems. We assume the main fleet is as well. None of our scout ships have spotted them in any uninhabited systems either. This is why we believe they have left, responded Voxx.

Do they still have enough ships to mount an attack on one of our systems? asked Councilor Delann.

The Human fleets had split into two different groups for a time and were attacking targets separately. I do not believe they can continue on that way. If they plan to attack again, it will be as a combined fleet. That would strengthen their numbers, responded Voxx.

Can we narrow down the possible targets that the Humans might be after? Is it the shipyards? Is it the military bases? What are they after? asked Delann.

They have attacked shipyards, military bases, planets, and terraformed moons. As to their overall goal, I would guess they are trying to weaken us, while they amass larger fleets in both the Human Empire and the Solar System, Voxx said.

How do we stop them? asked Delann.

Voxx looked over at Addonis. When Addonis said nothing, Voxx replied, We have scout ships stationed in every uninhabited system. Finding them isn’t the problem. It’s having enough ships nearby to destroy them that remains the problem. The Humans are always one step ahead of us because of their scout ships.

We tried a new strategy in the last system that seemed to work. It allowed more time for reinforcements to arrive. We can continue to peck away at their attacking fleet, but they will continue to get reinforcements. We can follow them, but their scout ships know our every move. They know where we have fewer ships. They know where reinforcements will be too far away.

The council members all looked deep in thought, as Voxx looked around the room.

So how do we beat them? asked Brant.

We need a trap. One that will work, Voxx replied. We need a way to get the scout ship in a particular system to leave. Then somehow set a trap. Then get the Humans to go there. Voxx smiled, as a plan took form in his mind. I have an idea that I will begin to implement immediately. I will keep the High Council updated on its results. It will take a few days to set the trap.

You are dismissed to start implementing your plan. It is of the utmost importance that we eliminate this threat quickly, commanded Addonis. I will contact you after the meeting to discuss other matters.

Voxx immediately left the chambers and headed back to his flagship. He needed to analyze which star system held the most potential for what he wanted to happen. His mind was spinning with the thoughts and plans of how to trap the Humans. This was his best plan yet.

-

After Voxx had left to implement his new plan, the Morag High Council meeting continued.

Do we think Voxx is still the best candidate to eliminate these pests? asked Councilor Hiram. He seems to not be getting the job done. Should we give the task to Admiral Marcello instead?

Addonis answered, I am confident Voxx is the Morag for the job. Let’s give his newest plan a chance to work. If it does not, we can give Marcello a chance to eliminate the Humans from our star systems.

How are the developments of the new weapons coming along? Have we figured out how to replicate the accelerator cannon and particle beam cannons? asked Delann.

We are in the finishing stages of developing the weapons. Next we will test them, then begin putting them on the ships. It will be another couple weeks before we are ready to test. Then, as long as the tests go well, we can begin installations on the ships after that. It will take a few months to get all our ships outfitted with the new weapons, said Addonis.

Brant commented, Then we should launch our attack on the Humans. I am ready to be on the offensive again. I extremely dislike being on the defensive.

Yes, our time to rule over the entire galaxy is coming. We will destroy the Humans of the Empire and then the Humans of the Solar System. After they are eliminated, we will destroy the Lormallians, the Visth, their alliance, plus any others who oppose our domination, said Hiram confidently.

We need to deal with the Lormallians soon. Who knows who they are supplying the telepathic nullifiers to? Soon the advantage of our telepathy will no longer play a role in our domination, Brant said.

One thing that would turn this war back to our advantage would be figuring out a way to detect and to destroy the stealth Human scout ships. Without those ships feeding information to the Human fleet, we could quickly destroy the Humans, said Delann.

We do have a team of researchers currently working on that exact scenario. They are trying various ways to destroy the Human scout ships. Nothing has worked yet, but that could change quickly, replied Addonis.

Is there any chance the Humans may be planning a larger attack? Or do we feel they only plan to keep these hit-and-run attacks going indefinitely? asked Brant.

They would not dare attack Morag Prime, Addonis said confidently. We have too many ships stationed here. I believe that the Humans will continue their hit-and-run attacks indefinitely. Or at least until we can destroy this fleet. We need to teach them that, to come to our systems, means certain death, Addonis stated. If they do show up here at Morag Prime, I have our secret weapon that would ensure they do not attack the planet itself. Think of it as our insurance policy.

What is this secret weapon? asked Brant.

After our meeting is adjourned, and Admiral Voxx returns from his flagship, I will show you the weapon. I brought it back with me from Falton Two, where it’s been stored for over one thousand years.

Why not use this weapon now? Why wait to use it until the Humans get here to Morag Prime? You said yourself that you don’t expect them to come here, commented Hiram.

I am confident the Humans won’t come here. If they do, we will use the weapon. It will undoubtedly save us. You will understand more when you see it. Then I will explain the rest, Addonis replied.

Can this weapon be used even if the Humans don’t come here? What if they continue to bring in reinforcements and continue to eliminate our shipyards and military bases? Delann asked Addonis.

Soon our weapons development team will have the new weapons finished. Once they are installed on our ships, the Humans cannot destroy our warships so easily. Then the Humans will have to stop their raids. As it stands now, they destroy at least two ships of ours to one of theirs, sometimes even more. Once our weapons are on an even playing field, it will be one for one. The cost will be too high for them, Addonis answered. If we find it necessary, we could use this weapon differently. But, first, I want to see how Voxx’s plan works out. If we can save this weapon until later, then we will. Once used, it can’t be used again. You will understand more fully when I show you.

Let’s get this meeting wrapped up then so we can see this weapon. My curiosity is running wild with what it might be, Brant said.

After discussing a few more issues, the Morag High Council meeting adjourned.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx studied his holographic display. Show me only the systems that have military bases. Many systems disappeared. Now eliminate the ones where the Humans have already attacked and destroyed the base. A few more disappeared.

He paced back and forth, as he went through the scenarios in his mind. How could he make this trap work, where the others have failed? He needed to give the Humans more credit in their strategy, as much as that disgusted him. That had to be where his plans had failed before. He had not given the Humans enough credit in their ability to see his traps for what they were. He needed to make them think they were amassing a fleet to attack the Human Empire. Get numerous scout ships to follow them, leaving a few strategic systems without a scout ship for his plan to work. Everything would have to work perfectly for this trap to be a success.

Eliminate the systems less than forty-five minutes from the closest reinforcements. A few more systems disappeared. How could he ensure the Humans would go to one of the systems where his trap was set? Eliminate all systems within a one-hour hyperspace jump of Morag Prime. Surely the Human fleet would steer clear of Morag Prime. Still too many systems were left. He knew the Humans would target systems with fewer ships, as their numbers were dwindling. This would mean he must reduce the ships in the systems where his trap would be set. Not by too many or that would be suspicious.

Voxx continued to walk back and forth around the holographic display. Which would he attack, if he were in the Humans’ position? He let out a frustrated growl. How many systems could he set a trap in? As he continued to strategize, he came up with his plan.

The next step was to move the ships where he wanted them. He also needed the Human scout ships to follow a specific group of ships. The decoy ones, not the ones he needed for his trap. How to ensure this was a key factor. If he had a few ships disappear at a time from all these systems, he was confident the scout ships wouldn’t worry about them.

However, if he had a large group leave, they would surely follow them. Voxx smiled. That’s precisely what he would do. Where should he have the large groups rendezvous?

The Humans were about to see chaos ensue. They wouldn’t know what to do or what was going on. Chaos—controlled chaos—was precisely what Voxx needed.

Voxx worked out all the details and began carefully implementing his plan. It would take another twenty-four hours to finish setting up, but then they’d be ready, as long as the Humans attacked one of the systems where he had his trap set.

-

Captain Amar on board scout ship 403 noticed five Morag warships leave the system. “I wonder where they are going?”

“Should we follow them?” asked Lieutenant Long.

“No. The main group of Morag warships still remain. We will stay here,” replied Amar.

Another hour passed, and another small group of Morag warships entered hyperspace. Amar was puzzled. He wondered what was going on. “Contact the other scout ships in the nearby systems and see if there’s any unusual activity happening in their systems.”

Long quickly contacted the other scout ships in the area. “Captain, it seems your suspicions are warranted. Small groups of ships have left all the systems in the area.”

“What are they doing?” Amar wondered aloud.

“Maybe they are redistributing their warships again to better protect the systems they feel are more at risk?” Long responded.

“Perhaps. We will sit tight for now and see if these ships show up somewhere else,” Amar said, as his gaze shifted to the tactical display.

“Do you think they might be assembling a larger fleet elsewhere to use to attack the Empire?” asked Long.

“I am not sure. I don’t like it though. Let’s send a message to Collison to let him know what’s going on,” said Amar.

“Captain, a group of fifty Morag warships are charging their hyperdrives, which means they will leave only twenty-five here in the system,” Long said, a hint of apprehension in her voice.

“Let’s follow them. We need to see where they are going,” said Amar.

Scout ship 403 prepared to follow the Morag ships into hyperspace. When the fifty Morag warships made their jump, Amar followed them. He would find out where they were headed and what was going on. Then he could return to monitor the star system he had just left behind.

-

Voxx was satisfied that his plan was being executed precisely as he had commanded it. Now it was time to head back to the surface and see what this secret weapon was.

When Voxx arrived back at the council chambers, he found the council members waiting on him. Addonis motioned for them all to follow him. How is your plan coming along? Addonis asked, as they walked down a long corridor.

It is beginning to take shape. It will take some time to get all the ships in place. I will share the details with you after this demonstration is over, Voxx replied.

Fair enough, Addonis responded, as they continued to follow him. They made many turns and went through various locked doorways. Voxx had no idea where they were. He had never been this far into the compound before. Voxx looked around at the faces of the other councilors. It appeared he was not alone in this. The rest of them seemed lost as well.

After what seemed like they had walked a mile, Addonis finally came to a stop. They were in a small room with three doors leading off in different directions. Voxx wondered which door the weapon was behind. Door number one or door number two? They had entered the room from the other door. They obviously wouldn’t be going in that direction.

Addonis turned and looked at the assembled group. First, I need to tell you some background as to what you are about to see. When the Confederation attacked the Human Empire years ago, we ensured we would have leverage over the Humans, if we ever needed it. This weapon we have kept on Falton Two ever since. For safekeeping, for the time we would need it.

At that time, we banished the Prince of the Empire to Earth in the Solar System. We now know that was not a good decision. Banishing that Prince of the Empire obviously began a series of events that have brought us here to where the Earth Humans have come to aid the Human Empire.

We also now know that the Princess of the Empire escaped to a secret base the Human Empire had already set up in the Solar System, should we ever attack them and put their rulers at risk. She returned to power recently with the Earth Humans’ help.

Back then we also made the Humans of the Empire believe that we had executed the remaining royals, including the High King and his wife. The Druins were the ones who led this attack. Also a handful of others were said to be executed. The Human Empire believed that the Druins did, indeed, execute the High King Bramdon Starguard and his wife. The Druins took the remaining royals hostage and then brought them to us. We brought them back to Falton Two, where the Emperor put them into stasis—in case we ever needed them as leverage.

When I visited Falton Two and spoke with Emperor Rowan, I brought back two of them here with me. They were still in their stasis chambers. These were put into the crates and loaded onto our ship. Once here, our scientists safely woke them from their stasis. They are now awake. This is what you are about to see. Then Addonis opened the first door, and all followed him in. There, behind a secure enclosure, stood two Humans.

Voxx looked at them with pure hatred. How will we use these two Humans against their own kind? Threaten to kill them if they attack us?

As the situation warrants, we have a few possible ways to spin this to our advantage. Execution is definitely on the table, Addonis replied.

How will we let the Humans know we have these hostages? asked Delann.

We will make a video. We can send it at our discretion, remarked Addonis.

I thought this weapon was supposed to come between the Humans of the Empire and those from Earth. How will that work? asked Voxx.

The Emperor believes that the Earth Humans will not be swayed by our hostages. They have no real connection to them. The Humans of the Empire, however, do. These two are direct relatives of their High Princess. If the Earth Humans cause these two to be executed, Emperor Rowan expects the Empire Humans would not take that very well. It would likely fracture their alliance. This is what we need to flip this war back to our favor, Addonis answered.

Voxx smiled his sinister smile. This just might work, if played at the right time. Of course there would need to be someone who would recognize them. Who would recognize them?

The Human High Princess, her husband, the other Princess, and most likely a few of their other leaders, responded Addonis.

So the video must be sent to the Human Empire, not just to whoever is in the attacking fleet, commented Brant.

Yes. We will make various videos over the next few days. That way we have multiple options we can use, when needed, Addonis said, as he began to move everyone out of the room.

As Voxx left the room, he gave one last look at the two Humans behind the enclosure. Pure hate consumed him, and he let out a slight growl. He would defeat these Humans and take pleasure in executing these two in particular.

-

Captain Amar on scout ship 403 continued to follow the group of fifty Morag warships. It seemed that a lot of Morag warships were moving. Numerous scout ships were following various groups of enemy ships. Where would they end up? No one knew.

Amar was slightly concerned about the star system he had left behind. There was no way they would know what was going on there. However, Collison would not attack a system without a scout ship first determining the current threat present in that particular system. Amar would figure out where these Morag ships were headed, and, when he had the chance, he would return to his designated enemy star system.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes watched the Barsoons practice their battle formations, when alarms sounded. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. Her gaze shifted to the tactical display. The icons blinked and then turned green. A wave of relief washed over her. Barnes knew Captain Jane was due to arrive this afternoon, but Barnes still couldn’t help worrying that the Morag had found them.

Barnes, Carrie, Drake, and Collison had discussed what they would do if the Morag did appear here in the Barsoon star system. Thankfully that wasn’t happening now. Barnes’s heart had gone back to beating normally again. It felt good to see more green icons in the system.

With the arrival of Captain Jane, Collison called for a meeting over dinner on his flagship. This would occur after the rest of the practice runs of battle formations with the Barsoons.

Barnes looked forward to the dinner. Collison’s meetings always had the best food. Plus Barnes couldn’t wait to hear the news Captain Jane would have from Earth. Particularly how large of a fleet the Solar System was sending to destroy Morag Prime.

The next few hours went by quickly, as the Barsoons got better and better at the different battle formations. Tomorrow they would practice different types of attack runs. Barnes hoped she would have the opportunity to meet with the Barsoons’ High Queen Amaneia again, before they left the system.

Barnes had also been working on a list of the best Morag targets to hit before the big battle at Morag Prime. The scout ships had already reported that the Morag were redistributing ships around the star systems. Until Barnes had more information about where the enemy ships would end up, she couldn’t make any final decisions. She did have her eye on three particular star systems though. Once the scout ships reported the final Morag fleet deployments, she could make her choice.

Barnes arrived on Collison’s flagship and was greeted by Captain Jane. Jane had trained in Barnes’s crew for a time, before being transferred to her own ship. It was so great to see her familiar face. They chatted while they made their way to the conference room, where their meeting would take place.

Once in the conference room, Barnes stopped to take in the amazing aroma that filled the room—the smell of barbecue. Barnes took a quick peek at the buffet laid out on the table. Brisket, turkey, plus mashed potatoes, green beans, and baked beans. Oh, how she had missed this smell. If she closed her eyes, she could easily pretend that she was at a backyard barbecue. A taste of home. How refreshing it was. Her mouth salivated at the smell. Barnes couldn’t wait to dig in. “Should we wait for Collison or start without him?”

“We wouldn’t want him to have to wait in line,” Carrie joked, remembering Collison saying those exact words to them, when he had started filling his plate before they had arrived at a similar meeting.

Barnes smiled and said, “Let’s do it.”

When Collison walked in, the four of them had just sat down with their plates full. Collison smiled and said, “Well, I guess I don’t have to wait in line.” They all laughed.

After the five of them enjoyed the meal and made small talk, Collison finally asked the question that had been on their minds. “Jane, do you know how many ships Rear Admiral Martinez is bringing with him to attack Morag Prime?”

