The Forgotten Empire:

War in the Confederation

A Forgotten Empire Novel

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

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 © January 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. I miss so many things about you. One of the things I miss is your cooking. What an amazing cook you were. I did not inherit that ability, unfortunately. From your meatloaf to your spaghetti, and everything in between. You always did try to give me cooking lessons but to no avail.

I miss how mischievous you were. From singing songs loudly in the car, most of which you completely made up, to telling me how silly I was for reading all of those parenting books.

Your crazy stories you made up around the campfire to the crazy stories you told about what you did out on the farm. We hope most of those were made up, but know in reality some of them weren’t.

I am so glad you had the chance to do your dream job, which was being an author. I am glad I have the opportunity to follow in your footsteps. No easy shoes to fill, I assure you, but what an honor it is to try.

Book 6: The Forgotten Empire: War in the Confederation

Chapter One

In the far reaches of the Confederation, Rear Admiral Fulmar and his small task force were headed toward the Lamothian-controlled star systems. Their mission? To destroy Xanther. If successful in that task, they would then destroy the second inhabited planet, Malzan, also located in that same star system.

Fulmar reflected on the atrocities that the Lamothians had inflicted upon the Humans. They had been consuming Humans in their feasts for hundreds if not thousands of years. Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters had made this discovery not too long ago, when he came to the Confederation in search of the Humans who had been taken from the Empire over so many years in the recent past.

The Humans had been auctioned off to the highest bidder for celebratory Lamothian feasts.

Fulmar shivered as he brought that scene to his mind. He couldn’t even imagine what those Humans had gone through. Even worse was that the Lamothians didn’t only consume men but also women and children of all ages.

Fulmar shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind.

The Lamothians deserved the fate headed for them. He would feel no remorse in annihilating one, or hopefully two, of their inhabited worlds. High Princess Layla had warned the Lamothians that, if they continued in their barbaric behavior and consumed even one more Human, the Empire would return and wipe them from the Confederation. The Lamothians did not heed her warning. Now it was up to Fulmar to deliver the ramifications of the Lamothians’ choice to ignore the Empire’s warning.

Fulmar’s task group had already been in hyperspace for a little over a day. Fulmar was disappointed that he had missed the big battle with the Morag. He had been looking forward to destroying the Morag fleet tailing Admiral Collison. Fulmar’s duty, however, had been elsewhere. Admiral Cleemorl had sent Fulmar on his mission, with part of the Imperial First Fleet with him as his task group. Fulmar had left for the Lamothian star systems shortly before Collison was due to exit hyperspace on the edge of the Lormallian star system.

Fulmar had been relieved to hear that, after a fleet battle, the Morag had retreated from the Lormallian area of the Confederation. Fulmar did not know how many Earth and Empire ships had survived that battle. At last report from the stealthed scout ship 255, Captain Malachi still tailed the Lamothian fleet headed to the last known location of the Human fleets.

Fulmar was slightly concerned that the Lamothian fleet would return to their area of the Confederation, before his task group could attack the Lamothian worlds. Fulmar would have ample warning though, since Captain Malachi was keeping tabs on the enemy fleet.

Fulmar had a little less than two days to finalize his plan of attack, before they’d drop from hyperspace into the Lamothian system that contained Xanther and Malzan.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn had received word from Morag Admiral Voxx that the Humans had survived the Morag’s fleet attack. The number of remaining ships they had was dwarfed in comparison to what they had started with. He now had a decision to make. Continue on, hopefully engaging what was left of the Human fleet, or return to protect the Lamothian star systems? They only had four remaining inhabited planets. The insufferable Humans had already destroyed two of their planets, Zaneth and their homeworld of Lamothia.

What were the chances the Humans would remain in the same star system where the Morag had last engaged them? If it were him and his fleet, Zahn would move to another location, where the enemy was not aware of his location. Then he’d regroup and make plans from there.

Those Humans could continue their attacks or could return to the Empire to repair what was left of their fleet and to wait for more ships to replace the ones they’d lost, before renewing their attacks on the Confederation.

The choice seemed clear. Zahn must return with his fleet to protect their worlds in case the Humans do follow through with their threat of annihilating all the inhabited Lamothian planets. Zahn knew it was a mistake when the Lamothian Councilor had decided to go through with their feasts where they ate Humans, even after their home planet Lamothia had been destroyed.

Zahn hoped it would not cost the Lamothians as highly as he feared.

He instructed his fleet to drop from hyperspace in a nearby star system, where they would recharge their hyperdrives, and then return to their star systems. He must protect what was left of their worlds.

-

Captain Malachi on board scout ship 255 was surprised when the Lamothian fleet dropped from hyperspace before reaching the Lormallian area of the Confederation. What were they doing? He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Were they turning around? Would they return to their own star systems? At this point, would Rear Admiral Fulmar still have the advantage? Could he still reach Xanther before the enemy fleet had time to return?

Malachi needed to send an encrypted message to Rear Admiral Fulmar and Admiral Cleemorl, informing them of this newest development. Hopefully this enemy fleet would be in no hurry to get back to where they came from.

-

Admiral Dylan Cleemorl and what was left of the Human fleets with him were headed toward the Lamothian area of the Confederation. Their goal? To eliminate all Lamothian worlds. They also intended to destroy as many Lamothian space stations, shipyards, and battleships as they could find. They did not, however, have the ships to go toe-to-toe with the Lamothians in a fleet-to-fleet battle. According to the scout ship tailing the Lamothian fleet, the enemy had 1,257 warships.

After their battle with the Morag, Admirals Cleemorl, Collison, Barnes, and Carrie were down to 403 battlecruisers, 97 dreadnoughts, 17 battlecarriers, and 2,461 attack interceptors. Enough ships to get the intended job done, but, if unlucky enough to meet up with the large Lamothian fleet, it could be devastating. Thankfully they had a scout ship watching every move of the Lamothian fleet.

To be on the safe side, Cleemorl had sent the other scout ships at his disposal to fan out from the star system that held Xanther. Cleemorl wanted to ensure there would be no surprises—no hidden enemy ships lying in wait for them to attack their most obvious target. Hopefully the Morag, believed they were demoralized, and headed back to the safety of the Empire.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx now traveled to the Morag area of the Confederation. He had been successful in destroying a majority of the Human fleets terrorizing the Confederation—by now, they were most likely headed back to the Empire for repairs and reinforcements. How long before they would return, and what would be their next target? Voxx had time to analyze the most likely scenarios over the next few days.

Should he leave Commander Phobyis and that half of his fleet staged near Xanther? Or should Voxx send them home? This was the first decision he needed to make. How likely was it that the Humans would still attack the Lamothians at Xanther? If they did, the Lamothians probably now had a large-enough fleet to handle it. If Voxx sent that part of his fleet back to the Morag area of the Confederation, they could spread out and protect more shipyards. What should he do? He needed to consult with the Morag High Council before he made his decision.

-

Captain Laine on stealth scout ship 125 was tasked with scanning nearby star systems where Xanther was located. He had already scanned three systems and hadn’t found any fleet big enough to cause concern. As his scout ship exited hyperspace in a red giant system, the alarms sounded. A feeling of dread washed over him. “What do we have, Lieutenant Henley?”

“Captain, a large Morag fleet is positioned in this system. A total of 2,650 vessels,” replied Lieutenant Henley.

“Has there been any change in their fleet position since our arrival?” asked Laine. He knew the Morag could detect radiation from a hyperspace jump. “We need to use our sublight drive to move us away from this area and closer to the nearest moon.”

“So far, the fleet has not changed positions, Captain,” replied Henley.

“Let’s keep a close eye on them, as we move farther from where we jumped in. We need to get word to Rear Admiral Fulmar and to Admiral Cleemorl. This might change their plans to attack Xanther.”

-

Morag Commander Phobyis reviewed the reports that had come in from Admiral Voxx regarding their battle with the Humans.

His sensor officer interrupted and said, Commander, I detect an increase in radiation on the periphery of the star system. I think that it might be from one of the Human’s scout ships. It must have either just entered hyperspace from that location or just exited hyperspace.

Phobyis considered this information before responding. If that is true, no point in sending ships out there to investigate. We will not determine their location. We need to operate under the assumption that the Human scout ship is here to monitor our fleet. The question we need to answer is why? Did enough ships survive the battle with Admiral Voxx that they will challenge the Lamothians? Maybe they have plans to destroy Xanther after all. Or maybe they are locating all the Confederation fleets to plan their next attack. We need to contact Admiral Voxx to determine our orders on how we should proceed.

-

Admiral Voxx and the Morag High Council decided that they must protect their own. Voxx would send Phobyis back to the Morag area of the Confederation. Even if the Humans did attack Xanther, Voxx was confident the rest of his fleet wouldn’t be needed. The fleet was needed back in the Morag star systems to protect Morag shipyards. The Lamothians would be on their own.

After all, the Lamothians had gone ahead with their feasts, even after their homeworld of Lamothia had been destroyed, even after the Human Princess had warned them what would happen if they continued to eat Humans. She had warned them that the Humans would destroy the Lamothians. And the Lamothians had made their choice and now could face the consequences of that choice.

If the Humans carried through with that threat, at least the Lamothians would annihilate more Humans.

As Voxx prepared to send his orders to Phobyis, he received a message from him. We have detected radiation from what we have assumed is a Human scout ship. We cannot determine its exact current location. What are our orders? asked Phobyis.

Voxx crossed his long arms, as he went over the possibilities again. Are they searching for nearby fleets because they are planning an attack on Xanther? Or are they looking for Morag fleets because they intend to attack more Morag shipyards? Either way, it was clear that the most important thing the Morag could do was protect their own shipyards. The Lamothians would be on their own. Voxx would warn them that his fleets had possibly detected the presence of a Human scout ship.

What the Lamothians did with that information was up to them.

Phobyis, return to the Morag area of the Confederation immediately. We must protect our shipyards from these irritating Humans. We will be redistributing our fleets to have the most shipyards protected as possible. I will give you the exact coordinates where you need to take the fleet as soon as I can. For now, head in that direction. Hopefully the Human scout ship will not follow you, sent Voxx.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar closed in on the Lamothian area of the Confederation. He had just received word from a scout ship, informing him that the Lamothian fleet had dropped out of hyperspace and was no longer headed toward the Lormallian area of the Confederation. In all likelihood, they would return to their star systems.

They were assumed to be recharging their hyperdrives and would head home as soon as possible. The big question was, would Fulmar have time to destroy the two planets in the star system before the enemy fleet returned? Captain Malachi was watching the Lamothian fleet and would warn Fulmar as the fleet neared his location, which was definitely an advantage.

The most concerning news came from Captain Laine’s scout ship. He had located a large Morag fleet not far from Xanther’s star system and hoped they would depart to return to their area of the Confederation before Fulmar reached his target. If not, he would be forced to find an alternate target. The Lamothians had two other planets farther from the Morag fleet that Fulmar could target, if need be. Time would tell. For now, his target would remain unchanged. A lot could change over the next twenty-four hours.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn had just received word from Morag Admiral Voxx that Commander Phobyis and his fleet had possibly detected a Human scout ship in the system where Zahn’s fleet was staged.

He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why would a Human scout ship be there? Were they searching for the Morag fleets? Or were they evaluating the threats to a Human fleet headed to Xanther? The more Zahn thought about it, the more he was convinced the Humans must be headed to attack Xanther.

He must get his fleet headed back there immediately! Zahn quickly contacted the vessels in his fleet, and they began entering hyperspace.

-

On board scout ship 255, Lieutenant Pamela said, “Captain Malachi, the Lamothian fleet is entering hyperspace!”

“Follow them! We must not lose them!” Once in hyperspace, Malachi quickly sent an encrypted message to Admiral Cleemorl and Rear Admiral Fulmar to apprise them of this new development. The Lamothian fleet was, indeed, headed back toward their area of the Confederation.

Malachi quickly had his navigation officer calculate how long it would take the enemy fleet to reach Xanther at their current rate of travel. It would be more than twenty-four hours, so Rear Admiral Fulmar should have enough time to destroy Xanther and Malzan before the Lamothian fleet could get there.

The next question was, did Admiral Cleemorl have enough time to reach the other Lamothian star system before the enemy fleet could get there? He wasn’t exactly sure of Cleemorl’s location, so Malachi couldn’t be sure of that answer.

-

Layla stared at the space above Golan Four. It had been a while since she had visited Derrick’s ship. He was excited to show her the new and improved version of the Destiny. Currently she awaited him on the observation deck. Golan Four looked so beautiful from this vantage point. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She would do all that she could to keep this planet safe, where she grew up. To live a life without fear of the Confederation and the torment they have inflicted on the Empire for so many years would be incredible.

The Empire growing so quickly had its challenges as well. Currently all were unified against a common enemy. What would happen once that enemy had been eliminated? Would they be strong enough to continue to work together for the good of them all? Or would the Empire fracture?

Layla needed to do all she could to ensure the House of Worlds was successful and would last for generations to come—with or without a common enemy to unite them in defense of all they held dear to them. Surely working so hard to achieve the freedom and the peace within the Empire would be enough. She didn’t want to see it all crumble once this war came to an end.

Then her mind wandered to the Confederation and the Imperial fleets there, headed to the Lamothian area of the Confederation to annihilate them and their planets. The Humans didn’t have a large-enough fleet to destroy the Lamothian fleet but had enough to destroy everything else. Which meant the Lamothian fleet would have no place to go. Would they come here to exact their revenge? She noted that as a strong possibility. The Empire would need to be ready.

She took another deep breath and then turned her head slightly. Derrick was here, leaning against the doorway. He had a big smile on his face. “How long have you been standing there?” Layla asked.

“Long enough to know I didn’t want to interrupt your thoughts. You seemed to be in deep thought about something. Would you care to enlighten me?” Derrick asked.

“I was just thinking about the future and what it might hold,” she replied, with a smile for her husband. That future entailed a lot more than even Derrick realized. She hadn’t told him yet that he would be a dad. She wasn’t sure how he would react. They hadn’t exactly talked about starting a family yet. She knew he’d be happy but may not be pleased with the timing. Guess that didn’t matter. He’d have to get ready, even if he wasn’t. She hoped to wait a couple more weeks before she told him. She wanted to wait until the perfect time, maybe once the fleets were finished in the Confederation and were heading home. “Are you ready to show me around the Destiny?”

He smiled, as he held out his arm for her to take. “Right this way.”

-

As Derrick lead Layla from the observation deck, he couldn’t feel prouder. He was so proud of her and how she had handled everything in the Empire. Layla was a natural leader and very charismatic. People loved to be around her and naturally gravitated to her. All invaluable qualities, considering she was the High Princess of the Empire.

He was also proud to show off his new and improved flagship, Destiny—the biggest dreadnought that had ever been built. It was classified as a superdreadnought. It not only had the particle beams the Empire had developed but also the accelerator cannons Earth had developed as well. It also came equipped with the strongest energy shield ever used to protect a ship. With a larger ship came a larger power source, which could generate a stronger energy screen.

As they walked around the ship, arm in arm, he pointed out all kinds of things to Layla. He knew she was interested in what he had to show her but probably not as interested in all the tiny details he couldn’t help but point out.

He had saved the best for last—the Command Center. When they walked into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing, and everyone gazed at the two of them. The High Princess of the Empire and the Vice Fleet Admiral. He chuckled to himself. As a child, he never would have pictured himself in this position. It had definitely been a journey, but he was so thankful to be where he was.

Now he must ensure the Empire stayed secure. A daunting task, but one he would do all he could to see come to fruition. Derrick knew that Rear Admiral Fulmar would soon be emerging from hyperspace in the Lamothian star system, where Xanther was located. Derrick wanted to be in the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds with Fleet Admiral Marloo when that attack started. Derrick wanted to know what was going on.

He turned to Layla and said, “It’s about time for us to meet with Marloo. The time has come for the Lamothians to realize what happens when they ignore our warnings.”

Layla sighed and said, “Yes, it is. I wish they would have heeded our warnings. It saddens me to order the destruction of a planet, let alone their four remaining inhabited planets. However, they’ve had plenty of warnings and chances to change their ways. They didn’t listen, so we have no other course of action besides the one we warned them about.”

As they headed back to Golan Four, both were in a somber mood. Billions of Lamothians would die soon. Even though the Lamothians were responsible for substantially more Human deaths than that, it was still a hard thing to process.

Chapter Two

Professor Charles Wright spent most of his days searching the archives on Golan Four and visiting his daughter, Kala. So far, his searches had turned up nothing. No mention anywhere of Falton Two. Purely by coincidence, one of the scout ships had happened across the planet, while searching for the place the Lamothians were getting the Humans from for their feasts. The scout ship was currently in orbit around the planet, observing the communications and the ships coming and going.

Prince Andrew, Kala’s husband and Charles’s son-in-law, had spoken with Lormallian Councilor Reull. Andrew had received permission for Charles to travel to Bator Prime in the Lormallian star systems to research the Confederation’s archives for more information on Falton Two.

Charles was aware of the dangers that traveling to the Confederation entailed. He was excited though to have the opportunity to explore more of space. As a child, he had never even imagined he would travel in space. He remembered looking up at the night sky and being amazed at its vastness. His mind would wander upon occasion at what might be up there, never expecting to get to see it for himself.

Even the thought of getting to meet members of alien races greatly appealed to him. His scientific mind was ablaze with the possibilities of the new things he would see. The curiosity that he had far outweighed the danger in his mind.

He also hoped that he might get a chance to travel to Falton Two, once his research was complete on Bator Prime. The scout ship had made no attempt to contact anyone on the surface yet, but he hoped that would occur before he was ready to travel there.

-

Captain Hadley and her crew on board scout ship 368 had been in orbit above the newly discovered planet of Falton Two for a few days now. Thus far, no other transport vessels had come or gone. They had also detected trading vessels from a number of different Confederation races arriving and departing since their scout ship had arrived. A few of those vessels were even Morag. None of the communications seemed hostile that they had intercepted either.

So far, Hadley mostly had more and more questions, with very few answers. Falton Two seemed to be just as advanced as the planets in the Empire. However, she had not detected any warships of any kind nor any space stations or shipyards orbiting the planet. No means of planetary defense had been detected either. Plenty of those trading vessels had arrived and departed from fairly advanced-looking spaceports at various locations across the planet.

As for the planet itself, it looked to be approximately 60 percent water and 40 percent land. When they ran their scans, it showed Humans across all three of the large landmasses, with a large number of the population living in population-dense cities. The scans showed a population of about five billion Humans, with several other races inhabiting the planet as well.

The planet had no obvious damage from being bombarded by missiles, like many planets in the Empire had. Looking at all the evidence they had gathered so far, Hadley came to the conclusion that this Human planet was, indeed, a core planet of the Confederation, located nearest to the Morag area of space. There seemed to be no strife here between these Humans and the Morag.

What was their secret? How could they make this work? Could these Humans hold some secret that could ultimately stop this war between the Empire and the Confederation? Did the Humans of Falton Two even know that the Empire existed? That other Humans were out there?

Hadley did not have these answers yet, and, to be honest, she wasn’t quite sure how she would get them either. For now, they would keep monitoring and observing, until they found the answers they sought or had to leave to resupply their ship.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar was minutes away from dropping out of hyperspace above Xanther. He had already moved the fleet to Condition One. In his task force, he had 30 dreadnoughts, 120 battlecruisers, and 2 battlecarriers that housed 320 attack interceptors.

He planned to annihilate the small fleet patrolling the star system first. At last report by the scout ship monitoring the system, fifty-seven battleships patrolled Xanther. Then Fulmar would destroy the two shipyards and the one space station that orbited Xanther. Next, he would destroy the planet.

At that point, if he still had enough ships left to destroy another target, he would move on to Malzan, the other Lamothian planet in this star system. His approach there would be the same as for Xanther. Destroy the two shipyards and the one space station and then move on to the destruction of the planet. It also had forty-eight battleships patrolling around this planet.

Fulmar was confident that all the ships currently in the system would join together to challenge his fleet. Fulmar’s task force would then be up against 105 battleships. The numbers were on his side, especially considering all his 152 ships were armed with the accelerator cannons, not counting the 320 interceptors. All his dreadnoughts were also armed with two particle beam weapons. The Lamothians did not have a defense against either of these weapons.

All these plans hinged on a few variables. One was the sizable Lamothian fleet with 1,257 ships, currently headed straight toward him. Captain Malachi was still tailing that fleet and reporting their progress to Fulmar.

The other variable was the larger Morag fleet—numbering 2,650 ships—currently stationed in a nearby star system. It would take them approximately forty minutes to get to Xanther from where they were. Captain Laine was monitoring that fleet.

Fulmar reasoned that he had, at minimum, thirty-five minutes to create as much devastation in and around Xanther as possible. If the Morag fleet headed his way, Fulmar would need to leave before they arrived. He did not have the fleet to face that large of a fleet. The Empire also didn’t have a large-enough fleet anywhere near him to aid Fulmar’s fleet, if followed in hyperspace by either one of these enemy fleets. He had a precise timetable, and he would do his best to adhere to it.

As they dropped from hyperspace, alarms sounded. They quickly scanned the system and found exactly what they had expected—the fifty-seven battleships around Xanther and another forty-eight around Malzan.

Fulmar’s fleet quickly closed in on Xanther. The Lamothian battleships moved into a wedge formation in between the nearest space station and a shipyard. Suddenly more enemy ships appeared. After a quick scan, the Humans confirmed that these were the forty-eight ships that had been nearest to Malzan. So far, everything was going as expected.

Fulmar knew the clock was ticking. The Lamothians had no doubt sent out a message for help. Would the Morag respond? Fulmar would hopefully soon find out from Captain Laine. If the Morag did head this way, Fulmar had only thirty-five minutes left before he needed to jump out of here.

-

Captain Laine still anxiously monitored the large Morag fleet stationed near the Lamothian area of the Confederation. Without warning, ships began entering hyperspace.

“We must follow that fleet,” order Laine. “We must determine where they are headed. The future of Rear Admiral Fulmar and his fleet depends on it!”

“Yes, Captain,” replied Lieutenant Henley.

Once in hyperspace, they analyzed the information coming in from their navigation officer to determine the enemy’s direction and then their possible destination.

-

Morag Commander Phobyis was preparing his fleet for their journey back to their home systems when a call for help came in from the Lamothians.

Commander, we received a message from the Lamothian fleet stationed near Xanther. They report a Human fleet dropping from hyperspace, said his communications officer.

How large is the fleet? asked Phobyis.

They report 120 battlecruisers, 30 dreadnoughts, and 2 battlecarriers. They have now stopped exiting hyperspace.

How many Lamothian battleships are in the system? asked Phobyis.

The Lamothians have 105 battleships, Commander.

Plus, their shipyards and space stations are armed as well, commented Phobyis. I will contact Admiral Voxx and see how he would like us to proceed.

Commander Phobyis contacted Admiral Voxx to get his assessment of the situation.

Voxx sent, With the shipyards and space stations both armed and the fleet in place, I think that the Lamothians can handle the situation without our help. With as small of a Human fleet as that is, more could be out there headed to other targets. This could be a diversion to distract us from their main target. Return to the Morag area of the Confederation as planned. The Lamothians are on their own.

Commander Phobyis immediately ordered his fleet to enter hyperspace and to return to the Morag part of the Confederation.

-

Captain Laine breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared that the Morag fleet was headed back to their star systems. Laine would continue to follow them, just in case they changed directions.

Laine quickly notified both Rear Admiral Fulmar and Admiral Cleemorl to update them on the Morag fleet.

Laine hoped, when his scout ship did eventually emerge from hyperspace, that the Morag would be unable to detect them. With the Morag fleet dropping out of hyperspace as well as his scout ship, Laine hoped their arrival would go unnoticed.

If, indeed, this Morag fleet was headed to the Morag star systems, Laine had a while to wait to find out if his scout ship would be detected or not.

-

“Three minutes to engagement range,” said the sensor officer.

Rear Admiral Fulmar closed in on the Lamothian fleet. He had just received word from Laine that the Morag were currently headed away from his location. He hoped that they would continue on their current course. Thankfully Laine would let him know if anything changed.

“One minute to engagement range.”

Fulmar would focus their accelerator cannon fire on the fleet first. He had in mind to stay out of range of the orbiting shipyards and space station until after the defending fleet was destroyed. One target at a time. He had all his fleet lock on to a different target that, thanks to the accelerator cannon fire, would quickly be obliterated.

As they reached engagement range, his fleet launched their attack. He felt his flagship shudder, as the accelerator cannons launched their projectiles toward the Lamothian fleet.

On the other side of the battle, the Lamothians launched their attack as well. The antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams were now inbound toward Fulmar’s task force.

Fulmar’s accelerator cannon fire reached the enemy first, quickly overwhelming the energy screens and smashing into the battleships with twenty-three megatons of raw energy. Brilliant explosions marked the death of battleships all across the Lamothians’ fleet formation.

Fulmar’s flagship shook, as his energy screen was bombarded by antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams. “How is our shield holding?” he asked the systems officer.

“Holding at 70 percent, sir,” he replied.

“Let’s hope it stays that way. Keep launching our accelerator cannons until no enemy ships are left.”

Suddenly a strong blast of energy smashed into Fulmar’s energy screen, as the dreadnought nearest him was shattered into tiny particles of debris. This further weakened Fulmar’s energy shield.

Fulmar quickly repositioned some vessels in front of his ship, as Fulmar’s crew repaired what they could, and he continued to orchestrate the battle unfolding before him from the safety of the rear of the fleet.

He quickly examined the tactical display and his ships still capable of battle. A few, like his, had moved to the back of the formation to quickly make some repairs. Numerous green icons had disappeared since the onset of this battle.

However, his fleet was quickly annihilating the enemy. More and more Lamothian ships exploded, as the accelerator cannon fire reached their targets. The Empire’s superior firepower significantly gave Fulmar the advantage.

Once the enemy fleet was destroyed, he would shift their focus to the shipyards and the space station.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer was on board one of the shipyards that orbited Xanther. When the alarms first sounded, a sickening feeling washed over him. The Humans still possessed superior weapons technology that they could not defend against. With this small fleet in the system currently, the Humans would quickly destroy whatever they had in mind to destroy.

Zonmer sent a distress call to all their allies in the Confederation for assistance. He also checked in with Admiral Zahn to see what his time of arrival would be. Zonmer knew Zahn was on his way with their large fleet back to this star system. The question remained whether they would arrive here in time to rescue Xanther from impending destruction or not.

As he waited for Zahn’s response, his eyestalks focused on the displays in front of him. These insufferable Humans. How dare they enter the Confederation without permission. They had been wreaking havoc across the Confederation for a while now. They had already destroyed the Lamothian homeworld of Lamothia. Now they had their sights set on Xanther. How could he stop them?

He continued to watch in horror, as the fleet was quickly obliterated. He realized in terror that now the Human fleet had shifted its attention to the shipyard nearest them. If they were determined to destroy the shipyards next, he had precious few minutes to determine a way to survive this attack.

The Humans were using their newest weapon that easily overwhelmed their energy shields and then blew the target into oblivion. His life would be cut short all because the Lamothian Councilor had gone ahead with the feast instead of postponing it until the Humans were no longer in the Confederation.

The shipyard targeted by the Humans was slowly picking off some of the Human’s ships. Zonmer felt it wouldn’t be enough though. He hoped the Human fleet would be depleted enough by the time they finished off the shipyards and the space station that they wouldn’t then destroy Xanther.

The message he had received from Admiral Zahn was not what Zonmer had hoped it would be. Zahn’s fleet would not reach the star system in time, although Zahn hoped they could arrive before the Human fleet destroyed the other inhabited planet in the system, Malzan.

Zonmer quickly arranged for transport vessels to evacuate as many Lamothians as possible from the shipyard. He would leave behind only those essential to the defense of the shipyard. The rest would be transported to the shipyard that orbited Malzan. From there, he would keep tabs on the battle and hope that Zahn would arrive before the Humans attacked the next planet. Maybe they would only target Xanther and be satisfied that they had taught us a lesson.

He quickly boarded the transport vessel and evacuated the doomed shipyard. As the ship flew away, he witnessed the other shipyard being pulverized by the Human accelerator cannons. Then the particle beams and their light-violet beams obliterated any large pieces left by the accelerator cannons.

Zonmer continued watching as the Human fleet moved on to his shipyard. They made quick work of it, but thankfully most of the Lamothians had already evacuated. The shipyard was also successful in whittling away more of the Human fleet. Now, if the space station could eliminate more enemy ships, then at least the Lamothians were making progress.

The space station started evacuating shortly after Zonmer’s shipyard did. Only essential personnel were left to defend the station. Those who stayed were well aware that they would not survive. They served their race well, as they destroyed more enemy ships. The fewer ships the Humans had, the harder it would be to destroy the planet. Plus, it would take them longer to destroy the space station and shipyards around Malzan. That time would possibly allow Admiral Zahn to arrive. Then Zonmer would take great pleasure watching this Human fleet be eradicated from the star system.

His call for assistance from his allies only got him the answers he already feared. No one was close enough to get here before the Humans destroyed the planet. Zonmer couldn’t believe that he would shortly witness the destruction of one of their planets. Billions of Lamothians would soon lose their lives—lives cut short by these inferior beings. What a travesty.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn paced back and forth across his Command Center. He should never have listened to Morag Admiral Voxx. He should have stayed and protected his star systems, not chased after the Humans. If the Morag couldn’t finish them off, that was their responsibility, not his. Now a Human fleet was threatening Xanther. He should be there. He shouldn’t be too far away to offer the aid they so desperately needed.

Zahn wouldn’t get to Xanther in time to stop the attack. The Humans had taken a small fleet to destroy Xanther. From the reports he had received from Commander Zonmer, they had already destroyed the two shipyards and the space station orbiting Xanther. They all knew what was next—the planet.

Zahn sighed with great sorrow seeping through his body. He had failed to protect his fellow Lamothians. Then anger pierced through him, as he realized that this attack had been preventable if the Lamothian Councilor had only listened to the Human High Princess when she had warned them what would happen if they continued with their feast—or if the councilor had listened to Zahn’s own concerns, when he had brought it up with the councilor himself.

Now they faced a tragedy. If the Humans only destroyed Xanther, the Lamothians would just have three planets remaining. What would they do if the Humans followed through on their threat to annihilate all our worlds? His eyestalks quivered at the thought.

He pushed their hyperdrives to the limit. He must get there before the Humans could attack Malzan. He must save the rest of the planets.

-

The Lamothian Councilor was enjoying the company of his family when his assistant rushed in. He was given the news that a Human fleet had entered the star system and was closing in on Xanther. They needed to hurry to the Command Center to see what was happening.

The councilor quickly rushed to the transport vessels. As he entered, he looked back at his family. He felt genuine anguish, as he realized his decisions had likely cost all of them their lives. He hoped Admiral Zahn could reach them in time.

The Lamothian Councilor rushed into the Command Center in the base located in the capital city. When he entered the room, everyone seemed very somber. “How many ships do the Humans have?” he asked.

“The Humans have 150 ships, Councilor,” replied the tactical officer. “Plus, two of their battlecarriers that hold their small attack craft. These crafts were used to destroy Lamothia, according to the reports we received from the ground as the explosions began across the planet.”

“Tell the commander in charge of the fleet to focus their firepower on these two ships, as well as the bigger dreadnoughts. If we can destroy their commander and their carriers, maybe they will not succeed in destroying our planet,” he replied.

“Yes, we will send that command immediately,” replied the communications officer.

The two fleets began their attack. He witnessed the superiority of the Humans’ weapons. He was shocked at how effective they were against their energy screens. The Lamothians had nothing that could stop these weapons. The future of his race and that of the entire Confederation was in jeopardy.

The councilor watched in horror as the Human fleet tore through the Lamothian fleet. The Humans lost ships as well but not enough.

After the Lamothian fleet had been destroyed, the Humans targeted the shipyard closest to their location. There wasn’t much it could do against these new weapons. The shipyard did wipe out several enemy ships before it was decimated.

Massive explosions filled the viewscreen, as antimatter missiles slammed into the enemy’s energy shields from the other shipyard. The councilor received word that this shipyard, and the space station, had been evacuated of everyone except for essential personnel. He watched with satisfaction as a Human dreadnought was blown apart, as its energy shield collapsed.

The space above the planet was lit up with a ferocity of powerful explosions. The Humans made quick work of the other shipyard and the space station. The councilor’s gaze focused on the viewscreen showing the Human fleet advancing toward Xanther.

“Councilor, we must get you on a transport vessel and off this planet immediately. Follow me!”

The Lamothian Councilor followed the officer as quickly as his body allowed him to. When they headed outside onto the landing strip, he heard the hysteria in the streets of the city. He promptly boarded his getaway vessel. He wasn’t sure if they’d make it off the planet in time.

The vessel took off and quickly headed toward the upper atmosphere of the planet and toward the other inhabited world in the star system, Malzan. As they made their journey, he looked back with a tremendous amount of regret as he watched the destruction of his planet Xanther.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar closed in on Xanther now. They had successfully destroyed the shipyards and the space station. Now it was time to destroy the planet.

The battlecarriers launched their attack interceptors. Each interceptor carried four fusion-tipped missiles that would be launched at the surface of the planet. The two carriers contained 320 attack interceptors. Shortly they would launch 1,280 missiles at the planet. Once they launched all their missiles, they would return to their carriers to reload, in case they needed to launch another barrage of missiles at Xanther.

The Lamothians would shoot down a large number of the missiles but not enough to save their planet. In the upper atmosphere of the planet, small explosions marked where energy beams had intercepted and destroyed some of the missiles. Even though the Lamothians eliminated those Human missiles, a large number of them were getting through.

The first Human missiles reached the surface of the planet and exploded with massive force. A huge fireball rose above the capital city, as an intense heat swept outward. This was followed by a powerful blast wave. Buildings were leveled, and vegetation incinerated. The Lamothians in the capital city were doomed. Those who survived the initial explosions and blast waves wouldn’t last long. Above the city, debris, ash, and smoke filled the air.

Across the planet, just over eight hundred fusion-tipped missiles hit the surface. All over Xanther, death and destruction were everywhere. The dust, ash, and debris from the explosions reached high into the atmosphere, preventing the sunlight from getting through. A cold and deadly darkness swept across the planet.

Fulmar watched all this unfold from the viewscreens in his Command Center. Once the attack interceptors were safely back on board their carriers, they quickly analyzed what fleet they had left.

His fleet had lost twelve dreadnoughts and fifty-six battlecruisers. His two carriers remained unharmed, and he had lost no attack interceptors. They were quickly reloading to prepare to destroy their next target, Malzan.

Chapter Three

Now that Fulmar had a smaller fleet to destroy the space station and the two shipyards above Malzan, he decided to change his strategy. Since they had no fleet to worry about, he would send his two carriers with the interceptors to a safe location, out of reach of the firepower from the orbiting shipyards and space station. This way, the interceptors could quickly destroy the planet, while Fulmar’s task force annihilated the rest. He was aware that the large Lamothian fleet—all 1,257 ships—were closing in on him.

He sent an encrypted message to Captain Malachi for a status update on the current location of the Lamothian fleet and their estimated time of arrival.

While he waited for that response, Fulmar ordered the damaged ships to focus on their repairs, while the battle-ready ships prepared to jump in closer to Malzan. The quicker they could begin this attack, the faster they could finish and get out of here, hopefully before the large Lamothian fleet arrived.

As the fleet dropped in close to Malzan, Fulmar sent a quick hyperlight message to Admiral Marloo on Golan Four to let them know he had successfully destroyed Xanther and that he was moving on to Malzan. He couldn’t risk sending a message to Cleemorl. Everyone knew Fulmar’s location by now, allies and enemies. Not the case with Cleemorl and the rest of the Human fleets.

-

Derrick and Layla waited with Admiral Marloo in the underground Command Center beneath the Empire’s House of Worlds. It was such a relief to have the war being fought in the Confederation instead of in the Empire. While they still had fleets of vessels and thousands of lives in the balance, they didn’t have entire worlds at risk.

Layla was acutely aware that the Confederation would return to the Empire for retribution for all the damage currently inflicted in the Confederation. Especially the Lamothian fleet. Hopefully, within the next twenty-four hours, the Lamothians wouldn’t have a planet left to call home.

Layla briefly felt a wave of compassion for the Lamothians. Maybe they should leave them one planet on which to live. Then that compassion was quickly washed away as she imagined all the Humans consumed by the Lamothians over thousands of years.

The Confederation had been around for over thirty thousand years. Layla assumed, for a majority of that existence, the Lamothians had fed upon Humans. It made her sick just thinking about it. No, there was no room in her mind or her heart for compassion, at least not for the Lamothians.

A message came through from the Confederation, bringing her out of her current train of thought. Layla stood, as Admiral Marloo looked over the message.

“Rear Admiral Fulmar reports his fleet has destroyed Xanther, as well as the two shipyards and the space station that orbited the planet. His fleet did suffer some loss, but he is confident he has enough to move on to his next target. He will be annihilating everything on and around Malzan. After his success, he will send us another message, updating us on his progress,” said Marloo, with a satisfied look on his face.

“So far, so good,” Derrick said. “How about Admiral Cleemorl and the other fleets? Do we know when they will arrive at their target? Can they get there before the Lamothians? I assume the Lamothians will reroute their fleet, once they realize nothing is left to protect in their star system where Xanther and Malzan are located.” Derrick stood and walked over to the holographic display.

Marloo moved over to the display as well and said, “Our last communication with Cleemorl had the fleets right about here.” Marloo pointed to a location on the display. “If we assume they are traveling as quickly as they can, it would put them currently right about here. At last check-in with Captain Malachi, the Lamothian fleet was located here and traveling in this direction. Malachi will notify us if the enemy changes direction. However, it won’t take them much longer to get to the other star systems we will target next than it would to get to Xanther’s star system.”

“Then our best guess is Cleemorl will arrive first but not by much,” replied Derrick.

“That’s correct,” Marloo remarked. “Hopefully everything will align, and we will eradicate the Lamothians from the Confederation. At least their worlds. We don’t have enough ships currently in the Confederation to go up against the entire Lamothian fleet.”

“Rest assured that they will come for us,” Layla stated, with a look of concern. “We must remain on high alert. As long as we have a fleet in the Confederation attacking targets, none of the other Confederation races will risk sending a fleet here. They will keep them all there to defend their worlds. The Lamothians, however, will have nothing left to defend. They will have nothing left to hold them to the Confederation. We must determine their most likely target before the time comes.”

Marloo nodded his agreement. “One thing on our side is that we have Captain Malachi and his scout ship tailing the Lamothian fleet. When the time comes, we will know exactly where they are and in which direction they are headed. We can better determine their most likely targets. Also we will rule out certain targets and will possibly reposition fleets to our advantage.”

Derrick replied, “We will work on the possible scenarios immediately and make contingency plans. That way, we are prepared for as many possible situations as we can be.”

Layla then stood and said, “Well, it sounds like you two gentlemen will be busy for a while. I will return to my office and get some work done. I am meeting with Krista and Mathew this afternoon to go over their itinerary for the worlds they will be visiting over the next couple weeks. Please update me as soon as you hear from any of the fleets in the Confederation.”

“Yes, of course we will,” remarked Derrick. “Would you like me to walk you to your office?”

“No, I think you have plenty to do here,” Layla said, with a smile.

Layla turned and headed out the door toward her office. She did have a busy afternoon ahead of her. Layla smiled as she thought about how far they’d come. If only they could figure out how to keep the war in the Confederation instead of here in the Empire. They needed to have enough ships to protect the ever-growing Empire and also to send to the Confederation to attack targets there. She decided she would mention this to Derrick tonight.

For now, he had enough to worry about. Maybe Prince Andrew would have some ideas on how it could be done. She would ask him the next time she saw him.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn moved back and forth in front of his command chair. He was pushing his hyperdrives to the limit, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. Zahn had received word that the Human fleet near Xanther had successfully destroyed the planet, plus its shipyards and space station orbiting the planet. Billions of Lamothians were now dead, and he was partly to blame.

Zahn took a deep breath and stopped to analyze the holographic display in front of him. He knew the Humans were now inbound for Malzan. At his current rate of speed, he would not make it there in time to save the planet or the space station or the shipyards that orbited it.

At Xanther, the Humans had attacked the defending fleet, then the shipyards and the space station, before decimating the planet. If they did that again, hopefully not much of the Human fleet would remain to move on to their next target. With their battlecarriers and attack interceptors, the Humans could still destroy planet Malzan, but those small attack craft were not made for destroying shipyards and space stations. Especially not if much of a patrol fleet remained at Malzan to help annihilate the Human’s numbers.

With all this on Zahn’s mind, he tried to identify the Humans’ next target. Which planet would be next after Malzan? Which one was least protected? He concentrated and reasoned out what he thought their next target would be. He and his fleet would head there. He had no real need to go to Malzan. It would just be a waste of precious time. Precious time that they did not have. Zahn had to get to the next Lamothian target before this Human fleet had a chance to destroy another planet. The Lamothians were quickly running out of those.

Zahn quickly sent the new coordinates to his fleet. They then changed their trajectory to their new destination—one that would hopefully allow them to put a stop to this Human infestation.

-

Captain Malachi noted the change in the Lamothian fleet’s direction. It had shifted slightly. He had his navigation officer run the new trajectory to determine their new destination. He knew Rear Admiral Fulmer was now in the clear. Unless he headed to another target after he destroyed Malzan, the Human fleet now at risk was Cleemorl’s and the remaining Earth fleets. They were headed to Reamian, a Lamothian planet located in a white dwarf star system, not too far from the one Fulmar was in.

At last report, another scout ship had confirmed that still twenty-three enemy battleships were on patrol in the system. There were once two Lamothian inhabited planets in this system, but Cleemorl had already destroyed the other one, Zaneth. Now only one remained, Reamian. It had two shipyards and one space station.

Three space stations still orbited what was left of Zaneth. Malachi knew Cleemorl intended to destroy all the shipyards, space stations, and, of course, the planet of Reamian. The question now was, would Cleemorl have enough time to get all that done before the Lamothian fleet arrived?

Malachi sent all the information he had obtained to Fulmar, Cleemorl, and also back to Golan Four. He was thankful that these scout ships were able to communicate without being intercepted by the enemy, which was invaluable in this war with the Confederation.

-

Admiral Cleemorl closed in on his target. They would exit hyperspace in approximately four more hours. According to the information Malachi had given him in the last update of the Lamothian fleet’s position, the big fleet was now headed in the direction of Cleemorl’s target.

Cleemorl didn’t want to risk running into that fleet. Even though he had superior firepower, he didn’t have superior numbers. They had calculated that the Lamothian fleet would beat him to Reamian by just under an hour.

The question now was whether the fleet would stay in the star system where Reamian was located or move on to the other star system that held the Lamothians’ other inhabited planet of Lamodent. Or the other possibility was that the big fleet would split in two to defend both planets.

If Cleemorl changed course now, he could arrive in the star system where Lamodent was located in about five hours. Cleemorl hoped that the Lamothians didn’t split up their fleet, although that made the most sense. Theoretically, if he had only two planets left, he would split his fleet. Especially knowing the enemy had a smaller fleet.

As long as the Lamothians didn’t decide to split the fleet until after they arrived at Reamian, Cleemorl would have the time he needed. By the time they recharged their hyperdrives, Cleemorl felt that would give him enough time to get the job done. Or at least he hoped it would.

On the other hand, if Fulmar moved on to Reamian after finishing at Malzan, the entire Lamothian fleet would think that Reamian was the target. Then they wouldn’t split the fleet, if they felt they knew where the Human fleet was.

Cleemorl sighed and walked around the holographic display again. So much unknown. If only he could talk to Fulmar. He couldn’t risk giving away his location though. Cleemorl would have to wait until Fulmar updated everyone on his progress. For now, Cleemorl would change his course to head to Lamodent.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar was five minutes away from the engagement range of one of the shipyards that orbited Malzan. The battlecarriers had jumped to a location not far from the nearest shipyard but out of range of their weapons. The space station was not within weapons range of the carriers either. As soon as Fulmar launched his attack on the last shipyard, the attack interceptors would deploy and get into formation. Once in formation, they would head to deploy their fusion-tipped missiles at the surface of the planet.

Fulmar would destroy the two shipyards and the single space station while the attack interceptors annihilated every living thing on the planet. He paused for a moment, as he realized that not only Lamothians inhabited the planet. All types of other living creatures did as well. He was saddened by that thought but knew there was no other way to eliminate the threat the Lamothians posed without destroying the planet.

Two minutes to engagement range, Fulmar’s gaze focused on the tactical display. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he glanced around the Command Center. Everyone was focused on the display in front of them.

One minute left until they began their bombardment of this first of two shipyards. Less than a minute until they unleashed destruction like these Lamothians had never even witnessed before.

“All weapons fire!” commanded Fulmar as they reached engagement range. The ship shook slightly as it released the accelerator cannon fire toward the shipyard.

As the projectiles reached their target, they crashed through the energy screen. As the second projectile arrived right behind it, a brilliant explosion rocked the shipyard, splitting it into two pieces.

The next rounds of the accelerator cannon fire reached the two remaining pieces of the shipyard and quickly blew them into oblivion, sending small pieces of space debris in all directions. Fulmar paused, as he realized the explosions looked like giant fireworks they often used to celebrate the beginning of a new year back on his home planet of Helgoth.

The shipyard got off a few rounds of antimatter missiles, as well as fusion energy beams. Thankfully the fleet had taken minimal damage, only losing a couple battlecruisers in the attack.

Now it was time to move on to the next shipyard and then to destroy the space station.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer had been watching from one of the shipyards above Malzan when the Human fleet jumped in not far from them. He immediately called for the evacuation of all workers besides the essential personnel from the two shipyards and their solo space station.

Zonmer quickly boarded his transport vessel as well. He would watch the Human fleet destroy this planet and then report which direction they headed next. He hoped that, by the time this day was over, he still had a world to live on. They would soon be down to two.

-

The Lamothian Councilor watched the devastation occurring at the first shipyard from his transport vessel near the space station of Malzan. How can this be? How is this happening? He had already watched the destruction of one of his planets, and now it looked as if he would be witnessing the second.

The two shipyards were destroyed so quickly, only destroying a few of the enemy ships. Not enough to dissuade them from moving on to another planet.

The Lamothian Councilor worried where would he go next? All the Lamothian transport vessels were loaded with evacuating personnel from the space station and the shipyards. As he looked down at the planet, he saw hundreds of vessels leaving the planet. At least not all the Lamothians on the planet would perish today. He could only imagine the pandemonium occurring on the planet right now.

He knew that the planetary defense system could not destroy the onslaught of weapons fire the Human attack crafts would release, they were already headed into the upper atmosphere of the planet. The billions of Lamothians left down there on the planet only had minutes left to live.

Did he cause this destruction? By going ahead with the feast, did he ensure that billions of his own race would die? He wasn’t sure what he should do. Should he attempt to contact the Human commander and attempt a deal to assure peace between them? He knew that would mean never consuming another Human again.

What would the Morag think if he brokered peace with the Humans? Would he be creating another enemy? Was it even possible to negotiate with the Humans? He felt sick, even contemplating a truce with his enemy. What other options did he have? Either he brokered a peace with them or they would lose all their planets. Then where would they go? He had a lot to think about and not much time to do it.

Maybe Admiral Zahn could destroy this Human fleet and could stop them from destroying the last two of the Lamothian planets. It was time to contact the admiral again and get his estimated time of arrival. If he didn’t have to broker peace with the Humans, he didn’t want to.

-

The battlecarriers launched the attack interceptors as the fleet launched their attack on the space station. They quickly assembled into squadrons and began their short journey to the planet.

As they entered the atmosphere of the planet, all 320 attack interceptors launched their fusion-tipped missiles at their various targets across the planet. The planet’s defense system did its best to destroy as many missiles as possible. While able to destroy a large number of missiles, there was no hope of destroying them all.

The missiles impacted the surface of the planet, causing tremendous damage and destruction. Large explosions could be seen from space, as the Human fleet attacked the space station.

As more missiles impacted the surface, massive fireballs consumed entire cities. Many missiles hit the oceans, causing tsunamis to fan out in all directions. A few missiles hit volcanic areas, which started eruptions.

The sky soon filled with rock, debris, smoke, and ash. Anyone who had survived the initial blast now found it almost impossible to breathe. Many suffocated, as the ash filled the air.

Before long, the entire planet was dark. The sun was blocked from getting through the aftermath to the surface. An entire world was now consumed in death and destruction.

When Fulmar eliminated the space station, he glanced down at the planet. He saw the blackness encompassing the planet. The attack interceptors now headed back to their battlecarriers. Before long, they would be reloaded and ready to destroy their next target.

Fulmar turned his attention back to the task at hand. His fleet jumped to their last target of the star system, the final shipyard. The fleet immediately launched the accelerator cannon fire and particle beams at the yard.

As their projectiles careened into the shipyard’s energy screen, the Lamothians fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles slammed into his fleet. Fulmar noticed with alarm that a few more green icons disappeared from his tactical display. His ship was hit by an antimatter missile, throwing him to the ground. Fulmar quickly stood back up and glanced around the room at his crew. “How is our energy shield holding up?”

“It’s at 60 percent. I am rerouting more power to the shields,” said his systems officer.

“Let’s finish this, so we can make it out of here alive,” said Fulmar.

The task force barraged the shipyard with a catastrophic amount of accelerator cannon fire. The yard was blown apart in a series of massive explosions. The space all around Malzan was littered with debris. The planet below was blackened by the destruction from the surface. All over the star system, they had left death and destruction.

The only Lamothians left alive were the ones fleeing the system in their transport vessels. Fulmar knew that, before long, those vessels would have no planet left with which to dock, where they would be welcomed like they would on one of their own planets.

Fulmar ordered his fleet to enter hyperspace and to head to the next Lamothian planet. He would assess his losses, update Golan Four, and check in with Captain Malachi, once in the safety of hyperspace.

As his flagship made the transition to hyperspace, he sat back in his command chair. Fulmar had a few more things to do before he could relax completely. For now, he and his crew were safe, but they were headed to more battles. Battles where his fleet would suffer more losses. Losses that eventually would cause him to abandon his mission. Hopefully he would destroy at least one more planet and everything that orbited it.

-

Commander Zonmer had sent a message to Admiral Zahn. Zahn had a plan, one they both felt would work to their advantage. Zonmer would follow the Human fleet to their next star system. Once they figured out which one that would be, the Lamothian Councilor would contact the leader of the Human fleet. He would say he wanted to broker a peace agreement. This would hopefully buy Admiral Zahn enough extra time to arrive in the star system. Then Zahn would extinguish the Human infestation, and the last two Lamothian worlds would be saved from the Humans attack. Zonmer smiled, as he thought about how easily he would make the Humans fall for their trap. It would be very satisfying to see this Human fleet annihilated, right in front of his eyes.

Chapter Four

Captain Malachi received an encrypted message from Rear Admiral Fulmar, confirming his success in destroying Malzan and now heading to Reamian, the next closest of what was left of the Lamothian planets. It would take him approximately two hours to get there.

Malachi sent an encrypted message to Admiral Cleemorl, informing him of Fulmar’s plan. The good news was that Fulmar would arrive in the star system with an hour to spare before the Lamothian fleet arrived. This should be enough time for Fulmar to destroy the planet with the attack interceptors. He would first have to destroy the twenty-three battleships patrolling the system. Then he would move on to the two shipyards and, if he had enough time, the space station.

Ideally he would also have the time to destroy the three space stations left orbiting the already destroyed planet of Zaneth as well.

Cleemorl planned to attack the other remaining Lamothian planet of Lamodent. Hopefully, with Fulmar attacking Reamian first, and the Confederation unaware of Cleemorl’s presence here, that would keep the Lamothian fleet headed to Reamian. Then Cleemorl might have enough time to destroy the planet Lamodent and its shipyard. Worst case scenario would be the Lamothian fleet changing course away from Reamian to head to Lamodent to defend it instead.

Fulmar’s fleet got smaller with each target he hit. Malachi wasn’t sure Fulmar would have the firepower to take on the ships that defended Reamian. Maybe the Lamothian fleet would think the same thing. Only time would tell. For now, the Lamothian fleet still headed toward Reamian.

-

Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters were relieved to hear from Fulmar that another Lamothian planet had been destroyed.

The two admirals had been busy figuring out which targets the Lamothians might try to hit in the Empire. The Lamothians didn’t have the ships to go after the Hagen Star Cluster or Golan Four. The Lamothians would most likely hit a target less defended. However, the Lamothians did not have stealth scout ships, like the Empire had, so the enemy would not know which Empire planets were less defended.

When the time came, the Humans would have Empire fleets on high alert, as well as the Resistance Fleet and the Visth Alliance. Marloo and Derrick didn’t feel the Lamothians would attack the Visth, but the Empire might need their assistance, if the Lamothians attacked a planet in the Visth’s direction.

The Lamothians had a sizable fleet that wouldn’t be easy to annihilate without a large-enough Empire fleet. The Lamothians would hopefully have no planet left to defend and would send a majority, if not all, of their remaining fleet to attack the Empire.

If so, the Humans could destroy the Lamothian fleet once and for all. As long as the Humans were prepared for such an attack, they could annihilate the enemy fleet. That would eliminate the Lamothian threat posed to the Empire, not to mention destroying an ally of the Morag. One less thing to worry about.

Layla had mentioned that she would like the war to stay in the Confederation for as long as possible. So they needed to figure out their next Confederation target and to send a relief fleet to supplement what Empire fleet was there. Currently the supply fleet that had accompanied Admiral Collison and Rear Admiral Barnes was stationed on the periphery of the Empire, nearest the Confederation.

When Professor Charles Wright had arrived in the Empire, a small fleet of Earth ships had accompanied him here to supplement those attacking the Confederation. Those ships were ready to head to the Confederation.

Since it wasn’t a large fleet, they would need to be selective in their targets. The fleet had 200 battlecruisers and 65 dreadnoughts and a few supply ships. They also had with them 5 battlecarriers, full of attack interceptors. So this fleet that came with Charles would meet up with Collison, Barnes, and Carrie to attack their next target.

A large number of battlecarriers were en route back to the Empire for reloading. The battlecarriers needed more attack interceptors.

In total, the carriers would need 5,600 attack interceptors to be fully reloaded. These battlecarriers would be arriving in the Hagen Star Cluster within the next 24 hours. The supply ships would also need to be reloaded with munitions, extra attack interceptors, as well as other supplies they needed. Once reloaded, they would be ready to return to the Confederation.

They would need to send the newest Earth fleet to the Hagen Star Cluster to meet the carriers. They would also be sending a large number of attack interceptors from Golan Four to help resupply the battlecarriers.

The Human fleets needed the scout ships to search the Confederation for a few plausible targets, ones that weren’t as heavily guarded as others. Ideally the Empire would like to hit more Morag shipyards. If that was their goal, they needed the scout ships to head that way to search for the best target.

However, the best target may also be a trap. The Morag would be wise to set a trap for the Humans. Make one star system look weak and like an easy target. Then have a fleet stationed near enough that they could immediately jump in and destroy the attacking Human fleet. Fortunately though the Empire had the scout ships to keep tabs on the Morag fleets.

The available scout ships would be repositioned immediately to search for and find the remaining fleets in the Morag area of the Confederation.

The scouts already monitoring that Lamothian fleet of 1,257 warships and its remaining star systems, not to mention the even more worrisome Morag fleet of 2,650 ships, would maintain their surveillance of those targets. The scout ships watching the Druin fleets would stay assigned to them as well.

Marloo had already sent more scout ships to monitor the Zynth fleets. No need to have any of the Confederation fleets unmonitored if the Empire had the resources to keep watch on them. Marloo’s goal was to have all Confederation fleets monitored. If any of them entered hyperspace, Marloo wanted to know about it. He wanted to know how many and in which direction they were headed—no more surprises.

For now, Marloo needed to get the ships ready to head to the Hagen Star Cluster. Once more information came in from the scout ships, they could better determine a target—whether it be Morag, Druin, or Zynth. Soon the Lamothians would no longer be a threat.

-

Professor Charles Wright had heard that the ships that had escorted him safely to Golan Four would be headed to the Hagen Star Cluster soon and then on to the Confederation. Charles hoped he could hitch a ride with them and head to Bator Prime, where he could further his research of Falton Two.

He knew that his daughter, Kala, would object to him traveling to the Confederation, but, if he were going with a good-size military escort, maybe she wouldn’t object too much.

He looked forward to exploring more star systems and to meeting the Lormallians. Although they had attacked Earth in the past, they were now neutral in the war between the Empire and the Confederation. Charles had received permission to visit the archives on Bator Prime from the Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull.

Since his escort was leaving soon, Charles needed to have a serious talk with Kala about his trip to Bator Prime. He had not come this far to not get the answers he sought.

-

Princess Krista headed to her cousin Layla’s office. She and Captain Mathew Barkley would be headed off again tomorrow to visit more worlds—some which had already joined the Empire, as well as a few still considering it.

Layla would give Krista her specific itinerary and some advice for how to get the undecided planets to join alliances with the Empire. Mathew would be talking to some of the military leaders from the visited planets, while Krista talked politics.

Krista felt she was getting much better at meeting new people and talking them into joining the Empire. They all were Humans and had the same enemy, the Confederation. While she visited with these representatives and their worlds, she had permission to update them on how the war was going in the Confederation.

She found that the primary concern of most of the worlds that had not joined the Empire yet was that the Empire was getting too large and couldn’t protect all its worlds. Also, that by joining the Empire, they put a bigger target on themselves from the Confederation. Many also didn’t like the idea of giving up their independence.

The Empire was set up as a Constitutional Monarchy. While Layla was the current ruling High Princess, most of the decisions came down to the Imperial Council and the House of Worlds. Each world that joined the Empire had a representative in the House of Worlds. Each of these had offices from which to work located near the House of Worlds on Golan Four.

Krista knew her talking points and how to relate to people. The more she did it, the better she got. Krista was thankful she could help Layla in this way. It made Krista feel more valuable and like she had a contribution to make.

Plus it meant more time that she could spend with Mathew. Of course a chaperone would always be present. Brenda usually acted as Krista’s chaperone. She was a good one though, giving them a little space to talk more privately when possible.

As Krista entered Layla’s office, she was already thinking about all the different outfits she would take on the trip. Layla always allowed her to get a few new ones when she traveled like this, when representing the royal family.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was relieved that the Humans had not destroyed any of their planets—yet. The Morag needed to enhance their planetary defenses as quickly as possible. They needed to be prepared for when the Humans attacked one of their planets. It was more of a question of when it would happen, not if. The Morag needed to build more of their interceptor killers to destroy the Humans’ small attack craft. The Humans had been too successful in using their small attack craft to destroy the Lamothian planets and the Druin planets.

All of the Morag shipyards were constantly working to build more warships, at least at all the shipyards they had left after the Humans had attacked them. The Morag weapons development team was hard at work, developing the two new weapons that the Humans now possessed, the particle beam cannon and the accelerator cannon. It would take time to get all these things done.

In the meantime, Voxx needed to figure out how to position the fleets to protect the most shipyards. Currently the Humans were occupied with the Lamothians, but that wouldn’t last much longer. Voxx needed to be ready. When the Humans were finished destroying the Lamothian worlds in the Confederation, Voxx expected the Human fleet would probably return to attack more Morag shipyards. Voxx would be prepared this time.

He must meet with the Morag High Council and with Admiral Marcello and Commander Phobyis to determine their attack plan and their fleet deployments. He would be back on Morag Prime within the next day. Until then, he would plan. He needed to wipe out all the Humans in the Confederation, once and for all.

-

The Lamothian Councilor was prepared to contact the Humans shortly after they reached the next star system. He needed to use as much time as possible to allow Admiral Zahn time to arrive.

The councilor would wait until the Human fleet was close to weapons range before contacting them. Every second he could stall was one second closer to Zahn descending upon the enemy.

None of the transport vessels would attempt to dock. They all knew what the Humans had come here to do. No use unloading to shortly evacuate again. Hopefully no more Lamothian lives would be lost today. Enough had already been lost.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar was ten minutes away from dropping out of hyperspace. He would contact Captain Malachi once more for an updated arrival time for the Lamothian fleet. Fulmar had to be out of here by then. Thanks to his encrypted messages with Malachi, Fulmar knew what Cleemorl was planning. Fulmar prayed everything worked out the way they hoped it would.

After hearing back from Malachi, Fulmar would have fifty-five minutes, once they exited hyperspace, before the enemy fleet arrived. Fulmar had a lot to do in that time. He also knew that, in order to give Cleemorl more time to destroy Lamodent, Fulmar needed to stay in this star system as long as he dared. If he could keep the enemy focused on him and his fleet, Cleemorl would have the time he needed for his surprise attack. Fulmar set a timer so that he would know precisely when they needed to get out of there.

He moved the fleet to Condition One. The small fleet patrolling Reamian would be well aware by now what was coming their way. Fulmar had to destroy twenty-three battleships first. That shouldn’t be too hard. Fulmar had forty-three battlecruisers and thirteen dreadnoughts left. Thankfully the battlecarriers and attack interceptors had not been targeted yet.

As the fleet exited hyperspace, they quickly scanned the system and found exactly what they had expected. Fulmar was very thankful for the scout ships and their role in this war on the Confederation. Without them, no doubt things would have worked out much differently.

The Lamothian fleet was currently positioned in a wedge formation between the shipyard and the space station. No doubt that they intended to use the firepower of both to help them destroy his fleet.

Fulmar would have one small portion of his fleet focus on the shipyard, another small portion on the space station, and lastly the rest on the small patrol fleet.

“Eight minutes to engagement, sir,” said the sensor officer.

Fulmar got on the commlink and spoke to the entire crew on board all his ships. “We do not have a lot of time to waste here. The large Lamothian fleet is headed this way. We must destroy this planet as quickly as possible. Fire your weapons continuously until we’ve destroyed our target, and then we will move on to the next one. The battlecarriers will wait until we take out these battleships before deploying the attack interceptors. Good luck!”

With that, Fulmar sat back down in his command chair. He kept his gaze glued to the tactical display in front of him. He took a deep breath. Then he looked to see how much time he had left before he had to leave the star system. He had fifty-two minutes. That should be plenty of time to destroy the planet.

“Five minutes to engagement range, sir!” said the sensor officer.

The time seemed to pass very slowly. As soon as they had two minutes left, the communications officer said, “Rear Admiral Fulmar, we have received a message from the Lamothian Councilor. He wants to discuss terms for peace. He does not want to see another planet destroyed.”

Fulmar stood from his chair. “This is likely just a means to stall for time. I will pass on the message to Golan Four quickly and see what they say. Send the message to Golan Four first, and then tell the Lamothian Councilor we will contact him soon with an answer. Tell the fleet to hold their positions and to prepare to fire.”

Fulmar hoped Marloo saw this for what it was, a stall tactic. Fulmar would communicate that to him as well. Fulmar glanced over at the countdown on one of the displays in front of him. He now had forty-five minutes left.

-

Admiral Marloo had received the message from Rear Admiral Fulmar. He turned to Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters, already in the Command Center, and said, “This is obviously a stall tactic to keep our fleet from destroying the planet until their larger fleet arrives to annihilate ours. I am certain they do not actually want peace.”

“Yes, we are wasting valuable time. I will contact Layla to make sure, but I think the time for peace has passed,” said Derrick.

“I will tell Fulmar that we are contacting the High Princess, that he should go ahead and begin his attack, and that he can tell the Lamothians he will continue his attack, until he hears back from his leader,” said Marloo.

“Great. I will find Layla immediately,” replied Derrick. He raced out of the room. He knew Layla would probably be in her office. It would take him about ten minutes to get there and back. That should give Fulmar a good start on destroying the small fleet protecting Reamian, as well as the shipyard and space station.

-

Fulmar received the message from Marloo. He turned to his communications officer. “Tell the Lamothian Councilor that we will continue our attack until we hear back from the High Princess. When that occurs, we will stop to pass on her message. If negotiations are needed, they will occur at that time.”

Fulmar swallowed the anxiety creeping up inside him. He was quickly running out of time.

“Assure the Lamothian Councilor that we will not destroy the planet until we’ve heard from the High Princess,” Fulmar added. He wanted to give the Councilor some hope, even though only a slight chance existed of this planet not getting destroyed today.

“The Lamothian Councilor has replied to our message. He says, Please, wait and do not start your attack until you’ve heard from your leader.”

“We have our orders. Let’s begin our attack on the fleet, shipyard, and space station,” said Fulmar. He immediately felt the ship shudder beneath him as the accelerator cannon fire launched toward the enemy battleships. With such a small fleet, it would not take long to annihilate them.

The Lamothian patrol fleet quickly responded by firing their fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles at Fulmar’s fleet.

Soon after the Empire launched their weapons, the accelerator cannon fire blasted into the Lamothians energy screens, causing them to fail. The second projectile hit thirty seconds after the first, causing ships all across the Lamothian frontline to explode in huge fireballs of pure energy. Only small pieces of debris were left, where once were large Lamothian battleships.

As the Lamothian fleet was systematically destroyed by Fulmar’s fleet, he glanced to see how much time he had left. He had twenty-five minutes to get out of here. He checked the tactical display and was relieved to see that his fleet had also obliterated the shipyard and space station.

“Tell the battlecarriers to go ahead and launch the attack interceptors, have them assemble into their squadrons, and head toward the planet. Tell them not to launch their missiles until I give the command,” said Fulmar.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer watched as the Human fleet quickly obliterated the small Lamothian fleet protecting Reamian. So far, the Humans hadn’t agreed to the cease-fire but supposedly were contacting their High Princess. He hoped that would take enough time that they couldn’t destroy the planet.

The Human fleet also attacked the shipyard and the space station, flanking the fleet. They made quick work of destroying it all. Now when Zonmer looked out that direction, only molten pieces of space debris were left and there was so much of it floating around. At least not just the Lamothians had paid the price here. The Human fleet had lost a few ships as well.

He saw the Human battlecarriers launch their attack interceptors, and he lost hope of saving Reamian.

-

The Lamothian Councilor couldn’t believe the Human fleet had continued their attack. They needed to slow them down if Admiral Zahn were to have enough time to arrive.

The Human commander had said they would not destroy the planet until they had heard from their High Princess. Hopefully that would take a while. When the councilor witnessed the battlecarriers launch their attack interceptors, he felt an overwhelming sense of despair. More Lamothians would die because of his decisions. He hurried to the bathroom, where he could get sick privately. When he was finished, he returned to the Command Center of the transport vessel he was on. He noticed the attack interceptors were headed toward the planet.

-

Derrick had found Layla rather quickly. She was exactly where he thought she would be. Hard at work in her office. Derrick updated her on the situation and the Lamothians’ request for a peace agreement.

“It’s a trap,” she said immediately. “They just want to stall for time. Tell Rear Admiral Fulmar to destroy the planet. The time for peace and negotiations has passed.”

Derrick quickly relayed the message to Marloo, who sent the message on to Fulmar.

“I want to send a message to the Lamothians, at least the few who remain after we have finished destroying all their planets,” said Layla. “I’ll work on that next.”

“I will return to the Command Center. Would you like to join me?” asked Derrick.

“I will head down there in a little while. Keep me updated please,” Layla said, with a smile.

Derrick gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then ran back to the Command Center where Marloo was.

-

Fulmar had received word from Golan Four. “Send this message to the Lamothian Councilor. Tell him High Princess Layla Starguard says the time for peace and negotiations has passed. Then send the order to the attack interceptors to launch their missiles at the planet.”

Fulmar watched as the interceptors released their fusion-tipped missiles at their various targets across the planet. Giant explosions could be seen across the planet, big enough they could be seen from space. As more and more missiles detonated on the surface, the destruction spread. Explosions leveled entire cities, sparing no living creature or vegetation.

Before long, the entire planet was covered in smoke, ash, and debris from the detonations. Fulmar watched as the attack interceptors began their trip back to the battlecarriers. He glanced at his timer, ten minutes to go.

“Tell the battlecarriers, as soon as all the attack interceptors are on board, to jump out of the system. Meanwhile let’s take the fleet over to the other shipyard and see if we can destroy it. We don’t have long,” Fulmar ordered.

The ships quickly jumped to the other side of the planet where the second shipyard was located. They all immediately launched a bombardment of their accelerator cannons. It didn’t take long for the shipyard’s energy screen to fail and then be blasted into millions of pieces. More space debris to go along with all of the rest, thought Fulmar.

“Are the attack interceptors loaded on the carriers?” he asked his tactical officer.

“Almost, sir. They have a few more to go.”

Fulmar looked over at his timer. Time was running out. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Less than a minute left. He hoped Malachi’s estimate on their arrival time would be wrong.

As the last interceptors landed in the docking bay of the carriers, alarms sounded. “Get us out of here immediately!” shouted Fulmar.

Chapter Five

High Princess Layla walked in the Command Center located beneath the House of Worlds, where she found mayhem. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Rear Admiral Fulmar finished destroying the planet Reamian, as well as its space station and both shipyards,” replied Derrick.

“So what seems to be the problem then?” asked Layla.

“They didn’t get out of the system before the Lamothian fleet began exiting hyperspace,” Marloo responded in a grave tone.

“Oh no!” Layla said, as goose bumps traveled across her body. “What’ll he do?”

“They are jumping out now. Hopefully the enemy fleet won’t follow him immediately. The Lamothians will need to recharge their hyperdrives after that long of a jump,” responded Derrick.

Layla looked between Derrick and Marloo. They seemed pretty concerned. She assumed they were putting up a brave front for her. “What about Cleemorl? Won’t the Lamothian’s fleet head to Lamodent to defend it once Cleemorl and the Earth fleets begin exiting hyperspace there?”

“We hope so. We will soon find out,” replied Marloo.

“I wish we could do something to help,” said Derrick.

“Me too,” agreed Marloo.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer watched Reamian’s atmosphere turn gray and then black from the devastation and death that the Humans had caused the planet. What a waste. Reamian had been a beautiful world that he had visited many times over his long life. He had even taken his family there to visit and to see the beautiful mountains and valleys it had. Now it was nothing but a wasteland. Well, it would be once the dust settled. That would take years, something he would likely not see in his lifetime.

Now they had only one planet remaining, Lamodent. Admiral Zahn would be arriving shortly and would hopefully annihilate this Human infestation. It appeared that, while the Humans hadn’t completely fallen for the trap of the peace agreement, it had wasted some time. The Humans had run out of time and wouldn’t destroy the three space stations still orbiting the desolated planet of Zaneth that the Humans had destroyed previously. At least that was a win for the Lamothians.

Suddenly alarms sounded. “Please tell me those ships exiting hyperspace are ours!” said Zonmer.

“Yes, Commander, they are!” replied his sensor officer. A cheer rose from all over the transport vessel.

“Admiral Zahn has ordered us and the other transport vessels to follow the Human fleet. Zahn’s fleet must stay for a little while to recharge their hyperdrives after their long journey,” said the communications officer.

“The Humans have begun to enter hyperspace, Commander,” said the sensor officer.

“Follow them, and tell the other vessels to follow them too,” commanded Zonmer. He knew the Humans would head to Lamodent next. Thankfully Lamodent had a slightly larger fleet patrolling it. What was left of the Human fleet would struggle to destroy all the Lamothian ships before being destroyed themselves. “Tell the fleet patrolling Lamodent to focus on destroying the battlecarriers first. If we can destroy the two of them, it would annihilate the threat of the small attack craft and possibly save the planet.”

-

Captain Malachi was concerned when he noticed one hundred Lamothian battlecruisers change course in hyperspace. He couldn’t follow both parts of the fleet. He decided to stay with the larger of the two fleets. Malachi assumed that the smaller one would head on to Lamodent to supplement the small patrolling fleet there. Likely the Lamothian admiral knew the size of Fulmar’s fleet was dwindling, and it wouldn’t take much to destroy what was left of it. He must have decided one hundred battlecruisers could do the job.

Malachi needed to send an encrypted message to Admiral Cleemorl, informing him of the fleet’s split. If that fleet headed straight to Lamodent, as Malachi thought, they would take about ninety minutes to get there. Cleemorl was expected to get there in about an hour. It was doubtful he would be finished before they arrived.

Malachi’s other concern was that he hadn’t heard from Fulmar yet, saying they had left the star system after destroying Reamian. He had less than ten minutes to get out of there before this Lamothian fleet would arrive.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn was satisfied that their plan to stall the Humans had at least partially worked. They had not left the system before they had arrived. Now he just needed to recharge their hyperdrives and follow this small Human fleet to wherever they were headed next. Likely that would be Lamodent. Thankfully the fleet patrolling there had more ships.

Plus, before they dropped out of hyperspace, Zahn had sent another one hundred battlecruisers on to Lamodent, instead of them dropping near Reamian. Those ships would arrive there shortly before this Human fleet could. Now, instead of the enemy Human fleet facing fifty-nine battleships, they would be facing an additional one hundred battlecruisers. Zahn smiled coldly to himself, wishing he would be there to witness the destruction of this fleet that already destroyed all but one of the Lamothian planets.

-

The Lamothian Councilor was elated that his transport vessel was one of many tasked with following this small Human fleet. There was nowhere the Humans could hide. Likely their destination was Lamodent, but, even if not, the Lamothians would know exactly where the Humans were, and Admiral Zahn would come annihilate them. The councilor couldn’t wait to witness the fall of this Human fleet. He couldn’t wait to see the fall of the entire Human Empire. Whatever he could do to help that along, he was more than happy to do it. What more could they lose now?

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar and his fleet had immediately entered hyperspace as soon as the alarms sounded. They had cut it too close! Thankfully that fleet would need to recharge their hyperdrives before they jumped again. At least he had that going for him. It wouldn’t take the enemy long though, given their next jump would be shorter.

“Run a scan to see if anyone followed us,” commanded Fulmar.

“The scan shows a group of eighty-six transport vessels following us, sir,” replied the sensor officer.

“Hmm. Most likely ordered to see where we would go. They are not armed. We could drop out somewhere and destroy them all. However, since they are unarmed, that doesn’t sit well with me to destroy them,” said Fulmar.

“Sir, they are filled with Lamothian military personnel. Rest assured they are armed, just not the ship,” replied the tactical officer.

“True. Let’s continue our course to Lamodent. We can supplement Admiral Cleemorl there, if he needs us. The Lamothian fleet already expects us to head there anyway,” responded Fulmar.

-

Admiral Cleemorl had heard from Captain Malachi and knew that an extra one hundred Lamothian battlecruisers would appear, likely before he finished destroying Lamodent and the shipyard and the space station.

He also had been told about Fulmar’s success with Reamian. Fulmar hadn’t had the chance to destroy the three remaining space stations that remained around Zaneth. The Lamothian fleet had arrived before he could get out of there.

The good news was that the larger part of Lamothian fleet was now recharging their hyperdrives in a system that would take them about forty-five minutes to get to Lamodent from there. With Captain Malachi watching them, Cleemorl would know exactly how much time he had left.

Rear Admiral Fulmar would arrive close to Lamodent shortly after Cleemorl did. That would give him a few more ships to work with. According to Malachi, Fulmar had thirty battlecruisers and nine dreadnoughts left, as well as the two battlecarriers and all the attack interceptors. Cleemorl would take every ship he could get.

As long as things went smoothly at Lamodent, the Human fleets would move on to another target. Admiral Marloo and Admiral Masters were working on what exactly that target would be. First, Cleemorl needed to focus on the target ahead of him.

Cleemorl knew that Lamodent was patrolled by fifty-nine battleships. They would have thirty minutes to do as much damage as possible before the one hundred additional enemy battlecruisers arrived.

Lamodent had one shipyard and one space station. With the Empire’s seventeen battlecarriers and the 2,461 attack interceptors, they should easily destroy the planet. They wouldn’t even need to launch all the interceptors.

It sounded pretty straightforward, but, in war, rarely did anything work out that way.

-

Professor Charles had sweet-talked his daughter, Kala, into allowing him to travel with the fleet headed to the Confederation. They would escort him as far as the Lormallian area of the Confederation. He would then visit the archives at Bator Prime to his heart’s content.

The Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull had given his permission and was glad to host the father-in-law of Prince Andrew. Charles was certainly looking forward to this journey and to what interesting things he would discover. He was so excited that he could barely sleep.

The fleet would leave within the next two hours. In the meantime, he needed to spend the remaining time he had with his beautiful daughter.

-

Captain Hadley on scout ship 368 was still in orbit around Falton Two. Not much had changed in the last few days. Trading vessels came and went. The main trading vessels seemed to be from the Morag, Druins, and Lamothians.

Hadley was relieved that no more Humans had been loaded on the transport vessels to go toward the Lamothian planets. Of course Hadley had heard the reports from Captain Malachi that most of the Lamothian planets had now been destroyed. What a relief that was. It was very unsettling knowing a species out there fed upon Humans.

She wondered if the Humans on Falton Two realized what was happening to the people who were taken away on the transport vessels. Hadley remembered that the Humans of the Empire had no idea where the Humans loaded up and sent to the Confederation had gone. They had assumed that they were sent to the Confederation as slaves, until Derrick Masters had discovered the horrific truth of what was really happening. Hadley wondered if the Humans on Falton Two could possibly be Humans from the Empire, brought here generations before. Just one theory she had floating around in her mind.

Hadley’s orders were to continue to watch and to observe. She was not allowed to communicate with the Humans of Falton Two at all. Not until they knew more about this planet. From her last update, she was aware that someone was sent to the archives on Bator Prime to research information about the planet and to see what information they could learn about these Humans.

Hadley had to admit that all this watching and waiting was getting a little tedious, though she was thankful no large enemy fleet patrolled the area. Since their arrival here, no Confederate warships had entered this star system at all. Another mystery!

She knew eventually she would have her answers. Hadley wished that would be sooner rather than later, but, with a sigh, resigned herself to the fact that it would probably be later.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull prepared a suite of rooms for the special guest he would host in a few days. Reull had suggested that the professor bring a chef along with him, so he would feel more at home with his usual cuisine at his disposal.

Reull had already discussed with his brother, Marlon, about what the professor wanted to research. Marlon had already begun pulling aside pertinent information to share with their guest. Ardon hoped that this visit would do more to strengthen the relationship between the Lormallians and the Empire.

Even better was the fact that their special guest was the father-in-law of Prince Andrew. Reull had had the pleasure of meeting Prince Andrew not too long ago on the Visth homeworld. Ardon had passed on some highly sensitive weapons research to Prince Andrew at the time. Now Ardon wondered how the Humans were coming along with finishing that research. No doubt, once developed, that weapon would end the war between the Empire and Confederation. Ardon was glad his people would not be on the receiving end of that weapon.

He smiled as he pictured who would be on the receiving end. Most assuredly the Morag and Druins. Currently the Lamothians were being annihilated, due to their selfish desire to consume Humans in their feasts. Ardon was confident the Zynth would be on the receiving end of that new weapon as well. So far, in the recent attacks the Humans had mounted in the Confederation, the Zynth had remained unaffected. Reull wondered if that would continue.

Ardon was once again relieved that the Lormallians and the Zang and Morphene had signed a nonaggression agreement with the Empire. Not a moment too soon. Ardon looked forward to seeing who the Humans would attack next, knowing for sure it wouldn’t be the Lormallians.

-

The Morag High Council was in another emergency session. Admiral Voxx and Commander Phobyis had returned from their failed mission to trap and to annihilate the Humans. All they succeeded in doing was losing twenty shipyards and just under four thousand warships.

Now with fewer shipyards, it would take them a while to replace those four thousand ships. Not to mention to replace the ones that they had lost in their previous battles in the Empire. Things were not moving forward. Currently they seemed to be moving backward.

After hearing the full report of what happened from Admiral Voxx, Lead Councilor Addonis felt a little better knowing they had significantly weakened the Human fleets. The Humans were currently focused on the Lamothians, so, for now, the Morag had a little time to prepare for whatever came next.

The Lamothians were whittling down the Human fleet as well. At least that wasn’t causing the Morag to lose any more ships. Maybe next the Humans would attack the Zynth. So far, the Zynth had remained unscathed from this Human attack.

The first thing we need to decide is our fleet deployments. We have to ensure the safety of our remaining shipyards. We will deploy the fleets in a way to protect those shipyards, while also protecting our core worlds and Morag Prime, said Addonis.

Councilor Delann replied, Yes, we need to protect our worlds too. If the Humans are attacking planets, we must not assume ours are not vulnerable as well.

How many warships do we now have at our disposal? asked Councilor Brant.

We currently have just over six thousand warships left to protect our star systems, sent Addonis.

We must leave a sizable fleet above Morag Prime to deter the Humans from even considering attacking us here, said Brant.

Agreed. We must decide how big a fleet to leave here. That will determine what we have left to divide among our shipyards. Twenty-five hundred ships? Three thousand? commented Councilor Hiram.

How many more star systems still have shipyards? asked Brant.

We have another sixty-five star systems with shipyards, replied Addonis.

What if we leave 2,500 warships here to protect Morag Prime. Then have more ships protecting the star systems with multiple shipyards, but less ships protecting the ones with only one, said Hiram.

We don’t have enough ships to adequately protect all the shipyards, said Hiram, as he realized the ramifications of this.

Addonis nodded. Let us assume that the Humans will have the stealth ships scouting our shipyards and fleet positions. We must have a large-enough fleet stationed near enough to each shipyard to respond quickly enough to pose a threat to the Human fleet that’s attacking. If we leave one system more vulnerable, we must have a fleet nearby to respond. A patrolling fleet. One that maybe splits time between two nearby star systems. If we do this and make random times for when they move, that will give the Humans a harder time of predicting the best time for an attack.

How large will this patrolling fleet be? asked Brant.

Let’s do 2,000 protecting Morag Prime and then split the remaining 4,200 ships into roughly twenty-two task groups of approximately 190 ships each, each task group to randomly patrol three star systems of our sixty-five with shipyards. These patrols may overlap each other’s territories, giving it even more unpredictability. We need to work out the particulars, but I think this will work, said Addonis.

It looks like our best option. Also, in the future, when we build more shipyards, we should not spread them out so much. It makes them much harder to defend, said Delann.

That’s true. However, the Humans did successfully attack our star system that had eight shipyards with one thousand ships defending it, commented Hiram.

Yes, but they wouldn’t have had the ships to do that a second time, answered Delann.

They all agreed with this.

Let’s do some research into where we should rebuild our next shipyards. We must make it harder for the Humans to destroy them, said Brant.

We must also determine where we are most vulnerable. That is most likely where the Humans will attack us next, said Addonis.

After debating more about fleet deployments, patrolling areas, and vulnerabilities, the Council adjourned.

-

In the distant area of the Bacchus Region of space, Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds prepared to send more ships to the Empire and then on to the Confederation. Their plan was to send ships periodically as they become available. They wanted to keep the war in the Confederation but also had to ensure they had plenty of ships left in the Solar System, in case the Confederation decided to attack them. Keeping the Confederation on their toes and engaged in defending their area of the Confederation kept them busy and hopefully preoccupied in their own area of space.

This next fleet would contain 150 battlecruisers, 40 dreadnoughts, and 5 battlecarriers, fully loaded with attack interceptors. Every ship now that came out of one of their shipyards would be sent to the Confederation, once there was a decent number of them. This fleet was set to depart in the next twenty-four hours. It would take them about three weeks to reach the Empire. From there, it was up to Fleet Admiral Marloo when to send them on to the Confederation to meet up with other Human fleets there.

They were currently constructing two more shipyards that would be operational within the next four weeks. Then they could construct even more ships to send to the Empire and on to the Confederation. If they could win this war in the Confederation and not put the Solar System at risk, then that’s what they’d do.

-

Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters prepared the fleet that had escorted Professor Charles Wright to the Empire from Earth for their upcoming journey to meet up with the battlecarriers sent to the Empire from the Confederation for resupply. They would meet with more Human ships in the Hagen Star Cluster at Tantula Five. From there, they would head to the Confederation and meet other Empire fleets at a rendezvous point. The coordinates would be sent to Captain Malachi via an encrypted message. He would then pass it on to Admiral Cleemorl and the others.

Chapter Six

Lamothian Commander Zonmer had sent a message ahead to Lamodent, informing them of their impending arrival. They would exit hyperspace in approximately fifteen minutes. The Human fleet had thirty battlecruisers and nine dreadnoughts. Plus their two battlecarriers. Zonmer advised the Lamothian patrol fleet at Lamodent to focus their firepower on the two Human battlecarriers. The Lamothian patrol fleet may need to jump to the rear of the Human fleet to get in a few quick shots before the Human fleet had a chance to adjust their formation to better protect the carriers. If the Lamothians were lucky, they’d get a few direct hits and destroy both enemy battlecarriers. That might save planet Lamodent from destruction, the Lamothians’ last remaining planet. It had to be saved at all costs.

Zonmer was surprised that the Human fleet continued to Lamodent. They would be completely outnumbered.

-

Admiral Cleemorl and his fleet were five minutes from exiting hyperspace near Lamodent. He had just moved his fleet to Condition One. His fleet would target the orbiting fleet first. Thankfully only fifty-nine battleships to annihilate. Then Cleemorl’s fleet would move on to the shipyard and the space station. Since the Humans knew that the Lamothians’ one hundred battlecruisers would arrive thirty minutes after they did, Cleemorl intended to have the planet destroyed by then.

The battle plan was to split Cleemorl’s fleet, once the small Lamothian fleet at Lamodent had been destroyed. Then half of the fleet would go to the shipyard with him, and the other half would go with Admiral Collison to destroy the space station.

Once engaged with these targets, three battlecarriers would launch 480 attack interceptors to head into the planet’s atmosphere and launch their four fusion-tipped missiles at the surface. Ideally this would all be accomplished in less than thirty minutes. Then they would turn and wait for the Lamothian fleet of one hundred ships to drop from hyperspace, where they’d quickly send them into oblivion.

As the fleet dropped out of hyperspace, their alarms sounded. Everything was as they expected. The fifty-nine Lamothian battleships were in a line formation.

“Seven minutes to engagement range, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

-

Lamothian Commander Hagnor prepared for the impending arrival of the Human fleet, systematically annihilating all their planets. Lamodent was the last. This is where the Lamothians would make their last stand. Hagnor was all that stood between the enemy and their last inhabited planet.

This enemy fleet only had forty-one ships. Commander Zonmer had advised them to eliminate the two Human battlecarriers first. This would possibly save the Lamodent planet from destruction. So that was what they planned to do. As soon as the enemy fired their first missile, forty of their battleships would jump to the rear of the Human fleet and fire on the battlecarriers. They would fire continuously until the Humans repositioned their fleet. Likely they would move to a globe formation, making the carriers much more difficult to destroy. If the Lamothians were lucky, those first shots would do heavy damage or even destroy the carriers.

As Hagnor went over their battle strategy again in his mind, alarms sounded. He immediately was on edge. According to Commander Zonmer, the Humans would be arriving in about ten more minutes. This was too early.

“What do our scans show?” asked Hagnor.

“Commander, our scans show a large Human fleet exiting hyperspace.”

“How large?” Hagnor asked, a wave of fear washing over him. This was not right. This was not supposed to be happening. He was to face forty-one vessels, not however large this fleet was.

“Four hundred and counting, Commander.”

“Send out a call for help to all surrounding star systems. Maybe someone is near enough to help us. Send a message to Commander Zonmer, advising him of our situation. Get his recommendations on how to handle this,” said Hagnor.

“Yes, Commander.”

As Hagnor watched in horror, the Human ships finally stopped exiting hyperspace. “How many do they have?”

“Five hundred seventeen ships, Commander,” he said in a cold voice.

“We can’t stop them,” Hagnor said in disbelief.

“I’ve received a message from Commander Zonmer. He says they will arrive here with the Human fleet they are following in less than five minutes. They should arrive before this Human fleet is in engagement range.”

“It won’t be enough. They’ll blow right through us in seconds. Then they’ll destroy the planet shortly after that.” Hagnor sat down heavily in his chair. He was utterly overwhelmed by the situation he faced. The realization that he would die today, along with most of the remaining Lamothians, was too much for him to comprehend.

“Five minutes to engagement range, Commander.”

“If we are to die today, we will go out with honor. Prepare to fire all weapons as soon as the enemy is in range,” Hagnor commanded.

He was proud of his crew and his fleet. Today would be their last in serving their race. He would fight with them to the bitter end.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer couldn’t believe what he had heard from Hagnor. Another Human fleet preparing to attack Lamodent? This must be what was left of the original fleets attacking the Confederation. What were they to do? Stare in the face of an enemy that would surely annihilate them while they watched in horror?

He had five minutes before they exited hyperspace. He stood and kept his gaze on the tactical display in front of them. They were doomed.

-

As the Human fleet and the trailing Lamothian transport vessels exited hyperspace, the Lamothian Councilor looked on in complete terror. His worst fears were coming to fruition. They would soon lose their last inhabited planet. This fleet and the one hundred Lamothian battlecruisers to be here in the next twenty minutes would all be destroyed. This was all on his shoulders. How could he live with himself after this? The only consolation he had was the very real possibility that he wouldn’t live much longer.

His gaze continued to unwillingly watch the destruction that unfolded before him. The fifty-nine battleships were engulfed in enemy fire. Large explosions filled the front line of the Lamothian fleet. More and more ships were blasted into pieces. Before long, all the Lamothian patrol fleet had been destroyed.

Then the Human fleet split into two. One headed to the space station and one to the shipyard. Transport vessels could be seen evacuating workers as quickly as possible. The councilor watched in disbelief as both the shipyard and the space station were blown into millions of tiny pieces. Nothing recognizable was left. As the attack interceptors deployed and formed into their groups, alarms sounded. Who could this be now? More Human ships?

“Who is exiting hyperspace now?” he asked. He knew it wasn’t time for the one hundred Lamothian battleships to get here yet.

“It’s a Zynth fleet, Councilor!”

They all cheered in relief. Their allies had come through for them! Maybe their planet would be spared after all!

“How many ships do they have?” asked the Lamothian Councilor.

“Five hundred ships and counting!”

The Lamothian Councilor sat down and smiled. Now it was time to watch the destruction of his enemy.

-

Admiral Cleemorl watched the attack interceptors head toward the planet when alarms sounded. It seemed too early for the one hundred Lamothian battlecruisers to arrive.

“Admiral, we have a large Zynth fleet exiting hyperspace,” said the sensor officer.

“How many?” responded Cleemorl.

“Currently 550 and counting,” said the sensor officer.

“Tell the attack interceptors to complete their mission as quickly as possible and get back to their carriers.”

“How long will that take?” asked Colonel Jase Bidwell.

“About twenty minutes or so,” said Cleemorl.

“Admiral, the Zynth fleet has finished exiting hyperspace. They have 674 ships,” said the sensor officer.

“How long until they’ve reached engagement range?” asked Cleemorl.

“Ten minutes, sir,” replied the sensor officer.

“Move the fleet into a globe formation around the carriers. We will fight this out until the attack interceptors return safely to their carriers,” commanded Cleemorl.

“The Zynth Admiral sent a message. He says to return our small attack craft to their carriers, or we will be fired upon. If we return them to our carriers, they will not fire on us,” said the communications officer.

“Tell the Zynth Admiral that we came here to accomplish a mission, and that mission is to destroy all the Lamothian-inhabited planets. Tell the Zynth to stand down, or they will be fired upon. We will leave once our mission is complete.”

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had heard the original call for aid from the Lamothians above Xanther. He knew when he heard their call for help that the Humans were likely there to follow through with their threat to destroy all the Lamothian-inhabited planets.

Donlur had consulted with the Zynth Council of Elders about aiding the Lamothians. The Zynth needed to keep most of their fleets patrolling their home systems in case they were the next target. They also debated what would happen if they did aid the Lamothians against the Humans. The Zynth might then become the Humans next target. They knew they didn’t want to put a larger bull’s-eye on their backs. They were fine with the Humans keeping their focus on the Lamothians, Druins, and Morag.

There had been a significant debate among the Council on what to do. Finally it was decided the Humans would come for them anyway. If their allies needed their help, then help the Zynth should give to the Lamothians. It may be that one day soon, the Zynth would need help from their allies themselves.

After receiving the message from the Human fleet, Admiral Donlur was conflicted. It appeared the Humans were not intimidated enough to call off their attack. They had changed their formation into a globe to protect their carriers. No matter what Donlur’s fleet did, the Humans would still destroy the planet. Should he slug it out with their fleet anyway and lose a majority of his fleet? It looked like he had no other choice. If they were to face this Human fleet at some point in the near future, Donlur might as well whittle it down while he could.

“How many vessels do they have in this fleet?” Admiral Donlur asked.

“There is 557, Admiral, plus 480 of their small attack craft near the atmosphere of the planet now. Judging by the number of battlecarriers they have in the center of their formation, I would assume that is not all of their small attack craft.”

“Maybe that’s why they are not intimidated by us. They have a slight numbers advantage with all their small attack craft and superior firepower. We will fire all weapons as soon as we reach engagement range. The Humans will likely enter hyperspace as soon as their small attack craft has returned to their carriers. We will not save the Lamothian planet, but the Humans will pay the price for this attack,” said Admiral Donlur.