“Last I saw, he had his entire fleet of one thousand battlecruisers, two hundred dreadnoughts, and thirty battlecarriers, fully loaded with attack interceptors, plus the extra ships the Solar System had managed to stockpile over the last few months,” Jane replied.

“Any clue how many that was?” asked Collison.

“When I left, the stockpile of ships included eight hundred battlecruisers, one hundred dreadnoughts, and fifteen battlecarriers. However, there was still a little more time to roll out more completed ships before the fleet left. So over two thousand warships come with Martinez,” Jane replied, with a smile.

Barnes let out a slow breath. “That’s a lot of ships. Hopefully, combined with the Empire’s ships and those of our allies, it will be enough to get the job done.”

“Fleet Admiral Reynolds said they would continue accumulating ships and sending them as reinforcements. He assumed we would need more after the attack on Morag Prime,” Jane continued.

“Good. I suspect we will need them,” Collison said.

Destroying Morag Prime would only be step one. They’d need more to eliminate the rest of the Morag’s shipyards and military bases.

-

Rear Admiral Martinez and his fleet were making their last pit stop before arriving at the Hagen Star Cluster. He looked forward to seeing Admiral Cleemorl and hearing who would lead the Empire to the Confederation. Would it be Cleemorl or Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters? Also Martinez was curious to see how many ships the Empire would send.

Martinez was well aware the Empire didn’t have many ships to spare. They had been attacked more often and more recently than the Solar System. That was a benefit of being so far from the Confederation. The Solar System and Earth had been spared from the number of Confederation attacks that the Empire had to withstand.

The fleet was less than one week away from the Hagen Star Cluster. They would rendezvous with the Empire fleet and then head to the Confederation. They were set to rendezvous with the rest of their allies in a little over one week. Martinez was excited. He was ready to eliminate the threat the Morag posed. After that, they would turn their attention to the Druins. Unless, of course, the Druins surrendered, after the Humans finished with the Morag.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Morag Commander Kano still scouted uninhabited Morag systems, trying to find the Human fleet he had lost. So far, the Humans had not made any appearances yet, at least none that had been reported. So were they headed out of the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation?

Kano knew that he had headed in the same direction as the Human fleet was last seen. He had continued on that trajectory; however, now he neared the edge of the Druin-controlled systems. If the enemy had moved to the Druin area, the Humans would cease to be his problem.

If the Humans had changed directions, then that meant they were still in the Morag star systems. No Morag scout ships had reported spotting them yet. No inhabited Morag star system had reported the Humans exiting hyperspace. So where could they be?

Maybe they found refuge in a system inhabited by another race controlled by the Morag.

Kano narrowed his eyes, as he focused on the holographic display. He needed to scan those systems that belonged to other races. It would take some time, but he could use his long-range scans to get the job done. There was always the possibility that these other races wouldn’t report the presence of the Humans to the Morag. If that proved to be true, they would regret it.

Kano eliminated all the uninhabited systems from his holographic display, since they were already monitored by Morag scout ships. Next he eliminated all the Morag-inhabited systems. Still a large number of star systems remained. The best thing he could do was start with the nearest ones and move out from there. First though, he needed to recharge his hyperdrive.

He would start by scanning the systems belonging to the Creetins.

-

The Creetins highest military leader, Supreme Commander Ephenius, looked out over his fleet they had amassed over the last several years. They had secretly been building up their fleets to one day take on their enemy. Now they had allies who would help them with this task.

Ephenius knew they had a few days remaining before they needed to head toward the rendezvous point in the Lormallian area of the Confederation. The various fleets would meet there first and practice a few tactics and formations, before heading out together to Morag Prime.

During these last remaining days, Ephenius would have his fleet work on more targeting and flying skills. They could use all the practice they could get. He doubted any Morag ships would stop in to check on them. The Morag had their hands full with the Humans currently attacking their star systems.

Ephenius smiled, as he thought about the Humans attacking the Morag. It was about time the Morag paid for all the thousands of years they had mistreated all other races. No wonder so many races had answered the call to rise up against them.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr still followed Morag Captain Denning, who still followed the last remaining damaged Human ship. They would destroy this Human straggler the next time it exited hyperspace. Then Falorr would head back to the Druin-controlled area of the Confederation.

Falorr had orchestrated a few ships from each system to slowly exit their star systems and to make their way to a designated rendezvous location. He needed a fleet of ships at his disposal that was not being watched by the Human scout ships. He would return and rendezvous with this ever-growing fleet. Then they would decide what Human target they would attack.

As long as the Humans kept attacking Morag targets, they would stay away from Druin ones. That left Falorr’s fleet available to go on the offensive. What he’d really like to do was hit Earth. However attacking Earth would cost him too many ships. Ships he couldn’t afford to lose.

“Admiral, Morag Captain Denning reports the Human ship is exiting hyperspace,” reported his first officer.

Falorr smiled. Time to blow up this Human ship. “Run the long-range scans to make sure that Human ship is the only one in the system.”

“Admiral, it appears more ships are in the system.”

Falorr was puzzled. According to his holographic display, this system was uninhabited. It was also in the far reaches of the Lamothian-controlled area of the Confederation. Who could be there? “How many ships?”

“Twenty,” replied the sensor officer.

“Could it be a Human task group sent to intercept the damaged ship?” asked his first officer.

“Let Denning exit hyperspace and see what’s going on,” replied Falorr.

-

Morag Captain Denning began to exit hyperspace. His scans had shown ships in the system, but he assumed they were transport vessels the Lamothians had, gathering raw materials for their terraformed moon.

As he exited hyperspace, his alarms sounded. He was not concerned as his gaze shifted to the tactical display. He watched, assuming the red threat icons would change to green.

Commander Denning, I’ve got twenty Human warships showing on the scans, the sensor officer said in alarm.

Inform Druin Admiral Falorr immediately and get us out of here! Denning commanded.

Our hyperdrive needs a few minutes to recharge after such a long jump, replied the systems officer.

We jump now, or we die!

Inputting coordinates now, said the navigation officer.

Denning held his breath, as he watched the navigation officer input his commands. Please let it work, he thought to himself.

The Humans are jumping, Captain.

Prepare to engage!

Charging hyperdrive, called out the systems officer.

On the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center, Denning watched in horror as the Human ships appeared all around him. The Humans fired their weapons as soon as they exited hyperspace, slamming into his ship’s energy screen. It was immediately overloaded and failed. The second shot smashed into the side of his ship, setting off a chain of explosions.

Denning and his crew vanished in a giant explosion as the next accelerator cannon projectile hit the Morag battleship.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr heard the end of Morag Commander Denning’s message. The ships were Human. No way Falorr was prepared to face that many Human warships with only nine of his own.

Falorr immediately changed his course to head back to the Druin area of the Confederation. Hopefully those Human ships would head on to the Morag area of the Confederation. It wasn’t a large enough task group to pose much of a threat to the Druin systems. They had enough warships stationed in each system to stop this task group.

-

Captain Avery at the supply fleet was relieved when he heard the task group had destroyed the Morag ship that had been following that last of Elias’s group. The Druins had wisely decided not to face the firepower of the Human task group.

The task group would stay with the damaged battlecruiser, until it was ready to make its final jump to the supply fleet. After that, it had been determined that the task group would head on to the Morag area of the Confederation to meet up with Admiral Collison. He could use all the extra help he could get right now.

That left Avery with only ten battlecruisers and four dreadnoughts. Of course the Lormallian fleet was still stationed on the opposite side of the star system. They had agreed to come to the aid of the supply fleet, if needed.

Avery didn’t think it would come to that, but he knew it was better to be prepared.

-

Captain Amar on board scout ship 403 still followed the large group of fifty Morag warships that had left the star system he had been stationed in. So far, they had traveled in hyperspace for twenty hours. Amar was puzzled as to where they were headed.

Another hour had passed, when Lieutenant Long said, “Captain Amar, the Morag ships are exiting hyperspace.”

“Follow them. We have to see what they’re up to.”

The scout ship exited hyperspace behind the Morag warships. Amar watched the enemy ships as they met up with another task group. Amar wondered if they were assembling into a larger fleet to fight off Admiral Collison’s next attack.

Currently ninety-three warships were in this system. Also now in this system were two Human scout ships. Both Amar and the other captain agreed that only one scout ship was needed. There was some concern though that the enemy ships might split. The two captains decided to wait twelve hours, and then Amar would head back to his designated star system that he was supposed to be observing. The other captain would follow this group.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was satisfied with the way his plan was unfolding. So far, the first part of his elaborate plan had been executed. Part two had begun. Voxx was confident that, by the time the scout ships returned to watch their intended systems, his trap would be set. Then he would only have to wait until the Human fleet took the bait.

In total, he had set this trap in five different star systems. These systems would have lower ship numbers to entice the Humans to attack. They would not, however, have the lowest. Voxx did not want the Humans to think it was a trap. His real trap was hopefully less obvious.

So far, the Humans had not made an appearance anywhere in the Morag star systems. They had also not shown up anywhere else that he had been notified of. Not according to the Druins or the Lamothians. The Humans had to be making a few repairs somewhere. Once the repairs had been made, the Humans would make their next attack runs. If all went according to plan, they would pick one of the systems where Voxx’s traps were set.

Voxx smiled. Soon it would be time to kill some Humans. Voxx would love to witness the Humans’ destruction, but he would have to settle for watching through someone else’s mind.

The Human fleets were dwindling. Soon they would be no more.

-

Morag Commander Kano headed into hyperspace to hunt down the Human fleet. They were hiding somewhere, and he would be the one to find them. It might take some time, but, right now, he had that time. The first star systems to check were those of the Creetins. Kano didn’t need to exit hyperspace in any of their star systems. All he needed to do was run long-range scans as he passed nearby the Creetins’ systems. A fleet of the size the Humans still had would show up on the scans if they were there.

Kano narrowed his eyes as he thought about the wrath any race would face for harboring the Humans.

He would run the long-range scans of the first system in four hours.

-

Admiral Collison was happy to hear that more reinforcements were headed his way. The question now was, Should he wait for them or go ahead and hit their first target?

The Barsoons had already made significant progress in their formations and attack runs that Collison’s fleet had been working with them on. Great strides had also been made on the improvements to strengthen the Barsoons’ ships. The other engineering group was hard at work teaching the Barsoons how to build defensive grid elements.

Collison knew Rear Admiral Barnes was having difficulty narrowing down their next targets. The Morag fleets were shaking things up. Right now, the Humans weren’t sure where the enemy ships would end up. Should they take a chance and head to one of the systems Barnes had her eyes on? They could always switch targets, if things changed. Collison could also leave his engineering teams here to finish up their work.

Collison continued to pace around his quarters. He was getting restless, felt the pressure mounting. He knew they needed to get out of the Barsoons’ systems before the enemy found them. He knew the Morag would have ships searching for the fleet.

At that moment, Collison knew what they had to do. They needed to head for their next target. They needed to destroy as many Morag warships, shipyards, and military bases as possible, before the attack on Morag Prime.

Collison quickly contacted Rear Admiral Barnes for her list of possible targets. He then informed the fleet they would depart in two hours. The last thing he needed to do was speak with High Queen Amaneia to apprise her of his plans. Those to head out for their next targets and to leave some of the engineers here with her to continue their work on the Barsoons’ warships and the defensive grid elements.

The plan would be to attack two Morag star systems and then return to the Barsoons’ home system. At that point, it would be getting close to the time for the attack on Morag Prime.

-

High Princess Layla strolled with her husband through the gardens near the Imperial Palace. Arm in arm, they walked, as Layla tried to commit every moment to memory. Derrick would be leaving today. He was taking part of Fifth Fleet to meet up with part of First Fleet in the Hagen Star Cluster that would go to the Confederation. While in the Hagen Star Cluster they would rendezvous with Rear Admiral Martinez from the Solar System.

Before Derrick began his journey, they still had one more Imperial Council meeting. Shortly afterward, he would take a transport ship to his temporary flagship, New Destiny. Fleet Admiral Marloo and Derrick had decided his newest rendition of his twice-destroyed flagship Destiny—classified as a superdreadnought, the biggest dreadnought ever built—would be an obvious target for the Morag. His ship needed to blend in a little more. Thus, his crew moved over to the dreadnought New Destiny.

Layla had spent the last few days ignoring the fact that Derrick’s departure was fast approaching. He had told her that this was his destiny. It’s what he was meant to do. She had agreed with him but selfishly wished it were not the case.

Now the day had arrived. She took her free hand and placed it on her stomach. In four more months, they would have a baby to look out for. This baby needed its father. Layla let out a deep sigh.

“What are you thinking about?” Derrick asked her, as he stopped and turned to face her.

She put on her brave smile and replied, “Our future and the baby.”

He returned her smile and said, “No need to worry. I will be back in plenty of time. I will be here when our baby is born.”

“I know. Krista will be back by then too. The Morag will be defeated, and our enemies will have surrendered. It will be a whole new beginning for us all.”

“Yes, it will. Have you given any more thoughts to what we will name this precious bundle of joy?” asked Derrick.

“I have a few in mind, but you will have to wait until you return, before I tell you,” Layla replied, a mischievous look in her eye.

Derrick chuckled. “I guess I must wait then. I have come up with a few of my own, you know.”

Layla had a worried look on her face. “We can make those decisions later. For now, it’s time to head over to the House of Worlds and the Imperial Council meeting.”

They resumed their walk, a little faster now, in the direction of the House of Worlds.

A few minutes later, they stood at the doorway to the Imperial Council Chambers. The guards opened the double doors, and they walked inside.

The rest of the council was already present. They all turned and smiled at Layla and Derrick as they walked in. After a few minutes of small talk, the meeting began.

Chief Chancellor Stein started the meeting. “Welcome, everyone. Today is a big day. Today we take the next step in defeating the Morag and the Confederation, once and for all.

“Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters will begin his journey, leading our ships to attack Morag Prime. Before we send him off, let’s get an update about the fleets we have in the Empire. Derrick, can you give us that update?”

Derrick stood and said, “In the past few weeks, we have added a large number of ships to our fleets. First Fleet now has 636 battlecruisers, 85 dreadnoughts, and 16 battlecarriers. As for Fifth Fleet, we are now up to 824 battlecruisers, 124 dreadnoughts, and 14 battlecarriers. As we have discussed before, I plan to take with me 500 battlecruisers, 75 dreadnoughts, and 8 battlecarriers. Part of First Fleet will reposition to help better protect Golan Four while we are gone. We have also beefed up the attack interceptor numbers at each core planet to help add to their security as well.” Then Derrick sat back down.

Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three stood and asked, “What about Admiral Collison and the other Human fleets in the Confederation? What is their status?”

Derrick looked at Marloo, who stood to answer. “At our last update, the fleets were resting in the home system of the Barsoons. So far, the fleets have destroyed twelve shipyards, a little over six hundred warships, four Morag military bases, and four terraformed moons and planets. They intend to attack two more systems before they return to the Barsoons’ home system again.”

“Are the Barsoons allies of ours?” asked Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four.

Marloo replied, “Yes, they are planning and preparing to join in the attack on Morag Prime. Collison has a group of engineers working on helping them to make their weapons more effective and to add defensive grid elements to their defenses.”

“What if we find ourselves enemies of the Barsoons, after this war with the Morag has concluded? Then we’ve aided our enemies in becoming stronger and more defended,” said Therron.

“Even with the advancements in the weapons Collison is helping the Barsoons with, our current weapons are vastly stronger. Collison has assured us that the Barsoons will be our allies for a long time. The only disadvantage for the Barsoons is that their star systems lay within the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. They have inhabited planets in twelve star systems. Their population is unknown, but Collison has informed us that the Barsoons are planning to send two thousand warships to help in the attack on Morag Prime,” Marloo answered.

“How many ships do they have in all? Do we know that? What if they have thousands of other ships, and they are only waiting for us to help them destroy their enemy, and then they will turn on us to destroy us?” asked Therron.

Marloo responded by saying, “Admiral Collison as well as Rear Admirals Barnes, Carrie, and Drake are all in agreement that the Barsoons will be allies to the Empire. If not, we have stronger defensive grids as well as weapons. Collison informed us that the Barsoons’ warships are larger than the attack interceptors but smaller than the Resistance support vessels.

“Right now we have to focus on defeating the Morag. Once they have been defeated and the Druins have surrendered, we will worry about who else out there might be our enemies,” Marloo replied. “We don’t want to be paranoid about everyone being our enemies. If we do that, we will never have peace. We will make sure our defenses are strong, and we have large fleets to defend the Empire when the time comes. We hope to set up trade with the Barsoons. Collison has been able to establish a good relationship with the Barsoons’ High Queen Amaneia and has mentioned trade would be a mutually beneficial endeavor.”

“What about the other races who will be assisting us? Do we know much about them?” asked Littrel.

“We have scout ships stationed in their home systems, so we can more easily communicate securely with them. The scout ships are learning about the races and are looking for ways to secure our alliance in the future. Whether that be with trade or a mutual defense agreement, most of these races are too far away for a mutual defense agreement, but trade is definitely an option. No doubt, in the future, we will have a lot of diplomatic relationships to solidify,” Marloo continued.

Layla stood and said, “Yes, we will have a lot of diplomatic relationships to develop. Not to mention new trade partners. For now though, we will concentrate on the first part of our mission, which is attacking and destroying Morag Prime.”

When Layla sat down, the objections stopped, and talk turned more to things inside the Empire. After another hour of discussing and debating various topics, the Imperial Council Meeting came to an end.

Layla’s heart beat very quickly. Time drew near to say her goodbyes to Derrick. She wasn’t ready and knew that she probably never would be. All she could do was support him and pray for his safe return. Layla knew it would likely be weeks before she set her eyes on her husband again. With Krista gone to the Solar System, Layla felt all alone.

As they walked to their quarters for a few moments of private time before Derrick boarded the transport vessel that would take him up to the New Destiny, Derrick said, “I have arranged a small surprise for you. I knew that you might get lonely without Krista or me here to keep you company. So Dylan Cleemorl and I asked Cheryl to come and keep you company while I am gone. She should arrive tomorrow morning.”

Layla felt a big weight lift from her shoulders. What a relief, she wouldn’t be alone. “Thank you for taking care of me. What would I ever do without you?”

“I’m sure you would be fine, but you will be old and frail before you find out,” Derrick replied confidently.

-

Derrick was in his command chair in the Command Center of the New Destiny. He was ready to get underway. The goodbye with Layla had been hard. He was glad he and Cleemorl had asked Cheryl to come and stay with Layla while Derrick was away. She had had a relieved look on her face when he had told her. That had helped him feel better about leaving.

“Is the fleet ready to depart?” Derrick asked.

Colonel Sheena Bryant replied, “At your command, Admiral.”

“Let’s get this party started. Take us into hyperspace.” Derrick took one last look at Golan Four, seen on the main viewscreen at the front of the room. He hoped he would see this view again.

It would take them two days to get to the Hagen Star Cluster. During that time, Derrick planned to go over the various tactics they might use for attacking Morag Prime. Derrick knew there would be a lot of diplomatic meetings too, getting all the various leaders of the different races on the same page before the attack. One thing he needed to do over the next couple days was to study up on all the races who would be joining the Humans in their attack.

Derrick would arrive in the Hagen Star Cluster near Gideon at least one day before the arrival of Rear Admiral Martinez from the Solar System. He and Cleemorl would spend that time strategizing and working out possible scenarios they should be prepared for.

Once Rear Admiral Martinez arrived, the three would meet, while the fleet from the Solar System did their maintenance work, preparing their ships for the next leg of their journey. Then it would be time to head to the Confederation.

-

Admiral Collison and his fleets were ready to head toward their next target. The hyperspace jump would be a twenty-five-hour-long journey. By then Collison hoped that the Morag ships would be settled into their new positions, and the Humans could determine if some of their target systems were a go or a no-go. They were prepared to change their Morag target, if needed.

Collison also thought that this might be the Morag’s new strategy, to add some chaos to their fleet positions to throw off the Human fleets. The Morag were adapting, which meant the Humans would have to as well.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Rear Admiral Barnes was busy monitoring the information coming in from the scout ships stationed all across the Morag-controlled part of the Confederation. A few scout ships were still following larger groups of Morag warships, so not all of the star systems were being monitored. Barnes decided that they would stick with the systems currently being observed.

Of the star systems that she had previously had her eyes on attacking, two of them didn’t currently have scout ships in them. That left two other options. Of those two options, the closest one, Morag Fifty, currently had sixty-seven Morag warships. The system also had four shipyards and a confirmed military base. With four inhabited planets and two terraformed moons, there were plenty of targets they could take aim at.

Barnes and Carrie both expected this upcoming attack to go similarly to the previous one. They expected the Morag warships to attack immediately and then to jump around the system, essentially running from the Human fleet. Collison, along with Barnes, Carrie, and Drake, had developed a game plan on how they would handle the Morag’s newest strategy.

Another thing to consider was where the nearest Morag reinforcements were located. Barnes knew that the closest star system was two hours away. The only reinforcements would come from these roaming Morag task groups that weren’t being monitored. Most of the scout ships followed the large groups of enemy ships or watched strategic targets.

After this most recent shake-up of Morag ships, a number of them were unaccounted for. Per the last reports, Barnes was aware of over four hundred Morag warships that had effectively disappeared. So far, the scout ships had not found these missing ships. The worst-case scenario would be that a group of those ships happened to be in the Humans’ target area and could respond in a timely manner.

Barnes talked with Collison, Carrie, and Drake on the comm to confirm their target. They currently had numerous capable leaders in their fleet who could lead task groups to attack different targets in the system. They had planned to use the attack interceptors as much as possible. Barnes knew the battlecarriers would be the primary targets of the enemy fleet. Rear Admiral Drake would be tasked with protecting the battlecarriers. The rest depended on how the enemy fleet reacted to the Humans’ arrival.

The Human fleets would exit hyperspace in their target system in twenty minutes. Barnes was ready.

-

Captain Amar on scout ship 403 was on his way back to his original Morag star system. The large task group he and the other scout ship had been watching had stayed put, so the other scout ship had stayed to keep an eye on them. Amar knew he needed to get back to his Morag star system as quickly as he could. Rear Admiral Barnes had notified him that his system was on her short list of potential targets. When he had left the system, it had fewer warships, but who knew what he would find there now.

Amar knew the Human fleet had another target system they would attack first before heading to his star system. Assuming of course, that he did not find the system more protected after this Morag shuffle of ships that had recently occurred. Either way, he would find out in another three hours.

-

Morag Commander Kano neared the first Creetin star system. As the long-range scans came in, nothing surprising was found. The Humans were not in that system. So now he would continue to the next one. There had also been no reports of the Humans being spotted anywhere else, so he would continue his hunt.

-

Captain Jane was nervous about her role in the upcoming attack. This would be her first battle against the Morag in their own star systems. Her role would remain minor in the grand scheme of things. She would be sticking with Rear Admiral Drake to help him defend the battlecarriers.

Jane knew that the Humans would outnumber the enemy warships, plus they would have the superior firepower. All things seemed to point to a victory for the Humans.

As they approached the target system, Jane steadied herself. She had a lot to learn from watching the attack strategies in this first system. A time might come when she would be trusted with a different role in the attack, and Jane wanted to be prepared to handle whatever Admiral Collison tasked her with.

-

Admiral Collison watched as the Human fleet began to exit hyperspace. The entire fleet knew that the first priority would be to protect the battlecarriers from the probable Morag attack that would come soon after they exited hyperspace.

As predicted, the Morag fleet immediately jumped out to the Humans’ fleet location and fired on the battlecarriers. Other Human ships quickly targeted the Morag warships, blasting through their energy shields and then slamming into the hulls of the ships, causing massive explosions, as the Morag warships succumbed to the Humans’ firepower. It wasn’t long before the carriers were fully protected in the center of the formation. The Morag ships quickly retreated at that point.

Collison was waiting for them to make this move. Now it was up to his task group to hunt down the enemy fleet, immediately jumping to follow the Morag warships. Collison was confident this move would catch the Morag off guard and allow Collison to destroy a good number of the enemy ships.

The tactical display now showed a total of fifty-three Morag warships. The Humans had already successfully destroyed fourteen of the enemy ships. As Collison opened fire on the Morag warships, the enemy fleet jumped again. Collison smiled. So far the Morag were reacting exactly how the Humans had expected. No surprises, which was good.

Collison continued to chase the Morag fleet. He would continue to do so for another twenty minutes. Then he would trade off with Rear Admiral Drake. Collison would guard the battlecarriers then, while Drake chased the fleet. This strategy would allow them to recharge their hyperdrives. This would ensure the entire Human fleet would be prepared to enter hyperspace, if the situation warranted.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes watched as the attack interceptors launched from the battlecarriers. Once they formed into their squadrons, they would head to the first shipyard. Barnes would take her task group to the next shipyard to target and destroy it. As the interceptors headed to their target, Barnes took her ships and headed to hers.

As they closed in on the shipyard, it opened fire on Barnes’s ships. Barnes winced at the intensity of the weapons fire headed toward her. The fleet moved into their weapons range and launched their accelerator cannon fire at the shipyard. Barnes smiled as she watched the projectiles heading toward the shipyard.

Before the projectiles arrived at the shipyard, the enemy fire slammed into Barnes’s ships. Barnes took in a sharp breath, as the energy screens of the battlecruisers around her swelled, when they dissipated the tremendous amount of energy being unleashed on it. One succumbed to the bombardment, causing an intensely bright explosion. The explosion shook Barnes’s flagship, as the lives on board were extinguished.

Barnes’s gaze shifted from the tactical display and the disappearing green icons to the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center, as the Human projectiles began slamming into the shipyard. The shipyard’s energy shield quickly failed, leaving the shipyard exposed to the next round of accelerator cannon fire that was not far behind the first.

As the second round slammed into the shipyard’s hull, large explosions spread. Barnes hoped the shipyard would fall to the planet below and do some damage, but, as soon as this sequence of events began to happen, a huge explosion rocketed the shipyard, blasting it into one million pieces.

Barnes sighed. It looked like the shipyard’s commander had hit the self-destruct button. She liked it better when the shipyard didn’t have that function.

Now that her first target was eliminated, time to head to the second one—the shipyard that orbited the nearest terraformed moon. As Barnes began to make her jump, she gazed at the tactical display to see how Collison fared in destroying the enemy ships. He had successfully diminished the fleet to forty-five ships.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron headed to the shipyard above Morag Fifty. They would again use their strategy of launching half of their fusion-tipped missiles at the shipyard from medium-range position, and then the rest would be launched from a little closer. This would hopefully be after the energy screen of the shipyard failed.

Garland was hopeful the fleet would destroy all the targets before the Morag’s reinforcements arrived. All she could do was her part, and, right now, that was destroying this shipyard. Garland swerved around the numerous enemy fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles launched in her direction. This shipyard definitely had intense weapons fire.

Garland and her squadron quickly reached the medium-range position, where they launched their first two fusion-tipped missiles at their target. The enemy weapons fire switched from targeting the attack interceptors to trying to eliminate the wall of missiles headed toward them.

Watching the shipyard now target the missiles headed toward them reminded Garland of a video game some of them play on the battlecarrier in their downtime. This was real life though, and she was glad she wasn’t on the other end of that wall of missiles.

The fusion-tipped missiles slammed into the shipyard’s energy screen. Garland’s eyes widened, as missile after missile struck the screen. The screen swelled and glowed brighter and brighter. Come on. Come on, Garland thought to herself. She loosened the tight grip she had on her controls. As the last remaining missiles hit the energy screen, the screen was too overwhelmed and failed. Yes!

The attack interceptors then moved in to eliminate their target. Now that the first wave of missiles was gone, the shipyard switched its targeting back to the incoming attack interceptors. Garland dove and spun, as she used her skills and experience to outmaneuver the weapons fire shot at her interceptor.

Garland moved closer to her target; she felt her interceptor shudder beneath her, as she launched her last two remaining missiles at the shipyard. The incoming weapons fire lessened again, as the shipyard switched its targeting to the inbound missiles. The shipyard destroyed more missiles than Garland thought it would but not enough. The missiles began impacting the side of the shipyard. Explosions rattled across the shipyard. A few explosions were bright enough that Garland had to close her eyes momentarily.

When she opened them, the shipyard was engulfed in numerous explosions that fractured the shipyard into six larger pieces. All these pieces were knocked out of orbit and now fell toward the defensive grid of the planet below. The defensive grid started taking aim on those fragments as they came in range.

Garland smiled. Her job here was done. Now to return to the Freedom and reload safely. Garland was confident her squadron would be given another target as soon as they were ready to attack again.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had her task group above the second planet in the system, Morag Fifty-One. This was where one confirmed Morag military base was located. Admiral Collison had tasked her task group with destroying the defensive grid above the base and then destroying the base itself. To do this task, Carrie would utilize the attack interceptors. Many of them were currently attacking one of the shipyards, but the other half were in the carriers with her task group, waiting to target the base, once Carrie made a large enough hole in the defensive grid.

The task group made short work of destroying the defensive grid above the military base. Then Carrie watched as the attack interceptors formed up into the squadrons and headed through the hole they had made in the defensive grid. None of the remaining defensive grid elements were close enough to threaten the interceptors.

While the interceptors moved in to attack the base, Carrie changed her focus to making sure the roaming Morag fleet didn’t come in behind and target the battlecarriers.

-

Captain Stephens, group leader to the Black Dart Squadron, and his squadron headed to destroy the Morag military base on the planet’s surface. Stephens was a little on edge, waiting to see what type of defenses the base possessed.

As Stephens surveyed his various displays in front of him, alarms sounded. He immediately felt sweat break out across his brow, as he looked over at the tactical display. “What do we have?” Stephens asked.

“Looks like this base is home to some of the Morag’s interceptor killers. Currently we have over two hundred on the tactical display and counting,” Lieutenant Gains responded in a worried tone.

Stephens swallowed and said, “Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let’s get rid of these interceptor killers, before they’re successful in their purpose.”

Stephens’s squadron quickly began targeting and destroying the enemy ships. The biggest problem was that it took one hit to destroy the energy shield and one to eliminate the ship. That meant each attack interceptor could only kill two of the Morag interceptor killers before the Humans had to return to reload. At this rate, it would take longer than expected to destroy this base. Who knew how many of the interceptor killers the Morag had stationed here?

Their first priority had now changed to destroying the interceptor killers. Then they would have to reload on the carrier. After that, they must return and either destroy more of the enemy ships or destroy the base. This target would end up costing the Humans much higher than they had planned.

Stephens soon found himself the target of one of these interceptor killers. He quickly used his skills to outmaneuver the vessel and had it in his sights. Once he had a target lock on it, he promptly sent two missiles to eliminate the threat. Now, he needed to find another one.

An alarm rang out, indicating Stephens had another threat targeting him. He said, “I guess our next target just found us.” With a couple quick turns and dips, he had a lock on the vessel. A few moments later, the interceptor killer exploded as the two fusion-tipped missiles took out its energy screen and then slammed into the small vessel.

The next challenge was getting safely back to his battlecarrier. Interceptors all across the area were targeting and eliminating the interceptor killers. Unfortunately the interceptor killers were also fulfilling their purpose of destroying the attack interceptors.

-

Carrie had been surprised when the alarm had rung out, indicating more enemy ships. It appeared the Morag still had some tricks up their sleeves. That was a little exhilarating and a little intimidating. Carrie knew they would rise to meet this newest challenge. She quickly called for more reinforcements. With this many interceptor killers to destroy, they would need more interceptors to get the job done.

Rear Admiral Drake soon positioned the rest of the battlecarriers near the planet. Many of them were still reloading from their last attack of the shipyard. Many of these interceptors reloaded and launched to head into the planet’s atmosphere to eliminate their targets before Carrie’s group had the chance to reload. If they could keep a constant barrage of attack interceptors attacking the interceptor killers and ultimately the base, they could get this target knocked out.