-

“The Humans are still carrying out their attack on Lamodent!” the Lamothian Councilor said in surprise. He had hoped the arrival of the Zynth fleet would cause the Humans to abandon their attack and to enter hyperspace as quickly as possible. He was obviously mistaken. Now what? He would be forced to watch the last remaining inhabited Lamothian planet get destroyed. Then where would they go? All they would have left were the few Lamothians left in the transport vessels, evacuated from the various shipyards and space stations. A number of them had also been evacuated from the planets as they went along. Looking out now toward Lamodent, the councilor watched as the transport vessels headed away from their last planet. The Lamothian race would have to start over somewhere new. Where would that be?

-

Admiral Cleemorl monitored the attack interceptors’ progress. According to his estimates, they would be in a fleet-to-fleet battle with the Zynths for approximately fifteen minutes, while the interceptors fired their missiles at the planet and returned to their carriers.

“Two minutes to engagement range,” said the sensor officer.

As the time quickly ticked by, Cleemorl watched the attack interceptors begin to launch their four fusion-tipped missiles at the surface of the planet. Soon over 1,900 missiles were headed to the surface.

Numerous Lamothian transport vessels headed away from the planet. Enough surviving Lamothians could start again somewhere else. Where that would be, Cleemorl didn’t know. It might be a good idea to have a scout ship follow that group of transport vessels to find out where they would settle. He quickly sent a request for another scout ship in the area to come to the system immediately for this purpose.

In all likelihood, the Lamothian fleet would end up escorting the transport vessels somewhere they could safely settle, so Captain Malachi and his scout ship would follow them.

Colonel Bidwell said, “It’s about to get rough.”

Cleemorl responded, “It was bound to eventually.”

-

Captain Malachi followed the Lamothian fleet into hyperspace, headed to Lamodent, although they wouldn’t arrive in time to save the planet.

He knew Admiral Cleemorl would soon face the Zynth fleet. Two scout ships were headed that way, one to follow the Zynth and one to follow the Lamothian transport vessels.

Malachi hoped enough Human ships were left after this battle with the Zynth to continue on in the Confederation. He knew more Human ships would soon be on their way to the Confederation but knew that the more they had, the better.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn headed to Lamodent. Since the Zynth fleet had arrived to help the Lamothians, it might stall the Human fleet long enough for them to get there. Even if it didn’t, all the transport vessels that had gathered there from all the shipyards, space stations, and planets must be taken safely to a new planet. They would need to find a new place to live and quickly.

He already had a group of people researching possible planets for them to relocate to. They must restart from basically nothing. As he considered this, he realized he did not want a battle with the Humans right now. The Lamothians race couldn’t afford to lose any more Lamothians.

Zahn immediately sent a message to the one hundred battlecruisers that would imminently drop from hyperspace near Lamodent. No need to risk their lives today either.

He decided to start looking for another planet to inhabit instead. He sent a quick message to the research team to give him their first option, and they would go there immediately to investigate. The Humans would likely be gone before they could arrive in Lamodent’s star system anyway.

-

Captain Malachi noticed the change in the direction of the Lamothian fleet and wondered where they were headed now. Obviously not Lamodent. He sent the update on to Admiral Cleemorl.

Malachi hoped the battle with the Zynth would go well for Cleemorl. He knew Cleemorl was a vital piece of the Empire’s triumphant victory over the Morag in the Hagen Star Cluster.

-

Admiral Cleemorl was in the midst of the battle against the Zynth fleet. As soon as they had reached weapons range, they had launched their accelerator cannons at the approaching fleet. The Zynth had immediately returned fire.

The accelerator cannon fire reached the Zynth fleet first and smashed through their energy screens like they weren’t even activated. The second round immediately following the first caused giant explosions across the front of the Zynth formation, as the Empire’s superior weapons continued to pummel the enemy fleet. More and more enemy ships were destroyed as Cleemorl’s fleet continued their bombardment of the Zynth fleet.

As the enemy fire reached Cleemorl’s fleet, it lit up the energy shields of numerous ships. It searched for weaknesses in the shields to exploit. Once found, it quickly overloaded the energy shield. Those battlecruisers were then quickly torn apart by intense fusion weapons fire.

Other ships found their shields knocked down from a massive hail of missiles. Space was lit up on both sides of the battle with hundreds of explosions, many of them marking the death of warships and their crews.

Thankfully the attack interceptors were returning to their carriers. In less than five minutes, they’d be out of there. Cleemorl hoped the Zynth fleet did not follow them. If they did, Cleemorl would have to figure out where to go from there.

Cleemorl had sweat running down his brow, as he gazed intensely at the tactical display in front of him. Green icons were disappearing, but the red ones were disappearing much faster. He was thankful again to have their superior firepower. They needed to exploit that as long as they could.

Debris littered the space around the destroyed planet—debris from the shipyard, space station, Lamothian battleships, Zynth battleships, as well as Human ones. Death and destruction surrounded the now-darkened planet. Cleemorl closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Admiral, all interceptors are now on board their carriers,” said the sensor officer.

“Great, let’s get out of here. Send the rendezvous coordinates to the fleets, and let’s enter hyperspace immediately,” commanded Cleemorl.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer watched in complete horror as the Human small attack craft released their weapons all across Lamodent. Explosions detonated over multiple cities, flattening everything around it without mercy. Large clouds filled with debris and smoke filled the atmosphere. As more and more explosions occurred, the atmosphere turned darker and darker from all the ash and smoke. Lightning flashed across the sky, making the scene even more ominous.

Zonmer lowered his head, as he thought of all the Lamothian lives cut short over the last few days. How could this happen? Why had they not protected their planets from such an attack?

This was not the first time the Humans had attacked one of their planets. Why had they not learned from the first attack at Zaneth? They should have put up a defensive grid and built up their fleet. Well, they would learn this time. Never again would they put themselves in such a vulnerable position. As long as he was alive, he would strive to make what was left of the Lamothians safe from destruction.

He was relieved when the Human fleet finally made their jump into hyperspace. In the back of his mind, he had been slightly concerned that they might target the transport vessels to eliminate even more Lamothians. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Send Admiral Zahn a message that the battle is over. Where should we go from here?”

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur was not surprised when the Human fleet entered hyperspace as soon as the last small attack craft landed on its carrier. The question remained, should he follow them? He didn’t want them to end up attacking a Zynth target next, wishing he had followed the Humans. That’s where the Morag had gone wrong. Donlur would not make the same mistake. He would follow this fleet until they left the Confederation.

What was left of the Lamothians would have to fend for themselves for now. He had no idea where they would live, where they would go. Well, that was not his primary concern at the moment. He needed to figure out where this Human fleet was going next.

Chapter Seven

Once Admiral Cleemorl had confirmation that all the surviving ships of his fleet had entered hyperspace, he relaxed a little more. As long as they were in hyperspace, they were safe from attack. “Let’s run a scan to see if the Zynth followed us.”

“Right away, Admiral,” replied the sensor officer.

“Also determine how many ships we lost back there and what we have left,” continued Cleemorl.

“Admiral, the Zynth fleet did follow us into hyperspace,” said the sensor officer.

“How many ships do they have remaining? My guess is that they don’t want to face us again in battle. They are most likely making sure we are not headed toward their area of the Confederation.”

“Scans show they have 427 ships remaining. The Zynth will alert their allies to our position and our direction. So where will we go?” asked Colonel Bidwell.

“We still have a sizable fleet, and reinforcements are coming soon from the Empire. More ships from Earth are meeting up with our battlecarriers in the Hagen Star Cluster. It might be to our advantage to return to the Empire. We can rendezvous there with the fleet from Earth. That will also give us time to figure out our next targets,” responded Cleemorl.

“If the Zynth happen to intercept some communications between us and Golan Four about meeting up with a fleet at the periphery of the Empire, maybe they will believe they’re being led into a trap. Then that would possibly assure us that they will not follow us out of the Confederation,” replied Colonel Bidwell.

“True. That’s a good plan. We need to update Admiral Marloo on Golan Four on the successful completion of our mission. We annihilated all inhabited Lamothian planets,” Cleemorl said, with a smile. “We did lose ships and some of our brave crews, but not as many as our enemies.”

“Admiral, the reports are in. We lost 138 battlecruisers and 13 dreadnoughts in the battle for Lamodent. That leaves our total fleet numbers at 295 battlecruisers, 93 dreadnoughts, and 19 battlecarriers,” reported Colonel Bidwell.

“Not as bad as it could have been. Let’s send an update to Golan Four immediately. Then we’ll head toward the periphery of the Empire. We will meet up with our reinforcements there.”

-

Admirals Marloo and Masters, along with High Princess Layla, were anxiously awaiting word from their fleets in the Confederation. When it finally did come in, everyone felt a great sense of relief at the news. No more Lamothian-inhabited planets remained. This meant no more Lamothian feasts where Humans would be consumed.

Captain Malachi still tailed the large Lamothian fleet. At his last report, it appeared that the fleet was scouting out locations for their next possible homeworld.

Another scout ship was monitoring the transport vessels—containing the last remaining living Lamothian members evacuated from the shipyards, space stations, and planets, before the Humans systematically destroyed all the remaining Lamothian planets. The transport fleet still congregated around the planet of Lamodent.

The good news was that the large Lamothian fleet was not headed toward the Human Empire to seek revenge. At least not yet. Perhaps after they found a place to settle. However, Marloo had pointed out that they may not want to risk losing any more members of their race right now.

From all appearances, the Humans had reduced the number of Confederation enemies capable of attack down to three: the Morag, Druins, and Zynth. The Empire would continue to keep an eye on the Lamothians, but the Empire’s next target would be one of the other three Confederation races.

The Empire’s top military figures had been debating their next target for the last few days. They all felt that their greatest threat came from the Morag, then Druins, and lastly the Zynth. They all agreed that the Zynth and Druins would most likely not attack the Empire on their own. It would have to be a coordinated attack between the two races. That would most likely not occur as long as a Human fleet was attacking the Confederation in their own area of space.

Earth planned to send more ships as they become available and battle-ready. They would send large task groups as they could. These groups would help to reinforce those Human fleets currently in the Confederation. This helped take the strain off the Empire to send more ships. The Empire needed to replace a large portion of First Fleet that they had sent to the Confederation with Fulmar and Cleemorl, before they even considered sending more to the Confederation. They had already started on this massive construction endeavor.

The Empire would keep all the ships currently serving in the Confederation in that fleet, with the exception of the flagships of Cleemorl and Fulmar. Both of them would return to the Empire, while what was left of their fleets taken with them to the Confederation would remain to continue to the next target.

Cleemorl had informed them that he would rendezvous with the Earth fleet at the periphery of the Empire. That gave them about four days before Cleemorl would reach the rendezvous point.

The Earth fleet, along with Professor Charles Wright, had already left to head to the Hagen Star Cluster. They would arrive there within the next thirty-six hours. From there, after resupplying the battlecarriers with the attack interceptors from Golan Four, they would immediately head to the rendezvous location.

They all were fairly certain the Zynth would not exit hyperspace to face the Empire fleet once they reached their rendezvous location. Most likely, the Zynth were just chasing the Human fleet out of the Confederation.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had been following the Human fleet for a few hours. He had informed all their allies of the location of the enemy fleet. They all had agreed that the Zynths would follow the Humans until, hopefully, they left the Confederation. The Morag had suggested they attack the Humans again, once they exited hyperspace, no matter where that might be. Admiral Donlur had consulted the Zynth Council of Elders and awaited their answer. He saw both the reasons why they should and also why they shouldn’t attack the Humans again.

Knowing where the Humans were and using that to their advantage was important. However, the Zynth didn’t want to deplete their fleet more than necessary. The Zynth didn’t have as many shipyards as the Morag, and it would take the Zynth longer to refortify their fleets.

However, the Zynth would rather face the Human fleet outside of their own star systems. That way, none of their planets were at risk of the Humans destroying them. It also left their shipyards and space stations safer. The Zynth also must consider that, if they attacked the Humans again, it would most likely move the Zynth up on the list of Human targets. No need to provoke the Humans further. Currently the Zynth were probably at the bottom of the list of targets for the Humans.

The Zynth had the smallest fleet of the Morag and Druins. Without a combined offensive from all of them, the Empire would be hard to defeat. Especially since currently the Confederation was on the defensive. If somehow they could flip that to where the Empire was on the defensive instead, that would be to their advantage. How could they go about doing that? And do it without provoking the Humans to attack the Zynth first? He needed to consider some offensive action further before acting.

Perhaps if all four of the races still aligned against the Empire each sent a small fleet to the Empire, they could combine them into one large fleet. Then they could scout locations and pick the least defended one and destroy it. The Humans had destroyed a Druin planet, as well as all the inhabited Lamothian planets. It seemed logical to him that the Confederation should reciprocate.

Perhaps the Humans would give it more thought before they destroyed any other Confederation planets. Plus that may cause the Humans to recall their fleet from the Confederation to protect more of their own planets. As the Empire grew more extensive and more powerful, it also grew harder to fully protect. There would be vulnerable targets within the Empire. The Zynth just had to find them.

-

Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley were headed to visit a few planets on the royal dreadnought High Kingdom. In all, they would visit twelve planets over the course of the next three weeks. Krista was looking forward to spending so much time with Mathew. They would never be alone, however, as Brenda had come along as their chaperone. Nonetheless, Krista was looking forward to the next few weeks.

Layla and Chief Chancellor Stein had mapped out the planets Krista and Mathew would visit and their route. They would mostly be visiting planets around the edge of what was now the Empire. They would make some stops along the way as well. They had a small task force of ships to protect them, if it became necessary. A group of transport vessels also came along.

Krista had plenty of things to offer these planets to show them why joining the Empire would benefit them. Some of the transport vessels also carried defensive grids and attack interceptors. Any planet that joined the Empire would get a strong defensive grid as well as attack interceptors. A few interceptors would be unloaded at the time of Krista’s visit, with more to come shortly afterward. The newly affiliated planet would also receive ODPs and PDCs as they become available. The goal was to well fortify each planet in the Empire.

Krista hoped that this endeavor which she and Mathew were on would be fruitful for the Empire, as well as for their relationship.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn and the fleet were currently scouting a planet within their area of the Confederation, already inhabited by a race called the Tengore—a peaceful race who had never given the Lamothians any trouble. Zahn would meet with their leader shortly to discuss letting the Lamothians have a portion of their land to build a base and to restart their civilization.

Zahn thought that they would be safer here on a planet inhabited by a peaceful race. The Humans would not likely be willing to destroy the planet. Ideally though, the Lamothians would like to terraform a moon around one of their former planets and live there. This would take a considerable amount of time, however, and, until then, they needed a place to call home.

The Lamothians had never terraformed a moon yet, so the Lamothian Councilor had told Zahn that he hoped to get help from one of their allies in doing this. Perhaps from the Morag, as they had the most terraformed moons. Zahn was not so sure the Morag would be willing to help them, but time would tell. Meanwhile Zahn must find them a place to live between now and then.

-

The Lamothian Councilor was headed to Druin Seven for a meeting of the Great Council of the Confederation, which now only had representatives from four races. The Lamothian Councilor felt lucky to still be alive to attend this meeting.

He knew Admiral Zahn would soon meet with the leader of the Tengore to hopefully persuade them to allow the Lamothians to inhabit a small area of their planet. At the same time, the Lamothians would terraform one of the moons around Lamodent. They had a lot of work to do and needed a place to live in the meantime.

He wished he could be there for Zahn’s meeting with the Tengore leader, but, as a councilor, he was needed at the council meeting. He would arrive there in the next day. The Lamothian Councilor hoped he could convince the Morag to help them terraform their moon above Lamodent. With the Morag’s help, it would happen much faster.

He had also decided that, in the future, they would not consume any more Humans. They would also build a strong defensive grid around their new planet. Over time, their other planets would support life again, but it would take a while.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull had heard the final Lamothian planet had been destroyed. He wondered where the rest of that race would end up. Hopefully the Lamothians had learned a valuable lesson. Ardon knew he had. He didn’t want to end up as an enemy of the Human Empire.

Currently the Lormallians were still establishing a trading system with the Empire. The Zang and Morphene were beginning to offer to trade with the Empire as well. Ardon believed it would be beneficial to them all in the long run. It would still take time to build trust with the Humans, but Ardon was doing all he could to foster that trust.

Ardon was still building up their fleets as much as he could. He knew that the day would come when the Morag would come after them. Ardon was, in fact, the one who had supplied nullifiers to anyone who wanted them. This had drastically reduced the telepathic power and influence of the Morag. Currently though the Morag had the Humans to worry about. Ardon felt relatively safe, as long as the Empire was still the biggest threat to the Morag, a threat growing and strengthening each and every day.

-

Captain Malachi still monitored the Lamothian fleet, seemingly continuing their search for a planet to live on. He had witnessed a few vessels leave the flagship and head down to a planet. That seemed like a step in the right direction. Maybe they had found a new place to call home.

He hoped this planet did not hold any intelligent life forms that the Lamothians would feed upon. He ran a scan and was relieved that the scan found no Humans on the planet.

He sent the information to Golan Four. He wanted to see what they knew about the planet.

After what seemed like a short amount of time, he saw the vessels return to the ship. When the fleet did not leave, he assumed the Lamothians had, indeed, found a new place to live. Malachi was even more convinced when the Lamothian transport vessels made trips from the ships to the surface of the planet. Malachi noted the location of the planet the Lamothians were moving to. It looked like they were preparing a small settlement there.

-

Admiral Cleemorl and the fleets with him were still headed toward the rendezvous location on the edge of the Empire. The Zynth fleet still followed them. This did not surprise Cleemorl. It’s what he would do if he were in their position.

Right now, all they could do was wait. Once they reached the edge of the Empire and met up with their reinforcements, Cleemorl would continue, with Rear Admiral Fulmar, back to the Hagen Star Cluster. He was looking forward to getting there and seeing Cheryl. He hoped she was keeping out of trouble.

The scout ships were gathering data from all over the Confederation and sending it back to Golan Four. Marloo and Masters were sifting through it, determining what their next target in the Confederation would be. Cleemorl hoped to weigh in on that decision as well when he returned.

Hopefully, by then, they would have the possible targets narrowed down, and Cleemorl could help them decide which one should be at the top of the list. He personally thought they should continue attacking the Morag. The Morag race was the greatest threat to the Empire. They had the biggest fleet and the largest territory in the Confederation.

-

Lamothian Commander Zonmer had received word from Admiral Zahn that he had secured them a safe place to stay until they could terraform one of the moons above Lamodent. Zahn had given Zonmer the coordinates to the planet and had asked him to come immediately.

Zonmer was glad to have a place to go. He hoped that this new start would be good for the Lamothians and that they wouldn’t make the same mistakes that had led to their destruction again. He wondered what life had been like for the Lamothians before the Morag had influenced their minds. He wondered if it was possible to visit the archives at Bator Prime to see if they had that information.

Zonmer was afraid that the remaining leaders of the Lamothians would have only one thing in mind, revenge. They would be focused on nothing but destroying the enemy, and that enemy was the Humans. However, in Zonmer’s opinion, the Lamothians must ensure they had enough of their race left to rebuild their civilization.

At the moment, they had no way to build more warships. It would take them a while to get things going again. Zonmer was glad he had the chance to see how things would go as they restarted their civilization.

-

The Great Council of the Confederation, or what was left of it, met on Druin Seven. Zynth Admiral Donlur had an idea to get the Empire out of the Confederation. They needed to get the Empire back on the defensive instead of the Confederation being on the defensive. As the Council considered this action, it caused great debate. Morag Councilor Damora was irritated that he could not influence the other council members as easily as he could before when they didn’t wear the telepathic nullifiers. Now he actually had to engage in debate with them. This was much more inefficient.

After a couple hours of debate, the councilors came to a decision and formulated their plan. Each race would send five hundred vessels, with the exception of the Lamothians, who would not join them in this endeavor. They had lost enough already, and, at this time, could not afford to lose any more members of their race.

The combined force of the Morag, Druins, and Zynth would be 1,500 vessels strong. This would still allow all of them to have enough vessels left in their home star systems to protect them. The first thing the fleets would do was some reconnaissance. Each race’s fleet would send out small groups of ships to gather information on a few possible targets all over the Human Empire.

The Morag would explore one area, the Druins another area, and the Zynth yet another area. The Humans would have no idea where an attack might come from. After their reconnaissance, they would gather on the periphery of the Confederation and decide their target. The combined fleet would then move in to destroy the planet they had selected.

“How will we assemble a fleet without alerting the Humans currently monitoring us here in the Confederation?” asked Zynth Councilor Conn.

Morag Councilor Damora responded, “That’s easy. We will only pull a few ships at a time from each star system. The Human stealth ships will not worry about a few ships disappearing. It will take a little longer than sending one entire fleet, but I believe it will work.”

Druin Councilor Clun agreed, saying, “Yes, the Humans will not concern themselves with a few ships. They would stay and watch the larger fleets. If we get a few ships from each system, they can rendezvous together at the edge of the Confederation. The Humans will be none the wiser.”

It was decided this fleet would gather as quickly as possible. The faster they could preoccupy the Humans, the better. They would meet on the periphery of the Confederation in eight days.

-

The Lamothian Councilor had asked to speak with Morag Councilor Damora after the council meeting had adjourned. He was surprised when Damora had agreed to help the Lamothians to terraform one of their moons that orbited Lamodent. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy. Damora had agreed to send the necessary ships and crew immediately, once Damora returned to Morag Prime and confirmed the plan with the Morag High Council.

It had gone so well. The Lamothian Councilor was left wondering why Damora had agreed so easily to help them. He was also relieved that the Lamothians would not have to send any warships to the Empire for the next attack. All in all, the trip to Druin Seven had gone rather well for the Lamothians.

The Lamothian Councilor was relieved that the other councilors had not held him responsible for the fall of his race. It was indeed his decisions that had led to the destruction of the rest of the Lamothian planets. Perhaps they felt he was already paying the price for his decisions.

While he had been away, Admiral Zahn had been busy and had secured them a temporary place to live, until their moon was ready for them. Things had gone from terrible to looking up for them. He would take what he could get at the moment.

The Lamothian Councilor knew they had a lot of tough times ahead. It would not be easy to rebuild, but it was at least possible. They had survived, survived to live to fight another day. That day would be a long time from now, but it would come eventually.

-

Layla stood alone on one of the sky towers, looking out over the city. She had an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach, as she watched the lightning of a storm headed toward them. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible would happen. She really didn’t know what to do or how to stop it. Over the next few weeks, she would stay prepared for anything and not grow complacent in the safety they had created here. Things could change and change quickly.

Derrick and Marloo had been hard at work analyzing all the data coming in from the scout ships, currently narrowing down the next potential Confederation target. Derrick had worked on it all day, not even taking time to have dinner with her. She didn’t mind. His work was important.

They needed to have targets picked out by the time Admirals Cleemorl and Fulmar arrived in the Empire. That way they could return with the newly added ships and strike their chosen Confederation target as quickly as possible, hopefully keeping the Confederation and their fleets busy. That way, the Confederation had no time to cause trouble here or enough ships to spare from defending their own star systems to send to the Empire for an attack.

Layla took a deep breath, as she heard a rumble of thunder roll down the valley. She put a protective hand over her stomach. She needed to tell Derrick he would be a father. Maybe tonight, when he came home, she would give him the good news.

She smiled, as she turned around to walk inside. They had gone through so much to get this far. They would fight hard to protect what they had built. She wanted to leave a lasting legacy of peace for her children. She didn’t want them to know about war and fear. That’s what she would strive to do, make a lasting peace that could last for generations.

Chapter Eight

Captain Greeley and his fleet had arrived at the Hagen Star Cluster earlier that morning. He was meeting the returning battlecarriers from the Confederation space for repairs and resupply. Greeley had brought supply ships loaded with attack interceptors from Golan Four. The rest of the day would be spent unloading the attack interceptors from the supply ships and moving them onto the battlecarriers. In total, thirty-five battlecarriers needed to be resupplied.

A new class of attack interceptor crews had just finished up their training and had gone through some advanced training as well. They were loading up onto the carriers too. Once everything and everyone was loaded, they would start their mission to the edge of the Empire, where they would meet up with the rest of the Human fleets stationed there.

Greeley hoped that the Zynth fleet pursuing the fleets would decide not to attack them, once they exited hyperspace in the Empire. He was looking forward to accompanying Admiral Collison back to the Confederation to attack their next target, whatever that might be.

He had trained with Admiral Collison back in the Solar System. Greeley was glad to get the chance to work with him again. He knew that Collison was very good at what he did, and Greeley would follow him to the gates of hell, if need be.

Greeley had accompanied Professor Charles Wright from Earth to Golan Four, and now Greeley had been entrusted to get the professor to Bator Prime in the Lormallian area of the Confederation. He hoped that the mission to get the professor safely delivered to Bator Prime would go hand in hand with whatever target Golan Four had in mind for them. Otherwise he would send a small task force to escort the professor to his destination.

It had been decided not to leave a military task force at Bator Prime while the professor was there. Admiral Marloo thought that it might bring more trouble if the enemy races realized the Empire had someone there. If the Empire had no military presence, the professor might do his research without being noticed by any enemy races.

Greeley was anxious to get underway and knew that he was on a schedule. He needed to get the fleet to the rendezvous location before Cleemorl exited hyperspace. They needed to be prepared to face the Zynth fleet. The current plan was to get there early enough to run some simulations with the attack interceptors and have them all deployed and ready to engage the Zynth, if they chose to attack the Empire fleet. Greeley didn’t think they would.

If the Zynth ran a long-range scan of the area before they dropped out of hyperspace, they would find 5,600 attack interceptors waiting, not to mention his fleet of 200 battlecruisers and 65 dreadnoughts. Plus he had also brought along 5 battlecarriers full of interceptors, which added another 800 to the total. A little intimidating, especially given that the Zynth had a fleet of only 427 ships. Even the Human fleet being chased was larger than the Zynth fleet. It would be foolish for the Zynth to exit hyperspace to face all the Humans to be gathered there.

-

Derrick had not been surprised when Layla had told him last night that he would be a father. It had crossed his mind a time or two over the previous few weeks. He had noticed Layla putting her hand protectively over her stomach. She had also been careful of what she ate and drank. He was excited, to say the least.

Although he didn’t regret his cryo experience—which led him to be here alongside Layla, as well as to fight the Confederation and win—Derrick did wish his parents had been here to experience being grandparents. Although they probably had the chance to be grandparents with Derrick’s sister. He had left her behind under protection, when he had left Golan Four for the Solar System, responsible for getting the two Royal Princesses to safety when the Confederation had come and killed most of the Royal Family.

He assumed most of his family had likely survived that long-ago attack, and his sister probably went on to have children. He missed his family but was glad that he had been the one responsible for the Princesses and their safety. Little did he know then that he would end up marrying one of them and starting a family.

They had decided to keep the pregnancy a secret for the time being. No one else would know until Krista came back from her trip. Then she would be the first to know, along with Andrew and Kala.

Derrick headed to a shuttle that would take him and Marloo up to the shipyard—the largest one in the Empire, once construction was completed. He and Marloo wanted to see the progress made since their last visit. The shipyard neared completion, and Derrick was ready to see it in action. The sooner, the better.

-

Admiral Cleemorl was a couple days away from exiting hyperspace in the Empire. He was more and more anxious to get home with each passing hour. He hoped that the shipyards had been hard at work across the Empire, building ships to replace the ones that he had lost from the First Fleet while fighting in the Confederation. They needed to replace just over seven hundred battlecruisers and one hundred dreadnoughts.

He still had a portion of his fleet left, but they planned to let them stay on to fight with Admiral Collison. Collison would also have reinforcements from Earth, plus all the resupplied battlecarriers. He would have a large-enough fleet to do some more damage in the Confederation.

Cleemorl examined his holographic display of the Confederation. He wondered what the next target would be. Morag, Druin, or Zynth? He hoped the scout ships would narrow down the best target, and that it wouldn’t end up being a trap.

-

Lamothian Admiral Zahn had his crews hard at work, building a suitable place for them to live. Most of the crews would stay on board the ships, but all those on board the transport vessels would need a place to live.

Once living quarters were established, they would begin trading with other planets for the things needed to terraform their moon. Of course they didn’t have many goods to offer for trade, which might hamper their ability to trade for a while.

The Lamothian Councilor had sent him news that Morag Councilor Damora had agreed to help terraform the moon. They would send the necessary equipment and supplies, as soon as it was approved by the Morag High Council. The Council was meeting later in the day, and then they would have their official answer. He wasn’t sure what they would do if the Council voted against helping them.

He expected the arrival of the transport vessels later that day. In total, there were 548 of them. Each one was loaded with evacuees from the shipyards, space stations, and planets that the Humans had destroyed. He hoped it would be enough, and he hoped they had a variety of talent and professions to restart their civilization.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had been tasked with leading the Morag’s portion of the Confederation fleet to the Empire. He was looking forward to putting the Empire back on the defensive again. It would be wise to keep the Empire busy. That would keep them out of the Confederation. The Humans would probably recall their fleet from the Confederation to help protect the planets in the Empire.

Voxx smiled coldly, thinking to himself, We’re coming for you. One planet at a time. He thought the idea of each fleet scouting out locations across the Empire was brilliant. That would most likely cause the enemy to spread out their fleets, thinning them out and making it easier for the Confederation to reign supreme. The Empire would have no idea where the Confederation would attack.

Voxx knew they would need to stay clear of Golan Four and the Hagen Star Cluster. Those places were too heavily fortified and defended to attack with only 1,500 ships. The Confederation would need to stick to the outliers of the Empire, those on the periphery, possibly even those new to joining the Empire.

That might scare away other worlds from joining the Empire in the future. Pick them off slowly, one by one. Keep the Humans busy until the Morag had rebuilt its fleet and developed the new weapons the Humans had. Then nothing could stop the Confederation from ruling the Empire.

Yes, he could see it all so clearly. He knew more than anyone though to not underestimate the Empire Humans. Especially when aided by the Earth Humans as well—a tie the Confederation needed to sever, but he didn’t know how to get that done.

Voxx and his fleet of five hundred ships would leave immediately for the designated rendezvous location on the edge of the Confederation. It would take him a while to get there. The other fleets would be there waiting on them, since the Morag were farthest from the Empire.

Voxx knew that the Zynth fleet was still following the Human fleet out of the Confederation. It wouldn’t be much longer until those Humans were back in the Empire. And that is where he intended to keep them. In the Empire, on the defensive.

-

Professor Charles Wright was on his way with the fleet to the edge of the Empire. He knew there was a chance he would see a battle there. No one was sure if the Zynth would attack the Empire fleet returning from the Confederation when they exited hyperspace. The fleet with Charles would be prepared for a fight. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Charles was so excited to have the opportunity to search the archives on Bator Prime. He wanted to find out more about Falton Two. While he was there, he hoped to have the opportunity to look up what information they had on Earth and the Solar System. So much information would be at the tip of his fingers. He could barely contain his excitement. It would be a long journey. First to the edge of the Empire and then on to the Lormallian area of the Confederation. It would likely be another week or more before he arrived at his destination.

-

Captain Greeley was glad to be on their way to their rendezvous point. He knew the attack interceptor crews needed more practice before they faced a battle. He hoped to give them that before Cleemorl and his fleets exited hyperspace. After that, while the fleet was getting repaired and resupplied, he hoped the crews could get in even more experience.

Greeley hoped that some of the crews from the attack interceptors fighting in the Confederation could teach these new crews a thing or two. Greeley planned to discuss the need for further training with Admiral Collison when he saw him. Hopefully they would have the time they needed to do that before they reached their next target.

-

Derrick and Marloo had returned from their tour of the progress of the shipyard under construction. They expected it to be finished within the next few weeks.

They knew they would have more information from the scout ships in the Confederation to sift through. Time to start narrowing down their next Confederation target. Their first priority would be to destroy more shipyards of the Morag. Their second priority would be to attack a few shipyards of the Druins. As for the Zynth, that depended on what happened on the periphery of the Empire. If they attacked Cleemorl and the fleets, then the Empire would need to retaliate. If they refrained from attacking, that might spare the Zynth more time, while the Empire dealt more with the Morag and Druins.

The Zynth had gained precious time to build up their fleets, but the Morag and Druins had larger fleets than the Zynth. All enemy shipbuilding capabilities needed to be curbed and quickly. The Confederation continued to gain military strength each and every day that the Empire was not destroying targets.

-

In the far distant area of the Bacchus Region, a small Earth fleet headed toward the Empire, led by Captain Sutton. So far, they had traveled about five days from the Solar System. The trip to Golan Four would take a total of three weeks.

Sutton was anxious to get to the Empire. He knew Captain Greeley would be rendezvousing with Admiral Cleemorl in a couple days. He wouldn’t make it there for that, but hopefully he would get in on the next mission to the Confederation. Sixteen days until they would arrive in the Empire. He was ready to help defeat the Confederation.

-

The Empire‘s scout ships monitoring the fleets in the Morag area of the Confederation were still trying to figure out the enemy’s patrol pattern. It seemed that each group of ships patrolled three star systems, but sometimes they overlapped. There didn’t seem to be a pattern, or at least the Humans hadn’t figured it out yet.

The Morag did seem to have a more dedicated patrol with star systems that had more than one shipyard. The Empire and Human fleets would need to stay away from the systems with multiple shipyards. They would have to hit them one system at a time and one shipyard at a time.

In order to not run into a patrolling fleet, the scout ships needed to figure out this pattern. The Morag were a logical thinking race. There just had to be a pattern.

-

The Empire scout ships monitoring the Druin fleets found them more evenly spread out among their star systems. With fewer inhabited star systems, the Druins had less to patrol. No easy mark found there. Attacking a Druin shipyard would mean a fleet battle—not the entire Druin fleet but larger than the Humans would like.

The scout ships monitoring the Druin star systems noticed fewer ships were patrolling—five hundred fewer ships, to be exact. Where could they have gone? It wasn’t any one particular group that had disappeared. It seemed to be a few ships from each system, totaling five hundred.

The scout ship passed along this message to Golan Four and hoped that they could figure out what was going on from there.

-

Marloo and Masters had gotten several reports from all over the Confederation. Part of all the enemy fleets had disappeared, including Morag, Druin, and Zynth. None had been from one entire fleet, more like a few from one area and a few from another. From the first report of fleet numbers to now, five hundred ships were missing from each of the Morag, Druin, and Zynth.

Marloo felt as if the Confederation had slowly moved ships away so that the Human scout ships wouldn’t notice and follow them. Ten ships here or there wouldn’t be cause for concern. No scout ship would have followed that small number of ships.

“So, they either know we are watching them or are operating under the assumption that we are,” Marloo commented to Masters, as they reviewed the information.

“The question now remains, where are they? And where are they headed?” asked Masters.

“Let’s assume they are headed here to the Empire. They must plan to attack Cleemorl and his fleets when they exit hyperspace, or they have a target here in the Empire,” Marloo responded grimly.

“We must attack them as quickly as possible, so that they have a reason to recall their fleets back to the Confederation,” said Masters.

“Let’s contact Captain Malachi and ensure that the entire Lamothian fleet is still accounted for. A fleet of 1,500 enemy warships would be better than 2,000,” commented Marloo.

“Agreed. We also must get the fleets on high alert. An impending attack may be coming over the next week or so,” responded Masters.

“Yes, we also should reevaluate our fleet deployments and have all the planets activate all their defenses. We want to be as prepared as we can be,” said Marloo.

They both looked at each other, with knowing gazes. It was vital to get the Confederation back on the defensive as soon as possible. Cleemorl was now due to exit hyperspace in approximately twenty-four hours. Then, assuming the Zynth fleet doesn’t attack, Cleemorl’s fleet would need a day to organize and resupply before heading back to the Confederation.

“If we attack a Morag target, it would take the fleet about six days to get there. A Druin target would be five days away. A Zynth target, only three. As much as we would like to hit a Morag target, it looks like the closest is the Zynth. If we can’t find these missing Confederation ships, then we should start with the Zynth,” said Marloo.

“We could hit a couple Zynth shipyards, then move on to a Druin one, and later to a Morag one. Keep moving between the races, so they will all be on the defensive, never knowing where we might strike next,” suggested Masters.

“Yes, that’s a good plan, until one enemy battleship follows the fleet into hyperspace and alerts the rest. Then we face a fleet battle again. We lose a lot of ships in fleet battles,” Marloo responded.

“Sounds like we have a lot of work to do over the next twenty-four hours. Our days of feeling relatively safe will soon be over,” Masters said, with a sigh.

Masters began shifting the fleet deployments and fleet numbers, as Marloo alerted the fleets and the planets. No need to put them all on high alert for a few more days.

As they both carried on their work, Masters looked up and said, “We know that, with only 1,500 ships, the Confederation cannot attack the Hagen Star Cluster or Golan Four. It may be possible to narrow down what their target might be.”

“Yes, at least we can knock off a few targets from the list. However, with 759 planets and terraformed moons in the Empire now, they have many targets to choose from. We need to get our scout ships out there, watching for the Confederation fleets to show up. Then we might figure out their target. Hopefully in time to reposition accordingly,” said Marloo.

“I will make a list of the least defended planets. That’s where we should start,” said Masters.

“What about Princess Krista? Should we cancel her trip and recall her here to Golan Four? Her trip takes her to the edge of the Empire. That’s a prime area for the Confederation to target,” said Marloo.

“I will brief Layla on the situation shortly and get her opinion on the matter. Krista should already be visiting her first planet by now. We know we have at least five days or so, given when the ships disappeared and the travel time from there to the Empire. She’s relatively safe in the meantime,” replied Masters.

-

Captain Malachi had received word from Golan Four that ships from the other Confederation races had disappeared too. Malachi quickly had Lieutenant Pamela scan the fleet to check the numbers with the one they had taken previously. As the numbers came in, he breathed a sigh of relief. All ships were accounted for. He sent an encrypted message back to Golan Four, informing them of the good news. At least for now, they need not worry about the Lamothians.

As Malachi relaxed more in his chair, alarms sounded. He tensed and watched the tactical display. The icons exiting hyperspace were red. The scans showed that they were Lamothian ships, transport vessels—the vessels that had come from Lamodent. Malachi was impressed that they had this many ships of Lamothians evacuated from the targets before they were destroyed.

The ships slowly descended to the planet, landing near the now roughly constructed camp, their home for the foreseeable future.

-

The Lamothian Councilor had received word from Morag Councilor Damora that the Morag would, in fact, send a crew and supplies to start terraforming the moon orbiting Lamodent. The Lamothian scientists had already determined that this moon was the best candidate to be terraformed. It had actually been in the planning stages before the Humans had attacked and destroyed Lamodent.

Most of the evacuees had come from Lamodent. They had the most advanced warning of their impending doom, after the other Lamothian planets had already been destroyed. In those evacuees was a group of scientists planning this terraforming project. These scientists would work with the Morag to make the most of the project.

This moon would need to not only be terraformed so they could make their home there but it must also be heavily defended. It would need a defensive grid, among other things. The Lamothian Councilor wondered how well defended the Morag planets were. He imagined very heavily defended—especially since the Humans had not destroyed a Morag planet. Yet.

The Humans had only destroyed a Druin planet and the Lamothian planets. This led him to believe the Morag planets were too heavily defended to be easily destroyed by the Humans. That’s how he wanted this new home of theirs on the moon to be. Now if he could only get the Morag to help with that endeavor as well.

-

With Morag Admiral Voxx preoccupied with planning this attack on the Empire, Admiral Marcello found himself in charge of the fleets left in the Morag area of the Confederation. They had already determined fleet positions and patrolling routes. They had tactical officers analyzing data, determining where the Humans might strike next.

The Morag operated under the assumption that the Humans had their stealth ships watching their every move. Marcello was trying to decide how he could use that to his advantage. He hadn’t quite figured it out yet, but he had no doubt that he would.

Perhaps a Confederation attack on the Empire would cause the Human fleet stationed in the Confederation to return home. That is what they all had hoped would happen anyway. They definitely needed to make certain they did not lose any more shipyards. For that matter, they couldn’t lose any more ships either. With fewer shipyards, it would take longer to replace the ships they had already lost. Not to mention, longer to build new ships to strengthen the Morag fleet.

Chapter Nine

Captain Greeley had arrived at the rendezvous location. While he waited for the approaching fleet from the Confederation to exit hyperspace, he had the attack interceptors run some drills and battle simulations. He knew from studying the reports from the previous attacks in the Confederation that the interceptors needed to understand how to maneuver very well to avoid enemy fire in a fleet battle. He had them practice, gathering in their squadrons, enacting numerous maneuvers to avoid enemy fire. Throughout the day, he watched them grow in their abilities to not only work as a team but also to outmaneuver each other.

Toward the end of the day, he had them run a battle simulation that pitted squadrons against each other. The last one left would be declared the winners. These crews had run this simulation before, but now that they had improved, it would be a very different game, indeed.

Greeley was watching the time closely. Admiral Cleemorl had been in contact with him. Cleemorl was expected in two hours. The mobile shipyards and transport vessels would jump to a secondary location within the hour. This was a precautionary move in case the Zynth did attack the Human fleet, once dropped from hyperspace. Everyone was confident that the Zynth wouldn’t attack, but they also didn’t want to be taken by surprise.

Greeley had been given a list of potential targets to go over with Admirals Cleemorl and Collison and Rear Admirals Barnes, Carrie, and Fulmar. With not as many ships to take to the Confederation as they did last time, Rear Admiral Carrie would remain in the Empire, until more ships came from Earth—expected within the next couple weeks. That would leave Cleemorl, Fulmar, and Carrie in the Empire, while Collison and Barnes headed back to the Confederation.

The new development of the missing Confederation fleets was in the back of Greeley’s mind as well. Everyone assumed they were headed this way. The question remained. Where would the Confederation attack? Greeley was glad he was not responsible for the defense of the Empire. It was large and growing every day from what he had heard. It was much larger than the Solar System.

The Solar System was very well fortified. They had worked hard at getting it that way. Without constant attacks from the Confederation, they had rebuilt from the last attack. Now they were even stronger. They had learned a lot from those attacks. They now hoped to keep the Confederation busy in their own area and unwilling to leave their own Confederation systems less guarded.

Greeley guessed this is what the Confederation fleets were planning, to keep the Empire busy again and out of the Confederation. Too bad for them but the Earth fleets would attack the Confederation, not Empire fleets.

Greeley had already shared his suspicions with Pallas Admiral Reynolds. It was even now more important than ever to attack the Confederation. Thankfully more ships were already on the way. As soon as more were available, they’d be sent as well. Soon an almost constant stream of ships should arrive; every week was the plan. They would stage on the periphery of the Empire, until the fleet was large enough to take on targets in the Confederation.

Admirals Marloo and Masters were responsible for giving them their targets, as they received intelligence from the scout ships. Hopefully they could hit as many targets as possible. Anything they could do to weaken the Confederation, they would do it.

-

Admiral Cleemorl was minutes away from dropping out of hyperspace in the periphery of the Empire. His fleet was already at Condition One, operating under the assumption that the Zynth fleet would attack once they exited hyperspace. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but, if they did, there was no doubt in his mind who would win. The Zynth would be outnumbered and outgunned. No admiral in his right mind would purposely put his fleet in that situation, especially if it could be avoided.

Cleemorl was looking forward to getting back to his fleet in the Empire. He had a lot of work to do and to catch up on. He was nervous about the missing Confederation fleets. They had to be headed to the Empire. His fleet was highly diminished currently, after all the battles they had had in the Confederation. He knew all the ships coming out of the shipyards in the Empire were being sent to the Hagen Star Cluster to add to his fleet’s numbers.

The fleets in the Empire were growing daily. He wasn’t sure if there were enough ships to protect the entire Empire, since they gained new planets almost every day. Each planet that joined the Empire would receive a strong defensive grid and attack interceptors to help protect them.

He knew that, if the Confederation were planning an attack with their missing ships, they would most likely hit a planet out on the edge of the Empire. Cleemorl decided that, while he was out here, he might visit a few of these potential targets himself and see if anything could be done to beef up their defenses.

It was unlikely the Confederation would attack Golan Four or the Hagen Star Cluster. They would need more ships for that endeavor.

First, Cleemorl must meet with the other leaders of the fleets to finalize their targets. He was aware that Marloo and Masters had sent a list of the best potential targets with Captain Greeley of the Earth fleet. Once settled, and the fleets headed back to the Confederation toward their new targets, he would check out some Empire planets that the Confederation might target.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur closed in on the edge of the Empire. “Run some long-range scans of the system, so we can see what the Humans have there waiting for us.”

“Yes, Admiral,” replied his First Officer Zakor. After quickly running the scans, he said, “It appears they have over six thousand vessels awaiting their fleet.”

Donlur’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of ships. Way more than they would need to annihilate us. Are some of the ships their small attack craft?”

“Our scans cannot determine the size of the vessels yet, not until we are closer,” replied Zakor.

“Update me once we have those answers. That’s a lot of ships. It must be made up mostly of the small attack craft. That’s the only logical explanation.”

-

Captain Greeley watched intensely as Cleemorl and the fleets exited hyperspace. Greeley’s fleet was at Condition One and prepared to fire on the Zynth fleet as soon as they dropped from hyperspace and were in range.

Once all the fleets exited hyperspace, they all faced the drop out zone the Zynth would likely use. Then they waited. The Zynth were not far behind the Human fleets. It wouldn’t be long until they had their answer. Would they attack? Or would they rendezvous with the other Confederation fleets that were presumably headed this way?

-

On the Zynth flagship, the first officer reported, “Admiral, the closer scans show 6,400 small attack craft. The rest are their larger warships. Plus they have the fleet that exited hyperspace in front of us.”

“We would be obliterated if we tried to face that size of a fleet. Let’s head to the rendezvous location, where we will meet the Druins and Morag. We will have a few days to await their arrival. That will give us time to make repairs and to plan which systems we will search,” said Admiral Donlur, as he relaxed in his command chair. He would bring the Humans a fight, but it would not be today.

-

Once it was clear that the Zynth fleet would not be exiting hyperspace behind them, the fleet relaxed slightly. Admiral Cleemorl moved the fleets to Condition Two. The mobile repair yards moved back into the system, along with the rest of the supply vessels. Those ships that needed repairs now scheduled time at the mobile repair yards.

The leaders of the fleets gathered on Admiral Cleemorl’s flagship, Themis, to discuss the list of possible targets and the new development of the missing Confederation fleets.

They all agreed that they needed to strike a target swiftly, to hopefully deter the Confederation fleets from attacking the Empire. The closest target were the Zynth. They sifted through the list of possible targets in the Zynth-controlled star systems, and they all agreed that the targets should remain shipyards. They had done enough destroying entire planets. For now, they would stick to the shipyards. They needed to weaken the enemy, and eliminating the enemy’s ability to repair and to construct new ships was the best way to do that.