The tactical display showed more and more interceptor killers emerging from the base. Carrie knew they had to hit that part of the base and quickly. If they could destroy the enemy vessels before they could even take off, then they would be one step ahead. How many of these interceptor killers do they have? Carrie thought to herself. They were losing interceptors, too many of them.

“Contact Captain Elliott on the battlecarrier Deneb. Have his best squadrons attack that launching bay where the interceptor killers are coming from. We’ve got to get this situation under control and quickly,” ordered Carrie.

-

Lieutenant Burr and his squadron, the Scorpion Squadron, had been tasked with destroying the area where the interceptor killers were coming from. They had to stop more of them from launching. Burr knew this would be no easy task. Not only would his squadron have to avoid the interceptor killers but also the weapons turrets that would take aim at them as they approached the target zone.

Burr took a deep breath. If anyone could do it, it was his squadron. They were probably going to lose some ships, but he hoped it wouldn’t be many.

Once his squadron had reloaded and formed back up, they headed to their target. They had been assigned two other squadrons to go along with them to help clear them a path. These additional interceptors would use their missiles to eliminate any interceptor killers in the area and any weapons turrets that targeted them. This would allow Burr’s squadron to save their fusion-tipped missiles to use on the Morag military base portal, where the interceptor killers were emerging from.

Burr had received their target coordinates and led his squadron straight for it. His heart beat rapidly as they began their approach. The interceptor killers must have realized what was afoot because many of them headed in their direction. Burr had to trust the other squadrons to keep his squadron safe, while making their way to their intended target.

Small explosions lit up the sky around him, and Burr prayed those flashes of light were the interceptor killers and not attack interceptors. He glanced at his tactical display, but so many icons were there that it was hard to tell which side held the advantage. He had to get that enemy launch point destroyed, before the Humans were outnumbered.

As they got closer to their target, the Morag’s weapons turrets opened up and began targeting Burr’s Scorpion Squadron. Missiles flew in their direction, and the squadron started their evasive maneuvers. A few of the turrets exploded in giant explosions of fire, as they were hit by other interceptors’ fusion-tipped missiles. Flashes of light could still be seen in the periphery of Burr’s view. He focused on his target. They were almost to their launching point. A few more seconds, and they could launch their missiles. Burr was so intensely focused on his target that he overlooked the interceptor killer headed straight for him. The first Burr noticed it was the large explosion that happened right outside his cockpit window. “What happened?” he asked his navigator.

“Another interceptor just smashed into the side of the interceptor killer that was headed to slam into our ship,” his navigator said slowly.

Burr closed his eyes briefly before asking, “Whose ship intercepted the Morag ship?”

“It was Lieutenant Brett’s ship, sir.”

Burr took a deep breath. “Let’s finish this.” He put the loss out of his mind momentarily. He knew he had to focus on the task at hand, or he would cause more of his squadron to die.

The squadron had reached the coordinates of the target, and Burr saw the interceptor killers launching one after another. He quickly targeted the launching pad and fired two of his missiles. A giant explosion rocked the area and leveled everything around it. Burr moved farther down to the base and released his last two missiles.

As Burr and the rest of his Scorpion Squadron turned to head back to their carriers to reload, large explosions rattled the base. Multiple large mushroom clouds made their way to the planet’s upper atmosphere. It looked to Burr like the base was a wasteland. In his mind, the Morag had gotten what they deserved. In fact, he would like to make this entire planet look like that base. Burr had in mind to make this planet a scorched wasteland.

First, he needed to reload and to get permission to fulfill his desire.

-

Carrie felt relief wash over her, when the mushroom clouds rose from the base. A quick look at the tactical display showed the red threat icons that represented the interceptor killers were dwindling. With as many attack interceptors as they now had in play, the Humans had a constant stream of interceptors reloading, while others were out hunting down the interceptor killers.

Soon the interceptors had managed to destroy all the Morag’s enemy ships on the planet. Carrie had received a request from Lieutenant Burr to destroy this planet in response to their extra use of the interceptor killers on the interceptors. Carrie considered this. It would show the Morag that they would pay for all the Human lives lost today. The reasoning sounded logical to her. She sent the command back to Burr, permitting him to destroy the planet.

Carrie sat back and watched the carnage unfold on the planet below. Perhaps this would teach the Morag a lesson. It probably wouldn’t, and soon it wouldn’t matter anyway, not once the Humans destroyed Morag Prime and then hunted down all their shipyards and military bases. Carrie looked forward to seeing Morag Prime burn. For now, she would settle for watching this planet getting destroyed.

The sky soon turned gray, and what life that remained on the surface of Morag Fifty-One would soon be no more. She wondered which would be worse, to die in the initial attack or from the aftereffects? Carrie quickly concluded that dying in the initial attacks would be the quickest death. Not that the Morag deserved a quick death.

Now that the planet was destroyed—or at least not capable of sustaining life for years to come—time to head to their next target. Carrie did a quick scan of the tactical display to see how Collison was doing on hunting down the Morag fleet patrolling the system. Now Rear Admiral Drake had taken over the hunt, while Collison recharged his task group’s hyperdrives and helped protect the rear of the formation around the battlecarriers.

Carrie would head on to her next target, a shipyard that orbited a terraformed moon around the third planet, Morag Fifty-Two. She would take with her half of the battlecarriers. The remaining battlecarriers would stay here to reload and to prepare for the next target.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes closed in on her target, a shipyard that orbited the fifth planet in the system, Morag Fifty-Three. Her group of battlecarriers had been reassigned to help Carrie attack the military base. Barnes had been concerned when she had heard that the military base had been home to a large number of interceptor killers. She hoped the toll they would pay for destroying this military base would be worth it.

Her task group would make short work of this shipyard and then figure out their next target. They closed in on the weapons range of the shipyard. As soon as they crossed into that zone, the shipyard opened fire on her fleet. It appeared this shipyard was heavily armed. It was also slightly larger than the average shipyard that Barnes had seen in the Morag star systems.

Barnes’s fleet launched their accelerator cannon fire at the shipyard. Barnes knew that the shipyard’s energy screen would be useless up against the incoming projectiles from the accelerator cannon fire. The fleet had already launched multiple rounds of accelerator cannon fire, most likely more than enough to destroy the shipyard.

So Barnes gave the command to microjump away from the shipyard. No need to stick around to face the incoming wall of firepower. The Humans had already launched enough firepower at the shipyard to totally destroy it. They would wait nearby in case they needed to come back and make another go at it.

The fleet ended up feeling a small amount of the enemy’s firepower before they all made their jump. No Human ships were lost though.

Once Barnes and her fleet were safely out of harm’s way, she surveyed the damage done by the accelerator cannons. The shipyard was engulfed in explosions, and many pieces had broken off. It looked like their job was complete. The target was pretty much destroyed.

Now the next question was, what would they target next?

-

Rear Admiral Drake was getting frustrated with the slow progress he was making in eliminating the Morag fleet patrolling the system. So far he had only managed to destroy about fifteen of the Morag ships since he had taken over for Collison’s task group. What could they do to stop these ships from jumping all over the system? Were reinforcements nearing the system?

Drake had many worries creeping up in the back of his mind. He pushed them from his thoughts when he remembered Barnes and Carrie saying that they had finally gotten the enemy fleet to attack them when they had attacked a planet. Carrie had already destroyed one planet in the system so far, and the enemy fleet had not reacted. What if the Humans threatened another planet? They had three more planets and two terraformed moons they could destroy. The only question was, would the enemy fleet engage them, or were they only stalling for time for the reinforcements to arrive?

In Drake’s mind, there was only one way to find out. They had to destroy this enemy fleet before they could leave this system, or they took a chance that they would be followed into hyperspace, and they definitely didn’t want that.

This next jump, he would head back to rendezvous with Collison and the rest of the fleet for the next round of attacks.

-

Carrie had decided that she needed to give the attack interceptors a chance to recover and to rest from their extended attack on the interceptor killers and the military base. Carrie knew that many of them had lost crews they had been close with. Carrie had also been impressed with Barnes’s attack on the other shipyard. She had jumped in and then launched a few rounds of accelerator cannon fire at the shipyard and then jumped back out before taking any significant damage from the enemy firepower of the shipyard. Because of Barnes’s success, Carrie also decided to try a hand at that tactic.

After updating the task group on their plan of attack, they approached the shipyard. This shipyard was not a large one, more the run-of-the-mill Morag shipyard. Carrie noticed that the shipyard opened fire on the Human ships slightly before they reached engagement range.

As soon as they entered that magic distance where the accelerator cannons could reach their target, Carrie quickly gave the command to fire. Since the shipyard had launched their weapons early, many of the fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles did hit the Human ships. After the Human ships had launched a few quick rounds of accelerator cannon fire, the fleet microjumped to a nearby location where they could watch the impending destruction of the shipyard.

As Carrie’s task group reached their safe location, they watched as the shipyard went down in flames, so to speak. By the time the shipyard was featured on the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center, it was already destroyed. All that was left were smaller pieces of glowing debris. Debris that would now fall to the planet below. None of the pieces were large enough to threaten the surface though. That was too bad.

Since her target was now destroyed, Carrie knew it was time to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet to figure out the best way to eliminate the Morag fleet still antagonizing them. Carrie had been fortunate to have only lost three battlecruisers in that attack on the shipyard. If only they had been able to get in there and to launch their weapons before the enemy shipyard had, maybe all those people would not have lost their lives. The shipyard must have been expecting this, since Barnes had used that tactic on the other shipyard.

Now that the four shipyards and the military base had been destroyed, the only targets that remained were the enemy fleet and the inhabited planets and terraformed moons.

-

Collison was under pressure to eliminate this enemy fleet before the Morag reinforcements showed up. Who knew how large a fleet it could be? He did not want any surprises. Barnes and Carrie had used a tactic previously that had worked, so that’s the tactic they would utilize now. Collison thought that the enemy fleet might be more than a little reluctant to attack the entire fleet as a whole, so he planned to split up the fleet into smaller task groups. Each group would take a planet or terraformed moon. Three planets left, and two terraformed moons gave them five targets.

After Collison sent out the various commands and targets, the different task groups jumped to their targets. It was time to see how this Morag fleet would react. Collison had also distributed the battlecarriers evenly amount the five task groups. He lead one task group, and then Barnes, Carrie, Drake, and Captain Greeley lead the others.

Collison hoped the Morag fleet didn’t end up attacking Greeley’s task group, but he also had confidence that Greeley could handle it. Collison was aware that Greeley had reservations about destroying planets. Collison had told him that they did not intend to destroy them all. Only make it appear as if they were going to. Greeley need only destroy the defensive grid of the planet. That would hopefully be enough to force the enemy fleet to intervene.

-

Captain Greeley felt elated that Collison entrusted him with a task group to lead. What an honor that was. He was a little hesitant about his target but hoped Collison’s plan would work. He would only need to destroy the defensive grid before the enemy fleet would try to intervene. Greeley also knew Collison had assigned Greeley’s target as the nearest terraformed moon. Since this moon did have the smallest population of Morag, it likely wouldn’t be the one that caused the Morag to interfere. This also meant that Greeley’s task group would not be going up against this enemy fleet. This helped Greeley feel a little less anxious about the entire situation.

Greeley was also not nearest to the enemy fleet’s current location, not that that that mattered. A microjump in the system would quickly take the enemy fleet anywhere they wanted to go.

As Greeley and his task group approached the terraformed moon, they got in their formation to target the defensive grid and to prepare for an attack from behind. Greeley did not want to be caught off guard. Not when Collison had entrusted him with his own task group—not only his own task group but one with battlecarriers too. A lot was riding on Greeley’s performance in this task. He would not let Collison down.

Greeley’s task group targeted the defensive grid elements of the moon as soon as they came in range of their weapons. The defensive grid returned fire and began targeting the ships around Greeley. Energy screens lit up as the defensive grid elements began to target the Human ships. When one would grow brighter and brighter, it seemed that even more firepower would be directed in that direction. Thankfully only two battlecruisers were lost in the time it took Greeley’s task group to make a hole large enough for the attack interceptors to slip through.

The loss of life fell heavily on Greeley’s shoulders. These were ships and lives that he had been responsible for. It was on him that they had not survived. He knew it could have been much worse but felt no relief in that train of thought. He closed his eyes and prayed for those who had just given their lives for the fight for freedom. Their families would forever be changed, but hopefully their sacrifice would not be in vain.

Now that Greeley had opened up the hole in the defensive grid, it was time to launch the attack interceptors. Before he gave that command though, he surveyed the tactical display to see if their plan to lure the enemy fleet in for a battle had worked. It had not. Greeley felt a greater weight fall upon his shoulders. It looked like he would have to give the command to destroy the moon after all.

Greeley looked up at the viewscreen in the front of the Command Center. He already knew how many Morag lived on this moon. On the bright side, it was a terraformed moon, so there wouldn’t be as many species of plants and animals that would be destroyed along with the enemy. That thought did help him feel a little better. Greeley gave the command for the interceptors to launch and to form into their squadrons. They would then wait for his command to commence the attack.

Before he had the chance to give the command, alarms blared. Greeley smiled. The plan had worked. However, the enemy fleet had jumped to his location. This fact did puzzle him, but he had no time to ponder it. He had a Morag fleet to destroy. He knew another of the task groups would jump in soon to help, but not before he took out as many as he could on his own.

The Morag fleet had jumped into combat range and quickly began targeting the Human ships. Since the task group was not much larger than what was left of the enemy fleet, the fighting was intense. Greeley witnessed numerous green icons disappear from his tactical display. Each weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he couldn’t spare the time to think about that right now. He had to eliminate these enemy ships.

The accelerator cannons were very effective in plowing right through the enemy’s energy screens. Then the ship itself was completely vulnerable to the second projectile that hit it within less than a minute. It didn’t take long for the Morag fleet to be decimated. All the enemy ships had been eliminated. Greeley smiled. He had done it.

Collison sent a message to go ahead with his attack on the moon. Since the enemy fleet had decided to engage the Humans above the moon, there must be something important on it. The rest of the fleet would stand down and wait for Greeley to eliminate his target. Then they would jump out of the system together.

Greeley hoped the task could be completed before any more enemy reinforcements showed up. He quickly ordered the attack interceptors to head to their targets on the moon. Soon the moon would not support life of any kind. This did cause Greeley some anguish, but, when he thought of all the Human lives already lost in this system alone, he had less reservations about completing his task.

The attack interceptors made their way to their various targets across the moon. Greeley monitored it all from his Command Center.

-

Lieutenant Garland had been assigned to Greeley’s task group. She was a little on edge when she received the command to attack the moon. There had to be a legitimate reason the Morag fleet took the chance to attack this task group here, when it threatened the least amount of Morag inhabitants. It didn’t make sense to her, making her a little more anxious about attacking her targets.

As Garland made her approach to her first target, the reason the enemy fleet had attacked them became apparent. Another military base was on the moon. Weapons turrets opened up all around them and began to take aim at her squadron. Weapons fire seemed to be all around. Garland focused all her attention on her target and staying alive. She launched her first fusion-tipped missile at her original target and then swung back around to hit the military base.

This base appeared to be much larger than any of the others she had been involved in attacking. This one had more weapons turrets protecting it. Garland launched her remaining missiles at the base, causing a lot of damage. A good majority of the base was leveled by the time her squadron headed back to the battlecarrier.

As Garland returned to the carrier, she heard the message come through that this entire moon appeared to be a military base. More battlecarriers had been called in to attack the moon.

By the time Garland had returned to her carrier and reloaded, she received the message that she would not have to go on another attack run. The base had been destroyed. Relief washed over her. She was exhausted from the day’s attacks. It seemed each Morag system took a heavier and heavier toll on the Human fleet. How much more could they withstand?

-

Collison was amazed when he realized the entire moon was a military base. Once this information had been ascertained, he split the fleet into two. One to help Greeley with this moon, and the other to go destroy the other moon. How many of these terraformed moons were actually military bases? It was something else the scout ships could look for in the other star systems.

Collison knew the Morag had over two hundred terraformed moons throughout their ninety-two star systems. Could a majority of these be massive military bases? He sincerely hoped not. If it were the case, the Humans had many more targets to destroy. It was almost overwhelming.

Collison hoped they could destroy both of these targets before any further enemy reinforcements could arrive. The sheer number of warships that could be built here was terrifying. Would the fusion-tipped missiles be enough to destroy whatever part of the base that might be underground? It might be a good idea to hit the surface in a few areas with some accelerator cannon fire or particle beam cannons. These would cause more severe damage deeper into the ground.

Once the attack interceptors had hit targets all across the moon and mushroom clouds filled the air, Collison had the fleet bombard the surface with accelerator cannon fire and the particle beam cannons. Hopefully that would be enough.

-

Barnes and Carrie had moved their task groups over to target the second terraformed moon. As the attack interceptors moved in through the hole in the defensive grid, Barnes watched closely for any signs that this moon was also a military base. Nothing appeared to point to that possibility. It looked like this moon was not a base. That was a relief. So far, the other terraformed moons they had destroyed hadn’t been large bases either. So Barnes drew the conclusion that not all the moons were massive bases like the one they just found. Maybe it was the only one. Barnes knew that probably wasn’t the case.

Soon the moon’s artificial atmosphere was filled with smoke, ash, and debris from all the fusion-tipped missiles. Nothing would survive on the surface now.

The other good news was that no other enemy ships had exited hyperspace in the system. The Human fleet was now free to leave without the threat of being followed.

Barnes checked in with Collison to confirm all targets had been destroyed. Once the confirmation came through, the fleet began to enter hyperspace. Barnes let out a deep breath once they were in the safety of hyperspace. Wow. That system had been full of surprises. Not only did the known military base have a fleet of interceptor killers stationed at it but an entire terraformed moon had ended up being a massive military base.

Time to reevaluate the next target and to have the assigned scout ship do more detailed scans of the terraformed moons there. If another massive Morag military base was found, she wanted to know ahead of time.

Plus all the scout ships would need to do more detailed scans of all remaining terraformed moons. They needed to know how many of these massive bases existed. They would all need to be destroyed. It also made Barnes wonder what other surprises the Morag might have in store for them. It was a most unsettling thought.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Morag Admiral Voxx was furious when he heard the Humans had destroyed one of their large military bases. Unfortunately they had also destroyed their other terraformed moon in the system as well. No doubt they thought it was likely a base. It had mostly been a large mining colony. Now the Humans would probably target as many of their terraformed moons as possible. Should Voxx reshuffle the warships again? To better protect the other terraformed moons that were massive military bases? Or would that just tip off the Humans as to which ones they should target?

Voxx still had his traps set and hoped the Humans’ luck would run out and their next target would be one of these systems. They would eventually pick one of his systems where he had the trap set as their target. The question was, how many more warships, shipyards, and military bases would the Morag lose before then? Voxx could not figure out another option to destroy the Human fleet other than the one he had already set in motion.

As Voxx paced back and forth in his quarters, he examined the holographic display again. According to the space stations in the star system the Humans had most recently attacked, they had left in the direction that could lead them to three systems where his trap was set. Perhaps the end was near for this Human fleet. His trap was set—if only the Humans would take the bait.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo had received an update from Admiral Collison in the Confederation. He sent a message to Derrick Masters, who was nearing the Hagen Star Cluster. Marloo was happy with the progress Collison had made in eliminating Morag targets. Marloo was concerned that the Human fleet couldn’t maintain their attacks up to and continuing with the attack on Morag Prime. They had another week at least, before reinforcements arrived.

In the last system, the Human fleet had lost twenty-three battlecruisers, six dreadnoughts, and over seven hundred attack interceptors. The large number of attack interceptors they had lost was unsettling. What if the Morag had more of these interceptor killers stationed at other bases throughout the Morag-controlled space? Another couple attacks like that and Collison would be hurting for more attack interceptors.

Should Marloo warn Collison to steer clear of those military bases? The problem was that was those were the targets they most needed to destroy. Plus this new revelation of entire terraformed moons being military bases? How many more of those existed? They would need to be high on the priority list. To think of how many warships could be produced in a place like that was almost unimaginable.

Another thing troubling Marloo was those four hundred Morag warships that were unaccounted for. This last Morag warship redistribution had really done a number on the scout ships. Once all the smoke had cleared, so to speak, they still had Morag warships unaccounted for. Where were they? What were they doing? Were they headed to the Empire for an attack? Marloo didn’t like not knowing where all the Confederation players were.

-

Captain Amar on scout ship 403 had returned to his assigned Morag star system. Fewer warships were present than when he had left. Now only forty-two Morag warships orbited the system. A much easier target for the Human fleet to attack.

Amar noted two shipyards and one Morag military base in the system, with only one terraformed moon—which he had scanned three different times to confirm that it was not one of the massive military bases that Collison had discovered in the last Morag system he had targeted. It appeared to be a relatively easy target.

The Human fleet could destroy more Morag warships, two shipyards, and another of the smaller military bases. As for the massive military bases, the other scout ships were on the hunt for those. Once they had determined where they were, the Human fleet could start going after them. It seemed their list of targets was growing.

Amar sent all his information on to Rear Admiral Barnes. She had requested an update on his system, since it was on her short list of possible target systems.

-

Morag Commander Kano had now scanned three different systems of the Creetins and found no warships present. He was headed to the next one when he received word that the Human fleet was attacking another Morag system.

Kano slammed his massive hand down on the armrest of his command chair. He was nowhere close to where the Humans were. He was looking for a needle in a haystack but he was in the wrong haystack!

With the updated information of where the Humans were, Kano decided to head in that direction. No use scanning these systems of the inferior races in the Morag area of space now that Voxx knew where the Human fleet was. Based on the number of Human ships reported in that system, both of the Human fleets had reconvened to attack more targets. Kano wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news.

From where he was currently located, it would take him almost two days to get to the Humans’ last known location. The Humans will have moved on to other targets by then. Kano was growing tired of this game of chasing the Humans across the Morag-controlled star systems.

-

The Creetins highest military leader, Supreme Commander Ephenius, knew that the time was drawing near to head to the rendezvous location. He wanted to make sure he was not late. From their current location, it would take them four days to reach the rendezvous location.

Ephenius grew more anxious that his fleet would be discovered by a roaming Morag ship. This would be a worst-case scenario and one that he did not want happening on his watch. The sooner the fleet left their home system, the better he would feel.

After meeting with the leaders of the Creetins, it was decided the fleet would leave in twelve hours. It would be the longest twelve hours of his life. Sleep would be elusive. He was certain of that.

-

As Morag Commander Kano headed toward the last known location of the Humans, he left his long-range scanner on. They might as well make sure the Humans were not using one of these star systems as a place to leave their damaged ships or supply ships.

When his ship passed the home system of the Creetins, something very odd showed up on the scans. Over six hundred vessels were in the star system. Kano was puzzled. Could it be another Human fleet? Should he exit hyperspace and find out? If he did, and it was another Human fleet, they would quickly destroy his ship. Kano reached out with his mind to see if he could detect anything, and he found nothing. This meant that it could be a Human fleet. If it were a group of Creetin ships, he would sense the minds of the Creetins on the ships.

Kano quickly contacted Admiral Voxx, even though Kano knew Voxx would order him to exit hyperspace to solve the mystery.

I have discovered a fleet of over six hundred vessels in the home system of the Creetins. I cannot gain access to the minds of anyone on board the ships. Should I go investigate to find out if it is, indeed, another Human fleet? Or should I stay nearby and monitor the fleet’s presence, while you send reinforcements to destroy them? Kano asked Voxx.

Let us assume it is another Human fleet. There’s no one else it could possibly be, unless the Creetins now have telepathic nullifiers too. I have a roaming task group not far from your location. Keep an eye on the ships. Your reinforcements will arrive in a few hours. We will destroy this Human fleet before it has the chance to destroy any of our shipyards or military bases, Voxx replied.

After the conversation ended, Kano was relieved he would not have to exit hyperspace and face destruction from the Human fleet. Hopefully the ships that Voxx was sending his way would be enough to eliminate this enemy fleet. Kano hoped the Morag task force would have more ships than what this enemy fleet had. To stop this threat, the Morag needed a lot more ships than the Humans.

Kano would spend the next few hours keeping within long-range scanning distance of the system. If those ships left, he had to follow them. Which meant he needed to recharge his hyperdrives some. Kano decided to drop out of hyperspace in a nearby uninhabited system; already a Morag scout ship had been stationed there. It would take over watching the fleet in the Creetin system, while Kano recharged his hyperdrive.

-

In the Human Empire, Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters was nearing the Hagen Star Cluster. His fleet would exit hyperspace above the inhabited moon of Gideon in half an hour. Derrick was anxious to see Rear Admiral Martinez and how many ships he had brought with him from Earth.

Derrick paced around his quarters and finally made his way to the Command Center. When he arrived there, he had the communications officer check with Admiral Cleemorl to see if the Earth fleet had arrived yet. They had not. Derrick sat down in his command chair. He knew Cleemorl was anxious to get everyone here and to get the plan of attack hammered out.

Most of the planning would have to wait until they reached their rendezvous location in the Lormallian star systems. They were still unsure how many ships all the allied alien races would have, nor how effective their weapons might be. The Humans assumed that the lion’s share of the destruction would come from them, the Lormallians, and the Visth. This was what they intended to plan around. Anything above that which the other races could add would be a bonus.

Derrick’s heart raced. He could barely contain his excitement to see the Earth Human fleet. Only a matter of minutes now.

-

Admiral Dylan Cleemorl was on his flagship, Mercury, when the alarms sounded. Dylan had a momentary feeling of panic, even though he knew that the ships either belonged to Rear Admiral Martinez or Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters. However, still a large number of Morag ships were unaccounted for. Even if those Morag ships showed up here, Cleemorl’s fleet could easily handle them.

Cleemorl’s gaze focused on the tactical display, as the icons turned green. His relief was immediate. The large fleet belonged to that of Admiral Derrick Masters. It looked pretty good on the viewscreen to see so many ships. His fleet had been gaining numbers to get back to what it had been prior to the last Morag attack on Gideon. The moon itself had already come a long way since the attack, but it was not yet back to what it had been before the attack.

The viewscreen in the front of the Command Center was full of Human warships. Tantula Five could also be seen in the background of Masters’s fleet. It was a beautiful sight. Not for the first time, Cleemorl felt a rush of sadness that he wasn’t the one leading the Human Empire fleet into the Confederation and on to attack Morag Prime.

More alarms sounded, and the same panicked feeling crept up once more in Cleemorl. His gaze again shifted to the tactical display. The Command Center remained completely silent, as the tactical display showed the ships appearing, and then an audible sigh of relief could be heard as the icons turned green. The viewscreen in the front of the Command Center changed views to that of the new arrivals. The fleet was still exiting hyperspace. Wow, what a fleet, thought Cleemorl to himself.

In total, once the newcomers had all exited hyperspace, the tactical display showed the Earth fleet had over two thousand warships. Everyone in Cleemorl’s Command Center cheered. What a sight to behold. With all three fleets in the system, Cleemorl couldn’t help but smile. He again felt that pang of jealousy that he wouldn’t be going with them. With the numbers from Derrick’s fleet and Martinez’s fleet, the Humans would be sending a total of twenty-seven hundred warships to attack Morag Prime.

The most recent numbers that had been reported from the scout ship stationed in the system containing Morag Prime showed the Morag had a little over three thousand warships stationed in the system. Within an hour of Morag Prime was another one thousand enemy warships. Within two hours were another five hundred enemy ships. In all of the Morag-controlled star systems, there were still around fifty-five hundred total warships. It was unlikely all these ships would have the opportunity to make it all the way to Morag Prime, before the Humans and their allies could destroy it.

Cleemorl didn’t think many more ships would be in the system where Morag Prime was located, unless they were somehow tipped off that a major attack was coming. Cleemorl thought that, worst case, the fleet could attack numerous targets away from Morag Prime if needed, for some reason, should the Morag be prepared for the Humans attack and had moved most of their warships in to protect Morag Prime.

Still the Human fleets may destroy many nearby targets, forcing the Morag to come after them instead. That would be plan B. Plan A would be a complete surprise on the Morag, as the Human ships and their allies dropped from hyperspace above Morag Prime. Cleemorl couldn’t help but feel envious of Martinez and Masters again. Cleemorl wished he could see that battle. His place would be here though, protecting the home front.

-

Princess Krista had been in the Solar System for a few days now. She and Mathew were staying on Pallas, where both had lived previously for a time. Krista was even back in her same rooms.

Krista had already been involved in many meetings with various Pallas and Earth leaders. It had been her first time visiting Earth. It was a beautiful place. It reminded her of Golan Four, although her home planet was a bit smaller than Earth.

The reaction when she had shared Professor Charles Wright’s video of the news of Falton Two had been shock. Humans with a telepathic ability? Ones who might be the reason behind the Morag’s hatred and attacks on the Empire and the Solar System? Professor Charles had found evidence on Earth that a ship from Falton Two had landed on Earth. Were these explorers or refugees?

No record was known of the descendants of these “people of the sky.” Why had they come to Earth? Was it only Humans without the telepathic ability who came, or were some of the special Humans there too? Could there be descendants of these who might possess this ability? Was there a way to tell? So many questions had come out of the meeting.

Everyone had agreed that Falton Two was a problem they would have to deal with, but not until after the Morag and the Druins had been dealt with first. All the things they knew pointed to the fact that the Humans of Falton Two had no warships of their own.

Once the Morag were defeated, the Humans of Falton Two would have no way to defend themselves against the Human fleet. As to what the Human fleet would do, no one knew yet. In all likelihood, Derrick Masters would be in charge of the diplomatic negotiations with Falton Two.

First though, the Earth and Imperial Humans had to defeat the Morag. Hopefully the Druins would fall shortly after that. Rear Admiral Martinez had no intention of returning from the Confederation until all enemies of the Humans had been neutralized. Fleet Admiral Reynolds had assured Krista.

Krista planned to keep herself busy while she was in the Solar System. She had a lot of leaders across the system to meet with. Most would know nothing of Falton Two. Only a small handful of Humans in the Solar System was privy to the information about Falton Two. Reynolds would show Krista around and introduce her to the leaders she had planned to meet. Creating goodwill with one’s allies was always a good idea.

When the attack on Morag Prime began, Krista and Mathew would watch everything from the Command Center in Pallas, alongside Fleet Admiral Reynolds. The attack was still a little over one week away. Plenty of meet-and-greets she could do between now and then.

Mathew kept himself busy by visiting various military installations and shipyards, as well as Luna City on the moon and another production plant, where attack interceptors were manufactured. Mathew had even had a few opportunities to fly attack interceptors. He had also told her all about touring the training facility, where the next generation of attack interceptor crews were being trained.

Krista enjoyed all the extra time she spent with Mathew. They were both invigorated doing the things they loved—Mathew with the attack interceptors and her meeting the various leaders across the Solar System.

-

Captain Tanner on scout ship 112 had spent the last few days monitoring everything he could on Falton Two. He was ready to deploy one of his stealth drones to explore the surface a little more closely. The first place he intended to investigate with the drone was the building where they knew Emperor Rowan had last been seen. Tanner also wanted to get eyes in that building where the crates from the Morag had been taken.

The drone’s first test flight on Falton Two was scheduled to take place in two hours. Tanner closely examined everything they had gathered on the area. It was vital that the drones not be detected. If Tanner noticed even the slightest hint that the drones might be sensed, the mission would be aborted.

Tanner was nervous about the first flight but knew that, to find out more information, they needed to get more eyes and ears on the surface of the planet.

-

Creetin military leader Ephenius watched the time tick by. His fleet was ready to enter hyperspace. According to their schedule, they still had half an hour before they were scheduled to leave. Ephenius was ready to go. He felt that every moment they waited put their race more at risk. His anxiety grew with each passing moment.