As long as they could avoid running into any sizable enemy fleet, they could continue to destroy shipyards as they headed across the Confederation. One thing that they all agreed on was that they needed to hit targets in all the enemy-controlled areas. They would start with the Zynth, then on to the Druins, and finally the Morag. After that, it would depend on the future information gathered by the scout ships. The more Confederation shipyards the Empire could eliminate, the better.

They evaluated all the information Captain Greeley had brought from Marloo and Masters. Once they had their list of targets and their timetable ironed out, the meeting was dismissed. The leaders returned to their ships and began preparing for the next stage of the attack.

-

Admiral Cleemorl felt confident in the plan they had come up with. He knew Admiral Collison would have a successful mission. He was a little concerned about what would happen if chased out of the Confederation by another large fleet. They needed to avoid fleet-to-fleet battles if possible.

The mobile repair ships and the supply vessels would once again stage in a Lormallian-controlled star system. This time, they would set up in the star system that contained Proxy Seven. When Cleemorl had met with Ardon Reull last time, they had agreed on the next location for the staging area. With a much smaller fleet this time around, they would leave a smaller group of ships to protect the ships waiting in the staging area.

The mobile shipyards and supply vessels would leave as soon as the last repairs were made on the ships. Cleemorl would wait until the fleet headed to the Confederation, and then he would start his tour of the nearby planets that he felt may be targeted. Cleemorl had contacted Golan Four and had spoken to both Marloo and Masters. They had made a list of the most probable targets the Confederation fleets might hit. These were the ones Cleemorl would visit first.

In the meantime, he had a very important message to send, one to his wife, Cheryl, on Tantula Five. He had been gone longer than he had intended to be. Now he would let her know it would be even longer before he returned home. He needed to visit these outlying planets first and hopefully add to their defenses before he would see Cheryl again.

-

Captain Greeley was relieved to know he would be headed to the Zynth area of the Confederation with the main fleet. Captain Avery would once again be in charge of the small task force assigned to protect the mobile shipyards and supply vessels.

Professor Charles would tag along with Captain Avery and the supply vessels to Proxy Seven. Once safely there, a small group of ships would then escort the professor to his final destination of Bator Prime.

Greeley was excited and a little apprehensive about what was to come. This was exactly what he had signed up for. He had worked hard to get to his position, and he was ready for some action. Greeley wanted to help keep the Humans safer from the Confederation, Humans of the Solar System as well as those of the Empire.

-

Admiral Collison busily readied his crews for the next mission into the Confederation. He was glad that Captain Greeley had given the attack interceptor crews more practice while they had waited for them to arrive. Since he had another twenty-four hours before they intended to make their hyperspace jump to the Zynth area of the Confederation, he would have Major Conroy work with the crews more to see what she could additionally teach them.

Collison had informed all his fleet that they would be entering hyperspace in twenty-four hours. The sooner they attacked their next target, the better. They needed to get these missing enemy fleets back to the Confederation and out of the Empire.

It would take them three days to get to their target in the Zynth area of the Confederation. Hopefully they would begin their first attack before the Confederation fleets attacked the Empire. On the bright side, currently 1,500 fewer enemy ships were in the Confederation for Collison to worry about.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes looked forward to getting back to the Confederation and attacking more enemy targets. She was anxious to get going. They had already wasted a lot of time coming all the way back to the Empire. She knew it had been necessary but hoped it didn’t end up costing the Empire. If they had kept attacking targets in the Confederation, maybe the enemy wouldn’t have had the opportunity to send fleets to the Empire to attack targets here. Perhaps the Human fleets would still get to their target first, and maybe that would turn around the enemy fleets.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie worried about the missing Confederation fleets. She was apprehensive that she didn’t have a fleet left to help protect the Empire. What was left of her original fleet, Eighth Fleet, was twenty-one battlecruisers and eight dreadnoughts, as well as twenty battlecarriers, now fully loaded with attack interceptors. All these remaining ships would return to the Confederation with Admiral Collison.

She knew that soon there would be more ships from the Solar System for her to lead into the Confederation. Until then, she would do whatever was necessary to help protect the Empire.

-

The Imperial Council met in the Council Chambers in the House of Worlds. The first order of business were the missing Confederation fleets.

“We have yet to locate the missing fleets. We have estimated that they could arrive in the periphery of the Empire within five days,” reported Marloo.

The tension in the room grew, as they all realized the ramifications of this. Where would they attack? How could they stop it?

“What is the status of our fleets left in the Empire?” asked Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three.

Derrick replied, “Fifth Fleet is currently at 775 battlecruisers and 103 dreadnoughts. They also now have 12 battlecarriers, with a full contingent of attack interceptors. We have been resupplying First Fleet since we sent a large chunk of it to the Confederation. What remains here in the Empire from First Fleet is 547 battlecruisers and 61 dreadnoughts. They have 11 battlecarriers fully loaded with attack interceptors. While Rear Admiral Carrie has been away fighting in the Confederation with Eighth Fleet, we have been building up Eighth Fleet here as well. They currently have thirty-two battlecruisers and eight dreadnoughts.”

“What about the Imperial Resistance fleets?” asked Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four.

Derrick nodded as he checked his notes. “They are growing in number as well. I will consult with Resistance Leader Tomas Doron to double-check their actual numbers. At the last report, closing in on two thousand ships. These ships are battlecruisers and smaller support ships. We also have all our planets in the Empire protected by a defensive grid, and each planet also has attack interceptors,” said Derrick.

“Attack interceptors can’t destroy a fleet of 1,500 ships,” commented Therron.

“True. They are meant to help shoot down any incoming missiles, not as a means to destroy an enemy fleet,” replied Derrick.

Marloo added, “We expect the Confederation to attack a planet on the outlying area of the Empire. This narrows down the possibilities slightly. We plan to redistribute some of the fleets to help patrol this area. We have also moved a large number of our stealth scout ships out there. Hopefully the scout ships will find this fleet and then monitor their movements. Any intelligence we can gather about their possible targets or their fleet movements would allow us to move our fleets to the most advantageous positions.”

“It would take a pretty large fleet to take on 1,500 enemy warships, no matter where they eventually attack,” said Therron.

“We have faced worse odds than that and have come out victorious,” General Gantts stated. “Remember. We do have the superior firepower. Plus we are sending more ODPs to be installed around several planets we feel might be targeted. As more ODPs are produced, they will be distributed to those planets without one. We have worked diligently, as more and more planets have joined the Empire, to arm all space stations and shipyards. We are building these ODPs and PDCs as quickly as possible. We have also increased the number of defense satellites and missile platforms in production. These are distributed to planets as they become available. With so many planets in the Empire, we haven’t had the chance to build enough of these elements, but we continue to work on that.”

Marloo nodded, then added, “We plan to place larger task groups of ships to defend those planets less protected with these defenses than the ones that have these defenses already in place. Princess Krista has a number of these defense elements with her to help entice more planets to join the Empire. No planet in the Empire will be defenseless. All will have a defensive grid, and a number of them will have additional defensive elements.”

Derrick took a drink of his water before speaking. “All our production facilities have been at full capacity since they came online. It will take us a few more months before all our planets are fully protected by these defensive elements. Ideally we would like them to be as protected as Golan Four. It takes time to get all that accomplished.”

They continued to discuss strategy and defense element distribution for a while before settling on fleet deployments that they all agreed would protect as many planets as possible, without exposing the core worlds to danger. After a couple more hours of discussions and debate, everything was settled, at least for the time being.

-

Shortly after the Imperial Council Meeting, Admirals Marloo and Masters met with General Gantts to further discuss strategy. As the three of them studied the holographic display of the Empire, they focused on the planets on the periphery of the Empire and nearest to the Confederation.

“I would think that the Confederation would target a few of the same ones they have previously targeted. They already know the defenses of these systems. Leonora Five, Ranier Two, Astor, and Xnea Two. We need to evaluate their defenses and send more as quickly as we can,” said Marloo.

“Princess Krista has already headed that direction with transport vessels loaded full of defense elements. Instead of having her visit planets considering joining the Empire, we could deliver her stockpile to these more at-risk planets. Then reschedule her planned visit to these other planets, once we’ve eliminated the immediate threat of Confederation attack,” suggested Derrick.

“I like that idea of using the defensive elements Princess Krista already has headed that direction. That would allow the planets time to install them before the arrival of the enemy fleets. I am not sure Layla would appreciate us pushing Krista away from visiting these other planets,” said Marloo.

Derrick smiled thoughtfully and said, “What if we redirect her transport vessels that have the defensive elements we need to these planets we feel are most at risk of enemy attack. We can still have Krista visit the planets she is scheduled to visit. Only she would offer them a defensive grid, with no other added security other than the attack interceptors. All other elements would head on to the periphery of the Empire to these areas we have singled out as most probable targets.”

“Agreed. Why don’t you double-check that plan with Layla before we implement it? Once you get the all-clear, I will make the arrangements,” said Marloo.

“I will go talk to Layla now,” Derrick said, as he stepped toward the door. “I will let you know as soon as I get the affirmative.”

-

Derrick quickly found Layla hard at work in her office. Once he had explained everything to her, she agreed with their plan. He immediately let Marloo know the plan was a go.

Derrick then returned to the Command Center, and they contacted the vessels they needed to and rerouted them to their new destinations. Afterward they contacted the leaders of these planets to inform them of the potential for an impending Confederation attack and also that they were sending more defense elements to them.

Now they had to determine what warships to send out there and where to stage them. If they could make one system and planet look less protected, maybe they could entice the enemy to attack, and then a fleet could be staged nearby to jump in and destroy them. The question was, which one?

Chapter Ten

Once Admiral Collison was satisfied with the attack interceptor crews training, they made a plan to return to the Confederation in two hours. The ships that needed repair had been repaired. They had their plan of targets and needed to begin their attack as fast as possible to hopefully bring back the missing Confederation fleets to their star systems.

At the designated time, the ships entered hyperspace on their journey back to the Confederation. Collison watched the tactical display in front of him, as he sat in his command chair. He smiled to himself, relieved to be taking the battle back to the Confederation again. After the last battles, he wasn’t sure he would have a big-enough fleet remaining. Thankfully Admiral Cleemorl and Rear Admiral Fulmar had left behind their remaining ships brought to the Confederation for Collison to continue the fight.

On their last trip to the Confederation, they had accomplished a lot. They had destroyed a Druin planet, all remaining Lamothian planets, twenty Morag shipyards, and numerous enemy warships. The Lamothians were left with no shipyards. All in all, it had been a successful mission. Collison hoped this one would meet with the same level of success. Their first target would be the Zynth race.

Now that all the Confederation races knew the Humans had attacked them, the Humans wouldn’t catch anyone by surprise. There would be no easy wins, no vulnerable targets. All possible targets would be at least moderately protected. This meant more losses on their side. Collison would lose more ships, more people.

He knew more ships were already coming from the Solar System, but he could not rely on much help from the Empire this time. The Empire itself was under imminent threat of attack from the missing Confederation fleets. Collison hoped his attack would start first and would draw those enemy fleets back to where they belonged, in the Confederation.

For now, Collison had a couple days to travel to the Zynth area of the Confederation, where they would begin attacking their shipyards. The Zynth had part of their fleet missing, which left less to defend their portion of the Confederation. While part of the Confederation fleet was away, Collison would take full advantage.

-

Once Admiral Collison had entered hyperspace with his fleet, Admiral Cleemorl began his journey to the at-risk planets. He had talked with Marloo and Masters, and they had agreed on his destinations. They already had more defensive elements headed to those areas as well.

Scout ships had been stationed all over the periphery of the Empire, watching and waiting for the enemy to show up. The military minds estimated they still had at a minimum two more days to prepare—assuming that all the missing enemy fleets would rendezvous together before their attack on any Empire planet commenced. Based on when the Morag ships disappeared, since they were the farthest away, the Empire had two more days. And a lot to do in those two days.

Cleemorl began by reviewing his notes on each world, starting with Astor. That planet had been attacked multiple times by the Confederation. In the last major attack of the Confederation, Astor had to surrender. Most of their defensive grid had been destroyed in that battle. Once the Confederation fleets pulled out of the Empire after they lost the battle at Golan Four, planet Astor had quickly rebuilt an impressive defensive grid.

Per his records, Astor now had 2 space stations, both heavily armed. They had even added particle beam cannons to them. They now had 2 large PDCs, 6 ODPs, plus 1,500 energy beam satellites and 180 missile platforms. Astor also had several Resistance ships stationed there. When Cleemorl visited Astor, he would speak to Governor Stewart and coordinate with General Marley as to what could be added to help further defend the planet from Confederation attack.

The file on Ranier Two noted how it had been attacked by the Morag not too long ago. In this attack, they had lost a space station and four cities. They still had one space station and one shipyard in orbit around the planet. Both the space station and the shipyard had added the particle beam cannons to its defenses.

Since that battle, they now have 5 ODPs, 2 PDCs, 800 energy beam satellites, and 125 missile platforms. Their ten largest cities sat in a ring of energy beam turrets and missile interceptors. The planet was now also home to a little over 500 attack interceptors. When Cleemorl visited Ranier Two, he would consult with General Landryal and the governor.

Now to read the file on Xnea Two. This planet had one shipyard and two space stations, all heavily armed. The Druins had attacked Xnea Two in the recent past. It had a solid defensive grid and also had six ODPs. It was relatively close to the Hagen Star Cluster, only four to six hours away.

Cleemorl now read up on the last planet on his list, Leonora Five.

Leonora Five had four space stations and one shipyard. Cleemorl already had a meeting set up with Governor Barrington and Colonel Pierson for when he arrived there. The governor and the colonel were making a list of defense elements that they wanted to add to their planet.

Barrington had learned from his past mistakes, previously thinking Leonora Five would be left alone, as long as it was no threat to the Confederation. He had been wrong. Now Barrington wanted help from the core worlds to strengthen his defensive grid and to better arm his space stations and shipyard. He had been forced to destroy his defensive grid when he had surrendered last time the Morag attacked. He had also been forced to disarm the space stations and shipyard.

Once the Morag had retreated from the area, the Empire had started rearming and rebuilding the defensive grid for Leonora Five. Barrington was desperate for help this time around. Cleemorl was more than happy to help him. As to what exactly Barrington had in mind, Cleemorl would find out when he met with him.

Fleet Admirals Marloo and Masters had already sent the transport vessels to the various planets they felt were most at risk. As soon as those ships arrived, they would begin installing the various defense elements.

Now Cleemorl must do his in-person visits of these four planets.

Time was quickly running out.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie headed to Ranier Two. Vice Fleet Admiral Masters had informed her that they had been building her a small fleet, while she had been away in the Confederation. The fleet would meet her there. She was to collect her small fleet of eight dreadnoughts and thirty-two battlecruisers and help patrol the periphery of the Empire. Her fleet would be stationed near Ranier Two, until the fleet from the Solar System arrived.

Hopefully, after the Confederation fleets realized they were still under attack in their own systems, they would leave the Empire. Once this happened, Carrie would take her fleet and the one arriving from Earth and head to the Confederation herself.

-

Rear Admiral Liam Anderson, on his flagship Lodestone, had been patrolling with his fleet in the area of Astor. He had received the news from Marloo that Astor was a probable target for the Confederation fleets headed toward the Empire. He was glad they faced only 1,500 ships this time instead of thousands.

He looked forward to discussing the defense of the planet with Admiral Cleemorl, who was already headed in that direction. A meeting had been scheduled to take place in four hours with Cleemorl, Governor Stewart, General Marley, and himself. Anderson would most likely end up with a mixed fleet of Imperial and Resistance ships, like he had the last time he had helped defend Astor. Hopefully this time they wouldn’t have to surrender the planet.

-

Admiral Cleemorl had arrived at Astor. He had his tactical officer run a scan of the planet to evaluate its defenses. He was impressed at how quickly Governor Stewart had rebuilt the defensive grid after the last Confederation attack.

Cleemorl had a list of what was available on all the transport vessels coming from Princess Krista’s stockpile, which she had intended to use to entice more planets to join the Empire. That plan would have to wait until there wasn’t an imminent threat of attack. Some transport vessels had already been sent to each at-risk planet to begin installing more defensive grid elements. Cleemorl would decide where several other elements would be placed.

Cleemorl knew that the Confederation would likely not attempt to attack a heavily fortified planet. They would keep looking until they found one less defended. He needed to somehow set up a trap, without putting a planet at undue risk. How could he do that? And which planet would that be at?

As Cleemorl walked into the underground Command Center under a massive snowcapped mountain, he was glad to see everyone already there, waiting for him. That would make his time more efficient, if he didn’t have to wait on anyone to show up.

“Governor Stewart, it’s nice to see you. I wish it were under different circumstances,” said Cleemorl, as he entered the room.

“I am glad to see you safely returned from the Confederation. It sounds like you had great success there,” replied Stewart.

“Yes, a fleet is headed back there now to do more damage,” he said, with a smile.

“That’s great. What about this enemy fleet headed here?” asked General Marley.

“We estimate it to be approximately 1,500 ships in size. Some 500 ships each from the Morag, Druin, and Zynth. We expect an attack in two to four days,” reported Cleemorl.

“Shall we plan to surrender again, like last time, once they begin hitting the surface of the planet with their missiles?” asked Stewart.

“That is an option. However, I am afraid that they may not accept surrender. We have recently destroyed a Druin planet, as well as all the Lamothian planets. They may be here for revenge. They may continue their attack until their target planet is destroyed,” Cleemorl responded grimly.

“Thankfully we do have underground bunkers that will house all our population. It would take approximately four hours to fill them. Since we heard we might soon be under attack, we have been practicing the evacuation. Each family has an assigned bunker and then assigned rooms inside that bunker. They already have essential items there and know how to quickly get to where they need to be. Our population can live in these underground bunkers for up to two years,” Stewart said optimistically.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. However, I am afraid it might,” replied Cleemorl. “I am impressed with how quickly you’ve rebuilt and enhanced your defenses of the planet since the last attack.”

“Yes,” replied General Marley. “We wanted to make the Confederation think twice before attacking our planet again.”

“You have done a remarkable job. I have with me more defensive grid elements. Do you have a list of what you believe would strengthen your defenses best?” asked Cleemorl.

“Yes, Admiral. We would like another ODP, as well as more energy beam satellites and missile platforms. Attack interceptors would also be a great benefit,” replied Marley.

Cleemorl smiled, as he raised an eyebrow. “I can give you an ODP, 200 more energy beam satellites, and 20 more missile platforms. Some of these installations have already begun. As for the attack interceptors, we have 750 headed here now. They will arrive within the next twenty-four hours.”

Marley and Stewart looked pleased. Then Rear Admiral Liam Anderson asked, “What about a larger fleet to help protect the system?”

“How many ships do you currently have, Anderson?” asked Cleemorl.

“Admiral, I have 20 dreadnoughts and 68 Imperial battlecruisers, also 9 Resistance battlecruisers and 23 Resistance support vessels.”

“I will see what I can do to get you more ships. A large amount of Resistance ships are in the area that could help add to your numbers. Also we have Rear Admiral Carrie patrolling nearby at Ranier Two, with a small fleet as well. I will let you know what I find out,” replied Cleemorl.

“Thank you, Admiral. Hopefully, if the Confederation does attack Astor, we will do some series damage to their fleet numbers, and they will be unable to attack anywhere else,” replied Anderson.

Cleemorl quickly finished discussing the defenses and strategies with Stewart, Marley, and Anderson, before he headed back to the Themis.

Once on board his flagship, he arranged for the defensive elements he had discussed with the leaders of Astor to be installed, while he headed on to the next planet, Ranier Two.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx would be at the rendezvous point in about thirty-six more hours. By the time he and his fleet arrived, the Zynth and Druins should already be there waiting for him to arrive. This would be their first coordinated attack on the Empire, with all his allies wearing nullifiers. He could not manipulate any of their minds. This battle would wind up being much more complicated and less coordinated because of it.

Voxx had already analyzed the potential targets. He considered attacking some of the planets they had attacked in the last battle with the Empire. It was probable that these planets had not had the time to rebuild all their defensive elements yet, thus leaving them more vulnerable to attack.

They would scout out a few planets closer to the core worlds, maybe even a core world or two, to help draw the Empire fleets in toward their main planets and away from the Confederation’s actual targets. It was possible that the Empire may leave a core world under-protected, thinking that the Confederation would attack a planet on the periphery of the Empire. It all depended on how the Empire fleets reacted and how well defended the planets were.

Voxx narrowed his focus on his holographic display to the area he planned to attack. He had no doubt the Empire knew they were under imminent threat of attack. They would be on high alert. After this, the Humans couldn’t afford to send fleets into the Confederation for attacks. They’d need to keep them all in the Empire to protect their own planets.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar headed to the Hagen Star Cluster to check in with First Fleet. He had left the Empire with 600 battlecruisers, 75 dreadnoughts, and 2 battlecarriers and was returning with only his flagship. No, not all of them had been destroyed, but what was left of his original group was staying with Collison and heading again into the Confederation.

Fulmar was satisfied with his mission in the Confederation. Cleemorl had been tasked with destroying the Lamothian planets and had trusted him enough to share that mission with him. They had successfully destroyed the remaining Lamothian planets, as well as all of their shipyards. Most of the space stations had been annihilated as well. Only a few remained, orbiting a lifeless planet.

The Lamothians would not be a threat to the Empire for a long time. They needed to rebuild their civilization instead. Now, if only the Empire could eliminate the threat from the Morag, Druins, and Zynth.

-

Admiral Cleemorl just exited hyperspace near Ranier Two. He would meet with Governor Tyler and General Landryal in their Command Center. Rear Admiral Carrie would also attend the meeting, since her small fleet would be patrolling the area.

In the last battle with the Confederation, Ranier Two had surrendered as well. Doing this had saved countless lives. It had also saved one of their space stations and their shipyard. They had to disarm them but had already been successful in rearming them.

Making the trip to the surface, Cleemorl admired the beautiful planet. He was headed to the Command Center, hidden beneath a mountain. The mountains and valleys that surrounded it were breathtaking.

As his shuttle closed in on his destination, he even got a glimpse of some wildlife. Cleemorl smiled. This was a beautiful planet. He hoped it would remain that way. Yet he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Cleemorl knew not all the Empire planets would survive this battle. The Confederation had come for revenge. He hoped the Empire could stop them before they could destroy any planets but knew they would not likely succeed in that goal.

When Cleemorl walked into the Command Center, everyone was there, waiting on him. He assumed this meeting would go like the one he had on Astor. He also had in mind to supply Ranier Two with the same things he had given Astor.

“We expect an attack from the Confederation within the next one and a half to three days. The crews of the transport vessels have already begun to unload the defense elements we are adding to your defensive grid. Rear Admiral Carrie will be patrolling this system to help add to your defenses. We will send her more ships from the core planets to supplement what she has,” said Cleemorl.

Governor Tyler replied, “As soon as the enemy is spotted in the Empire, we will begin our evacuation to our underground bunkers. We have been hard at work building more bunkers since the last attack. We now have enough space for three million people. More of our population have also added their own shelters to their homes and can wait out the attack there.”

“Surrendering might not be an option this time. We expect the enemy to be out for revenge. We believe they have in mind to destroy a planet or two. Ensure your bunkers are well-enough supplied for this scenario,” responded Cleemorl.

Governor Tyler swallowed the lump in his throat and then said, “Yes, Admiral. We will be as prepared as we can be.”

“What defense elements are you adding to our planet?” asked General Landryal.

“I am leaving 1 ODP, 200 energy beam satellites, 30 missile platforms, and 500 attack interceptors,” replied Cleemorl.

“Thank you, Admiral. That will help tremendously. Hopefully we can take out enough of their ships that they will not destroy our beloved planet,” said Governor Tyler.

As Cleemorl stood to leave, he said, “May we meet again.” Then he saluted General Landryal and Rear Admiral Carrie. He turned to Carrie and said, “I will get you more ships, but I am not sure they can get here in time.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” she replied.

Once he returned to the Themis, he made the necessary adjustments and then requested more warships for Carrie. Hopefully some were close enough to help. Now he would move on to Xnea Two, a six-hour hyperspace jump from Ranier Two. He was quickly running out of time.

-

Fleet Admirals Marloo and Masters were hard at work, adjusting fleet deployments. They knew they didn’t have much time. Since they knew the enemy only had 1,500 ships in their fleet, they could better adjust the fleets to match up against that enemy fleet, especially when they added the defensive grids to that. They needed to preserve the shipyards as well.

They both realized that the shipyards could be what the enemy was after this time. Marloo sent messages to all planets with shipyards to be on high alert. He also had them adjust the defensive grids to put some around the shipyards. The Empire could not afford to lose many of those.

Marloo was glad that the Solar System had been building so many warships and sending them this way. He hoped that they could continue to send those on to the Confederation to fight the enemy there and not have to use them here in the Empire.

They were doing all they could to prepare the Empire for the incoming enemy fleets’ attack. Hopefully it would be enough.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur and his fleet awaited the Druin and the Morag fleets to arrive. The five hundred Zynth warships that had left to head in this direction were headed back home. Since Donlur’s fleet did not attack the Human fleet, once they exited hyperspace in the Empire, he had enough left to fulfill their agreement with their allies. Five hundred ships from each race. The rest were needed at home to defend their star systems.

He expected the Druin warships to arrive within the next four hours, and the Morag twenty-four hours after that. Then they would coordinate their targets, and their reconnaissance mission would begin. Shortly after that, they would attack their first target.

-

Admiral Cleemorl had two more stops to make before he headed home to the Hagen Star Cluster. Currently he was exiting hyperspace near Xnea Two, which had one shipyard and two space stations. All three were armed with the particle beam cannons. Also a small task group of ships patrolled the system. It consisted of twenty-seven battlecruisers and nine dreadnoughts. Cleemorl knew that he would need to find more ships to supplement this system. Xnea Two had a moderate defensive grid. Once he added what he intended, it would be a strong defensive grid.

Cleemorl traveled to the surface of the planet to meet with Governor Eloise Kendall and General Lyndon Micah. Cleemorl expected the meeting to go well, like his last two.

As Cleemorl walked into the Command Center located in a bunker just outside of the capital city, he was relieved to see what seemed like a very large bunker. Once he greeted the governor and general, he asked, “How many of your citizens can you house in your bunkers?”

“We have been expanding our bunkers as quickly as possible. Our ideal would be to have enough space for everyone. Currently we have enough bunkers to house 60 percent of our population,” replied Governor Kendall.

“Ensure you have enough supplies in the bunkers to last for two years. We do not expect the Confederation to accept a surrender. They are here to destroy a planet, at least that is what we assume at this time. Hopefully we can stop them before they have the opportunity to destroy more than one. We are currently redistributing fleets to provide more coverage for the planets we have deemed more at risk. Unfortunately Xnea Two is one of these planets. I hope that your proximity to the Hagen Star Cluster will keep you safer,” commented Cleemorl.

“We will begin evacuations as soon as the warning is given. It will take us a little over three hours to fully fill our bunkers,” said Kendall.

“Be prepared and on high alert. I will be leaving you with a stronger defensive grid and more attack interceptors. I will get you what ships I can.”

“Thank you, Admiral Cleemorl,” General Micah said, as they all stood to walk Admiral Cleemorl back to his transport vessel.

“I hope to see the two of you again soon. Good luck.”

-

Druin Admiral Falorr neared the rendezvous location. As they dropped from hyperspace, alarms sounded on the console. He was not the least bit concerned. Falorr knew it sensed only the Zynth ships. When the red icons turned to green, it only confirmed what he already knew.

Falorr was glad to have twenty-four hours to discuss with Zynth Admiral Donlur what their strategy would be, before the Morag joined them. He still did not fully trust the Morag. He was, however, aware that he needed them to defeat the Humans. No way they could do it alone.

Once all five hundred of his ships exited hyperspace, he contacted Admiral Donlur to board his flagship, Avenging Light, and to discuss their strategy. The Humans were gaining strength every day. Falorr was afraid that soon they would not be as easy to defeat as they once were. What could they do to slow down their progress?

After Admiral Donlur came on board, they discussed in length their options and desires for how they wanted this attack to go. With the two of them in agreement, it would be harder for the Morag to go their own way. In this battle, the three Confederation races were all evenly represented and needed each other. Once Admiral Voxx arrived, they both knew he would try to take the lead and make all of the decisions. That was not how they intended it to go.

-

Admiral Cleemorl had finally arrived at his last planet he needed to help fortify, Leonora Five. They now had less than twenty-four hours before the enemy could begin their attack. In the last battle with the Confederation, Governor Barrington had not wanted help in strengthening his defenses. This time around, he was begging for it.

When Cleemorl arrived at the underground Command Center, underneath the capitol building, Governor Barrington and Colonel Pierson waited for him. They discussed some strategies and what defense elements they would like to receive. This time around, Barrington said he would welcome a fleet of Imperial or Resistance warships. Last time he had refused to allow any warships to be stationed in the system at all. Barrington thought they would be left alone, as long as they were not a threat to the Confederation. He had since realized his mistake.

They had already rearmed the space stations and shipyard. As per Fleet Admiral Marloo’s request, they had fortified more defenses around the shipyard. If Leonora Five were to fall this time, they would not go quietly. Barrington had already heard the rumor from the other governors that surrender would likely not be an option.

Cleemorl agreed to give them 1 ODP, 200 energy beam satellites, 25 missile platforms, and 750 attack interceptors. Installation was already underway. He also said that he would see what fleets were near enough to spare some ships to station nearby, if not in the system itself.

Once everything was discussed, Cleemorl headed back to his flagship. His job, for now, was finished. He would return to the Hagen Star Cluster, where he would rendezvous with his fleet. Cleemorl also was looking forward to spending some quality time with his wife, Cheryl. He was confident that the enemy fleet would steer clear of the Hagen Star Cluster. The Confederation fleet of 1,500 ships were not near enough ships to attack such a heavily defended system.

Cleemorl was more than a little relieved with that thought.

Chapter Eleven

Admiral Collison was moments away from exiting hyperspace at their first target. According to the scout ship, he would find two shipyards and a patrolling fleet of one hundred warships. The Zynth had divided its fleet rather evenly among its star systems.

Collison had no intention of destroying any planets, only shipyards and warships—the things that would make it harder for the Zynth to continue its war with the Empire. The Zynth were the only ones not attacked yet by the Empire.

Collison had in mind to hit three different star systems, destroying all its warships and shipyards along the way. Then he would move his fleet on to a Druin target.

As his fleet exited hyperspace, alarms sounded. “What do we have?”

“Scans confirm what we expected, Admiral. Two shipyards, heavily armed, with energy shields up. Also one space station is heavily armed and shields up. It appears that they have begun to install a defensive grid around the planet. Also twenty-three battleships and seventy-seven battlecruisers in orbit around the planet.”

“Seems the Zynth are wise enough to install defensive grids around their planets. I guess it is fitting that we have no intention of destroying it,” Collison said, with a chuckle.

“Nine minutes to engagement range, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

“We must steer clear of the defensive grid. I am certain the fleet will take refuge near it, however. We will determine if we will destroy the entire fleet after we have successfully rid them of their shipyards. Inform our fleet that, if weapons capability falls below 30 percent for any ship, to return to the rendezvous location with the mobile shipyards,” commanded Collison.

“Seven minutes to engagement, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

“Have the attack interceptors launch and form their squadrons. They are to head to the shipyards to finish destroying them, once we have rendered both defenseless. A portion will also work on finishing off any enemy warships that have been hit but not destroyed,” said Collison. He knew that the battlecarriers would likely be a priority target for the Zynth. For this reason, he had already put them in the center of his wedge formation.

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

-

Captain Jake Anderson, on board the battlecarrier Orion, had launched his attack interceptors, already forming into their squadrons. His attack interceptors were responsible for finishing off any enemy warships damaged by the fleet.

Anderson was aware that his battlecarrier would be a primary target of the enemy firepower. That was not a good feeling. He steadied himself. He had a job to do, and he would do it to the best of his abilities. His ship had a powerful energy shield and multiple weapons.

They closed in on the enemy fleet, which now surrounded the nearest shipyard. As soon as the weapons fire erupted across the space between the two fleets, Anderson’s interceptors began their dangerous mission into the thick of the fight to finish off any damaged ships.

The Zynth were heavily outnumbered, and Anderson knew it wouldn’t take long to annihilate this fleet, but he also knew many of his interceptors would not survive this attack. Not with so much weapons fire happening all around them. He tried to keep track of his interceptors on the displays in front of him, but just so much was happening that it was hard to track it all.

-

Captain Drake had been assigned to attack the nearest shipyard, as Admiral Collison focused on the Zynth fleet. When they reached engagement range, his task group released all their accelerator cannon fire toward the shipyard. Simultaneously the shipyard opened fire on his fleet.

The accelerator cannon fire reached the shipyard first, blasting through the energy shield with ease. Soon afterward, the second round hit, pummeling massive holes into the shipyard. After the next round successfully found its target, his fleet ceased fire, as the attack interceptors moved in to annihilate all the bigger pieces of what was left of the shipyard.

When the shipyard’s fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles hit his task group, many of the energy screens lit up and glowed brighter and brighter. A few failed, as the antimatter missiles arrived and blew the ships apart. Thankfully the shipyard had only launched a few rounds of weapons fire before it was rendered defenseless.

Drake quickly evaluated his losses as he waited for Admiral Collison to give the command to jump out of the system and on to their next target. They had only lost six battlecruisers and one dreadnought. He remained silent for a few moments, as he remembered those who had sacrificed their lives for the freedom that they were fighting for.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes was tasked with destroying the second shipyard. She had a small task group to eliminate the danger the shipyard posed; then the attack interceptors would move in to finish the job. The shipyard opened fire right before they were within range. It fired its weapons continuously, no doubt realizing that it was futile. They may destroy a few ships but no matter; the Zynth would lose the shipyard.

As soon as the Empire ships were within range, the fleet launched their accelerator cannons at their target. The enemy fire reached them shortly afterward, and several ships vanished from the tactical display. Barnes took in a sharp breath. Then her gaze intensified as the accelerator cannon fire reached the shipyard, penetrating the shields and rendering the shipyard vulnerable to the second round, which reached its target thirty seconds later.

Giant explosions filled the space around the shipyard, as accelerator cannon projectiles hit their target, one after another. Barnes nodded in satisfaction that they had done their part of the mission. She called a cease fire and ordered the attack interceptors to finish off any large pieces that remained of their target.

While that unfolded before her, she checked in with Captain Drake to ensure he had eliminated his target. Once confirmed, she checked in with Collison. He seemed to have things under control, so she quickly evaluated their losses. She had lost eight battlecruisers and two dreadnoughts.

-

Captain Elliott, on board the battlecarrier Deneb, had his squadrons launched and ready to help finish off the second shipyard. It had not taken long for Barnes and her task group to clear the way for the attack interceptors to fly in and finish off the shipyard. Those accelerator cannons were amazing. Elliott was thankful the Humans had that technology and not the enemy.

He watched as his interceptors launched their fusion-tipped missiles at the larger pieces of the shipyard. Most of the pieces had already begun to fall toward the atmosphere of the planet. What was left of the shipyard would now be disintegrated before it could impact the surface of the planet.

The interceptors now headed back to the carrier to reload and to prepare for the next battle. Thankfully he had not lost any of the small attack craft. He knew that would change as they encountered greater resistance from the patrolling fleets.

-

Lieutenant Garland, from the battlecarrier Freedom, had formed her squadron up and was now awaiting the signal to head into the thick of the battle and finish off any enemy ships damaged but not destroyed. As soon as Admiral Collison had launched the first few rounds of accelerator cannon fire, they would begin their attack runs.

Garland had lost half of her squadron in the last mission to the Confederation. Now she had a full squadron again, and she would do all she could to help them all make it back to the carrier alive.

Her squadron had formed up around her, with her interceptor in the lead. Once they received the go-ahead, she headed in, the rest of her squadron falling in behind her. It would take a lot of skill to maneuver their small ships through all the weapons fire.

All around them, explosions lit up space. The weapons fire between the fleets was intense. As they made their way to the enemy ships, they did their best to weave in and out and around the obstacles and to annihilate their target.

Garland saw small explosions occurring around her out of the corner of her eye. She knew deep down what those were but had to keep her complete focus on what was in front of her. When she had released her final missile, she turned and headed back to the safety of the battlecarrier.

It was not an easy trip back to safety, but she could tell the weapons fire had lessened. That was a good sign. It meant they had almost annihilated the enemy fleet. Once Garland had returned to Freedom, she did a quick check to see how many ships had been lost in her squadron. Out of twenty attack interceptors, sixteen had returned. Not as bad as she had feared. Still, not what she had hoped.

-

Captain Greeley watched in awe, as the battle unfolded before him. He had witnessed a battle like this before. When the Confederation had attacked the Solar System, he had been in one of the space stations orbiting Earth. At the time, he had been on an attack interceptor crew. He narrowly escaped that fight with his life. After that, he transferred to a dreadnought and had worked himself up to the captain of a ship. Now, here he was in the Confederation, helping to defeat that very enemy.

Greeley had been assigned to Admiral Collison’s task force in charge of annihilating the Zynth fleet defending its shipyards and planet. With the superior weapons that the Humans had, the battle did not last long. It also was helpful that they had more ships than the Zynth. In the heat of the battle, his dreadnought had been hit multiple times with the fusion energy beams, but the energy shields had held together.

Now they could relax for a few hours, while they headed to the next target. This next time they would be expected. When Collison gave the order, they all jumped into hyperspace.

-

Collison evaluated what ships they had lost in their first attack. They had been successful in destroying both shipyards, as well as all one hundred Zynth warships stationed there. The fleet had lost forty-five battlecruisers and six dreadnoughts. The battlecarriers had remained intact, although a couple of them had received direct hits from the enemy fire. Their powerful shields had held, and they would carry on to fight in the next system.

The next system presented a little more of a challenge. It did hold three shipyards, but it also held a larger Zynth fleet patrolling it. The scout ships monitoring the system had reported eighty-seven battlecruisers and thirty-nine battleships. All three shipyards were armed and had energy shields protecting them. This next time the Zynth would likely realize that the Humans were not there to destroy the planet but only there for the shipyards and the Zynth warships in the way. How that might change their tactics, Collison was not sure, but they would find the answer to that in six more hours.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had received word from one of their star systems that a Human fleet had exited hyperspace. He had feared that the Humans would continue their attack in the Confederation, even though there was an imminent threat to the Empire. Donlur had also been afraid that the Zynth would be targeted since they had come to the aid of the Lamothians and had attacked the Human fleet. He was second-guessing his decision now of not attacking them when he could have on the periphery of the Empire. Donlur shook his head. He hadn’t had enough ships. He knew that but was still bitter about it.

As he waited for word from the commander in the system being attacked, he tried to figure out what they could do to stop this Human fleet from destroying any more Zynth targets. With his fleet of 427 and the other 500 that were currently out of their area of the Confederation, they had left themselves severely under-protected. Of the 500 ships that had left their star systems to meet up with the Druins and the Morag, 73 had rendezvoused with him to round out his fleet to 500. The rest of the fleet had turned around and headed home to be redeployed across their star systems.

Once he received word from the commander that the Humans had only targeted the shipyards and not the planet, relief swept over him. Donlur had been tremendously worried that they would destroy an inhabited planet and then move their way to the next planet and the next, like they had done with the Lamothians.

Now what? How could he stop the Humans? As he walked around the holographic display, a plan formed in his mind. The Zynth would have to move quickly to get more ships to the next target before the Humans could get there—at least before they had time to finish off the next group of shipyards in the next system. Which system would that be though?

Donlur could consolidate the fleets out of the systems that only contained one shipyard and move them to the ones with multiple ones. That would at least increase the number of warships the Humans had to deal with before moving on to the next target. He immediately put his plan into motion. Only time would tell if his plan would work. By that time, the Morag would be at the rendezvous point and ready to start the mission to attack the Empire.

-

Captain Iris, on board scout ship 213, was surprised when the Zynth fleet patrolling the white dwarf system suddenly vanished. She had to follow them. Who knew where the Zynth were going? It was up to her to figure that out.

Iris was aware that Admiral Collison’s attack on the Zynth shipyards had commenced. Maybe these ships were headed to fortify a different system. Maybe one with more shipyards, now that they knew their planets were not the targets? She needed to notify Collison immediately.

Perhaps he should attack the system they just left unprotected, even though it only held one shipyard. If they had left all the single shipyards similarly vulnerable, maybe that would open up easier targets for Collison and his fleet, targets where he would lose fewer ships. Losing fewer ships would allow them to hit more targets. Iris would notify Collison of her suspicions.

-

After Collison had received the message from Captain Iris, along with many others in similar circumstances, he deduced the same suspicions that Iris had. The Zynth were putting together a fleet big enough to stop the Humans from continuing on in their mission. How would he react? How could he outwit them?

The enemy fleets were being followed by stealthed scout ships and seemed to be headed toward star systems that contained multiple shipyards, leaving those with none or one more vulnerable. Since the Empire had no intention of destroying a planet, that only left the ones with only one shipyard as possible targets. He needed to decide what to do and rather quickly.

Collison smiled slyly as he made his decision. He would split the fleet into three and hit three different systems, each with one shipyard, at the same time. Doing this allowed him to still annihilate three shipyards, but now without facing any enemy ships. This would keep his losses to a minimum for the next target. Collison assumed the Zynth would once again change their strategy after these next series of Human attacks.

After sending targets to Rear Admiral Barnes and Captain Drake, Collison took his task force toward their new target. The time in hyperspace would only be slightly longer than it would have been had they continued on with their original plan. By the time the Zynth realized their folly, it would be too late.

Collison smiled to himself. He was again reminded of how vital the stealth scout ships were, proving once more how invaluable they were. These missions to the Confederation would not have had as much success without them.

-

Professor Charles Wright closed in on his next stop on his journey toward Bator Prime. They had recently parted ways with the main Human fleet in a Zynth system not too far from the Lormallian area of the Confederation—at least according to the map he had available to view. They would continue on to Proxy Seven, where they would leave the supply train and task force assigned to protect them. From there, a small group of ships would take him on to Bator Prime and the archives that were housed there.

Charles was greatly concerned for the safety of his daughter, Kala, back on Golan Four. The missing Confederation fleets were bound to begin their attack on the Empire soon. Kala had assured him that Golan Four was too heavily protected to be a logical target for the relatively small fleet. He did not consider 1,500 ships that small, but, in comparison to the fleet size of the last ones to attack the Empire, and according to Kala, it was small. Too small to attack the planet where Kala currently lived, Golan Four.

Charles wished he had a way to protect her. Now that she was a member of the Royal Family, she would always be a target. Hopefully Charles could find out some information in the archives that would change the future of the Empire. Maybe make things safer or bring peace to the Confederation and the Empire. Who knew what mysteries he would find or ones he would solve?

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had received the message from Zynth Admiral Donlur that the Human fleet was now attacking targets in the Zynth area of the Confederation. While it was unfortunate that the Zynth were now losing shipyards, Voxx was satisfied that the Humans were busy elsewhere and not currently targeting Morag shipyards.

Voxx would be reaching the awaiting Zynth and Druin fleets within the next two hours. Once there, he would meet with the other admirals, and then proceed to their various scouting runs. After that, they’d rendezvous and then begin their attack. Voxx smiled a sinister smile. The Humans would pay for the destruction they had brought to the Confederation. They would learn what happens when they venture out of their own area of space and intrude upon places where they are not welcome. Death and destruction would soon consume the safety the Empire had felt for the past few weeks.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo was relieved that the attacks in the Confederation had renewed. He had received word from Collison that the Zynth now had two fewer shipyards and one hundred less warships. Marloo hoped they would continue their success and eliminate more shipyards from all the Empire’s enemies.

Each one that Empire destroyed would slightly slow down the Confederation. Each one would make a difference. Marloo hoped that they could stop the attacks that would soon come from the missing Confederation fleets. Time was running out. The attacks could start within the next twelve to twenty-four hours, by their best estimates.

While Marloo was aware that his life was most likely safe this time around, he knew that the lives of millions and possibly billions of Humans were on the line. He and Derrick had worked tirelessly to protect the Empire and their most vulnerable targets. Now all Marloo could do was watch and wait. Wait for the Confederation fleets to show up and to reveal their targets. Hopefully fleets would be near enough to react and to thwart the Confederation’s attacks.

For now, what Marloo needed to do was rest. Very soon he would not have time to rest. Not once the attack on the Empire began. Countless lives depended on him and his decision-making. Even though he likely wouldn’t sleep, he needed to at least try. Marloo had already sent Derrick home to rest. Now Marloo would leave his post to rest as well.

-

Derrick held Layla while she slept. He had been surprised that she could sleep at all. Layla had been just as worried as he was about what tomorrow would bring. At least he knew she would remain safe. As for the rest of the Empire, he was not as confident. Derrick tried to get some rest but found that sleep would not come easily. His mind was too busy going over defenses and fleet deployments and second-guessing their choices and worrying over countless what-if situations. What could they do differently? How could they protect more people?

At last, sleep finally found him, although it was not a peaceful sleep.

Chapter Twelve

Morag Admiral Voxx exited hyperspace in the periphery of the Confederation. The Zynth and Druin fleets would be waiting on him. He was ready to get started. He knew the Humans would scramble to defend all the planets the Confederation would scout. It wasn’t likely that the Humans could protect them all. Yes, it would soon be time to kill some Humans.

Soon after arriving at the rendezvous location, both the Zynth and Druin Admirals arrived on Voxx’s flagship. It was obvious by their discussion that the two of them had already met to decide what planets they should scout. Voxx didn’t care one way or the other. This time Voxx decided to let them take the lead. If this did not go well, they would turn to him and his leadership from now on. They had picked most of the planets he had laid out, with a couple exceptions.

They had decided to scout a few of the planets they had hit the last time they attacked the Empire. Most likely, these planets had not had enough time or resources to rebuild their defenses. Thus, making them easier to destroy with less of a cost in ships to their Confederation fleets. Which, of course, meant they could destroy more targets.

Each separate fleet would scout four locations. Some of these were to throw the Humans off course. They had no intention of targeting the core worlds of the Empire, but, if the Humans thought those were at risk, they would adjust their fleets to more heavily defend those places. This would leave their actual targets less protected. It was a brilliant plan. The other admirals were in agreement with it, as long as they picked the planets.

After a few minutes of discussions, each admiral had their list of four planets to scout. Each scout group would take sixty battlecruisers and fifteen battleships. Once they had scouted their planets, they would meet back here at the rendezvous location to determine their targets and in which order to hit them. This would be a satisfying next few days.

-

Marloo and Masters were both in the underground Command Center, anxiously waiting the appearance of the Confederation fleets. They could show up at any time now. They both scanned the holographic display and checked in with the scout ships periodically to confirm that they had not been located.

There wasn’t much they could do besides sit and wait. Once the enemy fleet showed up, they would be scrambling to defend whatever target the Confederation had planned to hit.

All this waiting around only caused more anxiety. Marloo and Masters needed something to focus on, to expend their pent-up energy on. Thus, they turned their attentions to the Confederation and looking for vulnerable targets for Admiral Collison to annihilate.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr had his planets lined up to scout. He would take his sixty battlecruisers and fourteen other battleships with him. Falorr would begin at Xnea Two and then work his way in toward the core planets. He would scan Helgoth, Vidon Seven, and Jalot Four, before returning to the rendezvous point.

Falorr knew that the planets they intended to scan would incite fear in the Humans. It was likely that, by the time he finished scanning the planets, he would have one of the Human stealth ships following their every move. Falorr looked forward to terrorizing the Human Empire. The Humans had clearly forgotten their place and needed to be reminded of it.

Once Falorr had his plan mapped out, his scout group set out toward Xnea Two. It would take his task group six hours to get there. It felt so good to be on the offensive again.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur was already headed to his first potential target. In approximately five hours, they would exit hyperspace in the system where the Human inhabited planet of Astor was located. After some quick scans there, he would move on to Doral, Macron Three, and lastly, Aquilla Three. Donlur was curious to see how well-fortified these planets were. He was concerned they would be much harder to destroy than Admiral Voxx suspected. In fact, the Human Empire was becoming more powerful each and every day. Something must be done to curb their expansion and quickly, before it is too late.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was the last to leave the rendezvous area on his mission to scout the potential targets. Voxx was more than ready to get started. He was currently headed to Ranier Two. Then he would move on to Leonora Five, Bratol Three, and Malor Two.

The Humans would be surprised at some of the locations the Confederation fleets were scanning. Voxx hoped it would be enough to get the Human leaders to move their fleets away from the Confederation’s intended targets. Hopefully they wouldn’t see through his plan. Voxx was confident they wouldn’t; he was talking about Humans after all.

-

High Princess Layla was in her office, trying her best to get some work done. It was nearly impossible for her to concentrate. Her people were in danger. How could she protect them all? Layla knew Derrick and Fleet Admiral Marloo were doing their best to fortify the most vulnerable worlds and to distribute the fleet accordingly. They were more than capable of doing their jobs well.

Layla was also concerned about Krista and Mathew, still visiting planets across the Empire. She told herself over and over that it was highly unlikely that the Confederation fleets would show up in the exact same system Krista was visiting, but Layla couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had about it. Derrick had done his best this morning to dissuade her concern. Derrick had made a valiant effort, and she had played along, if only so he would worry less about her.

At least Layla did not have to worry about Derrick being in the battle this time. Everyone assured her that the Confederation would need a much bigger fleet than the 1,500 they had brought to challenge Golan Four. She agreed with that. However, Layla also realized that, if the Confederation attacked a target even remotely close to Golan Four, that Derrick would take a portion of the Fifth Fleet to help out. It was his job, after all. Layla had married a military leader and a good one at that.

Layla decided she would take a trip to the underground Command Center beneath the House of Worlds to see what was going on. She obviously wouldn’t get any work done here today. Not until this threat to the Empire was eliminated would she relax and be efficient in her work.

Layla tried to walk slowly there, knowing that, once she got there, she would only be sitting around, waiting for the enemy to show up. As Layla headed toward her destination, she thought about how far they had come in the short time they had been back at her homeworld. They had successfully rebuilt the Imperial Palace and the House of Worlds. They had heavily fortified many planets and star systems across the ever-growing Empire. The fleets had been built up to levels that they had never attained before. All in all, they were doing rather well, if only they could eliminate the threat of the Confederation.

A short time ago, they had to worry about all seven races of the Confederation. When the Lormallians, Zang, and Morphene declared themselves neutral and out of the war, that had decreased their enemies to four. After the Humans had annihilated all the Lamothian planets, that had eliminated another enemy, at least for the time being. So now they were down to three. The weakest of the remaining three was the Zynth. If only they could find another way to fracture the alliance of their remaining enemies. How could that be done?

-

Derrick was glad Layla had decided to join them. She would be closer at hand if decisions needed to be made. Derrick gave her a reassuring smile.

“We have enemy contacts emerging from hyperspace near Astor!” General Gantts announced loudly.

“Who is it? How many ships do they have?” asked Marloo.

“It appears to be a Zynth fleet of seventy-five warships, Admiral,” responded Gantts.

“Where is the rest of their fleet? And where are the Druins and Morag ships?” asked Derrick.

“We have more contacts, Admiral! This time it’s a Druin fleet of the same size at Xnea Two,” said Gantts.

“They must be scouting targets. Making detailed scans of the system, and then they will decide where to attack,” said Marloo.

“Now a Morag fleet is exiting hyperspace at Ranier Two,” said Gantts.

“They must have left the main Confederation fleet somewhere else, and they will rendezvous together and then attack the planet they deem most vulnerable. I am sure they would rather not lose many ships if they could avoid it,” mentioned Derrick.

“Do we have any fleets large enough in any of those systems to jump out and engage the enemy?” asked Gantts.

“We would need the help of the defensive grids and armed shipyards and space stations to take on their combined fleet. If we could destroy these smaller envoys, it would give us a head start,” said Derrick.

“We have Rear Admiral Liam Anderson stationed at Astor. He has a mix of Imperial and Resistance warships at his disposal. Currently Anderson has twenty dreadnoughts, sixty-eight Imperial battlecruisers, nine Resistance battlecruisers, and twenty-three Resistance support vessels. Also more Resistance fleet ships are headed that way and should arrive in the next hour,” said Marloo.

“Tell Anderson to jump to the location of that Zynth fleet and engage the enemy. Even if they immediately jump out, maybe Anderson will get lucky and destroy a few ships. Plus it will stop their scans. They might not get the complete data on the planet’s defenses,” said Derrick.

“We have a small task group of twenty-seven battlecruisers and nine dreadnoughts patrolling Xnea Two,” said Marloo. “That’s not enough to risk engaging the enemy right now.”

“Rear Admiral Carrie is stationed near Ranier Two. She has eight dreadnoughts and thirty-two battlecruisers. Her reinforcements are two hours away,” said Gantts.

“Inform Carrie not to engage the enemy at this time. The good news is that, if they do return to attack these places, they will find more ships there to help protect the planets,” said Marloo.

“Anderson is jumping out to engage the Zynth fleet,” said Gantts.

Everyone focused on the viewscreens in front of them, all feeling the tension in the room. They practically held their breaths, waiting to see what would happen next.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had his ships scanning the system around Astor as soon as they exited hyperspace. Donlur was concerned that, one of these times, he would run into a large Empire fleet and be outnumbered faster than they could get out of the system.

Donlur’s scans showed 120 Human warships in the system; however, they were a mix of Imperial and Resistance ships. The planet itself looked to be heavily fortified. As the ships continued to run their detailed scans of the planet, the enemy fleet jumped out where they had been orbiting near Astor. Donlur knew precisely where they were headed. “Do we have all the scans we need?” he asked, with urgency.

“Not quite, Admiral. Four more minutes, and our scans will be completed.”

The Human fleet appeared near Donlur’s fleet and immediately opened fire. “Return fire! Inform me as soon as that scan is completed,” commanded Donlur.

Donlur watched as a neighboring ship had its energy screen overloaded. It blew up into a bright explosion. Once the light faded away, nothing was left of the ship. His gaze shifted to the tactical display. He was losing ships! As he watched the display, two more green icons swelled and then disappeared from the tactical display.

-

Rear Admiral Liam Anderson had received his orders to engage the Zynth fleet that had entered the system where Astor was located. He had immediately taken the fleet to Condition One, when ships began exiting hyperspace. He was relieved when he realized it was not the entire fleet of 1,500 but only 75 Zynth warships.

Once Anderson gave the command to jump to the enemies’ location, he gripped the arms of his command chair. Anderson needed to destroy as many enemy ships as he could. He might only have the opportunity to get off a couple rounds before the enemy jumped out of the system.

Anderson felt his flagship shudder beneath him as the accelerator cannons launched their projectiles at the Zynth fleet. It quickly smashed through the energy screens of multiple ships, then blowing the ships into tiny pieces of glowing debris after the second round hit their targets.

The enemy had opened fire on his fleet quickly after they had launched their first round of weapons. Anderson witnessed two battlecruisers’ shields glowing brighter and brighter, as the fusion energy beams looked for weakness in the shields. Eventually the weakness was found, and then an antimatter missile arrived to obliterate the ships.

Soon afterward, the Zynth fleet, or what was left of it, jumped from the system. A cheer erupted in the Command Center of the Lodestone, bringing a smile to Anderson’s face. He knew though that this battle was far from over.

Anderson had his fleet jump back to their previous location and quickly assessed the damage done by the enemy fleet. He had two battlecruisers that needed a few repairs. Thankfully they now had a little time to do those repairs. Anderson had lost four battlecruisers in that quick little skirmish. He knew that he had destroyed more enemy ships than they had destroyed of his.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur evaluated his losses. He had quickly lost seven battlecruisers and one battleship in the four minutes it took to finish his scans. Hopefully this wouldn’t happen in every system they scanned. If so, then Donlur might not have many ships left when he returned to the larger fleet at the rendezvous location. For now, Donlur would head on to his next system to scan, Doral.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr quickly initiated the scans of the system where Xnea Two was located. It looked like it had a strong defensive grid and even a small contingent of warships. Currently twenty-seven battlecruisers and nine dreadnoughts. Too small to defend this planet against the entire Confederation fleet that would possibly attack in the next few days.

Once his scans were complete, Falorr moved on to his next target, Helgoth.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie reviewed the ships that Marloo was sending her way, arriving in the next two hours. She would have an additional forty-seven battlecruisers and sixteen dreadnoughts to help protect the planet.

Sensor alarms rang out, as Carrie finished reviewing her notes.

“We have Morag ships exiting hyperspace!” said Major Sullivan.

Carrie felt her heart sink and then a lump rise in her throat. Her help was a little less than two hours away. She wasn’t sure they’d get here in time to be of any use. “How many ships?” she asked.

“Sixty battlecruisers and fifteen battleships.”

“Inform Marloo. This must be a scouting group, only here to scan the system and to analyze our defenses. This is a sign that they are planning on attacking the planet. We will need more ships. See what Marloo has near here that can help supplement our fleet. Maybe they have time to arrive before the real battle begins,” ordered Carrie.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx had begun scans at Ranier Two. He was surprised at how quickly they had rearmed the shipyard and space station. Not to mention rebuilding the defensive grid. Also a small group of Human warships were in the system—not enough to warrant much concern, however.

After finishing their detailed scans, Voxx moved on to his next potential target, Leonora Five.

-

Marloo and Masters wondered how many systems the Confederation fleets would scan. “Should we assume these are their targets and adjust fleets to further protect them?” asked Masters.

“They have only checked three systems thus far. I am guessing they are not finished yet. We need to send more ships to the places they’ve scanned. We know now for certain they are potential targets. Plus, adjusting the fleets after they’ve scanned the system will give them a bit of a surprise next time they show up to destroy their target when they have more ships to eliminate first,” responded Marloo.

Layla crossed her arms over her chest and said, “How many ships would it take to destroy all 1,500 Confederation ships?”

“Ideally,” Marloo replied, “we would put 2,000 ships against them. However, with our superior weapons and the aid of the defensive grids and armed shipyards and space stations, it would probably turn out in our favor with closer to 1,000 ships. We would lose a lot of them though.”

“Will we have any systems with that many ships? Any of the ones they’ve already scanned?” Layla asked in return.

“Not yet, but we have more inbound to the areas that have already been scanned. We had them stationed in areas away from the potential targets in the off chance they did scan the systems before they attacked. That way, these systems seem more vulnerable and will help ensure that they stay away from the core worlds,” responded Masters.

“I hope your plan works,” Layla said, with a thoughtful look on her face.

-

Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley had just wrapped up discussions at their fifth planet on their tour. So far, they had been successful in persuading all of the planets to join the Empire. Defensive grid elements would arrive within the next week. Her stockpile that she had intended to give these new planets to the Empire had been needed elsewhere. All of the worlds seemed satisfied with her promise of defensive grids to be delivered later. With all the recent fighting occurring in the Confederation, these planets felt much safer being a part of the Empire. Krista knew, however, that could soon change. She hoped none of these planets would be targeted.

The next few worlds they would visit were already members of the Empire. Layla had wanted Krista and Mathew to make an appearance at these worlds that neither of them had visited yet, to help strengthen their alliance and membership in the Empire.

Krista grew used to traveling to these new planets and meeting with their leadership. She actually thought she was rather good at it. Plus she spent more time with Mathew. They would not set foot on Golan Four for another couple weeks.

Krista knew Layla was concerned with her safety, now that a Confederation attack was imminent. Krista knew there was always danger but hoped they wouldn’t face any. They did have a small task force assigned to their protection.

They would be visiting the Vortex Worlds next. Including Jalot Four, Vidon Seven, and Helgoth. All of these planets were already members of the Empire, with a couple even having representatives on the Imperial Council. These planets were a few of the ones that had the resources to build defensive grid elements, ODPs, and attack interceptors. Krista and Mathew would be touring a few of the facilities that produced these elements. Mathew was more than a little excited about it, and his enthusiasm spread to Krista as well.

Krista had hopes that, while they were in the Vortex Worlds, the Empire would send the promised defense elements to the new member planets, especially since that was where many of them were made.

She also hoped that the Confederation fleet posing to attack the Empire might begin while they were in the safety of the core worlds. She quickly put those thoughts to the back of her mind. Krista needed to figure out what she would wear to the reception Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four would be holding in their honor upon their arrival on the planet. She always enjoyed a good party.

-

“Any more reports of the Confederation scout groups?” asked Layla, shortly after she had returned from dinner to again visit the Command Center.

“Nothing yet,” Derrick replied. “Surely we will hear something soon. Many of the fleets sent to the first planets the Confederation scanned have already arrived to help protect them. Next time the Confederation shows up in those systems, they will realize that they have made a grave mistake.”

“What about Admiral Collison and Rear Admiral Barnes? Any news of their progress in the Confederation? They are still attacking Zynth shipyards, correct?” asked Layla.

“We have heard nothing yet but should be soon,” Marloo replied. “According to the last transmission we received from Collison, regarding the targets we had picked out, he should reach his next target any time now.”

“I hope things go well for them,” commented Layla.

Chapter Thirteen

Admiral Collison approached his next target—a white dwarf system with two Zynth-inhabited worlds. One of these worlds had a shipyard orbiting it. They both had space stations, and he had in mind to steer clear of their weapons fire. Per the last reports, it should have no warships protecting it. They had all left, presumably to form a large-enough fleet to challenge Collison’s. Unfortunately for the Zynth, Collison’s fleet was not headed where they were. Collison would take advantage of the warships’ absence and more easily destroy another target.

He had sent Rear Admiral Barnes and Captain Drake to similar targets in systems with only one shipyard, where reportedly no enemy warships were. They would all exit hyperspace at similar times. Shortly after that, the Zynth leadership would realize they had made a mistake in their fleet assignments.

Collison moved his portion of the fleet to Condition One, as they exited hyperspace. “Let’s scan the system quickly to determine if any surprises are in store for us today.”

“Admiral, scans show no enemy warships in the system,” the tactical officer said, with a smile.

“Let’s get in there and target the shipyard. This shouldn’t take long. Tell the battlecarriers to keep their attack interceptors for the next battle,” commanded Collison.

“Eight minutes to engagement range of the shipyard,” said the sensor officer.

Collison watched the shipyard on the main viewscreen in front of him. Many transport vessels could be seen leaving the shipyard and heading toward the planet. “Looks like they are evacuating all nonessential personnel from the shipyard. Guess they know what we are doing here,” Collison said, with a chuckle. He had to admit, he rather enjoyed being on the offensive. He hoped this continued throughout the foreseeable future.

Once they reached the engagement range, his task force opened fire on the shipyard. The shipyard quickly returned fire. Constant missiles and fusion energy beams were fired from the shipyard. No doubt they were told to empty their weapons cache.

Many ships in Collison’s task group struggled against the intense weapons fire from the shipyard. For a few, the intensity of the battle was too much. Their energy shields were overloaded, and, soon afterward, an antimatter missile detonated, blasting the ship into oblivion.

Large explosions detonated across the shipyard too, as the energy shield was pummeled with accelerator cannon fire. Soon bright flashes of light signaled the beginning of the end for the shipyard. Seconds later, only large pieces of debris were left, where once was a large shipyard.

Satisfied that his target had been destroyed, Collison gave the command to head to their next target. Once safely in hyperspace, he asked for a status report. “How many ships did we lose back there?”

“Five battlecruisers and one dreadnought,” replied Captain Billingsly.

Collison bent his head, said a prayer for the brave crew who gave the ultimate sacrifice today. “Let’s check in with Barnes and Drake to see how their task groups fared,” said Collison.

-

Captain Drake was almost to the engagement range of the shipyard he was sent to destroy. Drake couldn’t believe no warships were here to protect it. He appreciated Admiral Collison trusting him to take a task force of his own to destroy a target in a different system than the admiral. In the past, Drake had been given his own task group to destroy targets but had always remained in the same star system that the main fleet was in. Drake hoped that, someday soon, he would be promoted to rear admiral himself.

The shipyard began its defense, as Drake’s ships reached the optimal engagement range. The shipyard was very well fortified. Many of Drake’s ships found their energy screens faltering under the intensity of the weapons fire. Small holes could be seen in many ships’ energy shields, allowing antimatter missiles to slip through. These missiles then detonated against the hulls of the ships.

Inside many of these ships, the crew members were thrown to the ground, as red lights flashed through the corridors. Emergency bulkheads slammed shut, sectioning off those severely damaged areas. More power was shifted to the energy screens, saving a few from certain destruction. An unfortunate few, however, felt large explosions echoing through the ships, then a loud rumble as the ship blew apart.

Drake felt his ship shake, as his dreadnought was pummeled with enemy fire. It shuddered beneath him as the accelerator cannon fire headed toward its target. Shortly afterward, the shipyard’s energy screen ceased to be. The space around the shipyard was bright with explosions and littered with debris, some from the Human ships but most from the shipyard.

As the next round of accelerator cannon fire smashed into the shipyard, a chain of explosions started. The space around it was so bright, Captain Drake had to shield his eyes, as he watched the destruction unfold before him on the main viewscreen in his Command Center. When the light faded, the shipyard was completely destroyed. All that remained were pieces of molten wreckage that had already begun to fall to the planet.

Now that his mission was complete, Drake sent his heavily damaged ships back to the supply fleet for repairs, and the rest of his task group entered hyperspace to meet up with Admiral Collison at their next Zynth target.

Once in the safety of hyperspace, he looked at the reports of the losses they had sustained. He had lost eleven battlecruisers and two dreadnoughts. Four battlecruisers had been sent for repairs. He closed his eyes for a moment at the loss of life he had just witnessed.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes and her task group closed in on the lone shipyard in the Zynth system. No warships were found on their scans of the star system. Barnes knew she would probably never find another target less protected than this. Her ship losses would be minimum, although not nonexistent. Lives would be lost, and that was no small matter.

The shipyard opened fire shortly before her fleet launched their accelerator cannon fire. Barnes saw a few ships’ shields fail, and then she gasped as those ships then disappeared from her tactical display.

Once the accelerator cannon fire reached the shipyard, it demolished the energy screen, and then they made quick work of blowing apart the large shipyard. Her target now eliminated, Barnes quickly had her task group enter hyperspace to head to their next destination.

As they entered the safety of hyperspace, Barnes did a quick assessment of her task force. They had lost five battlecruisers and no dreadnoughts. And all those crews … In the military, especially when in a battle, they were trained to focus on their weaponry. So, by that count, the mission had gone well. If only they could all be so easy—but without the accompanying loss of life.

-

Marloo and Masters had received a message from Collison. Three more Zynth shipyards had met their end. The fleet had minimal ship losses, which could be replaced. The Human losses though? Irreplaceable.

Collison’s fleet was now headed to its next target. At least that was going well. The Zynth now had five fewer shipyards to build more warships or to repair the ones they already had. Collison was determined to avoid any large enemy fleet, therefore saving his fleet and crew from any significant losses. The longer Collison could keep a sizable fleet, the more damage they could do.

Reports still came in from the stealth scout ships stationed all over the Confederation. It appeared that most of the Zynth fleets in their systems were positioning around their shipyards. The Zynth all now knew what the Humans were targeting and would do their best to protect their shipyards from destruction.

“Collison will find these shipyards harder and harder to destroy, as the Zynth, Druin, and the Morag have more opportunity to set up more defenses and more ships to protect them,” commented Marloo.

“At least Collison knows which shipyards are more vulnerable because of the scout ships. Collison can pick and choose his targets based on that information,” responded Masters.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had received communications from his homeworld that the Humans had successfully destroyed three more shipyards. They had targeted three systems with only one shipyard in each. They obviously knew where his ships were positioned and which shipyards were least protected. How could Donlur beat the Humans at their own game? Donlur wasn’t sure how he could accomplish this but knew he must redistribute his fleets once again.

Donlur would move warships to protect all remaining shipyards but leave larger groups of ships in the systems that contained multiple shipyards. They would lose ships, but at least they could destroy more of the Humans’ ships. Eventually he hoped the Humans would move on to target the Druin and the Morag. By then, Donlur hoped his fleets could eliminate a portion of what Human ships were in the attacking fleet.

Donlur made the necessary changes in the fleet allocations and then switched his focus back to the task at hand. He prepared to exit hyperspace in the star system where Doral was located.

-

Resistance Fleet Leader Captain Gregory was on patrol in the star system where Doral was located. He glanced over at the viewscreen, which currently revealed the planet. Beautiful. Mostly made up of deserts. However, one large landmass contained forests and rolling hills. A few small cities were scattered throughout that green landscape. The main large cities all bordered the oceans. The planet was 43 percent water and had a population of about two billion people.

The viewscreen shifted to a view of the defensive grid. The grid grew stronger daily. Even now, 20 more missile platforms were put into place. That gave the planet a total of 260 missile platforms. The planet also had 2,000 energy beam satellites and 6 ODPs. On the surface of the planet, 4 PDCs had recently finished construction.

Each of the major cities was protected by an energy screen and sat in a ring of protective energy beam turrets. The smaller cities were in the process of constructing energy shields and energy beam turrets as well. Soon Gregory thought that this planet would be prepared for whatever attack came.

However, Gregory knew that an attack from the Confederation was imminent. Yet Fleet Admiral Marloo did not feel that Doral would be targeted, since it was too close to the core worlds. Marloo suspected the Confederation would attack planets on the periphery of the Empire.

Gregory’s Resistance fleet consisted of forty-seven battlecruisers and thirty-seven support ships. Other fleets were nearby in neighboring systems. If he needed assistance, he could get it.

As the viewscreen shifted to one of the two moons that surrounded the planet, alarms sounded. Gregory’s pulse quickened, as his gaze shifted to the tactical display. “What do we have, Lieutenant Johnson?”

“Zynth ships exiting hyperspace, Captain.”

“How many?”

“Scans show fifty-three battlecruisers and fourteen battleships. The fleet has stopped exiting hyperspace.”

“Inform Admiral Marloo immediately. This must be one of the Confederation scout groups here to scan the system. Find out if he wants us to engage and to prepare our ships to jump out to challenge the enemy,” said Gregory.

-

Marloo and Masters were alarmed that the Zynth were scanning Doral. They seemed to be headed in the direction of the core worlds.

“Captain Gregory requests permission to engage the enemy ships,” said General Gantts.

“He has the numbers. If he is confident in his victory, tell him to go ahead. If we can whittle down their fleets now, let’s do it. As long as we have the numbers,” said Marloo.

“What if our scout ships could find their fleet rendezvous location while the Confederation scout groups are away? Then we can take them out before they get to the Empire,” Derrick said thoughtfully.

“Assuming we did find them, that confrontation would take a larger fleet and would leave an area of the Empire vulnerable to attack. The closest fleet to the Confederation is First Fleet in the Hagen Star Cluster,” replied Marloo.

Derrick nodded. “I guess we could send a few scout ships to the periphery of the Confederation to see if they can find them. If they do, then we can decide what our options are at the time.”

“I will relay the information to Captain Gregory and on to the scout ships as well,” said General Gantts.

-

Once Gregory had the go-ahead, he ordered his fleet to jump out to engage the enemy. “Let the fleet know we will be jumping into a combat situation. As soon as we exit hyperspace, target an enemy ship and launch a full bombardment.” He gripped the arms of his command chair tightly, as his ship made the jump. Gregory had been waiting a long time to destroy the enemy. Now was his chance.

The Resistance fleet immediately opened fire upon exiting hyperspace. His battlecruisers had been retrofitted with the accelerator cannons last week. That would help give him the edge in this battle.

Gregory’s ship shuddered beneath him, as the accelerator cannons launched their deadly projectiles toward the enemy fleet. He was surprised at how quickly it shattered the enemy’s energy screens. As the second round hit the Zynth fleet, giant fireballs exploded across the front line. Zynth ships were quickly eliminated.

Gregory was suddenly thrown to the ground, as his ship’s energy screen took a direct hit of the antimatter missiles from the Zynth fleet. “How is our shield holding up?”

“It’s at 68 percent, Captain. We can withstand maybe a couple more direct hits before our shield fails,” replied the tactical officer.

“Tell the fleet, if their shields fall to 40 percent or below, to jump back to the planet. No use sacrificing ships and crews when we don’t have to.”

Gregory switched his gaze to the tactical display in time to see four of his ships vanish. A chill ran down his spine. The red icons were dwindling, but so were the green. He hoped the red ones were disappearing faster than the green, but it was hard to tell.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur was surprised when the small Resistance fleet jumped out to his fleet’s location to attack. He was even more surprised that the fleet had the accelerator cannons. Donlur assumed that all ships in the Empire now had this new and deadly weapon.

As the Resistance fleet continued to launch their weapons, more and more of Donlur’s ships were gone in a huge flash of light. All across his front line were dying ships. Donlur needed to get out of here before he lost too many. At this rate, he wouldn’t have much left of his scout group, once he returned to the rendezvous location.

“Are our scans complete?” Donlur asked.

“No, it will take five more minutes to complete our detailed scan.”

“We don’t have five more minutes. What we have will have to work. Get us out of here!” commanded Donlur.

The fleet immediately entered the safety of hyperspace. Once the entire fleet had made the jump, Donlur asked, “How many ships did we lose back there?”

“We lost seventeen battlecruisers and four battleships, Admiral,” reported First Officer Zakor.

“We need more ships from our fleet waiting at the rendezvous location. We cannot continue on like this. We may be greeted with a larger and larger fleet, as we get closer and closer to the core worlds.” Admiral Donlur’s yellow reptilian eyes gazed at the tactical display. “Have the ships meet us close to Aquilla Three. That is one of the Human core worlds. We will venture to Macron Three to take scans of that system. If we run into any trouble there, we will jump out immediately.”

-

Captain Gregory and his Resistance fleet had moved in closer to Doral, now that the Zynth fleet had left the star system. He reviewed the losses to his fleet with the tactical officer.

“We lost fifteen battlecruisers and eighteen support ships,” reported the tactical officer.

“We need more ships to defend Doral. If the Confederation attacks here, we will not be successful in keeping the planet safe. Give Fleet Admiral Marloo a report of what happened and then request more warships be sent here immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

-

Druin Admiral Falorr exited hyperspace near Helgoth. He had full expectations that a larger fleet would be on patrol in this system. They would need to run quick scans and then move to the next target.

Alarms immediately sounded, alerting them to the presence of the Human fleet. A quick scan revealed 154 Resistance battlecruisers and 297 of their support ships. Falorr smiled to himself. The Confederation fleet could easily defeat this Resistance Fleet.

“If any of those ships jump into hyperspace, let’s get out of here quickly,” commanded Falorr.

“What about our scans?” asked the sensor officer.

“We will take whatever we have time to get. We have no intention of attacking this planet. It is a decoy to get the Empire to misjudge our intentions and to place more fleets closer to their core worlds and away from our real targets.”

“Admiral, the Human fleet has entered hyperspace!”

“Let’s move on then,” said Falorr.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx neared the star system containing Leonora Five. As he was about to give the order to exit hyperspace, an idea occurred to him. Let’s skip this planet and continue on to the next target. I believe it is Bratol Three.

What about scanning Leonora Five, Admiral? asked First Officer Bale.

If we do not scan it, the Humans will believe that we do not plan to target it. Then, when we do attack, they will be much less prepared. The Humans will likely reposition fleets away from it and closer to those planets we have scanned, Voxx said in a cold voice. It will be an easy victory for us.

How will we know what we will be up against? asked Bale.

We won’t. However, we did recently attack this planet and still have the reports from that attack. We can review what defenses they had at that time and assume they are similar now. A smile spread across Voxx’s face. Yes, the Humans would have no idea the Morag would attack this planet. It would be first on their list. Start with an easy target, and, in the process, throw the Human military leaders into chaos. Oh, to witness that! Voxx would have to settle for watching the planet being destroyed instead. Destruction? Now that was something he enjoyed. Voxx couldn’t wait to get started.

-

Marloo and Masters were alarmed that the Druin scout fleet had dropped out of hyperspace and scanned Helgoth. It was one of their core worlds!

“What do you think they are doing? Do they plan on attacking a core world?” asked Derrick.

“I hope not. We have positioned most of our fleets farther out in hopes of being near enough one of the Confederation’s targets that they could come to their aid,” replied Marloo.

“Should we pull some ships back?” asked Derrick.

“I think we have to. Until we know what they are doing, we must play it safe,” Marloo said, as he shook his head.

“Do you think maybe they are throwing us off their actual target?” asked Derrick.

“Who knows? It is possible. However, I don’t think we can risk leaving any of the core worlds vulnerable. They all have very strong defensive grids, and we have patrol fleets monitoring the core worlds. We should pull back a few more ships to keep in orbit around each of the core worlds,” responded Marloo, with a sigh.

“What about Krista and Mathew? They are currently at Jalot Four. Should we send a message for them to head home?” asked Layla, who had been silently taking in the latest information.

The three of them exchanged glances and considered the ramifications of the decision. “Let’s wait and see if the enemy ships come that far into the Empire. If they do end up scanning the planet, we will have them return here immediately,” said Marloo.

Derrick and Layla agreed with him. Layla couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. She really wanted Krista to come home immediately but knew that having her do so would send the wrong message to Jalot Four. They would basically be saying their planet was not safe. That would cause an uproar for sure. They needed to avoid that, if at all possible. Layla took a deep breath to calm herself and then tried to focus her attention on something, anything else.

Chapter Fourteen

Princess Krista and Mathew were in their transport vessel, headed to the surface of Jalot Four. Krista knew that Governor Lindsay Littrel had a grand reception planned for them. This was, of course, an excellent excuse for Krista to wear an amazing evening gown. Layla had helped her pick it out. In the end, they had decided on a deep purple gown that was somewhat form-fitting. When Krista had gotten ready on the High Kingdom and taken a look in the mirror, she had been very pleased. She was even more pleased when she saw the look on Mathew’s face, when he knocked on her door. She smiled to herself at the picture she had of him in her mind. He apparently also thought the dress looked good on her.

As the transport vessel landed, they prepared to exit the ship. Krista had a few attendants with her, as well as Ensign Brenda Allert. Krista turned and smiled at Brenda. She really appreciated Brenda and her attentiveness to Krista’s needs—plus the times that Brenda allowed Mathew and Krista to be a little less supervised.

The door to the transport vessel opened, and Krista squinted against the bright light of the sun on the surface of Jalot Four. She had noticed how beautiful the planet had been on their way to the surface. It reminded her a lot of Golan Four. Krista looked forward to their time here and for the opportunity to get to know Governor Littrel a little better. Littrel was on the Imperial Council, and, therefore, one of the ones helping to make decisions in the Empire.

Governor Littrel stepped forward to greet Krista and Mathew. “Welcome to Jalot Four. We are honored to have you here.” She smiled at Krista and Mathew. “Please follow me inside. We have arranged a reception and banquet to welcome you to our planet.”

“That sounds lovely,” replied Krista. “We are honored to be here. Jalot Four is such a beautiful planet. We are looking forward to seeing more of it and meeting many of the people here.”

The group followed Littrel, Krista, and Mathew into the reception hall. As they entered the room, Krista inhaled a quick breath, as she took in the beauty that surrounded her. It was like they were in the middle of a garden, only inside a building. Flowers and greenery were all around. The room smelled heavenly.

Tables sat in the middle of the room, each with an arrangement of flowers as the centerpiece. Krista smiled as she looked over at Mathew and then at Governor Littrel. “Wow, this is beautiful. I have to say this is the most beautiful reception I have ever had the honor of attending.”

“I am pleased to hear it. We take a lot of pride in our gardens here on Jalot Four. We wanted to show that to you in some way. This is what we came up with,” replied Littrel.

“I would love to take a tour of some of these gardens while we are here, if it can be arranged and if it fits into our schedule,” remarked Krista, as she continued to scan the room, taking in every detail. She couldn’t wait to tell Layla all about this.

“We will add a tour of the gardens onto your schedule. I think we can fit it in tomorrow afternoon,” Littrel said, with a smile. “Please allow me to introduce you to a few of our leaders of Jalot Four.”

Krista and Mathew spent the evening talking and meeting with many leaders and officials of Jalot Four. Many times, Krista found herself staring at the beauty that surrounded her, while she listened to someone speaking.

By the end of the night, her face was sore from all the smiling. Unfortunately so were her feet. Her shoes looked amazing but were utterly uncomfortable to wear. Especially when she had been standing for most of the evening, meeting various leaders of the planet.

Krista commented to Brenda, as they headed back to the High Kingdom, “Remind me next time we attend a reception, where I will be on my feet most of the evening, to wear more comfortable shoes!”

-

Admiral Collison studied the reports from the various scout ships monitoring the Zynth star systems. He noted that the fleets had been repositioned again. This time no star system containing a shipyard was left unprotected. Collison wanted to attack one more Zynth star system before they headed to the Druin-controlled area of the Confederation.

The target he had in mind was in a system that was on their way out of the Zynth area. It contained two shipyards. Captain Iris on scout ship 213 was monitoring the fleet there. At her last report, Captain Iris had reported 197 Zynth battlecruisers and 41 battleships. This would be a fight, but one Collison was confident they could handle.

Collison planned to keep the fleet together while they eliminated the threat of the Zynth ships. Once that threat had been extinguished, they could quickly destroy the two shipyards. Collison knew that his battlecarriers would be prime targets, and, with that in mind, he would put them in the center of his wedge formation. It worked last time.

For this mission, he intended to send in the attack interceptors first and have them launch their fusion-tipped missiles from medium-range. He hoped that this would successfully lower the number of ships they would then have to destroy in the fleet battle. Collison had over nine thousand attack interceptors at his disposal. He intended to use half of them on this task.

The others would be utilized once the fleet battle had commenced. They would then fly in and finish destroying any damaged Zynth ships.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes and the rest of the fleets exited hyperspace at their designated Zynth star system. Alarms immediately sounded, alerting them to the presence of the enemy fleet. “Any surprises?” she asked the sensor officer.

“No, the fleet numbers are what we expected. They are forming up around the closest shipyard.”

“Good. We will protect the battlecarriers while the attack interceptors launch the first round of attack. We will stop our forward progress once we get to the five minutes to engagement range mark,” she informed her crew. “Hopefully the attack interceptors can eliminate a majority of these enemy ships.” She winced at the thought of the lives about to be lost.

Barnes watched as the attack interceptors launched and formed into their squadrons. She knew this would be an extremely dangerous mission for them, especially once they had launched their missiles and returned to the carriers. The interceptors only possessed forward-facing energy shields. Their sides and rear were left vulnerable. This really was a design flaw that needed to be rectified as soon as possible.

Seeing all those green icons on her tactical display made her feel more confident. Now 4,500 attack interceptor icons moved toward the red enemy icons. Barnes shifted her gaze from the tactical display to the main viewscreen at the front of the Command Center. It showed the interceptors headed in to launch their attack. Barnes hoped most of them made it back to the safety of their carriers before this battle was over.

-

Captain Greeley watched as the attack interceptors neared the medium-range, where they would then launch their four fusion-tipped missiles at the Zynth fleet. He realized he held his breath and slowly let it out. Greeley had, at one time not too long ago, been an attack interceptor pilot himself. He had really enjoyed the maneuverability of the small crafts, not to mention the firepower. It was a little different than the dreadnought he was in now but still a challenge in and of itself.

Greeley knew the challenge that awaited the attack interceptors as they drew ever closer to the enemy fleet. Soon the Zynth ships would launch their fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles at the interceptors. The pilots would need to be on top of their game to avoid being hit by the enemy fire. The forward-facing shields of the interceptors had been greatly improved and could withstand quite a lot of weapons fire.

Once the attack interceptors reached their designated coordinates, they launched their missiles. Soon about 18,000 fusion-tipped missiles were headed in one wall of destruction right at the Zynth ships.

-

Lieutenant Garland from the battlecarrier, Freedom, saw the incoming enemy fire and prepared to maneuver her interceptor around the danger. Energy beam after energy beam was launched in their direction. She swerved and dipped and spun to avoid the certain death that would come from a direct hit. Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware of the small flashes of light that signaled the destruction of her fellow interceptors and their crews.

Garland shook her head, watching her console for the signal that they had reached the medium-range firing distance, where Admiral Collison wanted them to launch their missiles. The light would turn from red to yellow as they approached the target. Once they reached the designated coordinates, the light would turn green. It was currently yellow.

As she quickly dodged another fusion energy beam, she saw the light on the console turn green.

Garland launched her missiles and turned around to return to the safety of the carrier. This was now the most dangerous part of her mission. The journey back to the carrier. More attack interceptors would be blown to pieces on the return journey than on the approach to the enemy.

The months and months of training served her well as she maneuvered her way back to the fleet. Garland could see the carriers, but they seemed so far away. More bright flashes occurred all around her. She took a deep breath and focused on surviving this mission.

In only a matter of minutes, which seemed like a lot longer to her, she reached her landing bay on her carrier. She slowly let herself relax as all the tension from the journey back to the carrier was released with one deep breath.

As Garland landed in bay three, she assessed her squadron and what they had lost. They had returned with nine fewer attack interceptors than they had begun that mission with. She closed her eyes, as she thought of each one of the crew members who had sacrificed their lives today in the pursuit of freedom. Nine attack interceptors with crews of three, so a total of twenty-seven people lost.

They had been altogether a short time earlier in the rec room, playing darts and shooting pool. Now the hopes and dreams of those crew members were lost forever. Garland resolved herself to honor them in all she did. She would do her best to continue to seek freedom for all Humans in the Empire and in the Solar System.

-

Captain Drake watched in amazement as the attack interceptor missiles reached the Zynth fleet. It was like a wall of destruction hitting the enemy fleet. So many missiles had been launched, it was a wonder any Zynth ship had survived. Drake winced at the rather large numbers of disappearing green icons on his tactical display—representing the attack interceptors. Most had been successful in launching their missiles; however, not as many had been successful in reaching the safety of the battlecarriers.

Now that the interceptors had done their job, it was time for him to do his. They had eliminated a vast majority of the Zynth fleet. The Human fleet now progressed to weapons range of the enemy.

“Two minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“How many ships are we up against now?” asked Drake.

“Captain, the Zynth have lost over 60 percent of their fleet. We should easily annihilate the rest.”

“Good, let’s make quick work of it then.”

-

Admiral Collison was glad he had sent in the attack interceptors first. They had done remarkably well in destroying a majority of the Zynth fleet. As Collison’s combined fleet reached the engagement range, weapons fire erupted from both fleets.

His flagship, Mercury, shuddered beneath him, as the accelerator cannons launched their projectiles at the enemy. Collison smiled. The Zynth ships would be obliterated. They had no defense against this weapon. Collison was glad the Humans possessed this weapon as opposed to the Confederation. He knew, however, that, before too long, the Confederation would have this technology developed and would put it into use as well. Maybe the Empire could end this war before that happened.

The enemy fire reached his fleet and sought weaknesses in the energy shields of numerous ships in his front line. He watched in alarm as the energy shields grew brighter and brighter before overloading, at which time the ships were hit with antimatter missiles. The explosion that followed was so bright and intense he had to look away from the viewscreen. Collison glanced over at his tactical display. He was losing ships but not as quickly as the Zynth.

The accelerator cannons hammered into what was left of the Zynth fleet. It wasn’t long before Collison’s fleet had eliminated all enemy ships. From there, they quickly split up into two groups. He led one to destroy the closest shipyard, while Rear Admiral Barnes led the other task group to eliminate the other shipyard in the system.

The shipyards exploded in giant nova-like explosions. Collison again smiled as he thought, Two fewer enemy shipyards exist to rebuild the Zynth fleets. He turned to his navigation officer and said, “Let’s get out of here. Our mission is accomplished. Time to head to the supply fleet for repairs and to restock.”

The fleet began entering hyperspace, as Collison calculated what the cost of this battle. In total, they had lost forty-eight battlecruisers and ten dreadnoughts and all those brave crew members. The count was still coming in on the attack interceptors, with their three-person crews, but he feared that those lost would be much higher.

-

Admirals Marloo and Masters were pleased to hear that the missions were still going well in the Confederation. Collison and his fleets had successfully eliminated two more Zynth shipyards as well as another 238 enemy ships. Collison was now headed for repairs at the supply fleet located near Proxy Seven in the Lormallian-controlled area of the Confederation.

From there, Collison planned to move into the Druin-controlled area of the Confederation to eliminate more shipyards. The enemy grew weaker with each attack. Hopefully this would incentivize the Confederation ships inbound to the Empire to turn around to defend their own star systems.

As for the enemy fleet in the Empire, Marloo and Masters were currently pacing the Command Center around the holographic display, waiting for more news of where the Confederation scout groups would scan next. It seemed they were headed toward the core planets, and the Empire could not let them be attacked.

Marloo had already shifted fleets to better protect the core planets. He suspected that was not the true target of the enemy fleet, but he couldn’t be sure and, therefore, had to do what he could to protect the core worlds and as many other possible targets as he could. It was a challenging game of chess, so to speak, but one he was confident he could win in the end.

-

Captain Avery and the supply fleet exited hyperspace in the Lormallian star system which contained Proxy Seven. Immediately the sensor alarms sounded. “Report,” he called out from his command chair.

“Captain, a Lormallian fleet is in the system. The fleet has a little over eight hundred vessels.”

“Keep an eye on them. As long as they don’t approach, I won’t worry about them. Let’s keep our supply fleet on the periphery of the system and out of their way,” Avery replied.

“When will we see damaged ships coming in from the battles with Admiral Collison?” asked Lieutenant Dan.

“I would expect them within the next twelve hours. Let’s get everything set up and ready for them. Also have all the ships do any maintenance they need to do. We must be prepared to leave this system at a moment’s notice.”

“The Lormallians knew we were coming here, didn’t they?” asked Lieutenant Dan.

“Yes, Admiral Cleemorl had discussed it with the Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull before he left the Confederation. The fleet knows we are not here for them or their citizens.”

“Good. I do not want any misunderstanding with the Lormallians,” Dan said in relief.

“Also prepare the small task force that will escort Professor Wright to his destination of Bator Prime. I am sure he will be anxious to get going on this next leg of his journey.”

-

Professor Charles Wright felt relieved to finally be in the Lormallian-controlled star systems. He was closer to his destination of Bator Prime, where the Lormallians kept their archives. According to the maps he had access to, they were about a six-hour hyperspace jump from his final destination. Charles hoped that Captain Avery would be quick to send him on his way.

Charles couldn’t help but feel like his mission was of the utmost importance. He had spent years searching and digging for answers, he felt like he was on the cusp of a monumental discovery. One that would pull everything together. At least he hoped it would.

He looked forward to meeting the Lormallians. He had never met anyone from the Confederation before. His daughter, Kala, had given him as much information as she knew about them. Plus Charles had talked to his son-in-law, Prince Andrew. Andrew had had the privilege of meeting Reull previously, so Andrew was more knowledgeable than his daughter had been.

Charles had also looked at pictures of the various races that he may come in contact with, while he was in the Confederation. Charles hoped he would not run into any of the enemies of the Humans. That had been one thing he made himself study up on. He needed to know what the Druins, Zynth, Lamothians, and Morag looked like, so Charles could avoid them if he happened to see one of them while at Bator Prime.

Kala had told him first about the Druins. They are slightly humanoid but squat, with their head sitting almost directly on their torso via a short neck. Their arms are massive and could easily snap a Human in two. They stand eight feet tall.  Charles had been a little intimidated by the pictures Kala had showed him of the Druins.  He hoped he never had the chance to see one of them in person.

Then Kala had discussed with him about the Lamothians. Lamothians are large sluglike creatures that consume intelligent life. For the past one thousand years their favorite food source has been Humans, who are considered a delicacy and are in high demand at the food markets on their worlds. Now that they had no worlds left, it was doubtful he would come face to face with one of them, but not impossible.

They stand upright on four legs and have six appendages that serve as arms, with three protuberances on their hands that allow them to manipulate equipment. Their skin is pale and glistens with an oily sheen. They have two eyestalks, which protrude from their heads. Their names are unpronounceable, more of a symbol than an actual word. Their lifespans are around eight hundred years.

Kala described the Zynth as a reptilian race that resemble an ancient Earth raptor, only slimmer and with actual arms and clawlike hands. They have yellow reptilian eyes.

The Morag she had described last. They are massive apelike creatures. A cross between a gorilla and Big Foot is the best description of them she could think of. They stand nearly ten feet tall. Very intelligent but seldom speak, this is due partly because they are telepathic with other members of their race.

Charles felt confident in his abilities to identify them all. Although this was likely not to happen, since Ardon Reull and his brother knew Charles had only come to visit the archives, and the brothers would be mindful to keep any enemies away.

Charles happily received word that his task group would be headed to Bator Prime within the next hour. He was ready to find his answers.

-

Captain Hadley on scout ship 368 was still in orbit above the planet of Falton Two. The communications seemed to be similar to what she would observe over any planet in the Empire. Hadley couldn’t figure out how the Morag and these Humans could be at peace, when the Morag were so determined to destroy the Humans of the Empire. She was missing something. What could it be?

-

Druin Admiral Falorr and his scout group exited hyperspace at Vidon Seven. Their alarms immediately sounded, alerting them to the presence of an enemy fleet. “How many ships do they have in the system?” asked Falorr.

“Admiral, it appears they have a heavy Resistance task group stationed in the system. Our scans are showing 437 battlecruisers and 283 support ships.”

“Get as much information as we can, until those ships make their jump to our location. When they disappear, that’s our cue to get out of here. Have the coordinates to our next target already in the system and prepare the ships to enter hyperspace at a moment’s notice.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

-

Governor Dru Clarro examined the production facility, where the energy beam satellites were produced for the defensive grids. Vidon Seven produced many of the elements that make up a defensive grid. Production was at an all-time high, as was the demand for all these parts. As he walked down the assembly line, watching two robotic arms at work, alarms sounded.