Ephenius decided he couldn’t take the chance any longer. He was ready, and his fleet was ready. He quickly gave the command to enter hyperspace. The risk was not worth it. If they were discovered here by the Morag, it would be a catastrophe for the rest of the Creetins.

Once his entire fleet had exited the system, Ephenius felt a huge rush of relief wash over him. He relaxed in his command chair. They would be to the rendezvous early, but that would not put his race at risk, like staying put would.

-

On his long-range scans, Morag Commander Kano saw that the fleet was exiting the system. Kano was not near enough to follow them closely. What puzzled him though was that the fleet was headed in the direction that would lead them out of the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation. Why would they do that?

Kano would follow them as best as he could. The Morag fleet that Voxx was sending his way was approximately half an hour from his location. If he could keep this fleet on his long-range scans through hyperspace, he could relay the coordinates to the following fleet.

Perhaps this fleet was headed to attack the Druins. Kano knew he needed to contact Admiral Voxx and apprise him of the newest developments.

-

Creetin military leader Ephenius monitored the fleet as they settled into the long journey to their rendezvous in the Lormallian star systems.

“Leader Ephenius, we have detected one ship in our long-range scans that is following us,” the sensor officer said gravely.

Ephenius swallowed the fear rising in his throat. “Is it a Morag ship?”

“It is impossible to tell from our scans. It is not close enough for more detailed scans,” replied the sensor officer.

“Contact the leaders of our race to see if any ships appeared in the system as we left,” commanded Ephenius.

After a few moments of tense silence, the communications officer replied, “Our leaders report that no ships entered our star system as we left.”

“It is likely this ship is not aware they are following Creetin ships. If it is a Morag ship, they probably believe they are following a Human fleet.” Ephenius sighed. What should he do? “Contact our leaders and have them contact the Human scout ship for advice on how we should handle this. They should  communicate with the Humans covertly. We will continue on our course for now and hope this ship is unintentionally following us.”

-

Morag Commander Kano closely monitored this Human fleet he followed. Voxx had contacted Druin Admiral Falorr to warn him a Human fleet was headed his way. Voxx didn’t understand why the Humans would come all the way here just to turn around and backtrack to attack the Druins. It just didn’t add up. So what was really going on? Kano wasn’t sure, but he would continue to follow this fleet. His reinforcements were not far behind them. The best part was that the Humans might be aware of his presence, but they had no idea of the Morag warships that followed behind him and of the Druin warships forewarned too.

Kano smiled as he thought about the surprise these Humans were in for, whenever they exited hyperspace. Kano would be fortunate enough to witness the death of thousands of Humans in these ships he followed now.

-

Marloo was running every scenario he could think of through his mind, trying to figure out what the Creetin fleet should do. If the Morag ship determined it was a Creetin fleet they were following, the Morag would send a fleet to destroy their planets. This could be disastrous to the overall cause. If other races heard of the Morag’s wrath on the Creetins, it might put enough fear in their minds to back out of the attack on Morag Prime. They all knew there were risks, but knowing the Morag would seek revenge was different from seeing the Morag’s wrath actually play out. This needed to be avoided.

Marloo was also toying with the idea of letting this ship follow the Creetin ships to a rendezvous location where this ship, and whatever other ships might be trailing farther behind, could be ambushed and destroyed. It would be a good start on destroying the Morag fleet, if more Morag ships trailed behind. Marloo put his head in his hands. The scenarios were endless.

After consulting with Admirals Masters and Cleemorl, a plan was made. They couldn’t let the Morag figure out a larger attack was imminent. The longer they could keep the Morag in the dark, the better.

-

Creetin military leader Ephenius was surprised by his orders from the Humans. They had a lot of experience fighting and defeating the Morag, so he trusted their judgment. As long as his fleet was in hyperspace, the Morag could not identify them. This meant the Creetin planets were not at risk.

Ephenius would follow the orders of the Humans. He trusted them; he had to. The fate of his race was in their hands.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Captain Amar constantly monitored the ships in the system where he was stationed, including planet Morag Fifty-Five. The Human fleets were headed here to destroy all the targets in the system. The fleet would arrive within the next hour. So far, no significant changes had occurred; a few Morag warships had left, and a few others had arrived. The system now had five more warships than it had previously.

-

Rear Admiral Drake reviewed the battle plan for the attack on this next Morag system—Morag Fifty-Five. His task group would be targeting the shipyard that orbited the terraformed moon. After the shipyard had been eliminated, his next target would be the terraformed moon. The scout ship had reported that the moon was not one of the massive military bases, but Admiral Collison had decided he didn’t want to take the chance of passing it over, if even a chance it might be. From now on, all terraformed moons in the systems they targeted would be destroyed, if at all possible.

Collison would attack the military base on the second inhabited planet in the system. He would use most of the attack interceptors to do it. This was an utmost precaution taken in case the military base was home to the Morag interceptor killers. Drake would take the remaining attack interceptors with him to help him destroy the terraformed moon.

As for Barnes and Carrie, Barnes would attack the second shipyard, while Carrie hunted down the Morag fleet. Once Barnes destroyed the shipyard, her task group would then hunt the enemy fleet, while Carrie recharged her hyperdrives.

The plan was set. Drake was ready. Now all he had to do was wait another half hour before they exited hyperspace in their target system.

-

Voxx was growing anxious. The Human fleet that Kano was following didn’t make sense to him at all. Why would the Humans be leaving the Morag systems? Especially if they had another six hundred ships to aid the fleet that had been attacking Morag targets? Voxx shook his head. What was he missing? He growled under his breath and studied the holographic display in front of him.

The Human fleet that had been attacking Morag targets could be nearing one of his systems that contained his trap. According to the direction they had headed after their last attack, and based on how long they’d been in hyperspace, they could be near two of his traps.

If he could use his trap to destroy this Human fleet, he would lose less sleep about the other fleet. Either way, the Humans had been in the Creetin home system, and the Creetins had not reported them. This must have consequences. Voxx would bring this up at the next Morag High Council meeting, scheduled to take place next week.

-

Admiral Collison stood in front of his command chair as the Human fleet began to exit hyperspace at Morag Fifty-Five’s star system. The fleet was prepared to jump into a combat situation. The Morag were likely to attack the Human battlecarriers, as the Human fleet adjusted their formation to protect them.

Collison kept his gaze on the tactical display and waited for the Morag ships to make their jump to their location, but nothing happened. The Human fleet quickly got into formation to protect the battlecarriers. The Morag fleet still did not move.

The Morag warships, all forty-seven of them, were positioned above the planet, where the military base was located. Collison wasn’t sure what to make of this, other than it was another way for the Morag to stall for time, to keep their ships alive a little longer, possibly long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Collison sent a message to the other rear admirals. “Let’s get started destroying our targets. Keep your eyes peeled for any surprises.”

After that, the action got underway. Collison and his task group took their short jump to the second inhabited planet, where the military base was located. This is also where the Morag fleet was currently stationed. His ships immediately opened fire on the enemy fleet.

The Morag fleet quickly jumped to another location but not before two of them were destroyed by the accelerator cannon fire. Collison smiled. At least they were getting a start on destroying the fleet. Now it would be up to Rear Admiral Carrie to hunt the fleet.

-

Rear Admiral Drake headed to his target, the shipyard above the terraformed moon. He intended to make quick work of his target. Drake planned to use the new tactic of jumping in and firing and then jumping out. This would save his task group from a majority of the enemy firepower coming from the shipyard.

As Drake jumped to his target, he quickly moved into weapons range of the shipyard. As Drake’s task group emerged from their short jump, the shipyard had already begun launching their fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles.

The Humans launched their accelerator cannon fire at the shipyard. Once they had launched four rounds of the deadly projectiles, they jumped out of harm’s way. Just as they were beginning their jump, the enemy firepower arrived, striking a few ships. Only one succumbed to the intense firepower. The rest of the task group emerged from the short jump unscathed.

Drake was still humbled by the loss of the Human lives on that battlecruiser. Drake knew that, at any time, that could easily be him and his ship. This group of Humans had been killed under his command, and he did not take that lightly.

The viewscreen at the front of the Command Center showed the shipyard as the accelerator cannon fire reached it, slamming right through the energy screen and into the shipyard itself. Massive explosions rattled the shipyard. Drake watched intently, hoping that the accelerator cannon rounds they had launched would be enough to get the job done.

The projectiles continued to hammer the shipyard, pounding it into multiple pieces and causing explosions and catastrophic damage with each hit. The four rounds would be enough. Drake smiled. The shipyard was effectively destroyed. It now fell to the moon in multiple pieces. The defensive grid targeted the larger pieces, trying to break them up further, before they entered the atmosphere of the terraformed moon.

Drake knew that their efforts were futile. Soon his task group would destroy this moon. The Morag could do nothing to stop him.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes closed in on her target. They would use their newest tactic of jumping in, launching a few rounds of the accelerator cannons, and then jumping back out to avoid the enemy fire.

The shipyard was already continuously launching their weapons. No doubt they were aware of the strategy and wanted to inflict as much damage to her ships as possible in the short amount of time it would take them to launch their projectiles at the shipyard.

Barnes took a deep breath. They were almost in weapons range. A wall of enemy firepower would impact her ships before they could finish firing four rounds of accelerator cannon fire. This would take her ships under three minutes to do, but those three minutes might end up deadly to a few of her ships.

The weapons range had been reached, and Barnes and her task group began launching their weapons. She had instructed all the ships that they could jump to safety once they had shot their four rounds.

The enemy fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles began striking the task group. Energy screens flared, as they tried to dissipate the energy from the weapons. Barnes watched the tactical display as a few green icons disappeared. Did they jump? Or had they been destroyed?

Barnes’s flagship had launched its four rounds and quickly jumped to safety. Once safely out of the range of the shipyard’s weapons, Barnes evaluated the tactical display. She had lost three battlecruisers and one dreadnought. Sadness washed over her for a moment as she considered all the lives those ships had had on them.

Barnes’s focus soon shifted to the viewscreen at the front of Command Center. It showed the Morag shipyard in ruins. Pieces of debris floated all around. If Barnes hadn’t known a shipyard had once orbited the planet there, she could not have determined what this wreckage used to be. Her target was destroyed. Now time to relieve Carrie and hunt down this Morag fleet.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had had a little success in eliminating a few of the Morag warships. All this jumping around was not very efficient when it came to destroying the enemy fleet. There had to be another way. They needed to attack a planet, so that the enemy fleet would attack them.

Now that Barnes’s task group was finished with her target, they could combine their forces and target a planet. Drake would now be targeting the terraformed moon. So maybe one of them would get the Morag warships to engage them.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was elated. The Humans had exited hyperspace in one of his systems where he had the trap set. He couldn’t believe his luck. Voxx wished he was there to watch it all unfold, but he would have to settle with watching it through someone else’s mind.

Voxx contacted the various commanders in the system to discuss the strategy and the best time for his trap to begin. Voxx concluded that it was best to wait until the attack interceptors had been deployed. so that the Human fleet wouldn’t exit the system immediately. They would soon realize they had picked the wrong system.

-

Admiral Collison was working on eliminating the defensive grid above the Morag military base. Once he had a hole big enough for the attack interceptors to get through, he would send them in to destroy the base.

For now, the interceptors remained safely on board their carriers and ready to deploy when the coast was clear.

Collison and his task group targeted defensive grid elements, one after another. Soon there was a gap large enough to send in the attack interceptors. He watched as they deployed and got into their squadrons. Then they headed to their target.

-

Carrie was joining Barnes to attack the nearest Morag inhabited planet. Hopefully this would entice the Morag warships to engage them. It wouldn’t take them long to take out a majority of the defensive grid with their combined task groups.

Bright flashes of light could be seen all across the viewscreen at the front of the Command Center. Each one was one step closer to destroying the planet below.

Carrie kept an eye on the tactical display, waiting for the Morag fleet to jump to their location. Nothing happened. What were they waiting on?

-

Drake was almost finished eliminating the defensive grid in this area of the terraformed moon. Soon he would have the attack interceptors head in to destroy their targets. He was still on edge that this moon might, in fact, be one of those large Morag military bases. However, the Morag warships in the system had not jumped over to engage him, as the enemy ships had done in the last system where the Humans had threatened a massive military base.

Drake also noted that Barnes and Carrie were also attacking a planet, and the Morag fleet had not jumped in to engage them either. What was going on? Would this enemy fleet engage them, or would they stand by and watch as the Humans destroyed all the planets and terraformed moons in this system?

The attack interceptors left their battlecarriers and headed to their targets on the surface of the moon.

-

Lieutenant Burr and his squadron, the Scorpion Squadron, headed through the hole in the defensive grid and their targets below. Burr was carefully monitoring all his scans of the surface of the terraformed moon. He did not want any surprises to catch him off guard. He and his squadron were on high alert.

As Burr headed to his first target, he watched carefully to see if any weapons turrets popped up to defend the city. Nothing showed up. He sent his first fusion-tipped missile toward its target of the middle of the metropolis below. A large explosion flattened the buildings, and the firestorm that developed in its wake was massive. Burr was glad this was a home of his enemy and not one of Humans.

He shook his head and headed to his next target. Burr saw the massive mushroom cloud that now rose from the metropolis. The other interceptors had hit their targets too, and many mushroom clouds dotted the area.

-

Lieutenant Garland was headed toward the military base on the surface of one of the inhabited planets in the Morag star system. She was anxious to see if this base was home to the interceptor killers. As they made their approach to the base, her heart raced faster. Sweat began to pour from her brow. She had a bad feeling about this.

Suddenly alarms sounded. Garland felt goose bumps rise on her skin. Out of the cockpit window, she saw hundreds of interceptor killers launching from multiple locations across the surface. Garland felt even more panic when she saw Morag battlecruisers and battleships launching from the giant bays as well.

Garland knew what she had to do. She had to hit as many of those launching sites as she could to stop more enemy ships from launching. She swallowed the fear that crept up inside her. She took a deep breath. This was her destiny. She must destroy the targets.

Garland dove her interceptor toward one of the large bays. Once she was close enough, she launched one of her missiles at the target. Her interceptor shuddered beneath her, as the missile launched. She knew she didn’t have time to wait to see if it hit. She quickly moved to the next target and launched another missile.

Alarms sounded, indicating she had multiple interceptor killers on her six. Garland began her evasive maneuvers and headed to her next target. She didn’t have missiles to spare to destroy these enemy ships. She needed to use her missiles to stop the Morag from launching more. This decision she knew would likely cost her her life, but maybe it would ultimately save the lives of hundreds of other Humans in this system and in her squadron.

Garland dipped and spun to avoid the enemy fire until close enough to launch her last two remaining missiles. She fired them at two different targets, not far from each other. She smiled as both missiles hit their targets, destroying numerous warships waiting to launch. Total destruction surrounded the impact zone of her missiles. Hopefully that would make a difference in this battle today.

Now it was time to try to get back to the battlecarrier. Garland had been so focused on her targets that her surroundings were just now coming into focus. Debris was everywhere. She looked around for her best route back to the carrier. Too many enemy ships were between her and her fleet. Maybe she could go around the long way? Maybe avoid the majority of the enemy fleet that way?

Weapons fire was all around. The Human fleet in orbit was firing on the Morag ships coming from the base. Garland needed to get out of the way. If she were to die today, she didn’t want it to be from friendly fire.

Garland steered her interceptor away from the military base or what was left of it. She intended to go to the other side of this landmass, before making her way back to space. The defensive grid would not be destroyed in this area. It wouldn’t be an easy trip back to space.

-

Collison couldn’t believe his eyes when he witnessed the interceptor killers launching all over the base. Then when warships started appearing, he knew the Human fleet was in trouble. The Morag had set a trap, and the Humans had flown right into it.

Collison quickly called for the fleet to reform. They would have their work cut out for them.

-

Lieutenant Burr had only one missile left when the messages started coming in of the events taking place near the military base. Burr knew he needed to get back to the carrier as fast as possible. They needed to get over there to the battle to help.

Burr found a target nearby and released his last missile. This moon would not be inhabitable for some time to come. Now he shifted his focus on how they would handle this battle occurring on and around the military base and planet.