“Governor Clarro, we must get you to safety immediately. A Confederation fleet has been spotted exiting hyperspace on the periphery of the system.”

“Why would they come here to scan our system? We are very well fortified. They will not find an easy target here,” replied Clarro in alarm.

“Admiral Marloo has already sent word that they do not expect the attacks to happen here. He believes the enemy are distracting us from the real target. Marloo has already sent word for the Resistance fleet to engage the Druin scout group.”

“Let’s get to the Command Center and see what’s going on,” Clarro said.

-

It did not take long for the Human Resistance task group to jump out to the Druin scout group’s location. “Admiral, the Human ships are charging their hyperdrives,” reported the sensor officer.

“That’s our cue. Let’s get out of here. I have no intention of losing any ships today. We will be saving our ships for our actual attack,” Falorr said.

The Druin scout group made their exit into hyperspace, before the Resistance ships arrived to destroy them.

-

By the time Governor Clarro arrived at the Command Center, the excitement had ended. The Druins had left, before the Resistance task group had a chance to engage them. “We need to keep the Resistance fleet at Condition Two, in case the Confederation fleets do decide to attack us here. We must be ready for anything. How long would it take our citizens to fill the underground bunkers?”

“Our best estimate would be five hours. We have enough room now for over ten million of our citizens,” replied Lieutenant Talon.

“We wouldn’t have five hours to fill the bunkers if our first warning is the Confederation fleet exiting hyperspace in our star system,” said Clarro. “We need a more advanced warning.”

“Admiral Marloo said that they expect the attacks to start on the periphery of the Empire. If the Confederation fleet then makes its way farther into the Empire, we can activate our Condition One status on the planet and begin filling the bunkers,” replied Lieutenant Talon.

“We will need all the warning we can get. I am not sure how the citizens will fare on the first planet that is attacked. They won’t have as much warning.”

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was minutes away from exiting hyperspace at his next target, Bratol Three. Eight planets were in this system. According to his holographic display, the third planet from the sun was inhabited. Voxx expected a significant fleet presence in the system. He would only have moments to scan the system, before he expected the enemy fleet to jump to his location and to fire their weapons.

This system was only a diversion, not an actual target. Voxx expected the Humans to be scrambling by now to redistribute their fleets to more fully protect their core worlds. This would take them away from the Morag’s actual targets, leaving the Empire more vulnerable—precisely what he had in mind. Voxx was certain the Humans would react just as he expected.

As the Morag scout group exited hyperspace, alarms sounded. What do the Humans have waiting for us here?

Admiral, the Humans have a large task group in the system. The Human ships are entering hyperspace!

Did we get any scans?

Not much.

Let’s move on to our next target.

Before all the Morag ships had a chance to enter hyperspace, the Human fleet exited hyperspace near them and immediately launched their weapons. The Morag then finished entering hyperspace, but not before losing five battlecruisers.

-

Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three met with the leaders of the planet to discuss the possibilities of the Confederation fleets attacking their own system. All of them had agreed that it was highly unlikely to occur, and, if it did, they had a significant fleet presence in the system to quickly chase them out.

The group was interrupted in their discussions by an alarm sounding. They all looked around at each other in shock. This could only mean one thing. The Confederation fleet had been spotted in the system. Therron quickly called out to his assistant, “Get me Admiral Marloo immediately.”

His assistant soon had Marloo on the line, and Marloo ordered the fleet patrolling the system to jump out and to engage the Morag scout group. The scout group quickly exited the star system.

Marloo talked with Therron for several minutes, doing his best to convince Therron that Bratol Three was not likely in any actual danger but rather a decoy to whatever target the Confederation actually had in mind. As to which planets those were for sure, Marloo was not willing to delve into. The system of Bratol Three was strongly defended in both its fleet presence as well as a strong defensive grid.

After the call ended, the leadership continued to discuss what plans they had in place in case the worst-case scenario came true, and they were, indeed, one of the targets of the enemy fleets. They only had bunkers for approximately half of their population and would need at least six hours to adequately fill them.

They debated for some time about whether they should go ahead and sound the alarms to begin filling the bunkers. In the end, they decided to wait until the attacks commenced—convinced they would not be the first target of the Confederation. Depending on where these attacks started, they would decide from there when to sound the alarms to begin the evacuations on the surface.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur and his scout group exited hyperspace near Macron Three. He was on edge and ready to again enter hyperspace at the first hint of danger. Donlur had already lost more ships than he wanted to. With the Humans destroying shipyards back in the Zynth-controlled area of the Confederation, replacing the ships that he lost here in the Human Empire would be more difficult and time-consuming.

His ships became more valuable with each attack, where the Humans successfully destroyed more of the Zynth’s shipyards. They had now lost seven shipyards. Donlur hoped the Humans would move on out of the Zynth-controlled star systems and on to another area of the Confederation.

“Admiral, the Humans have a large task group orbiting the system,” reported the sensor officer.

“Run a quick scan, and then let’s get out of here. We can’t afford to lose any more ships.”

“The Humans are entering hyperspace, Admiral.”

“Let’s move on to our next target, Aquilla Three.”

The Zynth scout group made their transition into hyperspace before the Human fleet reached their location.

-

Admirals Marloo and Masters were surprised by the Confederation fleets’ choices of systems to scan. “Surely they do not intend to attack any of these planets,” said Masters.

“I do not think they will. It just doesn’t make any sense. These planets are more heavily fortified than the ones on the periphery. The Confederation races are very logical in their strategies. These have to be decoys and not their intended targets,” commented Marloo.

“I agree. I think the planets we have already identified as the most probable targets are still correct. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the Confederation scout groups are getting closer to our core worlds. Not to mention that they are getting really close to Jalot Four, where Princess Krista is.”

“Jalot Four has a very large fleet presence. If the Confederation scout groups do end up at Jalot Four, the task group there would quickly destroy them. I don’t think we need to worry about it. As a precaution, we will send word to Jalot Four and the fleet there to be on high alert. If the Confederation scout groups enter that star system to make their scans, I want that fleet to jump out to their location and engage them immediately. We mustn’t give them enough time to figure out that someone important to the Empire is on the planet. They would become a target for sure.”

Chapter Fifteen

Captain Avery and the supply chain had already started receiving damaged ships from the battles in the Zynth area of the Confederation. It sounded like it had gone well. Avery knew that the fleet would next hit Druin targets. He would likely see an influx of more ships needing repairs, once the battles began with the Druins.

As he relaxed in his command chair, alarms sounded on the sensor console. “Captain, we have ships exiting hyperspace!”

Everyone shifted their focus to the tactical display. As the icons turned green, all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Captain, I’ve received a message from Admiral Collison. They are making a pit stop on their way to their next target to repair a few ships and to restock their battlecarriers that lost attack interceptors,” said Lieutenant Dan.

“Okay, let’s make the arrangements and get started. I know Collison will be anxious to get to his next target,” said Avery.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had met up with his ships to replace the ones already destroyed by the Humans. Now they neared the star system of Aquilla Three. Donlur expected this system to be heavily defended. He knew they wouldn’t get the chance to get very detailed scans before the Human fleet stationed there had the opportunity to jump out to their location and attack.

Donlur was ready to get the actual attacks started. After the Humans had attacked the Zynth star systems, while he was away, he was ready for some revenge. Donlur did like the idea of causing the Human military leaders some confusion as to what their actual target would be.

Once they dropped from hyperspace, alarms sounded. “Keep an eye on the Human fleet. If they make their jump into hyperspace, we will too. I do not want to lose any more ships!” commanded Donlur.

“Scans show 479 battlecruisers and 76 dreadnoughts, Admiral.”

“Scan what we can. Keep a close watch on that fleet.”

-

General Ableson on Aquilla Three was in charge of the space forces in the system. As soon as the Zynth fleet dropped from hyperspace, he sent word to Golan Four and commanded his fleet to jump out to the enemy’s location and to chase them out of the area.

As soon as the fleet jumped, the Zynth ships left the system. Hopefully they scared them off for good. Ableson did not want them returning with the rest of the Confederation fleet. Based on the systems they had already scanned, his had the largest fleet to protect it. Plus a very strong defensive grid. It would be a mistake for the Confederation to come here, a very big one.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr neared the Vortex worlds. They had been named for the spiral shape of the cluster. Within the cluster were seven heavily populated planets. One of these—and the target they had selected to scan—was Jalot Four.

Falorr knew the planet would be very heavily protected by defensive grids as well as a large fleet presence. The chances of them completing their scans were minuscule. He was confident the fleet would jump out to engage him.

As they exited hyperspace, their scans confirmed what he had suspected. An Imperial task force was stationed in the system. In total, the enemy fleet had 386 battlecruisers and 78 dreadnoughts. They immediately began their scans.

“Admiral, I have intercepted messages concerning a Princess Krista. It sounds like her ship is near the planet,” said the communications officer.

“A Princess of the Empire? On Jalot Four?” His mind swirled with the possibility of killing her. That would deal a severe blow to the Empire’s morale. This apparently wasn’t the High Princess but still a valuable target. Falorr, however, only had sixty battlecruisers and fifteen battleships. What could he do?

“As soon as the enemy fleet jumps to our location, we will jump in close to the planet. Upon exiting hyperspace, have the fleet focus all their firepower on whatever dreadnought is still in orbit. We won’t have long before the enemy fleet realizes we didn’t flee the system. If we get lucky, we may have just enough time to destroy the dreadnought,” commanded Falorr. He couldn’t believe his luck! He also couldn’t pass up this opportunity to eliminate the Human Princess.

“The Human fleet is jumping, Admiral!”

“Wait until they exit hyperspace near us, and then we will make our jump,” he said, a wicked grin on his face. He sat forward in his command chair. Falorr would lose some ships, but it would be worth it if they could kill the Princess.

“They are exiting hyperspace, Admiral!”

“Let’s make our move!” commanded Falorr.

The Druin ships began their short jump to the planet. Upon exiting hyperspace, they immediately targeted the two dreadnoughts that had remained orbiting the planet. The energy screens on both lit up as they focused all their firepower on the two ships. The screens glowed brighter and brighter, until one collapsed. Then two antimatter missiles slammed into the hull, detonating, causing catastrophic damage to the ship.

The Human fleet returned shortly after that and opened fire on the Druin ships. “Focus all our weapons on the remaining dreadnought. It appears the screen will falter shortly!” Admiral Falorr was thrown to the floor, as his ship was hit with enemy fire.

“Admiral, we must jump out, or we will soon find ourselves blown apart with our ship!” said First Officer Dagor urgently.

As Falorr was about to give the command to leave, the energy screen of the targeted dreadnought failed, leaving it vulnerable to the four antimatter missiles that then struck it. A bright explosion engulfed the dreadnought, as Falorr commanded his fleet to jump out of the system.

Once safely in hyperspace, the entire crew cheered in victory. They had done it! They had destroyed both of the dreadnoughts that had not come out with the fleet to join the attack on them. One of them had to be the one the Princess was on.

“How many ships did we lose?” he asked.

“We lost forty-three battlecruisers and eight battleships,” replied the tactical officer.

“It is worth it if we killed their Princess,” said Falorr coldly.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters monitored the system where Jalot Four was located. Derrick grew more and more anxious about Princess Krista’s safety. Layla would never forgive him if something happened to her.

The system was pulled up on the main viewscreen in the Command Center. The other screen showed Aquilla Three. The Zynth fleet had just been chased out of that system. Now, the admirals waited for the Druin and Morag fleets to show up somewhere.

Suddenly they received word from Colonel Levin on Jalot Four that enemy ships were emerging from hyperspace. “Pull up all our views of the Jalot Four system!” Marloo said, as he tried to remain calm.

Derrick and Marloo were both on their feet and searching the viewscreens for the enemy. “Can we confirm that it is the enemy scout group and not a larger fleet?” asked Derrick. He was glad Layla was not in the Command Center at the moment. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t show up at any moment though. He cautiously glanced at the door, and, at that moment, it opened, and his heart skipped a beat. When General Gantts walked in, Derrick let out the breath he had been holding.

Gantts immediately realized something was amiss. “What’s the status?” she asked hesitantly.

“Druin ships exiting hyperspace near Jalot Four,” said Derrick quickly. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He wiped his sweaty palms on his uniform.

Gantts quickly took her position near the wall of consoles and displays from around the Empire. “Incoming message confirms it is only the scout group, not the full fleet,” she said, as she glanced over at Derrick.

“Have the fleet engage the enemy immediately,” ordered Marloo.

“They are preparing to jump now,” replied Gantts.

They watched on the viewscreen as the Imperial fleet jumped out to engage the Druins, leaving behind the dreadnought High Kingdom that Krista had been using and the other dreadnought to help protect it. Their gaze shifted to the other screen, with the enemy ships displayed. As soon as the Imperial ships exited hyperspace, the Druins jumped into hyperspace. Everyone in the Command Center breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Suddenly Gantts noticed the Druin ships exiting hyperspace near the two dreadnoughts in orbit above Jalot Four. A gasp could then be heard as the rest of the crew in the Command Center noticed the same thing.

“No!” yelled Derrick in pure terror.

The Druins immediately released an intense amount of weapons fire at the two dreadnoughts. They all watched in horror as the energy screen of the first dreadnought grew brighter and brighter. Derrick couldn’t believe he was watching this. He could do nothing but watch. His gaze was glued to the screen, as chills ran down his spine.

A few short moments later, the dreadnought was destroyed in a massive explosion, as the shield failed and antimatter missiles slammed into it, instantly killing all life on board the vessel. Derrick felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

General Gantts said, “Dreadnought Kennedy has fallen.”

Derrick’s eyes widened as he saw the High Kingdom’s screen struggle to withstand the onslaught of the Druin’s firepower. The Imperial fleet was now firing on the Druin ships, but the Druin ships were solely focused on the High Kingdom. Time seemed to slow down as the shield failed, and the Druins blasted the ship into oblivion. They then quickly entered hyperspace with what little was left of the scout group.

Derrick fell back into his chair, shock washing over him.

“Dreadnought High Kingdom has fallen,” General Gantts said in a hollow voice.

“Can we confirm if Princess Krista was on the ship?” asked Marloo. He hoped with all he had in him that she had miraculously been on the planet.

At that moment, High Princess Layla walked through the doors of the Command Center. She took one look around the room and saw the horrified looks on everyone’s faces. Layla glanced up at the viewscreen at the front of the room and saw Jalot Four. Her heartbeat quickened, as she searched the other viewscreens for the High Kingdom. She couldn’t find it.

Her gaze switched to Derrick’s face, as he looked up at her with tears falling down his face. That’s when she realized she had seen the High Kingdom on the viewscreen. It was the debris that floated around the planet. Derrick’s gaze locked on hers.

Derrick saved Layla from hitting the floor as she fainted. They quickly called a medic and rushed her to a quiet place to rest and recover.

-

A while later, inside their quarters in the Imperial Palace, Derrick sat beside Layla, holding her hand. “It may be a while before she wakes up,” said Emira softly to Derrick.

“I know, but I have to be here when she wakes up. I must tell her the news myself. Marloo can handle the fleets right now. I will join him as soon as I can,” Derrick replied quietly.

“I will be right outside. Please let me know if you need anything,” replied Emira.

-

Princess Krista finished getting ready for their trip to the surface of Jalot Four when Mathew knocked on her door. “Are you ready? We need to get to the surface. General Weston will be waiting on us.”

Krista opened the door and stepped into the hallway just outside her royal quarters in her temporary home, the dreadnought High Kingdom. She was not looking forward to this tour of the facility where the attack interceptors were manufactured, but she knew Mathew was. However, Krista looked forward to watching his face light up as they toured the facility. He enjoyed doing this type of thing; her not so much. It was all part of the job though, and she would do her best to appear as though she was enjoying it.

As they climbed aboard the transport vessel that would take them to the facility, Krista had the captain wait a moment. Brenda was nowhere to be seen. She thought that was really odd. Krista was concerned. It was not like Brenda to not be by her side. “Where is Ensign Brenda Allert?” asked Krista.

“She is not feeling well and will remain on the ship. She said she would meet up with the two of you after your tour of the manufacturing facility,” said the young officer standing nearby.

Krista looked at Mathew and then at the officer. “I need to check on her myself. I can’t leave her here alone if she is not feeling well.”

“Make it quick. I will have the communications officer let General Weston know we are running a little behind schedule,” Mathew replied.

Krista quickly headed toward Brenda’s quarters. Maybe she could use the excuse of taking care of Brenda to get out of the tour of the attack interceptor facility. She quickly decided that would not be what Layla would do. Duty came first, and today Krista’s duty was to smile and to listen intently as the General discussed in length how the attack interceptors were made. She knew Mathew would ask a million questions, making the tour last even longer. Krista groaned as she reached Brenda’s quarters. Krista softly knocked, and the door opened.

Brenda was not looking well. “I think it is something I ate last night. I have been up half the night, sick to my stomach,” Brenda told Krista as she came into the room. “I figured you and Mathew could do without me for a little while. You will be around plenty of people on your tour.”

“That’s true,” Krista replied. “I just hate to leave you like this.”

“You must do your duty. The governor and the general are looking forward to showing you around the facility. I will rest a little while longer and then join you once the tour has finished,” Brenda said, with a faint smile.

“All right. Please don’t overdo it. You look like you could use some rest. You look pretty terrible,” Krista said, with a sly smile on her face.

“Thanks,” Brenda replied. “Ensure you keep out of trouble.”

“Oh, I will. I am sorry you will be missing this amazing tour of the interceptor facility,” Krista said, with a chuckle, as she stood to leave. “Mathew cannot wait for this.”

“Enjoy. I will see you soon.”

As Krista headed back to the shuttle, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling nagging her. Once settled on their transport, they headed to the manufacturing facility.

-

When Krista and Mathew arrived at the manufacturing facility, General Weston awaited the Princess and the major. In fact, a whole line of people waited to meet them. Krista glanced at Mathew, as they stepped out of the shuttle. Mathew had dressed in his uniform today, and she thought he looked very handsome.

Mathew saluted the general and the officers waiting with him. Krista was introduced to each one. She hoped she wasn’t expected to remember all their names. She picked a couple to commit to memory, so she could ask them specific questions at some point during their tour.

Layla had taught her to do that. She said that it made people feel special when you could remember their names. If there were too many to remember, to pick a couple and to be sure to use their names soon afterward. This is what Krista would focus on. Plus she needed to listen closely enough to ask a couple questions every once in a while.

The tour seemed to drag on to Krista. However, she knew to Mathew it was probably flying by. The facility was massive, able to produce large numbers of attack interceptors regularly. Mathew seemed to hang on to every word the general said. Krista was able to ask a few questions throughout the tour, but Mathew ended up doing most of the talking.

At the conclusion of the tour, the general turned to Mathew and asked, “How would you like to take a new one up and fly it around a bit?”

Mathew’s eyes widened, and he replied, “I would love to!” He then turned to Krista. “Do we have a few extra minutes before we meet Governor Littrel for lunch?”

Krista knew there was no stopping this little excursion from happening, so she might as well show some excitement for him. “I am sure the governor wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes so you can fly a brand-new interceptor right off the production line,” she said enthusiastically. “Where shall I watch from?”

The general responded, “I will take you to the observation tower myself.” With that, he saluted Mathew and then led her toward the tower.

After his flight, Mathew was even more excited. She could tell he really missed flying the attack interceptors. Now he mostly trained new crews for them. It kept him safer, but she realized it was not his passion. She would need to talk to Layla about this.

Soon they met Governor Littrel for lunch. “How was the tour?” she asked, not realizing what she was getting herself into.

Mathew enlightened her on the tour for over twenty full minutes.

Once lunch was finished, Krista asked, “What do we have on the agenda for the afternoon?” Krista was exhausted and could use a good nap. Plus she really wanted to check up on Brenda. She hoped the governor had scheduled in a little rest and relaxation.

“Well, we have a full afternoon planned for you. First, though, you may wish to take a short break. I have arranged for an aircar to take you on an aerial tour of the city. I figured the two of you would be tired from all that walking and would enjoy sitting for a while,” she said, with a smile.

“That would be lovely,” Krista said politely. She also wondered if she and Mathew would be alone on this aircar.

“I have arranged for my assistant, Cassie Madden, to escort you, since your usual attendant is out sick today,” Governor Littrel added.

As they walked toward the door, where the aircar awaited them, alarms sound.

“What’s that for?” asked Krista, a little frightened.

“It’s an alarm system put in place to warn the citizens of the city that Confederation ships had been spotted in the system and to seek shelter immediately,” Littrel explained, as she quickly ushered Krista and Mathew to the aircar. They all got in, and then Littrel told the driver, “Get us to the capitol building fast.”

“How long will it take us to get there?” asked Mathew, concern edging into his voice.

“Normally twenty minutes, but traffic will now be atrocious with everyone getting to their personal shelters or the community shelters.”

“Do we have any idea which fleet and how many ships?” asked Mathew.

“We will know once we get to the Command Center under the capitol building.”

“I can use my commlink to talk to Captain Barrow on the High Kingdom. I will see what I can find out.”

After a few moments on the commlink, Mathew said, “It’s the Druins. It appears to be their scout ships, so not the full fleet.”

“No need to worry. Our planet has a very strong defensive grid. Plus a heavy fleet squadron is in the system,” Littrel said confidently. “Not to mention a couple thousand attack interceptors,” she added, with a smile.

Once they reached the Command Center, obviously things were not going according to plan. The viewscreen showed the Druin ships close to the planet and attacking the two dreadnoughts, the Kennedy and the High Kingdom.

Krista watched in growing dismay as the energy screens of the two ships glowed brighter and brighter, until failing. First, one ship was destroyed, followed shortly by the other. Krista felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She sat down in the nearest chair and tried breathing deeply. What if they had been on that ship? Then she realized in horror that Brenda was still on the ship. Tears fell down Krista’s face.

Mathew rushed to Krista and tried to comfort her.

Brenda had been with them for so long. She had been on the original Destiny that had whisked them away from Golan Four and taken them to the hidden base in the Solar System. Her parents and Layla’s parents had been executed shortly after that. How would she tell Layla?

Governor Littrel came over and assured her safety on the planet. She also shared word that some of Krista’s attendants had come down from the ship prior to the attack to prepare the Princess’s rooms at the Governor’s residence. They had thought it would be easier for her to prepare for the evening if she had a place on the surface instead of going to the ship to get ready.

“Was Ensign Brenda Allert one of them?” Krista asked, her voice filled with desperate hope.

“I am not sure,” replied Littrel.

“Can you take me there now?” Krista asked.

“No, we must remain here, until we are certain the Confederation fleet has left the area and will not shortly return,” said General Weston.

“We need to let Layla know I am safe. She will fear the worst when she hears my ship was destroyed,” Krista said firmly.

“We cannot. If the Druin realize they didn’t kill you, they may return to finish the job. They must have known one of those ships was yours. That is why they risked their fleet to attack it,” said Weston.

“How long do we have to leave them in the dark?” asked Mathew.

“I am not sure,” replied Weston.

“Is there a way to tell them without being specific? Maybe in code?” Mathew asked Weston.

“Wait! Layla and I had a little code we used when we were kids. Only she and I know it. What if we send a message in that code to Layla specifically? Then she will relax, knowing I am safe.”

“Prepare the message, and we will send it,” replied Weston.

Krista quickly constructed the message and passed it along to Weston. “Thank you.”

Krista then thought of all the people that had died on the High Kingdom. She knew so many of them.  It had been her home away from home many times.  Captain Barrow had been a great asset and friend to her and Mathew.  Krista glanced over at Mathew and was stricken by the sadness clearly displayed on his face. They would need to do something to honor this crew. Not to mention the ones on the dreadnought Kennedy as well. So many people had lost their lives in this fight against the Confederation. When would it stop?

-

Morag Admiral Voxx dropped from hyperspace in the system where Malor Two was located. He expected this planet to be heavily defended with a strong defensive grid, as well as a sizable fleet presence.

The scans confirmed his suspicions. Quickly afterward, the Resistance ships in the system jumped out to chase off his scout group. He didn’t stick around long enough for them to drop out near his ships. Let’s get out of here. It’s time to return to our rendezvous location and then begin our attack. I am ready to kill some Humans, millions of them. The people of Leonora Five have very few hours left to live.

The Morag ships jumped from the system, just as the Resistance fleet arrived at their location.

-

Marloo was focused on his task. He did his best not to let his mind wander. He would figure out where the Confederation might show up next. How many worlds would they scan before they launched their attack?

“Admiral, we have message from Jalot Four, specifically for High Princess Layla,” said General Gantts.

“What does it say?” Marloo asked. He feared it would be condolences from the governor.

“I cannot decipher it. It appears to be in code.”

“Let me see it,” Marloo said, as he came to stand behind Gantts. “That’s odd. Well, I guess we better get this to the Princess. It must be important. Maybe she can decipher it.”

“I will take it to her myself,” said Gantts. She took the message and hurried out of the Command Center.

Chapter Sixteen

Out of breath, General Gantts arrived at the Royal Quarters in the Imperial Palace. She ran all the way.

“May I help you?” asked Royal Attendant Emira, sitting just outside Layla and Derrick’s quarters.

“I have a coded message for High Princess Layla from Jalot Four,” she replied, as she tried to catch her breath.

“What does it say?”

“We could not decipher it. We assume Princess Layla can, since it was addressed specifically to her,” replied Gantts.

“I will see if she is awake.” Emira knocked softly on the door, and Derrick quickly answered.

As Derrick opened the door, he noticed General Gantts standing behind Emira. “What’s going on?” he asked, as his gaze shifted from one woman to the other , both standing at the door.

“We have received a coded message from Jalot Four, addressed specifically to High Princess Layla. We cannot decipher it but assume she can,” replied Gantts.

“I will see if I can wake her. Wait here.” He took the message from Gantts and walked back into their bedroom, closing the door behind him.

-

Layla was up, getting a drink of water. “Tell me that was all a nightmare.”

“You have a coded message from Jalot Four,” Derrick said, as he handed Layla the message.

“Coded? What’s going on?” she asked, as she took the message from Derrick. “Turn on the light please. It’s too dark for me to read it.”

Derrick walked to the lights and turned them on. When he turned around, he saw Layla’s face light up. Then she started crying. “She’s safe! Krista is alive and on Jalot Four. She and Mathew are in the Command Center under the capitol building. Their ship was destroyed, but they were not on it at the time.”

Derrick found himself crying along with Layla. “What’s this code?”

“It’s a code Krista and I had when we were children.”

“They must have decided it was too risky to send us a hyperlight message, thinking it could be intercepted by the Confederation. If that happened, they might have returned to kill Krista,” Derrick said.

“I am so relieved. I can’t believe I fainted in front of everyone. I need to get back down there and tell everyone the good news. I also must show them all that I am okay.”

“Emira is waiting outside with General Gantts. I can have her come in and help you get ready. Don’t take too long. Gantts and I need to get back to the Command Center as soon as possible,” said Derrick, as he walked out of their quarters to get Emira.

Soon they all headed back to the Command Center together. Once there, Layla made the announcement to everyone. “The coded message from Jalot Four is from Princess Krista. She is alive and well. She and Mathew were on the planet with Governor Littrel, when the enemy attack occurred.”

The entire room cheered.

“Now it’s time to get back to work,” Derrick stated. “We must figure out where the Confederation will show up next.”

“What about Admiral Collison? How are things going for them?” asked Layla.

Marloo replied, “They stopped at the supply fleet for a short time and then headed to the Druin area of the Confederation. They will soon start their first attack there.”

“Good. We need to keep up those attacks as long as possible. What about the ships that Earth was sending? When do we expect them?” Layla asked.

“They should arrive within the next six days,” replied Marloo.

“Good. We may need them,” replied Layla.

-

Admiral Collison neared the system of Druin Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. All three inhabited planets had a shipyard. They would destroy three shipyards in one system. However, each was heavily guarded. Every Druin system and their shipyards were strongly protected now. All the scout ships had confirmed this. This system had the most shipyards with the least number of ships.

No doubt if the five hundred Druin warships were not in the Empire, ready to attack a target there, Collison would have more enemy ships to face here.

According to the scout ships, the third, fourth, and sixth planets from the sun were inhabited, called Druin Ten, Eleven, and Twelve, with Druin Twelve being the farthest from the sun. Each had a shipyard orbiting it. At last report, a Druin fleet of 397 ships patrolled the system. Of those, 67 were battleships.

Collison’s primary targets would be the three shipyards and the fleet in the system. The closest relief fleets would be ninety minutes away. That is how much time the Humans had to get the job done. Each planet had a defensive grid, so they must stay out of range of that, while destroying the shipyards. The first priority, however, was destroying the orbiting Druin fleet.

“Ten minutes until we reach the target system,” announced Captain Billingsly.

“Let Rear Admiral Barnes know that her main responsibility will be protecting the battlecarriers. I am certain the Druins will make them their main target. Have the battlecarriers on standby to launch their interceptors. We deploy half of them to form into their squadrons. Like last time, we will use the same strategy again. The interceptors will launch their missiles at the Druin fleet from medium-range. Have the other half of the interceptors prepared to launch as well, in case the Druins deploy their drones,” commanded Collison.

As the Human fleet exited hyperspace, their sensor alarms blared, confirming the presence of the Druin fleet. Red icons appeared on the tactical display. “The fleet is assembling near Druin Twelve, Admiral,” said Billingsly.

“Let’s move in to engage them. Stay out of weapons range, so we can allow the interceptors to move in first,” said Collison.

As his fleet moved toward the enemy fleet, the battlecarriers began launching their attack interceptors.

-

Captain Elliott, on the battlecarrier Deneb, launched his assigned attack interceptors. Once they formed into their squadrons, they started their attack run on the Druin fleet. So far, no drones had been deployed from the enemy fleet.

Elliott kept his gaze on the main viewscreen, showing the interceptors heading toward the Druins. Elliott hoped most of them would make it back but knew they wouldn’t all be so fortunate.

A few of the other viewscreens revealed the inside of the cockpits of the interceptors. From here, it looked almost like Elliott were in one himself. Elliott’s pulse quickened as the interceptors closed in on the fleet. The Druins began launching their weapons at the interceptors at that point.

From the viewscreen of the interceptors, bright streaks of light flew quickly toward them. The pilots rolled left and then swerved right to avoid the weapons fire. Elliott felt as if he were playing a video game, but this battle involved much higher stakes. And he had no Reset or Pause button.

His gaze continued to watch the viewscreens of the attack interceptors as they closed the distance to the Druin fleet. Elliott glanced over at the distance information, reported on another screen. The interceptors were nearly close enough to launch their fusion-tipped missiles. Small bright fireballs could be seen in the periphery of the view from the cockpit. Elliott knew all those little fireballs were attack interceptors hit by enemy fire.

They finally reached the point where they could launch their weapons. The view shook slightly as the missiles were launched from the interceptors. Then the view changed, as the interceptors turned around and headed back to the fleet.

Elliott’s gaze shifted to another viewscreen that showed the Druin fleet, as the missiles began lighting up their energy screens. Over eight thousand missiles slammed into the enemy ships. All across the front line, the Druin ships were dying. Large explosions would break a ship into pieces, and then more missiles would hit, shattering what was left of the ship.

Elliott looked back at the viewscreen he had been watching before to see if the interceptors were now back on board the ship. The screen was static. “What happened to the ship on that viewscreen?” he asked the tactical officer.

“That interceptor was hit and destroyed, as it returned to the ship. The interceptors are very vulnerable when they turn around and return,” replied the tactical officer.

Elliott sighed. “We need to figure out a way to have their energy shields protect the entire ship, not just the front.”

“All remaining attack interceptors are now back on board, Captain.”

“Good. Have them reload and prepare to go again, if Collison needs them to. How many made it back to the carrier?”

“We had 116 of our 160 attack interceptors that are stationed on this ship returned to the ship, sir.”

“How many enemy ships did the interceptors destroy?”

“It appears they destroyed 206 enemy ships, over half the Druin fleet, Captain. Collison and the rest of the fleet are moving in to engage the fleet. We have been instructed to stay here and to await further orders,” said the tactical officer.

-

Collison had the fleet move in to finish off the remaining ships. They launched their accelerator cannon fire as soon as in range. The projectiles blasted through the Druins’ energy screens, and then the second round blew the ships apart in massive explosions of pure energy.

The Druins’ weapons fire reached the Human fleet and began bombarding the energy shields of numerous ships. Waves of deadly energy washed across the energy screens of the ships. Collison saw one of his battlecruiser’s shields flicker and then fail. Two antimatter missiles turned the powerful warship into glowing wreckage.

-

Druin Commander Ryker had his fleet on high alert. The Humans had already attacked shipyards in the Zynth area of the Confederation. Sooner or later, the Humans would likely come here as well to target their Druin shipyards. Ryker hoped that would be all they would target and not a planet.

They now had defensive grids up around all their planets. All the space stations and shipyards were heavily armed and had energy shields. It would cost the Humans a lot of ships to destroy another planet. By all accounts from the Zynth systems, the Humans had not targeted a planet, only shipyards.

Ryker hoped the Humans continued that trend. He hoped even more that the Humans would bypass all the Druin planets and head straight for the Morag ones. They had a larger fleet with more shipyards. To him, it made perfect sense that the Humans would continue to attack Morag shipyards and skip over the Druin ones.

As soon as the alarms rang out, he knew his hopes had been dashed. The Humans were here. It was time to fight. “How many ships do they have?” he asked the sensor officer.

“They have 381 battlecruisers, 136 dreadnoughts, and 59 battlecarriers, Commander,” replied the sensor officer.

“We are most concerned about those battlecarriers. If we can destroy them, we destroy the Human’s abilities to launch thousands of missiles at our fleet or planets. Let’s meet them out toward Druin Twelve. Maybe we can eliminate most of them before they can get to the shipyards or our planets.”

They quickly jumped out to meet the incoming enemy fleet. “Prepare the ships to launch all weapons, as soon as they are within weapons range, and put us close to the shipyard. We could use their firepower to help us. Have all ships target the battlecarriers, if possible.”

“Commander, the Human fleet has stopped. They are out of weapons range. It appears they are launching their small attack craft.”

Ryker slammed his hand down on the armrest of his command chair. He did not have any drones to counter the interceptors’ attack. The drones were being produced at Druin Seven and then gathered onto the drone carriers. None of those had made their way to his command as of yet. “How many interceptors will we face?”

“Currently two thousand and rising, Commander.”

“Once they begin their attack run, fire on them. Maybe we can hit a majority of them before they can get close enough to fire their weapons.”

“Commander, the attack interceptors now number almost 2,800.”

“Let’s light them up and blow them all to oblivion,” Ryker said confidently.

“They are headed toward us now. They will be within weapons range in two minutes.”

“Prepare to fire. Have the fleet launch a barrage of weapons fire in their direction. They are too small to lock on to. Let’s see how they do against a wall of missiles coming at them.”

Soon after that, the interceptors reached weapons range of the Druin fleet. The fleet released a massive amount of firepower toward the oncoming interceptor attack. Ryker leaned forward in his command chair, waiting to see how effective their weapons were on the small craft. Ryker watched in growing anger as the interceptors swerved to avoid the antimatter missiles and fusion energy beams meant to destroy them. The attack interceptors were not spaced closely together. They kept their distance, making it harder for the weapons to hit them. Some small fireballs could be seen across the incoming line of attack interceptors, signaling a few successful hits by the Druin.

Ryker’s eyes widened in horror as the remaining attack interceptors now launched their missiles at his fleet.

“Commander, we have six thousand and counting fusion-tipped missiles headed this way,” the sensor officer said in a worried tone.

“Have the ships change their targets to the incoming missiles. We must destroy as many of them as we can!”

Suddenly, all across the forward line of the Druin fleet, missiles arrived, overloading energy shields. Then more missiles came, causing massive explosions as they slammed into the sides of the ships. A few ships were knocked out of the formation and drifted into other nearby ships, causing catastrophic damage to both warships. Ryker watched in growing terror as ship after ship met its end.

A large explosion knocked a few of his crew to the floor. They quickly got back up and resumed their duties. “Commander, we took a direct hit to our energy shield. A few more like that, and we will be in trouble,” said the systems officer. When the ship shook violently again, the lights dimmed for a moment, before coming back on. “Shifting more power to the energy shield,” reported the systems officer.

Commander Ryker stood and said, “Move us back behind the planet’s defensive grid. I have no intention of dying today.” He felt the ship shift and travel farther from the intense battle. “Let all ships know to fall back to the planet’s defensive grid once their shields get below 25 percent. We can still launch our attack from there.”

“Won’t that leave the shipyard exposed?”

“Yes, but we can continue our attack as they close in on this shipyard. We will destroy a number of their ships. We will likely lose this shipyard, but perhaps we can destroy enough ships that they cannot destroy all three shipyards in this system.”

“Commander, the Human fleet is now entering our extreme weapons range,” said the sensor officer.

“Have the fleet remaining outside of the defensive grid fire on the advancing fleet.”

Ryker watched intensely, as the firepower reached the Human fleet and began systematically destroying them. His gaze shifted back to his fleet, as the Human’s firepower slammed into his ships. His mouth fell open in amazement at the sheer power of this weapon. He had only heard of its power but had not witnessed it firsthand until now. “Have all ships fall behind the defensive grid!” If they remained where they were, Ryker would shortly be out of ships. There was no defense against this new Human weapon.

-

Collison noticed the remaining Druin warships falling below the planet’s defensive grid. This left the shipyard out on its own. The Druin ships could still fire from behind the grid, and that firepower could reach them as they destroyed the shipyard. However, if he kept the shipyard between his fleet and the Druins’, then it would at least partially shield his fleet from their weapons. They must also be mindful of the defensive grid. Collison was not sure how far out its weapons could reach.

“Send Rear Admiral Barnes a message and let her know that I want her to focus on the defensive grid near the shipyard and the Druin fleet. I will focus my task group on the shipyard. Let Captain Drake know that he will be responsible for protecting the battlecarriers.”

“Yes, Admiral,” replied the communications officer.

“We are entering weapons range of the shipyard, Admiral,” said the sensor officer.

“Fire!”

Collison’s gaze shifted to the viewscreen focused on the shipyard. The shipyard opened fire on Collison’s fleet just as the accelerator cannon fire slammed into the shipyard’s energy screen, quickly overloading it. As the next rounds hit, large explosions riddled the shipyard, one after another. Large pieces broke off and then fell to the planet. The remaining segment of the shipyard was disintegrated, as more projectiles smashed into it.

“Have the fleet jump to the next planet to target its shipyard. What’s left of the Druin fleet may follow us, so be mindful of that,” ordered Collison.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes fired her weapons and those of her task group at the various parts of the defensive grid. She would really like to finish off that fleet. Barnes didn’t want any ships left in the system to follow them into hyperspace.

Enemy fusion energy beam satellites and missile platforms launched their weapons as soon as the Human fleet was in range. Many of Barnes’s ships found their energy shields weakened by the bombardment. However, the Human’s accelerator cannons quickly decimated the threat that the defensive grid had posed. That left the enemy fleet. Barnes got a couple rounds off before the Druin fleet made its jump out of the area.

“Send a message to Admiral Collison and ask if we can have some attack interceptors go in through this now-open area of the defensive grid and launch a few thousand missiles at the planet below.” Moments later, Barnes had her response.

“He said, no, only shipyards for now,” replied the communications officer.

Time to move to the next target.

-

As the Human fleet neared Druin Eleven, they noticed the remaining Druin fleet of twenty-three battlecruisers and seven battleships again took refuge beneath the defensive grid.

“Same plan as last time,” sent out Collison to his fleet. Maybe by the time they destroyed the last shipyard, they would have destroyed the entire enemy fleet.

So Drake protected the Empire’s battlecarriers, while Barnes focused on the defensive grid near the shipyard and the Druin fleet.

Collison’s group fired their accelerator cannons at the shipyard as soon as in range. The defensive grid and remaining Druin fleet launched their weapons as quickly as they could. A few of Collison’s ships were hit, and he watched on the tactical display as the green icons swelled up and then completely disappeared from view.

Then the Druin shipyard blew apart in a giant nova-like explosion. Collison and everyone in the Command Center shielded their eyes from the brightness of the explosion. When able to look again, the crew confirmed that the shipyard was gone. What once was a large shipyard was now a bunch of space debris that littered the area between the Human’s fleet and the defensive grid.

Barnes’s group had nearly eliminated all defensive elements in the vicinity of what once was the shipyard, when the Druin fleet decided to escape into hyperspace. Collison’s fleet all fired at the vulnerable enemy fleet as they left.

Collison smiled, as he noticed fewer enemy ships were now in the system. The Druins were now down to sixteen battlecruisers and four battleships. Collison had one more chance to get the remaining ships. Who knew where the Druin patrol would head after the next shipyard was destroyed? Collison didn’t care as long as they didn’t follow him.

Time to move to the last shipyard in the system, the one that orbited Druin Ten.

-

Druin Commander Ryker was running out of options and out of ships. His fleet had successfully destroyed a few Human ships at each shipyard, but only one shipyard remained. What would he do after it was destroyed? Move on to another system to help protect shipyards or stay here to patrol this system? It didn’t make much sense to stay here. The Humans were obviously after the shipyards.

They had had the opportunity to fire on Druin Twelve, once they had annihilated the defensive grid near that shipyard. They did not do it. Ryker was greatly relieved the Humans hadn’t targeted the Druin planets. So he would head to another system to aid in its defense instead of staying here. First though, he would try to destroy a few more of the Human ships before leaving the system.

-

At Druin Ten, Rear Admiral Barnes was ready to finish off this enemy fleet. She quickly targeted all the defensive elements in the area. Once gone, the Humans shot rounds toward the Druin fleet, destroying a few before they made their transition to hyperspace. Where they were going, she didn’t care. For now, the Druin fleet had been reduced to only eleven battlecruisers and two battleships. Since the enemy had already left the system, no need for Barnes to worry about them following her fleet to their next target.

Barnes shifted her gaze to the viewscreen, catching the shipyard just as it blew up into millions of pieces. A smile spread across her face. The Druins now had three fewer shipyards and far fewer warships as well. Today was going as planned.

-

Once safely in hyperspace and headed to their next target, Collison assessed what they had lost in this battle. In total, in the Druin system, they had lost eighty-four battlecruisers and fourteen dreadnoughts. As for the attack interceptors, they had lost a total of 461 of those. Collison needed to drop out of hyperspace in an uninhabited system and evaluate the fleet. He could redistribute the attack interceptors in the battlecarriers, allowing two of them to return to the supply fleet for restocking.

Collison also needed to evaluate his possible targets and decide which one he would hit next. No matter which one he chose, he would face an enemy fleet. Collison wished his reinforcements from Earth would get here faster. According to his calculations, it would be another four days or so until they reached the periphery of the Empire. Then they would need to make any necessary repairs and do a few maintenance checks before they headed to the supply fleet. So, at the earliest, still a good seven days away.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo received a message from Admiral Collison, informing Marloo that they had successfully destroyed three Druin shipyards and 384 Druin warships. Marloo smiled. If only they could keep hitting targets in the Confederation, they could make a huge difference in this war long-term. Especially with Earth sending more ships every week now.

However, the goal was to end this war. What exactly would it take to do that? Marloo could think of only one thing that might work—to destroy Morag Prime. Without the Morag leadership to continue this war, perhaps it would falter. It would take a considerable-size fleet to attack and to destroy Morag Prime, the most heavily defended planet in the whole Confederation. Thousands of ships would be needed. How could they manage that?

Chapter Seventeen

On Jalot Four, General Weston had finally given the all-clear for Princess Krista and Mathew to leave the bunker underneath the capitol building. They were then taken to Governor Littrel’s residence, where Krista’s suite of rooms had already been set up. Her Royal Attendants would be waiting for her there.

As Krista and Mathew entered the Governor’s residence, Krista’s heart beat fast. She hoped Brenda would be there. They were led up the stairs and down a hall, before Littrel stopped at a door. “Here is your suite of rooms for the time being. I hope that you find them suitable.”

Littrel opened the door, and Krista and Mathew walked inside. Standing across the room were her attendants. She didn’t see Brenda with them. Her heart sank, and tears came to her eyes. As the door closed behind her, she saw something out of the periphery of her vision. She turned, and standing there slightly behind Mathew was Brenda! Krista rushed over to her and threw her arms around her. “I was so afraid that you had remained on the ship. I thought I had lost you.”

“I started feeling better shortly after the two of you headed down for your tour. Which, by the way, I can’t wait to hear all about,” Brenda said, as she gave Krista a sly grin.

“Oh, I am sure Mathew would be delighted to tell you all about it!”

“Maybe later,” Brenda said, as she now smiled at Mathew. “Since I felt better, we decided to get things moved here to the surface for a couple days. With your schedule as full as it was, it made the most sense to stay here at the Governor’s residence.”

“I am so glad you did!” Krista said, as she hugged Brenda again.

“I am sure the schedule has now changed, however,” replied Brenda.

“Yes,” Mathew agreed. “I think it would be in our best interests to return to Golan Four as soon as possible. However, we would be wise to stay there through the duration of the Confederation attack. Since they did scan this planet, there is a higher chance that they will return and attack Jalot Four.”

“I agree,” said Krista.

“I will go talk to the governor and see what can be arranged. The faster we can get out of here, the better,” said Mathew.

“Let’s get you changed and in a fresh dress,” Brenda said, with a smile.

“That sounds great.” Krista was so relieved that Brenda was here and alive.

-

The Confederation fleets once again gathered at their rendezvous location at the periphery of the Confederation. The three admirals were meeting on Morag Admiral Voxx’s flagship.

Voxx was annoyed at the fact that Druin Admiral Falorr and Zynth Admiral Donlur wore telepathic nullifiers again. He clenched his jaw as they began talking.

“The Human fleet in the Confederation has now moved on from the Zynth area of the Confederation to attack Druin targets,” Falorr said angrily. “No doubt when they are finished with Druin targets, they will move on to Morag targets.”

“We will destroy them if they do,” said Voxx. “Right now, we need to focus on our attack of the Empire. I believe, once our attack begins, they will pull their fleet from the Confederation.”

“Let’s hope so. Otherwise they may destroy more planets, since that is what we intend to do,” said Donlur. Hopefully that wouldn’t be Zynth planets since the Human fleet was no longer in their part of the Confederation. It would be fitting if it were a Morag one, he thought to himself.

“Let’s compare our scans and see which planets we can destroy, with the least amount of damage to our fleets,” said Voxx. This would go so much faster if they weren’t wearing those damn nullifiers, he thought to himself.

“Our fleet successfully destroyed the Princess of the Empire’s Royal Dreadnought,” Druin Admiral Falorr said triumphantly.

“Was she on board?” asked Voxx.

“I am not sure,” replied Falorr.

“Which planet was she at?” asked Voxx.

“Jalot Four,” replied Falorr.

Voxx reviewed the scans from the planet. “If she was killed, we would no doubt have already heard about it, with further threats to now destroy the Druins. If she wasn’t on board the ship, no doubt they will quickly get her off planet and back to Golan Four.”

After a couple hours of comparing scans and making battle plans, they adjourned their meeting. It had been decided which planets they would attack and in what order. They would be ready to enter hyperspace in two hours.

-

Fleet Admiral Dom Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters reviewed the potential Empire targets that the Confederation had scanned.

“Most likely they will hit one of these planets,” Marloo said, as he pointed to a couple planets on the holographic display that he stood in front of.

“Even though they scanned these planets, we can’t leave other planets vulnerable—in case the Confederation attacks elsewhere,” said Derrick.

“Yes, I agree. I believe we are as ready as we can be. What about Princess Krista? Will she and Mathew return to Golan Four soon?” asked Marloo.

“Yes. Layla sent a coded message to Krista, telling her to return as soon as possible. They will stay here for the duration of the Confederation attack. Then, when we deem it is safe, they will finish visiting the planets they still had left on their itinerary.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Which dreadnought will be bringing her back?”

“Mathew and General Weston are arranging that. There will be no messages about it in case they might get intercepted. Krista will send a coded message to Layla about when we should expect them.”

“I guess all we can do for the time being is wait.” Both admirals continued to walk around and study the holographic display, as if it would give them the answers they sought.

-

It was time for the Confederation fleets to make their transition to hyperspace. Their first target, Leonora Five. The Humans would not be expecting their attack, since they had not scanned that system. Voxx smiled coldly. It was time to kill some Humans, a lot of Humans.

-

On Leonora Five, Governor Barrington headed to meet with Colonel Pierson. The colonel wanted to review defenses and evacuation plans with Barrington, in case the Confederation attacked. Barrington was not concerned. Some of the planets in systems near them had been scanned by the Confederation scout fleet, but thankfully they had been passed over. He had agreed to the meeting only to appease Pierson.

Once he arrived, they got right down to business. “Thank you for meeting with me today. I want to go over our emergency plans and ensure we are on the same page. I don’t want us unprepared, if the Confederation fleet does end up here in our system.”

“Since we were not scanned by the scout ships, I find the possibility of being attacked quite remote,” responded Barrington confidently.

“I hope you are correct, but I would rather be prepared than caught off guard,” responded Pierson.

“All right, what defenses do we now have in place?”

“Thanks to the Empire and Admiral Cleemorl, we now have a total of 1,000 energy beam satellites, 125 missile platforms, 2 ODPs, and 1,750 ground-based attack interceptors. We have successfully armed all 4 of our space stations with particle beam cannons, and they each have a strong energy shield. As for our shipyard, we have rearmed it as well. The particle beam cannons have been installed, as well as a strong energy screen. We are fortunate enough to have a task group of Resistance ships in the system, consisting of 132 battlecruisers and 51 support vessels.”

“How long has the Resistance task force been here?” Barrington had not been aware of any fleets patrolling the system.

“Fleet Admiral Marloo had them assigned here, in case the Confederation fleet makes Leonora Five a target,” responded Pierson.

“Does he expect us to be a target?” Barrington asked, with growing concern in his voice. He had convinced himself they would be spared this time around. It sounded as if he were the only one who thought that way.

“Yes, he does think it is a strong possibility, even though the Confederation scout groups did not scan our system. We have a weaker defensive grid than planets in surrounding systems. Even though the Confederation would not know that, they may make that assumption, since, not too long ago, we surrendered and destroyed our defensive grid and disarmed our shipyard and space stations. They may believe we haven’t had the time to rebuild and to rearm our defenses, making us an easier target,” replied Pierson.

“When might we expect this attack?”

“In the next six to fifteen hours.”

“Should we begin the evacuations? It would take us a good six hours to get everyone inside the bunkers.”

“It may be a good idea to begin the first round of evacuations now. We won’t be rushed then. It may end up being a false alarm, but I would rather that than have citizens unable to get into the bunkers in time.”

“We will start with the essential personnel and then move on from there,” responded Barrington. He hoped this would be a false alarm.

-

A young boy played with his brother and their dog at a city park. Their mother was not far away, watching happily as her boys enjoyed the beautiful day outdoors. Suddenly alarms sounded across the city. The boys grabbed their dog and ran toward their mom.

“What’s going on, Mom?” they asked in panicked voices.

“It’s the alarms letting us know a Confederation fleet is headed this way. Quickly let’s get home and see what the reports tell us to do.” She ushered her boys and their dog quickly from the park and back to their house.

Once there, she turned on the emergency broadcasts. Her boys sat down beside her on their couch, anxiously awaiting the news.

“This is Governor Barrington. The Empire feels that Leonora Five is under imminent threat of attack from the Confederation fleets that have been spotted in the Empire. We will begin evacuations to the deep underground bunkers immediately. The first round of evacuees will include all essential personnel and their families. Do not panic. We do not expect an attack for another six to fifteen hours, plenty of time to get to your designated bunker in a safe and orderly manner. Again we are now evacuating all families with a blue designation. If this is you, please head to your designated bunker immediately.” After that, the message kept repeating itself.

“Mom, do we have a blue designation? Are we essential personnel?” the boys asked hopefully.

“No, we are not. We do not have a blue designation. Ours is yellow,” she replied in a comforting tone.

“When will we get to go?”

“They will have blue first, then green, orange, red, and thereafter yellow. It won’t take long. There is nothing to worry about. We will be in the bunker long before the Confederation fleets arrive.”

“Will Dad be back in time to go with us?”

“No, he is up on the shipyard working. We will see him after this is all over.”

“Is he safe up there on the shipyard?”

“Of course. The shipyard has an energy shield, plus it has lots of weapons to keep it safe. Why don’t you guys pack one bag each, so we will be ready when it’s our turn. I will make us a yummy meal, so we will have a full stomach before we go to the bunker.”

“Yes, Mom.”

-

Admiral Cleemorl met with Rear Admirals Manson and Fulmar of First Fleet above Tantula Five. “Our fleet numbers are steadily increasing again. It won’t be long, and we will be back to the size fleet we were before we went to the Confederation,” said Cleemorl.

“When do we expect the Confederation fleets to attack?” asked Manson.

“In about four to twelve hours. We expect their first attack to be on the periphery of the Empire. They are more likely to have better success out there, where we have less fleet coverage,” replied Cleemorl.

“Is the Tantula system or the Hagen Star Cluster in danger?” asked Fulmar.

“No, our defenses are too strong. This enemy fleet has not even 1,500 ships, so nowhere near what it had the last time we fought them in the Empire. I do fear for the planets on the periphery. I believe the attack will come to one or more of the planets I recently visited to add defenses to. It makes the most strategic sense.”

“Which planets were those?” Fulmar asked.

“Astor, Ranier Two, Xnea Two, and Leonora Five.”

“Rear Admiral Liam Anderson has a heavy task group near Astor. Rear Admiral Carrie is near Ranier Two. What about Xnea Two and Leonora Five? What fleet coverage do they have?” asked Manson.

“Xnea Two has a heavy Imperial task group made up of 165 battlecruisers and 52 dreadnoughts patrolling the system, while Leonora Five has a Resistance fleet of 132 battlecruisers and 51 support ships,” responded Cleemorl. “Marloo is redistributing some more Resistance ships to those two systems now.”

“What about the other planets the Confederation scanned?” asked Fulmar.

“Imperial fleets are being assigned to beef up the task groups already stationed in those systems,” replied Cleemorl.

“Is there anything we can do with what we have here? Maybe send some more ships to Xnea Two and Leonora Five? Do we have any we can spare and not leave the Hagen Star Cluster vulnerable?” asked Manson.

Cleemorl reviewed the ships on his tactical display. What could he spare? They had lost so many ships in the Confederation. What they hadn’t lost, they had sent back to the Confederation with Collison. “I think we can spare 100 battlecruisers and 20 dreadnoughts for each of you. Fulmar, you can head to Xnea Two, and Manson, you go to Leonora Five. Manson, you may not make it in time, but you will then be in the area to be repositioned for the next attack. Fulmar, you should make it timely to Xnea Two. The Hagen Star Cluster is closer to Xnea Two than to Leonora Five.”

“Yes, Admiral. I will prepare to head out within the hour. Every minute we wait could be the difference in us making it there in time or not,” said Manson, as he stood and saluted Cleemorl and Fulmar.

“Good luck,” Cleemorl said, as the two rear admirals headed to their own flagships.

-

The Confederation was closing in on Leonora Five. The Humans there would soon run in terror, as the Confederation fleet bombarded their planet. No one would live there for years. It would be one less planet to worry about.

Yes, soon revenge would be theirs.

-

Back on Leonora Five, evacuations were still ongoing. The emergency broadcast from Governor Barrington had moved on from blue, then green, and was now on orange.

“Mom, how much longer until we get to go?” asked her eldest son.

“Red is next. Then it will be our turn,” she answered, with a smile. “No need to worry. There is still plenty of time.”

“Can we go ahead and head closer to the bunker? That way, we are there first, when it changes to our color?”

“We will do that, but not until they have begun the red evacuations. Do you have your bag packed?”

“Yes, everything is ready to go, Mom.”

“Great. We will wait for Governor Barrington to announce the next round of evacuations, and then we will head toward our designated bunker. It is not that far from here,” she said calmly. She was relieved that she sounded much calmer than she felt. She wanted to go now but knew it was much easier to wait here than somewhere else. The boys were easily entertained here. That was not true while waiting in a long line to enter a shelter.

-

High Princess Layla headed to the Command Center. She had received a coded message there. She smiled to herself. She was so glad that she and Krista had made up that code when they were children. It had come in handy. She knew this message would tell her when to expect Krista back on Golan Four.

Layla also wanted to know if the Confederation fleets had been spotted anywhere in the Empire yet. She knew that Derrick had mentioned a time line as to when they expected the attack, and that time neared.

Layla would feel much better once Krista was back on Golan Four and out of harm’s way. Until then, Layla would wait. There really wasn’t much else she could do. Right now her hands were tied. She knew the Empire was in the capable hands of Fleet Admiral Marloo and her own husband, Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters. She had complete trust in them and their abilities to repel this enemy attack.

-

Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley headed to the shuttle that would take them to the dreadnought Aurora, which would take them back to Golan Four. Krista’s Royal Attendants had gone ahead of them to prepare her rooms. This set of rooms would not be as nice as the ones she had had on the High Kingdom, but they would have to do.

Brenda had stayed on the planet to escort Krista and Mathew to the Aurora. Brenda had no intention of letting Krista out of her sight.

As they reached the shuttle, Krista turned to Governor Littrel and said, “Governor Littrel, thank you for keeping Major Barkley and myself safe during the attack. Also thank you for keeping my schedule full so that I didn’t end up being on that ship at the wrong time. We have you to thank for that. I will always be in your debt.”

“Thank you, Princess Krista, for coming to Jalot Four in the first place. I hope that you will return someday soon, so we can finish all the things on that schedule,” she said, with a wink. The governor knew Krista had not really enjoyed the tour of the attack interceptor’s facility nearly as much as Mathew had.

“We will be back. I can promise you that,” Krista said, with a smile.

“We look forward to it.”

Krista and Mathew stepped onto the shuttle and, before long, were boarding the Aurora. She was escorted to her rooms, which she found surprisingly comfortable. Her attendants had been busy, she could tell. Krista smiled at all of them, as she sat down on the couch.

“I will head to the Command Center to observe everything from there for a while. I will come and check on you in a little while,” said Mathew, as he squeezed her hand. “You should rest. It will be a little less than a day before we arrive at Golan Four.”

“I intend to do just that,” she replied, as he headed out the door.

Chapter Eighteen

Druin Admiral Falorr still seethed with anger because the Humans had moved into the Druin-controlled area of the Confederation to attack targets. His shipyards. How dare they! He would need those shipyards to repair and to replace ships from this attack in the Empire. Not to mention to build up their fleets as much as possible.

The Morag had much larger fleets than the Druins. Falorr planned to change that. He still didn’t really trust the Morag. He knew one day the Morag would turn on them, and he wanted to be ready. Falorr hoped the Humans would quickly move on to Morag shipyards. They apparently had more ships and more shipyards than the rest of the Confederation races combined.

Falorr knew the Druins couldn’t afford to lose many ships on this endeavor. He was also worried that, once they destroyed a Human Empire planet, that the Human Fleet would retaliate. Unfortunately one was currently nearby in the Druin star systems. He slammed his hand down on his desk in his quarters. Maybe that Human fleet would move on to the Morag star systems before the Confederation soon destroyed another Human planet.

Over the comm, his first officer said, “Admiral Falorr, you are needed in the Command Center.”

He hoped this was news that the Human fleet had moved out of their systems.

As he made his way to the Command Center, he managed to rein in his anger. He was on a mission, and he would focus on that. “Report,” he said, as he entered the Command Center.

“Admiral, we are nearing the star system where Leonora Five is located. We will begin dropping out of hyperspace in ten minutes,” said the sensor officer.

Falorr took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then a smile spread across his face. “Good, let’s ensure we destroy any shipyards as well as the planet.”

-

Morag Admiral Voxx reviewed what he knew from the last time they had attacked Leonora Five. More than likely, the Human Empire had helped them rebuild their defensive grid and rearm their space stations and shipyard. Being out this far, they shouldn’t have much of a fleet presence, especially since the Confederation scout fleets hadn’t scanned the system. Most likely the Empire had not reinforced whatever fleet was there.

Voxx planned to divide and conquer, as long as the Imperial fleet wasn’t large. Voxx would have the Druins target the fleet, the Zynth target the defensive grid, and Voxx would focus on the shipyard and space stations.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur prepared his fleet to exit hyperspace. They planned to start their attack very quickly, so as not to give the Humans time to call in reinforcements from nearby planets.

His portion of the fleet would target the planet’s defensive grid. They felt confident that it would be a weak defensive grid. Once they exited hyperspace, they would quickly run their scans and find out. Then he would determine how best to destroy his target.

-

Colonel Pierson was in the Command Center located underneath the capitol building when the sensor alarms sounded. His heart skipped a beat and then beat faster and faster. Sweat formed across his brow. He had been correct; they would be the first target of the Confederation. “Report!” he called out to his sensor officer.

“A confirmed Confederation fleet is dropping out of hyperspace, Colonel. It has 578 ships and counting,” replied the sensor officer.

“Sound the alarms on the surface for anyone still not in the bunkers. Everyone is to get to their designated bunker immediately. Also send a message to Golan Four, letting them know what’s going on. Then see if any fleets are near enough to help us.”

“Yes, Colonel.”

-

Governor Barrington dined with his family, when an aide ran in with the news that a Confederation fleet had begun exiting hyperspace.

“Get my family to the bunker. I am going directly to the Command Center. I will know more about the situation from there,” he said, as he quickly hugged his wife and three kids goodbye. He hoped he would get to see them again.

As he rushed to the Command Center, he was glad they had already started the evacuation to the bunkers. Hopefully everyone still on the surface could get to the bunkers in time. He knew that, more than likely, the Confederation would not accept a surrender and had intentions of bombing the surface.

Barrington hoped more allied fleets were nearby to help. The fleet patrolling the system was not large enough to destroy the estimated 1,500 ships this enemy fleet would contain.

Once he arrived at the capitol building, he glanced up at the sky for a moment and then took in a deep breath. Barrington knew this very well might be the last time he would be outside for the next two years. Assuming the worst, and that the Confederation bombarded the planet, it would take approximately two years to make the surface livable again.

After he made his way to the Command Center, Colonel Pierson brought him up to speed. This was, indeed, the Confederation fleet made up of Zynth, Druin, and Morag warships. They had slightly under 1,500 warships.

-

“Mom, why are the alarms sounding again?” asked her youngest son.

“I think the enemy fleet has been spotted. It is time to go. Get your bags and get the dog in his harness. We need to hurry to our bunker before the fighting starts,” she replied to her boys, who looked at her, wide-eyed and fearful.

She quickly grabbed her bag she had ready and waited for them at the door. As they headed out of their home, she turned around and glanced back. She knew that, most likely, she would not see this place again. It saddened her to think about that.

But, as they walked outside, she glanced up at the night sky. Her husband was up there on the shipyard. If this battle were anything like they had talked about, her husband would not survive the night. She would try to protect her boys from that truth as long as she could. Hope was a powerful thing. She did not want to extinguish that hope unless she absolutely had to.

The alarms were so much louder outside than they had been from inside their home. They quickly headed to the nearest train, which would take them to their bunker. She knew they needed to hurry, but still a surprising number of people were out here. She would have thought that most of them would have been in their bunkers by now. They must have thought this was a false alarm and just went about their day, like any other.

People seemed to be panicked by the time they reached the train station. She held tight to her boys’ hands. She had one on each side of her, and her eldest had the leash for their dog, following alongside him.

So many people were getting on the train. It didn’t take her long to realize this train would fill before they could reach the loading platform. She looked around in desperation for an alternative mode of transportation but found none. They would have to wait for the next train, and hopefully there would be enough room for them. As long as it came on time, they should still have plenty of time to get to their bunker, she thought to herself.

She quickly glanced up at the sky again. She saw no bright flashes of light that would indicate the enemy fleet was firing their weapons at the defensive grid. Her husband had told her the other day that the defensive grid was pretty strong. Much stronger than it had been the last time the Confederation was here. As long as they could get on a train before she started seeing those flashes of light, they would be fine.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo scrambled, trying to determine if there were any fleets near enough to Leonora Five. “Get me Admiral Cleemorl!”

Soon the communications officer said, “Admiral, we have Cleemorl on the comm.”

“Cleemorl, do you have any patrols near Leonora Five? The Confederation fleet has just dropped out of hyperspace there.”

“I sent Rear Admiral Manson that direction a few hours ago. Rear Admiral Fulmar was headed to Xnea Two.”

“When will Manson arrive at Leonora Five?” asked Marloo.

“He is still a couple hours away,” replied Cleemorl.

“He won’t make it in time then,” said Marloo. “I’m still checking surrounding star systems for any Resistance ships that might aid the fleet there.”

“Good luck. Maybe Manson will head them off at their next target. Do we have any idea what that would be?”

“I will get back to you, but most likely Ranier Two, Astor, or Xnea Two.”

“Good luck,” Cleemorl said, as he got off the comm.

-

Colonel Pierson was in the Leonora Five Command Center. Condition One had already been activated on all the space stations, the shipyard, and the defensive grid. “How long until the fleet reaches engagement range?”

“It appears the Confederation fleet is splitting into three groups. The Zynth ships are headed toward the planet. The Druins are closing in to the Resistance Fleet, and the Morag are headed toward the shipyard.”

“How are the evacuations going?”

“We estimate at about 70 percent. Reports show that many civilians did not evacuate when they were supposed to. They thought it was a false alarm and that we wouldn’t be attacked.”

“They have until the first missile gets through, then we will seal the bunkers shut. We can’t endanger all the citizens inside for the few outside,” responded Pierson.

-

Resistance Fleet Leader Markus Leo positioned his fleet close to the defensive grid. He would need its firepower to help his fleet ward off this enemy as long as possible.

Admiral Marloo had advised him to jump his fleet out of the system once their weapons capability fell below 30 percent. He reminded Leo that a ship was easier to fix than to build from scratch. However, he and his fleet might be the only thing between life and death for millions of Humans on the surface of Leonora Five.

“Let’s get the fleet into a wedge formation.” As Markus monitored the viewscreen in front of him, he said, “Looks like we will only face the Druin fleet. I guess that’s better than them all.”

“Eight minutes to weapons range.”

“Have all the battlecruisers prepare to fire the accelerator cannons. I am sure we will catch the Druins off guard. They are probably not expecting our ships to be equipped with them yet.”

“There are 449 Druin ships in their formation,” said the sensor officer.

“That’s better than 1,500,” Leo said, with a smile. He hoped they could stop this fleet from bombing the surface of the planet.

-

On the surface of the planet, alarms and sirens sounded, signaling the Condition One status. The few energy beam turrets were pointed upward, and interceptor missiles were prepared to launch. These were positioned close to the capital, assuming the capital would be a prime target of the enemy fleet.

At the interceptor base, all 1,750 attack interceptors rolled out of their armored bunkers, ready to take flight, once the command was given for them to do so. Their primary responsibility would be to shoot down any missile that made it through the defensive grid. Since they would use their energy beam cannons for this purpose, they did not have any missiles on board. The missiles would just add extra weight, causing the interceptors to be less maneuverable. They must quickly maneuver to target the descending warheads.

Trains all across the surface loaded people up and took them to the bunkers. Those who didn’t have access to the trains drove their aircars or ground cars. Traffic tie-ups were occurring, but, so far, the evacuations were going relatively smoothly.

In the larger cities, panic spread throughout the streets as people found the various modes of transportation were overwhelmed. They were not designed for this much capacity in the case of emergencies. As time continued to pass, more and more people became more and more panicked, as train after train filled, and yet people were still left waiting to board. They knew time was quickly running out.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx closed in on the shipyard. He smiled at the impending destruction he would soon cause.

Three minutes to engagement range, said the sensor officer.

It appears they are evacuating personnel from the shipyard as several transport vessels are leaving the shipyard and heading toward the surface, said his first officer.

Shall we fire on them? asked the tactical officer.

No, they will die shortly when we destroy the planet. Our first priority is to destroy the shipyard, replied Voxx.

Two minutes to weapons range.

Prepare to fire all weapons at the shipyard. Voxx knew it wouldn’t take long for his fleet to rid the Humans of their shipyard. He stood as they prepared to fire their weapons.

Weapons range!

Fire!

The space between the Morag fleet and the shipyard lit up from the sheer number of weapons being fired. As the shipyard fired its weapons, Voxx took in a sharp breath. What’s this? These Humans have the new particle beams on their shipyard?

It appears twenty of the dual particle beam cannons are on the shipyard, Admiral, remarked the tactical officer.

Voxx had not expected this. He hoped there would not be any more surprises. Target those cannons! We must destroy them quickly, or they will annihilate our fleet!

The light-violet beams from the particle beam cannons slashed out from the shipyard and struck the screens of numerous Morag battleships. Their screens suddenly flared up brighter and brighter until they collapsed. This was followed by giant explosions that rocked the ships surrounding them, as massive holes were ripped into the targeted ships. Voxx’s eyes widened, as he suddenly saw fifteen battleships disappear from his tactical display.

-

Colonel Pierson watched the numerous displays in front of him in the Command Center of the planet. Governor Barrington sat in the back of the room, knowing he could do nothing, until it was time to offer their surrender.

On one of the viewscreens, the shipyard was displayed. The Morag section of the Confederation fleet was focusing its heavy firepower on the particle beam cannons. It appeared that the cannons were very effective. Pierson wished they had ships outfitted with them as well. However, the Resistance fleet stationed in the system had no dreadnoughts. Pierson looked forward to seeing the new accelerator cannons the battlecruisers did possess.

“Launch the attack interceptors. Their main job is to shoot down any missiles that make it through the defensive grid,” commanded Pierson.

All across the planet, attack interceptors launched and quickly formed into their squadrons. The squadrons then took up positions in various locations across the planet.

-

Resistance Leader Markus Leo sat on the edge of his seat, as the Druins bore down on his fleet. “Prepare to launch the accelerator cannons. Focus first on the battleships, if possible.” He hoped that, if they could destroy the flagship of the Druins and, with it, their admiral, the fight might end quicker.

“Weapons range,” yelled the sensor officer.

“Fire,” commanded Markus. He felt his ship shudder, as the projectiles launched from the accelerator cannons.

All across the front lines of the Druin fleet, energy shields were pummeled and rendered entirely ineffective against the superior firepower of the accelerator cannons. Explosions occurred one after another, causing catastrophic damage to the ships.

The enemy’s weapons caused tremendous damage to Markus’s fleet as well. They were severely outnumbered. Even though he had the better weapons, the Resistance fleet still wouldn’t last long against so many ships.

“Fall back under the defensive grid. We need their firepower to help us destroy more ships,” ordered Markus.

The fleet moved backward until in position. The defensive grid then opened fire on the Druin fleet.

Markus had positioned his fleet near an ODP. With the ODP now in range, it began firing on the enemy fleet.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr grew more and more aggravated as more of his ships were destroyed. He was destroying the Human fleet too, but now that they had the defensive grid to help them, Falorr’s progress had slowed. The accelerator cannons decimated his fleet, but Falorr had the numbers and would destroy the Human fleet before he ran out of ships.

Zynth Admiral Donlur needed to get this defensive grid eliminated quickly. Falorr gazed at the tactical display and saw the Zynth fleet closing in on his right flank. Now it was only a matter of time until they would be through to the planet, where they could launch their missiles.

-

Donlur saw the ODP open fire on the Druin fleet and immediately knew he needed to start his destruction of the defensive grid with that ODP and then the other defensive elements in the vicinity of the Druin fleet.

“Target all weapons on that ODP,” commanded Donlur.

Once his fleet had engaged the ODP, Donlur noticed the firepower coming from the defensive grid elements in that area switched from targeting the Druin fleet to targeting his own fleet.

Zynth ships exploded, torn apart by the massive amount of firepower being focused on his fleet.

The energy shield of the ODP glowed brighter, as the intensity of the weapons’ fire hitting it increased. In one massive explosion that shook his flagship, the ODP disintegrated into fiery pieces of wreckage.

-

It would finally be their turn to get on the train. The mother strained her head around the crowd of people, hoping to see the train coming around the corner. She could see the bright flashes of light in the night sky now that signaled the battle had begun.

A wave of relief washed over her, when she heard the train whistle as it got closer to their stop. She grabbed her boys’ hands tighter and pulled them closer. “Stay with me. Do not let us get separated.”

Both boys held tight and prepared to step onto the train as it slowed in front of them. The door opened, and people started pushing to get in before others. They all were aware this was likely the last train—their last chance of making it to the bunkers, before they were sealed shut.

The wave of people pushing to get to the train doors ended up pushing the mother and her sons onto the train. All three of them made it, along with their dog. She continued to hold tightly to her children. Glancing out the windows of the train as it departed, she saw hundreds of desperate people left behind, standing and crowding on the train platform. Men, women, and children. She had to close her eyes and look away. The helplessness that overwhelmed her was hard to bear. Now, if only they could make it to the bunkers before they shut, then at least her children would be safe.

Her thoughts then traveled to space and to the shipyard where her husband worked. She knew that, by now, it was probably being attacked. The thought of never seeing her husband again was paralyzing, so she pushed it from her thoughts and focused on what was next, getting inside the bunker before the doors sealed shut. They would seal the doors as soon as the first missile struck Leonora Five. Her gaze looked out the window again and up toward the sky. Hopefully they would make it.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx’s fleet struggled against the particle beam cannons on the shipyard. They had successfully eliminated four of the cannons but still had more to go. He grew more and more aggravated as he watched more and more of his ships disappear from the tactical display in front of him.

His gaze shifted to the main viewscreen that showed the shipyard. Energy crawled across the shipyard, as fusion energy beams struck the sides and antimatter missiles detonated against it.

Finally he saw what he had been waiting for, a string of explosions igniting from one end of the shipyard and moving all the way across it to the opposite end. As the explosions died down, he smiled at the devastation left in the wake of his fleet. It was hard to even recognize that this debris field had once been a shipyard.

Move on to the defensive grid. We will destroy it and then begin bombing the planet, ordered Voxx.

Once they reached the weapons range of the defensive grid, the battle heated up again. Fusion energy beams targeted the missile platforms and energy beam satellites. They were not in range of the second PDC, but it would need to be dealt with. It was closer to where the Druin and Zynth fleets were attacking, so hopefully they would deal with it.

Voxx found his excitement level growing at the impending destruction of this planet. He looked forward to seeing the mushroom clouds and the darkened atmosphere. It wouldn’t be long now.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr noticed that the Morag fleet had annihilated the shipyard and had now concentrated their firepower on the defensive grid over that section of the planet.

Falorr’s fleet still focused their weapons on what was left of the Human fleet. He knew they wouldn’t last much longer, now that the closest ODP had been destroyed.

Many missiles exploded around the Human fleet, lighting up space. Falorr gazed intently at the main viewscreen, as a Human battlecruiser disintegrated before him. A ruthless smile crossed his face. He had them, and shortly nothing would be left of this enemy fleet.

-

Resistance Leader Markus Leo and his small fleet were doing their best to destroy as many enemy ships as they could. Markus knew that soon they would have to abandon their post.

The missile platforms launched their missiles as quickly as possible, trying desperately to empty their magazines before being destroyed. The nearest ODP had already been blown apart, and Markus watched on one of his viewscreens the bright flashes of light, as the energy beam satellites and a few missile platforms were annihilated. He knew the time had come. They had done all they could. Now he needed to get out of here, before he lost any more ships.

As Markus looked at another viewscreen that showed the planet Leonora Five down below, a wave of sadness nearly overwhelmed him. What more could he do? He hoped the planet would survive.

“Let’s get out of here. We will fall back to Xnea Two,” Markus commanded.

-

Colonel Pierson let out a deep breath, as he saw what little was left of the Resistance fleet enter hyperspace. He noted that all three Confederation fleets were now focusing their firepower on the defensive grid. It was being hit hard. Satellite after satellite was blown apart, sending debris falling all across the planet’s atmosphere. “What is the status of the evacuation?”

“The bunkers are 85 percent full.”

“Seal all bunkers and activate the planetary defense network,” commanded Pierson.

“The defensive grid is at 87 percent destroyed.”

“Governor Barrington, I think it’s time for you to offer our surrender,” Pierson said, a solemn look on his face.

“I agree,” responded Barrington.

After a few tense moments, the communications officer responded, in a grave tone, “The Confederation fleets have responded. The message says, they do not accept our surrender. Our planet will be destroyed.”

Pierson and Barrington sat down. This is what they had expected. If only everyone had the time to get into their designated bunkers.

Pierson knew they had a few more minutes before the first missile detonated.

Everyone watched the viewscreens in the Command Center in dismay.

“We better send a message to Golan Four, while we can. Once the planet has been destroyed, we may not get any messages out,” said Pierson. “Tell them we did what we could to decrease the enemy fleet, so that hopefully no other planet would meet our same fate. Leonora Five faces imminent destruction. Our bunkers are sealed, and we have the resources to stay in those bunkers for two years. We will see you when that time comes.”

-

Near the capital city, interceptor missiles rose in the air. For several long minutes, they managed to intercept every incoming missile. The attack interceptors did all they could to shoot down every enemy missile in their vicinity. In a sudden flash, the first fusion warhead exploded above one of the cities. In moments, the city beneath the blast died, as the mushroom cloud rose in the air.

Soon another missile detonated above a city, vaporizing everything in its explosive blast, killing all the people who had refused to evacuate or who simply could not get to their bunkers in time.

All across Leonora Five, fusion missiles detonated above city after city. Each city was then consumed by the blast and the firestorm that followed. Missile after missile detonated above cities, dams, valuable infrastructure, and even farmland.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx smiled in satisfaction, as he witnessed the destruction of this Human planet. Mushroom clouds rose all across the surface, and the atmosphere was already turning black. Their first target had been destroyed. He watched for a few more minutes and then decided it was time to move on.

The Confederation Fleets’ admirals had decided to rendezvous in an uninhabited red giant system nearby. From there, they would regroup and repair what they could, before heading on to their next target.

Voxx relaxed, as his fleet entered hyperspace. They had destroyed the planet, but they had also lost a large number of ships. Once they reached their rendezvous location, he would assess the damage. For now, he was basking in the feeling of triumph which he currently experienced.

Chapter Nineteen

In the Command Center on Golan Four, High Princess Layla, Fleet Admiral Dom Marloo, Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters, and Chief Chancellor Stein had been anxiously awaiting news from Leonora Five. When the message came in from Colonel Pierson, complete silence filled the room, as everyone took in the terrible news.

“We need to implement Operation Salvage immediately,” said Marloo. Soon large cargo ships would arrive at Leonora Five, containing everything the planet might need to rebuild. Every primary world in the area would send a fleet like that in the next few hours. The first thing they’d do is clean the planet’s atmosphere, putting out fires, helping to rescue survivors. Two years from now you won’t be able to tell Leonora Five was even attacked.

“Any news on the number of survivors? Did all their bunkers remain unharmed?” asked Layla.

“Report shows 85 percent of the bunkers were full. Apparently many citizens felt it would be a false alarm and did not heed the warning to evacuate. Then, once the attack started, and everyone realized it was not a false alarm, the infrastructure was overwhelmed, and not everyone had the chance to get to their bunkers,” replied General Lyra Gantts.

“How do we keep something like that from happening again?” asked Layla, a look of concern on her face.

“I don’t think it will be a problem again in the near future, since everyone will have heard about the attack on Leonora Five,” replied Marloo.

“Resistance Leader Markus Leo and what is left of his task group are headed to Xnea Two,” stated Gantts.

“What does he have left?” asked Derrick.

“Six battlecruisers and three support ships,” replied Gantts.

“A lot of his crews sacrificed their lives to allow the people of Leonora Five more time to get to safety,” Layla remarked solemnly.

“Not to mention the crews of the attack interceptors,” said Marloo. “They had 1,750 attack interceptors, all with a three-person crew on board. Many of them escaped the destruction of the planet, once they realized it was a lost cause. The attack interceptors left the planet and also headed to rendezvous at Xnea Two. Reports are showing just over 1,000 attack interceptors made it out of the system.”

“What about the Confederation fleet? How many of their ships were destroyed?” asked Layla.

“The reports I have gotten in do not say. We might not know until they get to their next target,” replied Gantts.

“What will their next target be?” asked Layla, with concern.

“Astor, Ranier Two, or Xnea Two would be my guess,” said Marloo.

“How long until we expect another attack to begin?” asked Layla.

“Our best guess would be in the next six to twelve hours,” said Marloo.

“Should we begin the evacuation to the bunkers on all those planets then?” asked Layla.

“Yes, we will. We will contact all the necessary leaders to begin those evacuations immediately,” responded Derrick.

“Let’s hope we can stop them at the next planet and that we don’t lose more worlds. Too many lives are being lost,” said Layla, with an overwhelming sense of sadness enveloping her.

“What should our response be to the Confederation destroying one of our planets? We have Collison’s fleet in the Confederation. Shall we have him destroy a planet or two in return?” asked Chief Chancellor Stein.

Everyone looked at each other and then slowly nodded their heads. Marloo was the first to say, “Let’s have him target a Druin planet, and then go back and hit a Zynth planet. By then, Collison’s fleet may rendezvous with the fleet coming from Earth and can destroy a Morag planet, once they have those reinforcements.”

“Let’s do it,” said Derrick. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

“I will contact Admiral Collison now,” said Gantts.

-

Admiral Collison and his fleet dropped from hyperspace in an uninhabited red dwarf system. He needed to reevaluate his plans. After his message from Fleet Admiral Marloo, he needed to figure out which planet to hit.

Collison had Rear Admiral Barnes come over to his flagship to get her input into their possible targets. After about half an hour, they had come to a decision.

“Druin Twelve will be the target. We already destroyed the fleet patrolling it, as well as the shipyard and part of the defensive grid. According to our reports from the various scout ships, no fleets have left their current posts patrolling the Druin systems with shipyards. They still believe our targets are their shipyards. Now our targets have shifted to planets. Depending on how quickly we can eliminate the defensive grid and get the attack interceptors into the upper atmosphere of the planet to release their missiles, we may have enough time to hit Druin Eleven as well. The nearest Druin relief fleet is still ninety minutes away. We will destroy as many of the three inhabited planets in the system as we can in that allotted time,” said Collison.

“I agree. That sounds like the best possible scenario,” said Barnes, as she nodded her head.

“After that, we return to the Zynth systems. There we will destroy a planet or two before rendezvousing with our reinforcements from Earth.”

“We will probably need to stop in an uninhabited system to reevaluate our options again before we hit the Zynth planets,” remarked Barnes.

“Yes. After hearing that we have come back to the same systems and destroyed planets, they may redistribute their fleets again to cover those planets left unprotected,” Collison said, as he examined the holographic display in front of him.

After a little more discussion, Rear Admiral Barnes headed back to her flagship to prepare for the hyperspace jump. They would be departing in one hour.

-

In the Bacchus Region of space, Pallas Admiral Reynolds evaluated the fleet they had accumulated to send to the Confederation. He had spoken briefly with Fleet Admiral Marloo from Golan Four. They had agreed that, to possibly end this war with the Confederation, they would need to attack and destroy Morag Prime. To do this, they would need a very large fleet.

The scout ships in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation reported a Morag fleet of around 2,500 patrolling the system where Morag Prime was located. The Morag could easily pull in another 2,000 or more warships from neighboring systems, if attacked. A battle of that magnitude would take a considerable amount of time.

They agreed that, to successfully destroy Morag Prime, they would need a fleet of at least 6,000 warships. This would not be an easy task. It would take a considerable number of resources and time.

With Earth and the Solar System out of harm’s way, for now, it would be up to them to build the majority of this fleet. The Empire and Golan Four were still strengthening their diminished fleets they had lost after the last Confederation attacks—not to mention the current attacks by the Confederation in the Empire.

Admiral Reynolds also kept sending reinforcements to Admiral Collison and Rear Admiral Barnes to allow them to keep weakening the Confederation.

Some of the research scientists from Golan Four had arrived on the last group of transport vessels from the Empire. These scientists were on the team working on the new weapon they were developing. The research and development would continue here in the Solar System and at Golan Four, so that, once developed, they could equip all the new warships with it.

This new atomic disrupter would be key to destroying Morag Prime.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar dropped from hyperspace near Xnea Two. He was deeply saddened by the loss of Leonora Five and all the crews and civilians who had given their lives there. Fulmar would join forces with Rear Admiral Manson here to help protect Xnea Two from the Confederation.

Rear Admiral Carrie was stationed near Ranier Two, and Rear Admiral Liam Anderson had a task group at Astor. For now, they had a sizable fleet at all three of the most likely targets.

If the Confederation attacked the planet closest to Leonora Five next, that would mean Ranier Two was the next target. Fulmar hoped Rear Admiral Carrie was ready for the battle headed her way. Fulmar assumed, by now, that Carrie had reinforcements to increase the size of her task group.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had her task group at Condition Two. She knew that a Confederation attack was imminent. Carrie had also ascertained that the planet was the primary target. Thankfully Ranier Two did have a strong defensive grid, and both the shipyard and the space station that orbited the planet were heavily armed.

When Carrie had first arrived in the system, she had eight dreadnoughts and thirty-two battlecruisers. She had received some reinforcements from all over the Empire. She now had an additional twenty-seven dreadnoughts and sixty-eight battlecruisers, bringing her task group to thirty-five dreadnoughts and one hundred battlecruisers.

Ranier Two had 1,000 attack interceptors stationed on its bases spread out all across the surface. These interceptors’ crews were preparing their ships for missile interdiction. Carrie did wish she had a few battlecarriers loaded with attack interceptors that could help her eliminate some of the enemy fleet; however, none could get here in time. She would have to make do with what she had.

As far as how many ships they would be up against, no one could tell her for sure. Carrie knew Leonora Five had put up a tough fight against the Confederation fleet and had destroyed numerous ships. As to an exact count, Carrie would have to wait until the enemy fleet dropped from hyperspace to know for sure.

Carrie currently had her fleet stationed between two of the six ODPs that orbited the planet. She had orders to fall back to Xnea Two once their energy shields fell below 30 percent. Carrie was as prepared as she could be. Now all she could do was wait.

-

General Landryal had the defensive grid orbiting Ranier Two at Condition Two. As soon as enemy ships appeared in the system, they would switch to Condition One. He had no intention of seeing this planet destroyed.

Evacuations had already begun all across the planet. Bunkers were slowly and steadily being filled. Alarms rang out all over the surface, warning the citizens of the impending attack. Most people were aware of what had happened at Leonora Five and heeded the warning to evacuate.

Landryal knew that this battle would end in either the destruction of the enemy fleet or in the destruction of the planet. He had every intention of destroying what was left of the enemy fleet. Landryal had to. He knew there were not enough bunkers for all the population of Ranier Two to take refuge in. A few large bunkers had been built, and numerous civilians had their own personal bunkers, but, even with these, there wasn’t enough room for everyone.

Maybe the Confederation fleet would pass over Ranier Two this time.

-

The Confederation fleet spent a little time repairing a few of their ships before moving on to their next target.

Morag Admiral Voxx evaluated what ships they had remaining to attack their next target with. The Morag portion of the fleet had 308 battlecruisers and 51 battleships. Zynth Admiral Donlur had reported having 304 battlecruisers and 57 battleships. While Druin Admiral Falorr had 208 battlecruisers and 36 battleships remaining.

The fleet would need to target the next weakest planet. After reviewing the information they had obtained from their scouting missions, Voxx had one picked out. Based on what they had left of their warships, this might be the last one they could successfully eliminate.

A few of the ships had some repairs to finish up before they headed to their target. The admirals had agreed to make their transition to hyperspace in two hours. The fleet would have about a four-hour hyperspace jump to get to their destination.

Voxx smiled his sinister smile, as he thought about killing all the Humans on the next planet.

-

Alarms sounded all across Astor and Xnea Two, signaling civilians to evacuate to the bunkers. Word had spread about Leonora Five, and everyone wanted to get to the safety of the bunkers.

Aircars and ground car lanes were packed with vehicles, trying to get their occupants to safety. Traffic tie-ups occurred all over the planet. People rushed to their designated bunkers and then had to wait in lines to get in.

Once inside, they had nothing to do but wait. Wait to see if they could come back to the surface in the next few days or if their beautiful planet would be destroyed, and then they would be stuck in the bunkers for a couple years.

-

Resistance Leader Markus Leo dropped from hyperspace near Xnea Two. A few of his remaining ships needed major repairs done, and Xnea Two had a shipyard that could get the job done.

Markus was relieved to see Rear Admirals Fulmar and Manson had arrived to help defend the planet from the Confederation fleets. He hoped Ranier Two and Astor were ready as well.

As his ship neared the planet, Markus looked at his viewscreen that showed Xnea Two. It was a beautiful planet. He hoped, in another twenty-four hours, it would still look the same.

His fleet had done their best to take out as many enemy ships as possible. Hopefully the next attack would be their last. Leonora Five had been the most vulnerable of the four planets out on the periphery of the Empire. Leo realized the Confederation would likely hit the next most-vulnerable target, which was Ranier Two. He hoped the people listened to the evacuation orders and proceeded to the bunkers quickly.

-

Princess Krista and Major Mathew Barkley had returned to Golan Four after their narrow brush with death on Jalot Four to the waiting arms of High Princess Layla. As soon as they stepped off the transport vessel that had brought them down from the Aurora, Layla was there to greet them. Layla had a huge smile on her face, and Krista could tell she was relieved to have her back.

After a few hugs and excited chatter, Layla looked Krista over and said, “I think you will be staying safely on Golan Four for a while.”

“We can’t hide here forever. We’ve got to get out there and visit planets in the Empire. I hope we can finish this war with the Confederation, but we can’t wait until then to visit our people,” Krista said warmly.

Layla smiled and said, “I am so proud of you and the woman and leader you have become. I know your parents would be so proud of you too.”

“Thank you,” Krista replied, tears in her eyes.

“I have plans for the two of you tonight. I am having the chefs make all your favorite foods for dinner. We will have an intimate family meal and try to relax,” said Layla, with a smile.

“Sounds good to me,” Krista replied, as she walked arm in arm with Layla to the doors of the Imperial Palace.

“I will head to the Command Center and see if I can be of any assistance there,” Mathew said to Layla and Krista, as they entered the palace. “I will see you two at dinner.”

Both Layla and Krista smiled at him and continued into the palace to the Royal Quarters.

-

Mathew couldn’t wait to find out the latest on what was happening with the enemy fleets. He had heard about the destruction of Leonora Five and was concerned about where the Confederation would show up next.

As he entered the Command Center, both Derrick and Marloo looked up and smiled at him.

“Glad to have you back home, safe and sound,” said Marloo, patting Mathew on the back.

“I am happy to be back. What is the latest on the Confederation fleets, and how can I help?” asked Mathew.

After catching Mathew up to speed, they all stood there, staring at the holographic display and wondering where the enemy would attack next. For now, there wasn’t much they could do but wait.

-

Professor Charles Wright, Kala’s father and a scientist and archeologist and avid researcher, had been on Bator Prime for a short time now. When he had arrived, he had been a little nervous about meeting Councilor Ardon Reull and his brother, Marlon. Charles had never had the opportunity to meet a Lormallian before, and he was nervously excited about it.

As Charles had exited the transport vessel that had brought him down from his ship, he had mentally prepared himself to be shocked at seeing the Lormallians. When he laid eyes on Ardon and Marlon, he was surprised and amazed at their appearance. The Lormallians were a humanoid species, with a bone crest on the top of their heads. They stood nearly seven feet tall and had large eyes.

As Charles looked more closely, he noticed that their hands had six fingers. He was mindful not to stare at the Lormallians, and Charles tried to act completely calm, cool, and collected.

Not long ago, the Lormallians had been enemies of the Empire and Earth. Kala had discussed with Charles numerous times that he was also acting as an ambassador of the Empire and Earth while he was on Bator Prime. Kala had told him to behave accordingly. A lot rode on this new alliance.

He chuckled slightly to himself. No pressure, no pressure at all.

Charles was then escorted into the archives and given a tour by both Ardon and Marlon. Charles was impressed with its size and excited about all the research he could do here.

Ardon had explained that Charles would need a curator to help him search the archives, and Marlon would be the curator helping him. Charles couldn’t wait to get started, but first, he was shown to his quarters and given the opportunity to relax and look around a bit first. Marlon had scheduled them to be in the archives first thing the next morning.

Charles could barely contain his excitement for what tomorrow would hold. He had traveled so far and had spent so much time in his research and to know that so many of his questions might be answered in the morning would lead to a long and sleepless and restless night.

Chapter Twenty

Admiral Collison and the fleet were minutes away from dropping out of hyperspace near Druin Twelve. They would have ninety minutes to destroy as many of the three inhabited planets in this system before any enemy fleet could arrive.

First, they must finish destroying the defensive grid surrounding Druin Twelve. Once the defensive grid was gone, the main fleet would move on to Druin Eleven, while the battlecarriers launched their attack interceptors to head into the atmosphere of the planet and release their fusion-tipped missiles. Once the interceptors returned to the carriers, they would reload and meet up with the fleet at Druin Eleven. The process would repeat, and then they would move on to Druin Ten. They would jump to their rendezvous location when they had destroyed all three planets or had run out of time.