It sounded like all hell was breaking loose over there. Once his squadron returned to the carrier, it would take them ten minutes to reload. A lot could happen in ten minutes. He hoped they could get there and into the battle fast enough to make a difference. He had a lot of friends out there in the attack interceptors that were stuck on the opposite side of the Morag fleet that had launched from the surface.

The Human fleet in orbit was being attacked from both sides. Of course, the Morag fleet in the star system had picked this moment to engage the Humans. It had obviously been a trap. Now they had to get out of it and make the Morag pay.

-

Barnes had been surprised when her alarms had sounded, indicating more enemy ships had appeared in the system. The tactical display did not show these new ships. Where were they?

Shortly after that, the communications officer said, “Admiral Collison reports a fleet of Morag warships is taking off from the military base on the surface of the planet.”

“Were they just sitting on the surface, and the scout ship missed them?” asked the first officer.

“The message indicates they are launching from an underground hangar. A scan of the surface wouldn’t have detected them,” replied the communications officer.

Barnes examined the tactical display again. It looked like this was what the Morag fleet in the system was waiting for. They had jumped into Collison’s location and attacked him from the rear. He also had the enemy fleet from the surface attacking him as well. Collison needed help—and fast.

Barnes gave the command to jump over to Collison’s location and begin attacking the fleet in orbit. They would have to be careful and attack from the side, so they wouldn’t accidentally hit one of Collison’s ships.

-

Burr and his remaining Scorpion Squadron had made it back to their battlecarrier. Once all the interceptors were secured, they made their jump over to the battle taking place above the inhabited planet.

It would be a long ten minutes for Burr and his squadron, as they waited for their interceptors to be reloaded, so they could launch and go out there and kill some of those Morag interceptor killers.

Once they got the go ahead that they were reloaded, Burr and his squadron launched and formed into their squadron. Burr surveyed the scene in front of him. It looked like Collison was trying to stop the Morag ships from launching from the surface into space, at least not through him. The other Morag fleet that had been in the star system already were attacking the rear of Collison’s fleet. Now that Rear Admiral Drake had arrived with the rest of the battlecarriers, Drake could concentrate on destroying those enemy ships.

As for Burr and his Scorpion Squadron, they were tasked with eliminating the large number of interceptor killers that had made it into space and those still chasing Human attack interceptors inside the planet’s atmosphere. Burr quickly decided his squadron would destroy the interceptor killers threatening the ships in space. Other squadrons would head into the planet’s atmosphere and go after those enemy ships there.

Burr knew they had their work cut out for them. Each interceptor could only destroy two of the interceptor killers before going back and reloading. It took one missile to destroy the interceptor killer’s energy shield and another to destroy the ship. Repeat. Then they would be out of the fight for ten minutes while they reloaded.

Time to get down to business. Burr’s Scorpion Squadron quickly set out in the direction of the nearest interceptor killers. It wasn’t long before the interceptor killers were hunting them, so they were easy to find. Burr was thankful his squadron had a lot of experience in these types of fights. Other squadrons might not be as lucky as his. These interceptor killers were not an easy target.

Burr’s interceptor flew in and around the other ships in the battle, trying to avoid being hit by the deadly weapons of the interceptor killers. Before long, he had locked his targeting system onto one of the enemy ships. His interceptor shuddered as the two fusion-tipped missiles were fired at the target. A small explosion marked the death of his target. Burr smiled. One down, now to find another one.

An alarm sounded, indicating he was in the sights of an enemy ship. Burr immediately went into a spin maneuver to avoid the weapons fire headed for his interceptor. The missiles flew by him, not too far away. Burr spun his interceptor around and went after the interceptor killer that had attacked him. He had sweat dripping from his forehead, and he wiped it away from his eyes.

He needed nothing to get in the way of him targeting that enemy ship. Burr focused on his task, allowing all other distractions to fade away. The target lock sounded, and Burr sent his last two remaining missiles at his enemy. The small bright flash and explosion consumed the vessel. Burr was two for two. Now he had to go back and reload. Plenty more targets were out there that needed to be destroyed.

-

Garland was targeted now by the defensive grid and a group of interceptor killers. She was not alone though. A few dozen other attack interceptors had followed her lead. The problem was that most of the attack interceptors were out of missiles. Their fusion energy beams could still be used, but it wasn’t easy to destroy an interceptor killer with the energy beams.

Bright flashes of light filled the space above them. Garland checked her displays to see what was going on. It looked like Rear Admiral Carrie and her task group had jumped over to clear the defensive grid out of the way for them. Now they only needed to eliminate a few of the interceptor killers so they could more easily get to their carriers.

Garland organized what was left of her squadron into an attack formation, and they quickly picked out their target. If they worked together, they could eliminate one interceptor killer at a time. It would be tedious work, but ultimately it would decrease the number of ships hunting them. The rest of the attack interceptors in the area did the same. Soon small explosions dotted the horizon, as interceptor killers met their end. Garland would be naive if she thought all those explosions were just her enemy.

As Carrie cleared them a path to the space above the planet, more attack interceptors flew in to help rid them of the enemy ships hunting them. Garland breathed a sigh of relief as she landed her interceptor back on her carrier. She hadn’t thought she would ever see the inside of this carrier again.

Now time to reload and to get back out there.

-

Barnes was eliminating the Morag ships that remained in orbit above the planet and making quick work of it. The thirty-five enemy ships here when she had arrived didn’t stand a chance, not with the rest of the Human fleet now engaged in the battle.

According to the tactical displays, many of the enemy ships in the planet’s atmosphere were fleeing Collison’s fleet to try to get into orbit. Collison’s task group had done a great job of letting very few enemy ships from the surface into orbit. Thankfully the attack interceptors had destroyed the base and prevented who knows how many more warships from launching.

In total, a little over two hundred enemy warships tried to get into orbit. It looked a little like chaos, but, little by little, the enemy ships were being destroyed.

-

Carrie had noticed the interceptors inside the planet’s atmosphere needed a safe way to get back into orbit to reload in their carriers. She quickly made another hole in the defensive grid, so they had a safe way out. The sheer number of interceptor killers was unnerving. Plus the Morag warships were starting to head her way too.

Once the defensive grid was destroyed over this area of the planet, Carrie began searching out and destroying the enemy warships trying to make their way into orbit. A quick check of the tactical display showed that a group of over fifty of them had already made it out. Rear Admiral Drake moved in to intercept them. This gave Carrie the chance to continue focusing her firepower on the ones still down below.

-

Admiral Collison had been pinned between the two parts of the enemy fleet. Thankfully it didn’t take long for his reinforcements to jump over and to focus their firepower on the ships at his rear. Collison focused on destroying the warships coming from the surface. Try as he might, the Morag were still able to get a lot of them into orbit. Collison also worked to protect the battlecarriers from destruction as well. Thankfully the attack interceptors had carried out their mission of destroying the base below. This prevented more enemy warships from launching.

Collison was glad he had a good group of leaders who would jump in and do what was needed when the plans changed. He didn’t need to tell them what to do. They just did it. Soon the enemy ships attacking his rear had been destroyed. Now Collison only needed to eliminate the ones from the planet.

The attack interceptors were still working on eliminating the Morag’s interceptor killers. There were so many of them. Collison knew they would pay a heavy price for attacking this system. Especially in attack interceptors.

More and more enemy warships made it into orbit above the planet. The combined fleets worked together to destroy the ones that had made it out of the planet’s atmosphere. Collison had the entire fleet get into formation. It might be easier to destroy these ships if they were all in one place. The battlecarriers were protected in the middle and the rear of the formation.

Collison suspected the Morag might be after the carriers, so he assigned Rear Admiral Drake to the task of defending the carriers. The Morag fleet moved into their attack formation, now that all the warships had made it out of the planet’s atmosphere. The attack interceptors and interceptor killers were still in a dogfight to destroy each other. Collison wished his team all the luck and then turned his focus to the fleet-to-fleet battle that would soon start.

“Three minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“How many ships do the Morag have left?” Collison asked the sensor officer.

“Admiral, the Morag have 175 warships in their formation. As well as 213 interceptor killers.”

“This battle will be intense, but I am confident we will come out on top. We have the numbers and the superior weapons. We need to keep an eye on the entire Morag fleet and watch for one or two of them to move away from the formation—to try to follow us when we destroy the rest of the fleet,” Collison said. “I need Captain Greeley ready to chase down those Morag spy ships.”

The crew carried out Collison’s commands, and then their gazes all turned to the viewscreen ahead of them. This was the largest Morag fleet they’d seen in a while. “One more minute to engagement range.”

Collison stood and braced himself. He knew this would be tougher than the battles they had had recently. Hopefully no more reinforcements showed up for the enemy.

As the fleets entered the engagement range, weapons fire broke out from both sides. Collison was again thankful the Humans possessed the superior firepower. The accelerator cannon fire rammed right through the energy shields of the enemy ships, and, as the second round hit, numerous explosions flashed across the viewscreen.

At the same time, the Human fleet was losing ships too. Their energy screens tried to dissipate the energy from the enemies’ weapons, but many of them failed, leaving the ships vulnerable to antimatter missiles that soon struck the hulls of the ships. Collison winced as multiple green icons disappeared from the tactical display in front of him. Red threat icons disappeared too and in larger numbers.

Collison’s ship shook, as a nearby battlecruiser was blown apart. He took in a quick breath and felt his heart begin to beat faster, as his dreadnought became the target of the Morag’s weapons fire. “How is our screen holding up?”

“So far, so good,” replied the systems officer.

“Let’s find out who is targeting us and destroy them before our energy shield is damaged,” commanded Collison.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes noticed that Collison’s ship had been targeted by two Morag battleships. She quickly had her ship and a few others target those two battleships. They soon were only molten pieces of metal. Barnes breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned her attention to the next target. She felt the pressure to destroy this fleet and to get out of here. They had spent more time than they had intended to in this system.

Barnes also did a quick check of the attack interceptors. It appeared the number of the red threat icons were diminishing. This meant the interceptors were destroying the interceptor killers. That was another thing that had to be finished before the Human fleet could leave the system. Barnes assumed the interceptor killers would follow the Humans into hyperspace too. They probably couldn’t travel a long distance in hyperspace, but perhaps long enough to be detrimental to the Humans. They would be able to report to the other Morag fleets nearby where the Human fleet was located if they were allowed to follow them into hyperspace.

Explosions lit up the space around the two fleets, and the battle grew even more intense. Barnes kept focusing on one target and then another. The Morag fleet was disappearing fast, with the entire Human fleet now focused on destroying the enemy ships.

-

Lieutenant Burr and his Scorpion Squadron were still hunting the interceptor killers. They still had a lot more to go. With each hit, they learned more and more about how the interceptor killers worked and reacted to the battle around them. Each time it became easier and easier to kill the next one. The only thing hindering Burr from killing more was having to reload after every two kills.

The Scorpion Squadron kept plugging away, destroying interceptor killers, and then reloading and going out again to do it all over again and again. Each time they had fewer and fewer targets. Small explosions could be seen all around the space above the planet. Most of the interceptor killers were now in the space above the planet. All of the attack interceptors that remained were solely focused on destroying their greatest enemy.

Burr kept an eye on the fleet-to-fleet battle too. In his mind, that was his timeline. All the interceptor killers needed to be destroyed by the time the Human fleet had destroyed all the Morag fleet. Then it would be time to get out of this system. Burr could tell his time grew short. If only they could kill more than two interceptor killers at a time. The ten minutes it took to reload was valuable time they could be out there destroying more targets.

-

Greeley had carefully watched the Morag fleet and noticed when two battlecruisers disappeared. Greeley quickly went after them with a few ships. He found them hiding behind a moon that orbited the farthest planet in the system. Greeley didn’t waste any time relieving the Morag fleet of these two ships.

Once this threat had been eliminated, Greeley returned to the fleet battle. His focus was once again on any straying ships. It was his responsibility to make sure the Human fleet would not be followed when they left the system. If they were, it could have disastrous consequences on the overall war. Greeley took this responsibility very seriously.

-

Lieutenant Garland had eliminated numerous interceptor killers. She was relieved to see the number of enemy ships dwindling. As she made her way back to her battlecarrier to reload again, Garland finally got the message she had been waiting for. Her squadron would not need to go back out into the battle. The attack interceptors currently in battle could handle the remaining Morag interceptor killers.

Garland felt a rush of relief. She still couldn’t believe that she had survived the day. She knew she was fortunate to still be alive. Many other interceptor crews were not.

As Garland exited her interceptor, she looked around the bay and was overwhelmed by how few interceptors remained. She immediately dropped to her knees, overcome by emotions. The tears flowed freely, as the gravity of the battle hit home. Where once 160 interceptors had called this battlecarrier home, there now were only thirty-six. All of those crews, all of those people. Her friends, her comrades. As for her squadron of what was once twenty, now only had four.

The remaining squadron members gathered around Garland, embracing each other. They were relieved to be alive and also felt guilty that they were. Why them? Why had they survived when so many others hadn’t?

-

Collison watched as the last remaining Morag warships were destroyed in large explosions of energy. Space was filled with debris, not only from their enemy but from Human ships as well. This was a victory but a costly one.

Rechecking the tactical display, Collison looked for any enemy ships that may be trying to hide anywhere in the system. They could not afford to let even one enemy ship remain to follow them into hyperspace.

Then Collison double-checked to make sure the interceptors had finished eliminating all the interceptor killers. He checked and then checked again to make sure. The last remaining interceptors were headed back to their carriers.

-

Lieutenant Burr and what was left of his Scorpion Squadron made their final approach to their carrier. This battle had been hard. Burr felt like he was still in shock over what had happened today in this battle. He had lost friends. Friends he had spent years with. It still hadn’t quite hit him yet, and he knew it. When it did, it would crush him. Hopefully it would be in the privacy of his quarters.

As he landed his interceptor on the carrier, Burr took a deep breath. One step at a time. That’s how he would make it through. As he took the four steps down from his interceptor to the carrier, he felt the weight of his fallen comrades on his shoulders. He didn’t want to look around at the now vastly empty carrier.

It wasn’t long before what was left of his squadron surrounded him. Burr looked around, staring in the eyes of each one of his teammates. He didn’t have any words that seemed appropriate. What could he say that could possibly comfort his squadron in this situation? He finally decided to remain silent. Burr hugged each one of them, one at a time. Then they all walked together off the landing bay and toward their quarters.

Once Burr was in his small room that was his home on this carrier, he fell apart. The tears flowed until he had nothing left. He fell on his bed, exhausted. After what seemed like hours, he finally fell into a restless sleep.

-

Collison gave the all clear, and all the remaining Human ships entered hyperspace. Collison wouldn’t rest easy until he had confirmation that no Morag ships had followed them into hyperspace.

Once Collison received the confirmation from the sensor officer, he finally sat back in his command chair. So much had been lost today. As for what exactly had been lost, Collison was reluctant to look at the actual numbers, still coming in, so it would wait a few minutes. Collison knew Marloo would want an update as soon as possible. He knew the scout ship stationed in the system would give Marloo a report first. Collison’s would come later, perhaps much later.

Collison and his crew were exhausted. They needed rest. The reports could wait. Collison walked slowly to his quarters. Once there, he sat on his bed and buried his head in his hands. He let out a deep breath. Then the tears began to fall. What had they lost? Yes, they had lost many ships, but the Human lives on board those ships were what he mourned now. Yes, they had won the battle but at a high price.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Imperial Council Meeting was once again in session. Chief Chancellor Stein asked Fleet Admiral Marloo to begin the meeting by updating the council on the progress of the Human fleets in the Confederation.

Marloo stood and said, “I have received an update from Captain Amar on board scout ship 403. The Morag had set a trap for the Human fleet in the system with planet Morag Fifty-Five, and we flew right into it. There had been major attack interceptor losses from the previous two systems where there had been large numbers of interceptor killers staged at the military bases. Human fleet losses were more significant in this last attack as well. Amar reported that hundreds of Morag warships had been stationed inside the underground Morag military base. Once the attack interceptors had been launched, the Morag warships began launching from the base.”

Governor Julian Bemire of Ambary Two asked, “Did we not do detailed scans of the base first to make sure there were not a large number of enemy ships present?”

“We did. We have a scout ship stationed in the system. Captain Amar, knowing that Rear Admiral Barnes had selected that system as a potential target, did very detailed scans of the base, as well as the terraformed moon. We believe the scans could not detect the ships since they were underground,” replied Marloo.

“What about the terraformed moons? Did I hear correctly that we discovered one was a massive Morag military base?” asked Chancellor Stein.

Marloo replied, “Yes. In the previous system, the Human fleet tried to get the Morag fleet to engage them. One tactic Collison’s fleet had found successful was to attack a planet. This usually enticed the enemy fleet to engage the Human fleet to protect the Morag inhabitants from certain death. This time, however, the Human fleet discovered the entire moon was a massive Morag military base.”

A gasp could be heard from around the table. “Did we destroy this base?” asked Stein.

“Yes, and we have done more detailed scans of all the Morag terraformed moons. We have only found two other such bases but suspect there may be more. We plan to destroy all the terraformed moons after destroying Morag Prime. Who knows how many warships a place like that could produce? It is a threat that cannot be ignored,” Marloo responded.

“Remind me again how many of these moons the Morag inhabit,” said Governor Therron of Bratol Three.

“The Morag have over two hundred terraformed moons. We have so far destroyed four of them. We have our work cut out for us over the next few months,” replied Marloo.

“So how many Morag targets has Collison’s fleets taken out since Admiral Cleemorl returned from the Confederation?” asked Therron.

“At last report, the Human fleets in the Confederation have destroyed just under one thousand Morag warships, fifteen shipyards, six Morag military bases, one massive military base, three planets, and four terraformed moons.”

“What are our losses?”

“Our fleet numbers in the Confederation now sit at 124 battlecruisers, 76 dreadnoughts, 50 battlecarriers, and 3,357 attack interceptors. Based on what we started with after Cleemorl left the Confederation, plus Captain Jane’s reinforcements, that correlates to us losing a net of 272 battlecruisers, 71 dreadnoughts, 6 battlecarriers, and 5,763 attack interceptors. A few of these are back at the supply fleet for repairs and resupply.”

“When will our fleets leave the Empire for the Confederation?” asked Therron.

“Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters and Rear Admiral Martinez leave within the next couple hours to head to the rendezvous location in the Confederation. Because of the heavy losses of attack interceptors, we are working on equipping multiple supply ships with attack interceptors and crews for them to head to the rendezvous location to resupply the battlecarriers before the attack on Morag Prime. They will arrive after our fleets but before they head to attack Morag Prime.

“We also have a fleet of Creetins headed to the Empire. Admiral Cleemorl will meet them on the edge of the Empire to hopefully dissuade the Morag from attacking. The Creetin fleet has six hundred vessels. We do not believe the Morag realize it is a Creetin fleet. We believe the Morag think it is a Human fleet. We hope that Cleemorl can intimidate the Morag from exiting hyperspace to engage the fleet by the sheer number of ships that will show up on the long-range scan. Cleemorl intends to take part of his fleet and a large number of attack interceptors. If the Morag do a long-range scan of the system before they decide to exit hyperspace, the scan will show a large number of ships. The scans at long-range cannot determine the size of the ship, only the number,” Marloo said.

“What if the plan does not work and the Morag exit hyperspace to attack us? And do we know how many Morag ships are following this Creetin fleet?” asked Bemire.

“We do not know for sure how many Morag ships are following the fleet. We know how many Morag ships have disappeared from the Morag star systems. Now it is not as many as we once thought since many of those missing ships became part of the trap set for our fleets in that last system. It is unknown how many more Morag ships might have been in the base and unable to launch before our attack interceptors destroyed the base. We will have enough ships there, when you add in the Creetin ships, to eliminate the Morag threat,” Marloo responded.

“When will the attack on Morag Prime begin?” asked Bemire.

“With our fleets leaving today for the rendezvous, it will take them about five days to arrive. From there, they will meet with the other races and form a battle plan. Once they are confident everyone is on the same page, they will head to the Morag area of the Confederation and on to Morag Prime. Morag Prime is about a four-day journey from the rendezvous location. So my best estimation would be that, in just under two weeks, Morag Prime will be destroyed.”

The room erupted in applause, as the council members thought about the forthcoming victory over the Morag.

“Once we have destroyed Morag Prime, the battle will not be over. It will be essential for us to hunt down the remaining Morag ships. We will also need to destroy all their shipyards, military bases, and terraformed moons. I assume we will have to constantly monitor the Morag for the foreseeable future. I have no doubt that they will do what they must to rebuild and eventually mount another attack on the Empire. It may take them hundreds of years, but I have no doubt that an attack will happen eventually. We might win this battle and the war, but this war will someday return. We must remain vigilant and watchful for the Morag to return and to attack us again,” Marloo said.

Many of the council members nodded their heads in agreement. This was something they all knew but tried not to think about much.

“First, we will destroy Morag Prime though,” Marloo continued.

Chief Chancellor Stein then asked Layla if she had any updates from Earth and Princess Krista. Layla stood and said, “Krista arrived in the Solar System six days ago. In this time, she has already informed the council there of Professor Wright’s discoveries about Falton Two. They had many of the same questions we did. Krista did not go into specifics in case the message was intercepted. She’s also been meeting with various leaders all across the Solar System. Major Mathew Barkley has also been touring numerous military installations across the Solar System. They are both spreading our goodwill to our closest allies. They intend to stay in the Solar System until the end of the battle for Morag Prime.”

The meeting went on for another hour, before finally adjourning.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was satisfied his trap had worked. He was not happy with the loss of so many Morag assets in the process, but he was confident the Humans would not be back for some time. With their depleted number of ships, they would surely need a resupply, which made it all the stranger that another fleet of Human ships was headed in the opposite direction. Commander Kano still trailed this fleet, as did a Morag task group not too far behind Kano.

The Human fleet headed out of the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation had not thus far exited to attack any Druin star systems either, which led Voxx to believe that perhaps they were headed back to the Empire. If that were the case, maybe this is where the other Human fleet would go too, which would mean that the Confederation would be free from Human interference for a while.

The trap had gone mostly according to plan, but next time the warships would need to launch a little sooner. Many didn’t have the opportunity to launch before the Humans’ small attack craft were able to destroy the base. The battle plan would be fine-tuned for next time. Hopefully the Humans had learned that attacking Morag star systems would cost them dearly. The Morag were learning how to better defend and attack the Human fleets. We were adapting. The Humans would have to as well.

As for the future, one thing was certain. The production of the interceptor killers would go into full throttle. The interceptor killers had been an effective weapon against the Humans’ small attack craft. Production of the interceptor killers had already gone into overload. The Morag needed as many of them as possible. They would be staged all across the Morag star systems and at various strategic locations. Next time the Humans attacked a Morag star system, it would cost them dearly.

-

Creetin military leader Ephenius continued to head toward the Human Empire. Whatever plan the Human leaders had, it would be taking place there. Ephenius was still uneasy, not knowing the plan, but he knew that it benefited the Humans to have the Creetins as allies. They would also not risk exposing the planned attack on Morag Prime.

Thus far, Ephenius had heard no attacks had happened in the Creetin star systems. This confirmed his suspicion that the Morag did not know they were following a Creetin fleet. One good thing about those long-range scans was that they only revealed the number of ships, not the origin or type of ships. That had saved them so far. No doubt that, if the Morag did know who they were following, they would have already destroyed at least one of the Creetins’ planets.

Ephenius was still another four days from the Human Empire. Hopefully whatever plan the Humans had hatched still involved the Creetins helping to destroy Morag Prime.

-

Admiral Cleemorl soaked up the scene in front of him. His viewscreen at the front of the Command Center showed the largest Human fleet he had ever seen assembled in one place. It gave him great confidence in the Humans’ ultimate victory. Cleemorl was sad to see them go.

Cleemorl sent a message to Derrick Masters and Martinez. “Good luck and Godspeed. I will see both of you, after we have defeated the Morag. I look forward to hearing all about it.”

Soon afterward, the two fleets entered hyperspace for their journey to the Confederation. The space above Gideon looked empty with the absence of the two fleets.

Cleemorl couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. He wished it were him leading that Empire fleet instead of Derrick. Cleemorl worried what it would do to Layla if something happened to Derrick. This battle would be intense, and no backup would come to rescue them. They would face the full power of the Morag fleet and its massive number of warships.

With the surprising revelation of the massive Morag military bases on their terraformed moons, Cleemorl worried that the Morag might have many more ships than the Empire was aware of. Cleemorl hoped that was not the case, but he would be lying if he didn’t admit that he lost sleep worrying about it.

Before long, Cleemorl would make his way to the outskirts of the Empire to meet the Creetins and to destroy the Morag fleet following them. Cleemorl smiled. Maybe he would get to kill some Morag.

-

Captain Hadley on scout ship 368 neared the Human Empire. She couldn’t wait to get home and to feel the sun on her face and the wind blowing in her hair. To see her family and to hug her dog. It had been a long time since she had been home.

Before heading home though, she had to go to Golan Four to meet with Admiral Marloo and Professor Charles Wright. Hadley had so many questions and hoped they would have some answers.

Hadley had to admit that she was glad she would be returning to Falton Two. Maybe by then, Captain Tanner would have even more answers.

-

The time had come to launch the drone to the surface of Falton Two. Tanner’s heart raced. He took a deep breath to steady himself. This would take most of his focus. Tanner had had lots of practice with the device, but not when their lives were riding on him making no mistakes, so that they were not discovered.

Tanner launched the drone and watched the screens as the drone flew down to Falton Two. They had decided to make the maiden voyage of the drone at night, when fewer people were walking about. Eventually they hoped to constantly have a drone on the surface. Multiple crew members had been trained to pilot the drones.

The drone finally made it to the surface, and Tanner began exploring. It wasn’t long before the drone encountered a person. Everyone in the scout ship held their breaths, waiting to see if the drone would be sensed. Nothing happened. The person kept on walking. What a relief that was. So the drone could access places where people were, all without being detected.

Tanner continued to explore the area. The drone couldn’t go into a building without the door opening for it. Then it could only exit when someone else opened the door again. The timing would have to be perfect—not to mention if the drone got stuck in a building and the charge died. That was a worst-case scenario of course.

For now, Tanner would settle on exploring places he could easily access, which meant places without doors. He had plenty to explore though, even if they remained outside.

First Tanner explored around the outside of the building where the Morag had transported the crates from their ships. There didn’t seem to be much security. This led Tanner to conclude that the Humans here were not concerned that someone would steal whatever was in the crates. Or perhaps they had already moved the crates to another location. Hadley had mentioned though that they had observed the area and had not seen anything taken from the building.

Maybe there was another entrance and exit from this building. Perhaps an underground passageway. Tanner flew the drone around the building a few times, looking for other entrances but found none. It must be underground.

Next Tanner decided to explore the other building in the area. A few guards were here and there but not a large number of them.

As the drone circled the building where the Morag had entered, it discovered a large balcony. On this balcony stood two individuals. One looked like he was clothed in robes that signified he was someone important—possibly the Emperor himself. The drone flew in a little closer to get a better look. The second person turned at that moment, and, seeing his face, Tanner and everyone in the scout ship gasped.

Could it be? It was impossible. Tanner moved the drone in closer, taking photos as the drone moved in. These photos needed to get to the Empire as quickly as possible. How could this be? It looked exactly like him. Like Prince Aiden Starguard. Tanner knew because he had seen the photos himself, as he was given a tour of the Imperial Palace, before he deployed to the Confederation. Marloo himself had walked Tanner around the palace, while Professor Charles shared all he knew of Falton Two with Tanner. So Tanner had seen the portraits of the royal family hanging in the portrait gallery. He wouldn’t forget this face. It was him. It had to be.

-

As Admiral Collison and the others exited hyperspace in the home system of the Barsoons, alarms sounded. Collison felt the panic rise in his chest. His gaze quickly shifted to the tactical display. The icons turned green, and Collison let out a huge sigh of relief.

These reinforcement ships had met the damaged ship being chased by the Morag ship and the Druins, and now were here to help Collison.

Good news, as his fleet was not ready to face another battle. Many ships needed repairs. The fleet would head back to the supply fleet with its mobile repair ships to get the repairs they needed.

Collison wondered if he had enough ships that weren’t damaged that could continue to target Morag targets over the next week and a half before the attack on Morag Prime. He would have to check on that. Many of the battlecarriers needed to return for resupply. Not even four thousand attack interceptors remained, which could be consolidated to twenty-one carriers. He would need to reevaluate the reports from Barnes, Carrie, and Drake to see how large of a fleet they could leave here and still successfully fight the Morag.

It was a possibility though. The rest of the ships would head to the rendezvous point and the supply fleet with the Barsoons. This stopover here would be a short one. They needed as much time as possible to get their repairs done at the supply fleet.

-

Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters stood at the front of the Command Center. He looked around at his crew. These were people he had served with for a long time. People he knew and trusted. He was leading them into the heart of the Confederation, to the homeworld of the Morag, their most powerful enemy.

As they left the Empire, Derrick couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever return. He hoped and prayed that he would. Derrick knew that this battle would be fierce. It would be intense. Many would die. Few would return.

He thought of Layla and their unborn child. A smile spread across his face. He was doing this for them. To ensure a future for them, where they could sleep soundly at night, not listening for the sirens indicating enemy ships had been spotted and to take cover.

Derrick took a deep breath. This was his destiny. One he would face head-on.

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 Wars

Dragon Dreams: Gilmreth the Awakening

Dragon Dreams: Snowden the White Dragon

Dragon Dreams: Firestorm Mountain

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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: Final Conflict (Book 6)

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)

The Lost Fleet (Books 1-5)

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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)

The Star Cross: The Forever War (Book 4)

The Star Cross: The Vorn! (Book 5)

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The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger (Book 1)

The Originator Wars: Search for the Lost (Book 2)

The Originator Wars: Conflict Unending (Book 3)

The Originator Wars: Explorations (Book 4)

The Originator Wars Explorations: The Multiverse (Book 5)

The Originator Wars Explorations: The Lost (Book 6)

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Earth Fall: Invasion (Book 1)

Earth Fall: To the Stars (Book 2)

Earth Fall: Empires at War (Book 3)

The Forgotten Empire: Banishment (Book 1)

The Forgotten Empire: Earth Ascendant (Book 2)

The Forgotten Empire: The Battle for Earth (Book 3)

The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire (Book 4)

The Forgotten Empire: The Confederation and The Empire at War (Book 5)

The Forgotten Empire: War in the Confederation (Book 6)

All Dates are Tentative

The Forgotten Empire: The Path to Victory (Book 7) (May 2022)

The Forgotten Empire: The Fall of the Confederation (Book 8) (September 2022)

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Raymond Weil lived in Clinton, OK with his wife, Debra, of 47 years and their beloved cats.  He attended college at SWOSU in Weatherford, Oklahoma, majoring in Math with minors in Creative Writing and History.

His hobbies included watching soccer, reading, camping, and of course writing.  He also enjoyed playing with his six grandchildren.  He had a very vivid imagination, writing more than 47 science fiction novels over his writing career. 

He was an avid reader and has a huge collection of science fiction/ fantasy books.  He always enjoyed reading science fiction and fantasy because of the awesome worlds the authors would create.  He was always amazed that he was creating these worlds too.

Julie Weil Thomas lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband Barrett and two boys.  She attended university at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK where she received a degree in Finance with a minor in Accounting.

Her hobbies include watching her boys play numerous sports, reading, camping, and scuba diving.  She got her imagination from her dad.  She grew up listening to Raymond’s many imaginative stories and watching anything and everything science fiction.

Julie is honored to carry on her dad’s stories as best as she can.  For as long as the fans are interested in reading the stories, Julie will continue to write in the worlds that her dad created. 