Once the fleet dropped from hyperspace, they did a quick scan of the system and confirmed that no enemy warships were on patrol in the system. The fleet quickly closed in on Druin Twelve.

-

Druin Commander Winton was on the space station that orbited Druin Ten. When their sensor alarms sounded, he looked at the displays in the Command Center to confirm his fears. The Humans had returned. Given that all the Druin shipyards had already been destroyed, and no Druin warships were in the system, Winton knew that the Humans must have returned to attack and to destroy one or more of their planets.

Druin Twelve was the farthest away from his location but closest to the Human fleet. Based on the scans, the Humans were headed straight for Druin Twelve. Winton sent out a message for help from the nearest fleet, but they were ninety minutes away. That fleet would head to the star system immediately, hopefully arriving before all three planets could be destroyed.

Winton then confirmed that all planetary defenses on and around all three planets were prepared for attack. He could do nothing for all Druins on the surface of the planets. They had nowhere to go to escape the missiles the Humans would fire at the surface. Winton felt sick, thinking about what could happen if the defensive grid couldn’t stop this Human fleet.

Winton couldn’t imagine the sheer panic of the citizens on the surface of the planets—knowing what was coming, yet unable to hide from it. No shelter would save them from what would soon rain down on them. Yet maybe most of them had no idea of what to expect. No planet in this star system had ever been destroyed. Most of the Druin citizens knew nothing of death and destruction.

The ones who served in the military would have an idea, but the average citizen would be naive about it. Maybe that was for the best. The Druins had no alarm system to alert citizens of danger. The Confederation, at least the planets of the Seven Races of the Confederation, had always been safe from attack. Until recently that is, when the Humans grew strong enough and large enough to challenge them.

As Winton monitored the system from his space station, he noted hundreds of transport vessels headed out of the atmospheres of all three planets. No doubt any Druin that had access to one was now using a transport vessel to flee from the impending attack of the Humans.

It did not make sense to Winton why the Humans had not attacked their planets before when they had been here and had destroyed the shipyards. Why would they return later? That’s when he realized that these attacks must be in retaliation for the Human world that Admiral Falorr had recently helped destroy. Would they only destroy one then? He knew, however, that Admiral Falorr and their allies were only getting started in their destruction of planets in the Human Empire. What would this cost them?

-

Rear Admiral Barnes focused her task force on the defensive grid on the far side of Druin Twelve. The Druins had a strong defensive grid, but not as strong as the ones that surrounded the core worlds in the Empire.

“Four minutes to engagement range of the defensive grid,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare all ships to target the nearest defensive grid elements. We need to get through to the planet as quickly as we can,” ordered Barnes. She hoped that, if they could destroy these three Druin planets before the Confederation fleet in the Empire started their next attack on another Human world, maybe she and Collison could prevent the attacks altogether. Or, on the other hand, destroying three Druin planets might provoke the enemy fleet to attack even more Empire planets. How could they ever end this war?

Barnes could think of only one thing that might do so, and that was to destroy Morag Prime, which was protected by a large fleet. They would need a lot more ships to do that.

“We have reached weapons range,” called out the sensor officer.

“Fire.” Barnes watched as weapons fire lit up the space between her task group and the defensive grid. She grimaced as the enemy’s fusion energy beams bombarded the energy screens of numerous battlecruisers. The energy could be seen crawling across the screens, looking for a weak point to exploit. Thankfully not many were found. Barnes took in a sharp breath as two of her battlecruisers were struck by antimatter missiles, detonating against their screens, overloading them. Soon more missiles struck the now unprotected ships, causing large explosions to tear apart the ships.

The Druins’ defensive grid was obliterated rather quickly, with minimal losses to Barnes’s fleet as a whole. Barnes double-checked their scans to confirm no part of the grid remained, before she prepared her task group to move on to Druin Eleven, leaving Captain Drake and his interceptors.

-

Captain Drake had been tasked with keeping a few battlecruisers and his dreadnought back with the battlecarriers to offer protection in the unlikely event an enemy fleet showed up after the main fleet had moved on to the next planet. He was disappointed to be out of the main action but also pleased that Admiral Collison trusted him with this task.

Drake watched as six of the battlecarriers launched their attack interceptors. On the main viewscreen, he watched the interceptors gathering into their squadrons. Once that task had been accomplished, the interceptors started their journey to the upper atmosphere of the planet.

As the interceptors neared their designated targets, Drake leaned forward and sat on the edge of his seat. He looked forward to seeing this planet and its inhabitants destroyed. The Druins had themselves been a part of the Confederation fleet that had just attacked and destroyed Leonora Five. Drake would feel no remorse for the deaths he would be witnessing of millions—or perhaps billions—of Druins. He thought it was nice to give them a taste of their own medicine. Perhaps it would be enough to cause the Druins to stop their attacks in the Empire.

The attack interceptors released their fusion-tipped missiles at their targets. In all, over 3,500 missiles were now headed to the surface of Druin Twelve. For a moment, Drake pictured what that must feel like to be on the planet and to see those missiles headed for the surface. Pure terror must be what the Druins down on the planet felt now.

Drake shook his head to clear that picture from his mind. He would not empathize with these monsters. That could make it harder to do his job. Nope, the Druins were monsters. They had been terrorizing the Humans and the Human Empire for thousands of years. They deserved what had come for them.

Just then, a bright flash occurred above one of the Druin cities, followed by thousands of others all across the planet. Large blast waves from the explosions radiated out in all directions, flattening all structures and incinerating all life in its wake. Large mushroom clouds rose toward the sky.

Soon the attack interceptors would land safely back on their carriers. The crews would have time to reload and to prepare for the next target. Drake’s focus shifted back to the viewscreen focused on the planet. The atmosphere was already turning gray and blocking the light from reaching the surface. Those Druins lucky enough to survive the attack would not survive the pollutants that now filled the air. So maybe they weren’t so lucky after all.

As the last interceptors landed on its carrier, they all jumped to their next target, Druin Eleven. One down, two to go.

-

Druin Commander Winton watched in horror as the Humans destroyed Druin Twelve. To his dismay, they then moved on to Druin Eleven. He could do nothing to stop them. The defensive grid would slow them down and would destroy a few of their ships, but eventually the Humans would breakthrough. Once they did that, they would destroy the planet. Help was still too far away. He felt so helpless.

The space stations around Druin Eleven targeted the Human ships in range of their weapons, but it wouldn’t be enough. Winton knew that the only thing that could stop this Human fleet would be the Druin fleet now inbound. However, by the time they arrived, it might already be too late.

-

Admiral Collison and the fleets targeted the defensive grid elements surrounding Druin Eleven. As their fleet came in range of the defensive grid, the weapons fire steadily increased.

Collison kept a close watch on the time. He did not want his fleet still in the system when the Druin fleet arrived to defend what was left of this system.

One of the viewscreens showed one of Collison’s dreadnoughts hammered by the defensive grid. Its screen became weaker and weaker. Then the screen suddenly flared up and failed, leaving the ship open to weapons fire. The ship was then hit by numerous energy beams and missiles, causing it to disintegrate right before him. Collison’s gaze shifted to the tactical display as the dreadnought disappeared, alongside three other battlecruisers.

Smaller explosions on the viewscreens marked the destruction of various elements of the defensive grid. With his task group focused on eliminating the defenses on one side of the planet, while Rear Admiral Barnes’s group focused on the opposite side of the planet, the planetary grid was quickly dying.

Collison and Barnes had agreed to stay out of the weapons range of each planet’s space stations. No use losing ships over them when the Humans were after the Druin planets. Collison hoped that soon nothing inhabitable would be left in this system, except those space stations.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes and her task group quickly eliminated the defensive grid, as she watched on the viewscreen while shattered remains of various defensive grid elements drifted toward the planet below.

Satellite after satellite was blown apart, raining glowing debris across the planet. When the missile platforms succumbed to the Humans’ attack, it caused massive explosions from the antimatter energy housed within them.

Barnes shuddered as a nearby battlecruiser found itself the focus of what was left of the defensive grid. Its energy shield overloaded, as it was hammered with antimatter missiles from the missile platforms. When the shield failed, the battlecruiser was slammed with multiple missiles, causing a bright nova-like explosion that lit up the viewscreen so brightly that Barnes had to look away.

When her gaze shifted back, only small fiery pieces were left of the ship. Barnes closed her eyes for a moment, as she thought about all the lives that had just come to an end on that ship. When she opened them again, she witnessed the last defensive grid element pummeled into oblivion.

The battlecarriers would use their attack interceptors to blast the surface of planet Druin Eleven. Barnes would not witness this, however, because she would be focused on the defensive grid surrounding Druin Ten.

Time for her task group to move to their last target in this Druin system.

-

Captain Elliott launched the attack interceptors, as soon as he saw the last elements of the defensive grid destroyed. Once they had formed into their squadrons of twenty interceptors, they headed toward the planet and their various targets.

The Druins had not installed any ground-based defenses that could have intercepted a number of these missiles. Instead all the missiles launched from the attack interceptors would hit their targets.

It didn’t take long for giant mushroom clouds to rise across the planet. Giant explosions caused massive destruction across the major metropolitan areas. Some of the interceptors targeted large cities, while others targeted important infrastructure and food sources.

The atmosphere quickly darkened from all the debris and smoke filling the air. Massive fires burned across the planet, some causing huge firestorms to form that caused even more widespread damage.

Once all of Elliott’s attack interceptors were safely back on board the battlecarrier, he made the short hyperspace jump to their last target, Druin Ten.

-

Druin Commander Winton watched as the Humans caused catastrophic damage to Druin Eleven. He had already lost all hope of saving any of the inhabited planets in the system. As for himself, it appeared that he would live to report the tragedy befalling his fellow Druins in the system. So far, the Humans had not destroyed the space stations orbiting the planets.

As Winton continued to watch the horrific deaths of billions of Druins, he felt a simmering rage creeping up inside him. He wanted to ensure these Humans paid for this. They would regret this day that they decided to attack these Druin planets. They would pay, the Humans from Earth and the Human Empire.

Winton’s pulse quickened when he saw the enemy fleet appear around Druin Ten, just out of range of the weapons fire from the space station where he was. He slammed his hand down on the table in front of him.

When a battlecruiser blew up and vanished on one of the viewscreens, Winton felt a slight twinge of satisfaction grow inside him. He planned to see many more Human ships meet their end. It just wouldn’t be today. While the defensive grid destroyed a small portion of the ships within view of the space station, there were just too many of them to make much of a difference.

-

Admiral Collison and his task group once again pummeled the multiple defensive grid elements within range of their weapons. Explosions across the space between the fleet and the planet marked the end of the planet’s last line of defense. Collison kept a watchful eye on the time. He thought they would have barely enough time to rid the Druins of this planet, before the Humans needed to make a hasty exit.

From the looks of his tactical display, he lost very few ships to the defensive grid. Collison knew a few would need some repairs, but that was not a problem. The damaged ships could easily be sent back to the supply fleet and the mobile repair bays to receive the needed repairs. As long as they didn’t lose too many ships, they could continue their mission in the Confederation of destroying enemy targets. This now encompassed shipyards, warships, and planets.

-

Captain Drake watched on his viewscreens as the fleet annihilated the defensive grid. He knew they were running out of time. Admiral Collison had already informed him that all fleets would jump out, as soon as the defensive grid was destroyed. The only ships that would stay would be his task group left to protect the six battlecarriers. Drake had been instructed to jump out of the system and head to their rendezvous location as soon as the last attack interceptor landed on the battlecarriers. He had synced up his clock to Collison’s to ensure he knew when they had to exit the system. Collison wanted at least a ten-minute leeway on that exit, just to be on the safe side.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes sat back in her chair as the last missile platform was blown apart by her task group. The only thing now orbiting the planet were the space stations. Her task group would head to their rendezvous location and wait for the rest of the fleet to arrive. Captain Drake would stay behind to see to the destruction of the planet.

As Barnes’s group prepared to enter hyperspace, she did a quick overview of the tactical display. In total, she had lost twenty-five battlecruisers and seven dreadnoughts to the defensive grids around the three planets. Not too bad in terms of ship losses, but in terms of Human lives, that was thousands of people. Barnes tried only to think about ship losses in the heat of the battle. Once the battle had subsided was when she allowed herself to pause in reflection of the Human lives lost on those ships.

Barnes took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Captain Borrel, it’s time to enter hyperspace.” She soon felt that familiar twinge in her stomach as her dreadnought entered hyperspace. The tactical display showed that Collison and his task group had entered hyperspace as well. Barnes hoped Drake and his group destroyed the planet before the Druin fleet arrived.

-

Captain Drake sat forward in his command chair, as he watched the attack interceptors gather together in their squadrons. They then quickly set off toward the planet and to their designated targets.

Drake was looking forward to seeing the interceptors return to their carriers, which meant they had successfully launched all their missiles, and they could get out of the system before the enemy fleet arrived.

-

Lieutenant Garland formed up with her squadron and then headed for the surface of Druin Ten. Her squadron had been assigned various targets near a large volcano on the planet. As Garland reached her first target, a large power plant, she released her first fusion-tipped missile. It detonated above the power plant, instantly causing a blast wave to radiate outward in all directions, flattening everything within a twenty-kilometer radius.

Garland then moved on to her next target, a large dam that held back a massive lake. She released her missile, and, as it exploded, the dam failed, letting a massive wall of water race down the canyon below, where the dam had once stood. She watched as the pure power of the water slammed into and destroyed everything in its path. Even an entire city was enveloped in a watery grave, as the water continued to race downhill. The water finally finished its destructive rampage as it reached the shore of the ocean.

The next target on Garland’s list was what looked like some military base. Lucky for them, they had been upriver from the dam and did not get smashed by the power of the flood that had occurred when the dam was destroyed. As she dropped her missile on the base, the resulting explosion flattened all the buildings and caused multiple secondary explosions. The giant mushroom cloud signaled the death of all the Druins working in or around the base.

Garland’s final target was the volcano itself. It was thought that a direct hit would trigger an eruption, causing even more damage to the planet. Her targeting system locked on, and her last missile was sent toward the mouth of the volcano. As she returned to her battlecarrier to reload, she heard the rumblings of the explosions and the volcano beginning its violent eruption.

On her trip back to the battlecarrier, Garland watched out the cockpit window at the destruction of the planet below. Maybe this would make the Druins think twice before they targeted another Human planet. For now, her part in this war was over. Next they would move on to a Zynth planet.

-

Druin Commander Winton took in a sharp breath as the final inhabited planet succumbed to the thousands of missiles the Humans had launched all across the surface. Volcanoes were erupting, sending huge ash clouds into the sky. He could see lava flowing from the volcanoes as well. Dams failed, sending massive amounts of water into the valleys below. Beautiful landscapes turned into gruesome scenes of death and destruction.

Billions died as the fusion missiles detonated over their homes and places where they worked. No life was spared on the surface of the planet. Those who survived the initial bombardment would die from the after-effects of the attack. Soon no living things would exist on the surface of the planet.

Winton shook his head at the horrible events he had witnessed at the hands of these Humans. He felt a surge of relief as the enemy fleet entered hyperspace. Winton hoped wherever the Humans were headed next was not a Druin-inhabited system.

Less than ten minutes after the Human fleet had left the system, alarms sounded on the sensor console in the Command Center of the space station. Winton knew that the Druin fleet had finally arrived. Too little and too late, he thought angrily.

Chapter Twenty-One

High Princess Layla tried her best to patiently wait for Derrick to come back from the Command Center for their special family meal she had planned for the evening. Layla knew he was working hard to protect the Empire, but they had some big news they had planned to share with the family tonight, and she was anxious to let everyone in on the big secret.

When Derrick finally walked in, Layla was a nervous wreck.

“Are you ready for tonight?” Derrick asked her.

“Yes, I have struggled all day to not tell Krista. I know we had agreed to tell everyone together.”

Derrick smiled. “Well, let’s go then. Plus I have news from Admiral Collison.”

“You can start with that news, and then we can reveal our secret. I am ready to tell everyone and not keep it from them any longer.”

“When will we tell everyone else, other than the family?” asked Derrick.

“After the Confederation has stopped their attacks here in the Empire. We need something to celebrate. I also do not want to overshadow the loss we have experienced of Leonora Five.”

Once they reached the dining room, the rest of the family was there, waiting. After everyone greeted each other, they sat down to their meal.

“I wanted to update everyone on what is going on with Admiral Collison in the Confederation,” Derrick began, once seated. “His fleet, along with Rear Admiral Barnes, destroyed three Druin planets today in response to the Confederation’s attack of Leonora Five.”

“What were our losses?” asked Layla.

“The Human fleet lost forty-seven battlecruisers and thirteen dreadnoughts in the mission,” replied Derrick.

“I was thinking more along the lines of how many lives were lost, not in ships,” Layla responded solemnly.

“Yes, I realize. It is the Vice Fleet Admiral in me that thinks in terms of ships lost.”

“When this war is over, we need to do something special in honor of all those who gave their lives in the fight against the Confederation,” said Layla.

“That’s a great idea,” agreed Krista. The rest of the family nodded their heads in agreement.

Then Layla and Derrick exchanged a glance, and Layla smiled and said, “Now for some happier news.” She smiled at Derrick and the rest of her family, sitting around the table. “Derrick and I will be parents in a few months.”

Excitement immediately buzzed through the room as Krista and Kala stood to give Layla a hug, and Andrew and Mathew stood to give Derrick a pat on the back.

The rest of the meal was filled with talk of the future and what that would look like for the Empire, as well as the new baby.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr was livid when he heard what the Human fleet had done to the three Druin planets. Once he had his anger under control, he considered what the Humans would do next when they destroyed another planet in the Empire. Would the Druins lose three more planets? Or would the Humans move on to another system of the Zynth or Morag?

Falorr’s fleet, along with the other two Confederation fleets, were not far from their next target. In the next ten minutes, they would drop from hyperspace and begin their attack.

In the back of his mind, instead of looking forward to killing a planet full of Humans, he feared what it might cost the Druins. How many planets would the Humans destroy? How many billions of Druins would die because of this? Should he return home with his fleet—or what was left of it—to protect the other Druin-inhabited planets? He didn’t have the answers to these questions, but he wasn’t the only one asking them.

He was confident Druin Councilor Clun and the Druin leadership were contemplating these exact questions. Falorr’s role as Admiral was to complete the missions given to him, and, right now, that mission was still to help this combined Confederation fleet destroy another Human planet. Until he was ordered to return home or they lost enough ships that the mission was not feasible, he would stay the course.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur was concerned, after hearing the news of the three Druin planets destroyed, that the Human fleet might take aim at destroying a Zynth planet or two next.

The Zynth fleets were already repositioning themselves in the Confederation to cover all systems that contained a Zynth-inhabited planet, instead of only the ones that had a shipyard orbiting it.

If the Humans did return, they would not find any system or planet unguarded. Hopefully that would be enough of a deterrent to stop the attack from even happening.

Donlur needed to switch his focus from what was not in his control to the things that were in his control. The Confederation fleets would be emerging from hyperspace in less than five minutes at their next Human target. He needed to focus his mind only on that. Donlur sat forward in his command chair. It was almost time for the attack to commence.

-

Rear Admiral Fulmar was on edge, expecting the Confederation fleet to appear at any time. While they did have an educated guess at where that would be, it was still only a guess. All the fleets in the three most-likely star systems to be targeted were on high alert.

Where the Confederation fleet would show up and how many ships they still had to use in the attack would soon be answered.

On all three planets most in danger of being the target of the Confederation fleet, citizens were still evacuating and heading to their bunkers. Those people who did not have access to bunkers headed out of the cities and into the country. Their odds of survival were higher in the country than in the big cities. The cities were usually the first targets of the enemy missiles.

Fulmar surveyed the holographic display before him, reviewing fleet positions and defense elements of all the planets on the periphery. As the Empire grew, so did the number of planets they must keep protected. More and more ships would be needed to patrol all of the Empire.

As Fulmar looked at his various viewscreens in his Command Center, a message came in. “Rear Admiral Carrie reports the Confederation fleet is exiting hyperspace at Ranier Two,” reported the communications officer.

“How far are we from Ranier Two?”

“Six hours,” responded the navigation officer.

“How many enemy ships?”

“Seven hundred and counting.”

Fulmar took a deep breath. Carrie was outnumbered, and no way he nor Rear Admiral Manson could get there in time to aid Carrie’s task group.

“What should we do?” asked his first officer.

“There’s nothing we can do. It is out of our hands. We need to be prepared to be next on the target list. Let’s assume the Confederation fleet will head here next,” said Fulmar. “And let’s assume Rear Admiral Carrie can handle this enemy fleet.” Fulmar sat down in his command chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He wished he could do something to help.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie had her task group at Condition Two, when the sensor alarms sounded.

“Enemy ships dropping from hyperspace,” called out the sensor officer.

“How many?” asked Carrie.

“So far, there is 750, and more are still exiting hyperspace.”

“Take the fleet to Condition One, and let’s get our task group into a wedge formation. Position us near the shipyard. We can use their particle beam cannons to help eliminate some of these enemy ships.”

The fleet quickly maneuvered into position. Carrie strategized how to best use their numbers and weapons to their advantage. She and her fleet were the only ones standing between the enemy and the destruction of the planet. Carrie already knew that no help would arrive in time to aid them. This was it, her moment.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was frustrated that more Human ships had arrived to defend the planet since they had been here and taken scans. Maybe they should have just attacked planets without scanning them. The Humans would have had less time to reinforce these planets that way.

They still outnumbered the Human fleet, and Voxx was confident they could destroy this planet. They would take some heavy losses, however. This time he had decided that he would have the Druins attack the shipyard and face its particle beams, while the Zynth would eliminate the fleet and Voxx’s Morag fleet would destroy the defensive grid.

-

On the surface of the planet, alarms sounded, warning the citizens of the change to Condition One. Everyone now knew that the Confederation fleet had been spotted in their star system, and the planet was in imminent danger.

The bunkers had already filled to the max. They had recently finished more bunkers that now housed around three million people. Selected individuals and their families had been picked to enter the bunkers. Essential workers who could help them survive for two years inside the bunker would then help rebuild the planet afterward.

Many private citizens had also had personal bunkers installed at their homes. They had been informed that they would need supplies to last them approximately two years, and everyone who had a personal bunker had to register them on a list, so they could be found later.

All across Ranier Two, those who didn’t have access to a bunker headed to the more rural areas. Some decided to ride out the attack in their homes. For those who resided in the ten largest cities, there was some hope. They were surrounded by a ring of energy beam turrets and missile interceptors. They hoped these defenses would be enough to keep the city from being bombed.

Many had nowhere else to go. So they went outside and turned their gaze to the evening sky. Some of the battle would be visible from the surface, the bright explosions and debris that would fall to the surface as the battle progressed. If they were to die today, they might as well watch it happen.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr had agreed to Admiral Voxx’s request for the Druins to eliminate the shipyard. He had witnessed at the last planet that the shipyard there had been outfitted with the particle beam cannons. Still Falorr thought his fleet would fare better against the shipyard than the Human fleet armed with both the accelerator cannons and particle beam cannons because this fleet was an Imperial one, not a Resistance one. For that reason, they would likely have both of the new weapons in their warships.

Falorr moved his portion of the fleet toward the shipyard. “Six minutes to engagement range,” reported the sensor officer. “The Human fleet has moved into a wedge formation near the shipyard.”

“Let’s move our fleet into a cone formation. Focus our weapons on the particle beam cannons of the shipyard first. We need to destroy the shipyard before it has the chance to destroy many of our ships,” commanded Falorr.

-

General Landryal was in the Command Center, hidden beneath a mountain, coordinating the planet’s defenses. Already all military base installations, the defensive grid, and ground defenses were at Condition One. The bunkers were full, and people were evacuating the cities.

The Confederation fleet quickly closed the distance to the planet. Landryal hoped this battle would end with few to no missiles hitting the surface. With an enemy fleet that large though, he wasn’t sure that it would go their way.

Based on the information passed on from Colonel Pierson from Leonora Five, the enemy fleet would split in three to attack the various defenses.

As soon as the fighting began, he would have the attack interceptors launch to help shoot down any missiles that get through the defensive grid or any large pieces of debris falling to the surface from space.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Masters watched what was unfolding above Ranier Two from the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds on Golan Four. Most of the viewscreens now showed various views of that particular star system.

It was obvious that Rear Admiral Carrie was vastly outnumbered. “Have we checked in with the fleet coming from Earth? How far away are they?”

Fortunately for Rear Admiral Carrie, the Earth fleet coming to reinforce the fleets in the Confederation had been instructed to rendezvous with Carrie at Ranier Two before they all headed to the Confederation to meet up with Admiral Collison at the supply fleet.

“At last contact, the Earth fleet was one hour away from Ranier Two. They should be arriving within the next ten minutes,” replied the communications officer.

“That’s great news. Carrie will be much relieved to have some help,” responded Masters.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur neared the combat range of the Human fleet now stationed between the shipyard and one of the large defensive grid components. He narrowed his gaze, as he studied the tactical display. No matter which way he looked at it, he felt overwhelmingly confident that he would win this battle with this small Human fleet. The Humans only had 135 ships to fend off his 361 ships. A smile spread across his face, as he relished in the assured victory that would soon be his.

“Three minutes to engagement range, Admiral,” called out the sensor officer.

Donlur stood, as his fleet neared the enemy. He was aware he would lose a large number of ships going up against the Humans’ superior weapons, but he could afford to lose more ships than the Humans could.

The enemy fleet became larger on the viewscreen, as the Zynth closed in on their target. Once they reached the optimal engagement range, Donlur’s fleet immediately launched their weapons at the enemy fleet. Almost simultaneously, the Humans released their deadly weapons at the looming Zynth ships.

Donlur held tightly to the console in front of him as energy blasts radiated from the explosions that riddled his fleet. Ship after ship succumbed to the onslaught of the Humans accelerator cannon fire and their particle beam cannons.

Once the Zynth weapons fire reached the Human ships, energy shields began to overload, allowing small holes to open up in the energy shields themselves. The Zynth then fired their antimatter missiles through these holes, causing large explosions that tore apart the enemy vessels. Explosions could be seen all across the Human fleet as well as the Zynth fleet.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie watched the battle commence from her dreadnought Exeter. Carrie hoped her small fleet could hold off the enemy from the planet long enough for the Earth fleet to arrive. At last contact, the Earth fleet was five minutes out. At the rate this battle was progressing, they would arrive before Carrie’s fleet had to retreat.

“Have the fleet pull back closer to the ODP. We could use their firepower. Currently the enemy fleet is out of range of the ODP. Let’s get that changed. We need them. This will also allow the shipyard to focus on the fleet attacking them, the Druins, and not on both enemy fleets at once,” commanded Carrie.

Carrie examined her tactical display. She was losing ships, but so were the Zynth. Once the Earth fleet arrived, they could eliminate the Zynth. However, they would still have the Druins and Morag to deal with. She swallowed, as the complexities of this battle sank in. She shook her head to clear away those thoughts. One task at a time, that’s what she’d focus on. The first task was to eliminate this Zynth fleet set on destroying her ships.

-

General Landryal watched the battle from the many viewscreens in the Command Center, tucked away safely beneath a large mountain on Ranier Two. His gaze switched from the view of the people evacuating the cities back to the battle at the shipyard.

The Druin fleet threw everything they had at the shipyard.

The shipyard’s particle beam cannons were ripping through multiple enemy vessels, eliminating them one after another. Landryal knew they would lose the shipyard but was thankful for each enemy ship destroyed. That would be one less ship that could send their devastating firepower at the surface of his planet.

He switched his gaze over to the viewscreens that showed the Morag fleet currently closing in on the defensive grid of the planet. Landryal was glad they had increased the defensive grid elements, but it would only slow down the Morag a little. The grid would destroy a number of the enemy ships but not enough.

Landryal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed the evacuation done quickly. It wouldn’t be much longer before missiles entered the atmosphere. It was time to launch the attack interceptors. They had been ordered to missile interdiction, until the atmosphere grew dark. They were then to head out of the atmosphere and, if possible, enter hyperspace and head to Xnea Two.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr intently watched his viewscreen that showed the shipyard. Those particle beam cannons were wreaking havoc on his fleet. Red icons were disappearing faster than he could keep count. His fleet kept pounding the shipyard with their fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles continuously. As the fleet numbers dwindled, the firepower lessened, but Falorr was confident they’d soon overload the powerful energy screen that protected the shipyard from annihilation.

Time seemed to stand still, as he noticed the small opening in the shield about midway down the shipyard. “Quickly target that opening in the energy screen!” He commanded, as he pounded his fist on his command chair. His eyes widened as Falorr watched the antimatter missile launch and head toward the growing opening in the shipyard’s shield. Falorr held his breath, as the missile slipped in through the hole and smashed into the shipyard.

Falorr’s celebration was short-lived as the last remaining particle beam took aim at his flagship. As the explosions detonated along the shipyard one after another, it quickly engulfed the shipyard in explosions of tremendous heat and light, but not before the last remaining particle beam cannon got off one final shot. This shot was headed straight for Falorr’s ship.

Falorr braced for impact, as the light-violet beam from the particle beam cannon struck his flagship, the Avenging Light. The energy screen flared, and Falorr’s gaze was fixated on the display, showing the shield’s functioning level. He held his breath and hoped it would hold. It did not. His luck would hold, however, in that the shipyard had now been completely engulfed in explosions, and the cannon focused on his ship was now destroyed.

However, Falorr now had no energy screen left.

“Get our ship out of the battle! We must repair our energy shield before we are destroyed,” commanded Falorr. A moment later, they had jumped to the edge of the star system that contained Ranier Two. He had a few ships jump with him to help protect his ship while it was vulnerable. The rest of his fleet stayed to now focus its firepower on the defensive grid of the planet. It wouldn’t be much longer before they could begin the bombardment of the planet.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx blasted away at the defensive grid of the planet. He had already eliminated one ODP, as well as some missile platforms and energy beam satellites. This planet had increased its defensive grid since they had scanned it. Voxx had learned his lesson. Next time they would attack first, not do scans of their targets.

Voxx took aim at the next ODP. It was obviously intent on emptying its cache of weapons before the Morag destroyed it.

Part of his fleet was now being targeted by the space station nearest them. It had been outfitted with the particle beam cannons as well. It, however, only had half as many as the shipyard. Voxx knew that they had to destroy it before it took out a significant number of his ships. It had already successfully eliminated fourteen of his battleships. It was taking aim specifically at his larger battleships.

Voxx had his fleet change their target from the ODPs to the space station. They quickly moved out of range of the ODP before targeting the space station.

Admiral Voxx watched his viewscreens, while numerous battleships careened out of control, as huge holes were blasted from one side of the ship to the other. Massive explosions tore apart the ships when numerous bulkheads slammed shut to contain the damage. This was a losing battle, as it was already too late for these ships. They soon disappeared from the tactical display. Ten more battleships were now destroyed.

Voxx sent a message to the Druin fleet for assistance. They could eliminate this space station, and then both fleets could pulverize the defensive grid in minutes.

-

Captain Sutton of the Earth fleet was almost to Ranier Two. He switched on his commlink that allowed him to speak to all ships in his fleet. “All ships, be aware that we are jumping into a combat situation. All ships must be prepared to fire their weapons upon emergence from hyperspace. Target the nearest enemy ships and destroy them. We will be outnumbered. If any ship’s energy screen is damaged to 30 percent efficiency or less, you are to jump out of the system and head to Xnea Two. That is our rendezvous point. Let’s go destroy some Confederation ships!”

Sutton sat on the edge of his command chair, as his fleet emerged from hyperspace. The battle was well underway. Sutton needed to reinforce what was left of Rear Admiral Carrie’s fleet.

Carrie had given them the coordinates to where they should drop out of hyperspace that would quickly allow them to aid her fleet. As they moved into position, Sutton immediately evaluated the situation. Carrie was down to 12 dreadnoughts and 47 battlecruisers. She was up against the Zynth fleet of 24 battleships and 202 battlecruisers. According to earlier reports of the size of the enemy fleet, Carrie and her fleet had done quite a bit of damage to the Zynth fleet. With the combined efforts of Carrie’s fleet and the Earth fleet, they would quickly shatter what was left of the Zynth ships.

Sutton monitored the other two enemy fleets as his fleet closed in on the Zynth ships. The Morag and Druins were focused on the space station. By the looks of it, the space station would not last much longer. Then they would likely turn their focus to the partially destroyed defensive grid or to them. Either way, they needed to take out as many of the Zynth ships from this battle as they could and very quickly.

“One minute to engagement range, Captain,” said the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire the accelerator cannons,” responded Sutton.

Once in combat range, the Earth fleet released all their accelerator cannon fire at the enemy ships. Explosions ripped through the back of the Zynth formation, destroying a massive number of vessels.

-

General Landryal was relieved when the Earth fleet had emerged from hyperspace. Now they would eliminate even more enemy ships.

Landryal returned his focus to the space station. A barrage of missiles, fusion energy beams, and particle beams rained down on the Morag and Druin fleets. All of the targeted ships were hit. Their screens lit up brightly, and then the particle beams penetrated, slamming into the hulls, blasting out deep gashes. The second particle beam then arrived, slicing deep into the enemy ships and moving along the hulls, causing catastrophic damage. Shortly after that, antimatter missiles slammed into the heavily damaged ships, turning them into tangled masses of molten wreckage. Landryal smiled at the destruction of the Confederation ships.

Landryal’s smile was short-lived, as the space station’s energy screen failed and subsequently was destroyed by a massive amount of firepower from the Morag and Druin ships.

“It’s time to seal the bunkers. Are they full?” asked Landryal.

“Yes, General, the bunkers are full and are being sealed shut.”

“Good. Activate the planetary defense system,” Landryal ordered. This was a series of missile interceptors scattered over the surface of the planet.

-

Panic rose in many of the major cities as millions of citizens tried to flee. Wrecks occurred everywhere as ground vehicles collided and aircars dropped from the sky, knocked out of their flight lanes. Sirens could be heard all around the cities, as emergency personnel responded to the calls for help.

Around the planet, the defensive grid was now under heavy fire. Energy beam satellites were dying quickly, and missile platforms were blown apart, as the enemy fleets targeted them with their firepower. In less than ten minutes, the defensive grid was annihilated.

For those citizens who had decided to watch the battle unfold in the sky, countless bright flashes of light could be seen as the protective blanket of their defensive grid was destroyed by fusion and antimatter weapons.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie felt the adrenaline flow through her veins as her heart beat rapidly. She knew she was the last line of defense for this planet, but it appeared she was fighting a losing battle. With the arrival of Captain Sutton and the Earth fleet, they had managed to eliminate a significant number of Zynth ships. So much so that the remaining Zynth ships had fallen back to the other two fleets, now closing in on the planet.

Carrie quickly communicated with Sutton to have him follow her to the rear of the enemy fleet. They could do a little more damage to this fleet before they had to make their exit from the now imminent destruction of Ranier Two. Once the atmosphere darkened, then they would jump out of the system and rendezvous at Xnea Two. Carrie hoped that, before then, they could eliminate enough of the Confederation fleet that they would head home and not attack another Human planet.

Once in position behind the Confederation fleet, they released an onslaught of fusion energy beams, antimatter missiles, accelerator cannon fire, and particle beams at the enemy. Massive explosions filled the air above the planet, as ship after ship was destroyed.

The Confederation fleet quickly maneuvered its fleet formation to face her advancing wall of firepower. Half of the enemy fleet still faced the planet and began launching their missiles at the surface. Carrie sucked in a sharp breath at the scene unfolding before her.

The enemy firepower quickly reached her remaining ships, and Carrie saw energy screens flare up, as the fusion energy beams spread out across the fleet, looking for a weakness to exploit. A few were found, and large explosions shortly followed, as a few battlecruisers were blown apart by the antimatter missiles that hit the ships.

As the Human firepower reached the enemy ships, ships exploded, torn in two, shattered by massive explosions, and vaporized by the tremendous amount of firepower the Humans poured into the fleet.

-

On the surface of the planet, a loud roaring sound could be heard, followed by bright flashes of light, then the blast wave struck. Thousands of aircars were knocked from the sky. The cars on the ground were consumed by the flames. Buildings collapsed, as the damage spread out in all directions. Behind this blast wave, a firestorm developed and consumed what was left of the city. A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Dust and smoke filled the air, making it almost impossible for the few remaining survivors to breathe.

-

The energy beam satellites surrounding the largest cities fired nonstop, attempting to shoot down the descending missiles. Bright flashes of light indicated the successful interception of numerous missiles. For a short time, they were able to shoot them all down, between the attack interceptors and the missile turrets. Eventually a few enemy missiles slipped through, detonating above the cities.

Mushroom clouds rose, and destruction consumed everything in its wake. Leaving few survivors on the surface. Those who did survive wouldn’t live long in the contaminated area. The air was almost impossible to breathe, and the intense heat was overwhelming. Not to mention the fires continued to consume everything in its path.

-

In a few of the smaller cities that were hit by explosions, every building was vaporized or leveled by the heat and explosive blast. A massive crater appeared in the center of the cities. In less than a minute, all the people who had remained in those cities had died.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie witnessed the beginnings of the destruction on the surface of the planet. That was her cue to head to their rendezvous location at Xnea Two. They had managed to destroy a large number of Confederation ships. She hoped it would be enough to prevent the enemy from attacking another planet. Only time would tell.

Before Carrie left the system, she sent a message to General Landryal. “General, sorry that we were unable to stop the Confederation fleet. We did our best. Good luck.”

The General replied, “Thank you, Rear Admiral Carrie, for your efforts. Be safe. Do some major damage to the Confederation next time you’re there.”

“We will, General. I have every intention of destroying a few Confederation planets myself,” Carrie replied.

As Carrie and her fleet entered hyperspace, she assessed what she had left to fight with. In total, she had eight dreadnoughts remaining and thirty-two battlecruisers.

Carrie checked with Captain Sutton and noted that he had 31 dreadnoughts and 137 battlecruisers left. They planned to use the shipyard at Xnea Two for repairs, before heading to the Confederation to aid Admiral Collison and his attacks there.

-

General Landryal ordered the attack interceptors to leave the atmosphere and head to Xnea Two. No need for them to risk being destroyed. Already enough missiles had hit the surface of the planet to darken the atmosphere for a long time.

As soon as the Confederation fleets left the star system, Operation Salvage would commence, and crews from all over nearby star systems would come and attempt to rescue survivors and to begin cleaning the atmosphere and the space surrounding the planet.

Landryal was thankful that Ranier Two was a part of the Empire and had help nearby to assist them in rebuilding. It would take years, but they would return stronger than ever. Hopefully by the time the surface of the planet was livable again, this war with the Confederation would be over, and the Empire would be the victors.

The viewscreens showed the enemy fleets as they entered hyperspace—leaving with a lot fewer ships than they had come with.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters evaluated the situation at Ranier Two from their Command Center beneath the House of Worlds on Golan Four. Rear Admiral Carrie and Captain Sutton still had enough ships to meet up with Admiral Collison in the Confederation. After repairing a few ships at Xnea Two, they would head immediately to the Confederation.

Crews from all over the Empire were headed to Ranier Two to help in the rescue and salvage operations, already working to clear the atmosphere. Any survivors were taken to Xnea Two. Hopefully the Confederation would not attack there next. If they did, they would not be successful. With Rear Admirals Fulmar’s and Manson’s fleets already there, plus the leftover fleets of Carrie and Sutton, they would have the Confederation fleets outnumbered. Also Resistance Leader Markus Leo and the remnants of his crews were there as well.

The question now remained, would the Confederation fleet attack again? If so, what would their target be?

-

Morag Admiral Voxx and the remainder of the Confederation fleet had decided to regroup at an uninhabited red giant star system a couple hours toward their third target. There they would evaluate their fleets and make what repairs they could, before continuing on their mission.

His fleet had suffered more loss than he had expected, thanks to the space station and its particle beam cannons. He had lost 30 battleships and 107 battlecruisers between the space station and eliminating the planet’s defensive grid.

As for the Druins and the Zynth, they had suffered more losses than he had. They had numerous ships that needed repairs, including Druin Admiral Falorr’s flagship. Falorr had been lucky to have survived that battle. His ship needed considerable repairs to get the energy shield reactivated.

All things considered though, they had accomplished their goal and had destroyed the planet. Now they needed to figure out if they had enough ships to destroy one more planet.

-

Admiral Collison and the fleets in the Confederation were stopped near an ice giant planet in an uninhabited system nearest the Zynth area of the Confederation. He needed a little time so that some of their ships could make a few repairs and do a little maintenance work, before they headed on to their target, which was a two-hour hyperspace jump away.

Collison had reports from the scout ships. The Zynth fleets had repositioned to protect all their planets, not just the ones with shipyards—which meant it had spread their fleet out a little thinner. Considering that the Humans had attacked the Druin planets where the Humans had previously destroyed those shipyards, the Zynth would likely assume the Humans would be headed to do the same to the Zynth. Only that was not Collison’s plan.

Collison had in mind to eliminate a couple more shipyards in the yellow dwarf system nearest to their current location. This system held two inhabited planets, as well as one inhabited moon. According to the scout ships, they each had a weak defensive grid. All the shipyards were armed, as well as the space station. The latest information showed a Zynth fleet of forty-seven battlecruisers and six battleships in that particular system.

Collison met with Rear Admiral Barnes and Captain Drake to discuss strategy. They would once again split the fleet into three. Collison would take the biggest part and focus on the Zynth fleet and the nearest shipyard.

Barnes and Drake would be in charge of destroying the planets and the moon. Since the moon did not possess a shipyard, Drake would start there. He would take half of the battlecarriers with him and use the interceptors’ missiles to destroy the planet, once the defensive grid was neutralized.

Barnes would move to the planet that the Zynth fleet wasn’t defending and would eliminate the shipyard and then the planet. Then they would destroy the other planet and its small defensive grid.

They agreed to make their jump in three more hours. That would give them enough time to finish some minor repairs before the next battle. After that, they planned to rendezvous back at the supply fleet, where they would await the arrival of Rear Admiral Carrie and the fleet from Earth.

-

Professor Charles Wright had been consumed by his research at the archives on Bator Prime. He had been so focused and entrenched in his search for answers that he barely noticed the passage of the days. His curator, Marlon, had to frequently remind him to stop his quest and to eat and to sleep.

When Charles would find answers to some questions, more questions would arise. The answers he had found so far baffled him. He needed to share his discoveries with the Imperial Council and with the leaders of Earth. First, he needed to find a few more answers though. Charles also needed to send an encrypted message to Captain Hadley and her crew, still stationed above Falton Two. Hadley needed to know that, under no circumstances, was she to make any contact with Falton Two. Doing so could be catastrophic to the Empire and the war here in the Confederation.

Charles also needed to sit down and talk to Ardon Reull about Charles’s discoveries. Ardon’s brother, Marlon, was his curator, and he had been as surprised as Charles at the discoveries made so far.

Charles had a couple more days of work ahead of him, and then he would return to Golan Four to meet with the Imperial Council.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr grew more and more aggravated as the day wore on. His ship was no closer to reactivating its energy screen than it had been when they had left the system where they had destroyed Ranier Two. It looked like his only option would be to change his flagship for the time being.

The last attack on the Humans had cost him half of his remaining ships. The Druin fleet now consisted of only 119 battlecruisers and 15 battleships. One of those battleships was his flagship, which did not have a functioning energy shield and was, therefore, useless in battle.

The question remained whether they would move forward with their next planned attack or retreat to the Confederation to help protect their planets from the Human fleet destroying them. Who knew where the Humans would end up next and what they would destroy. He personally hoped they moved on to the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur paced back and forth in his quarters. The battle at Ranier Two had devastated his fleet. He now had only twenty-six battlecruisers and three battleships left.

Donlur also grew more and more concerned with each passing hour that the Human fleet in the Confederation was headed back to the Zynth-controlled planets to destroy a planet or two. He had lost most of his fleet here in the Empire and couldn’t render much aid in the defense of those Zynth planets.

So what should he do? Should they stay in the Empire and target another planet? Or return home to help defend their own planets?

-

Morag Admiral Voxx needed the Druins and the Zynth to accomplish his goal of destroying one more Human planet. Their once-large fleet had been diminished to only 25 percent of what it once was. Was this enough to destroy another planet? Maybe not, as, more than likely, the Humans had fortified all their remaining targets.

Voxx reasoned that, at a minimum, they could jump into the system that held their third target and scan it to evaluate what they’d be up against. If it was not-too-heavily fortified, then they could attack. If the opposite were true, and they determined they would lose too many ships, they would move on to their other possible target and do the same there.

If both Empire planets were too heavily fortified, then they would return to the Confederation. A Human fleet still remained there that needed to be hunted down and destroyed.

They would make their jump in one hour. Now he needed to convince Admirals Falorr and Donlur to join him in one last battle, before they headed home.

-

Marloo and Masters were busy moving ships around to prepare the next most-likely targets of the Confederation fleets for an attack. They had decided it would either be Astor or Xnea Two. Xnea Two already had enough ships in the system to outnumber the Confederation fleets or what was left of them. According to the last reports near Ranier Two, the enemy fleet was down to just under a total of four hundred vessels.

Rear Admiral Liam Anderson had a fleet stationed at Astor. They had managed to move a few ships around so that he now had a fleet of 133 battlecruisers and 43 dreadnoughts. This fleet was a mix of Imperial and Resistance ships. Due to this fact, his fleet also had a small amount of smaller support ships that could aid in the fight. Those ships numbered 53. The planet had 750 attack interceptors as well. The defensive grid was stronger than it had ever been before.

Marloo was certain the enemy would hit Astor. When the Confederation fleets had scanned Astor and Xnea Two, Astor had had the smaller number of ships patrolling. Based on that information alone, Marloo was certain the target would be Astor.

If Astor was, indeed, their next target, that attack could start within the next hour. Marloo needed to contact General Marley and Governor Stewart and Rear Admiral Liam Anderson and apprise them of the situation.

-

General Marley and Governor Stewart were already in the Command Center on Astor when they received the message from Fleet Admiral Marloo. It was as they feared. They were the next most-likely target of the Confederation fleet.

Marley was confident they could stop them though. He wished they had a few more ships to supplement Anderson’s numbers, but none were close enough. Marley decided to send out a message requesting backup, just in case more ships were close enough to help.

The bunkers were already almost full. When the attacks had started, they had begun filling the bunkers. They wanted to ensure everyone got to their designated bunker safely and in plenty of time.

Marley sounded the alarm again to notify the citizens of Astor that the Confederation fleet was due here within the hour. He moved the entire system defenses to Condition Two and prepared the attack interceptors to launch.

He would not use them as other planets had—for missile interdiction. He would use them to destroy the enemy ships. Marley knew the enemy fleet was down in numbers. The attack interceptors just might put the planet Astor on a stronger playing field. The enemy fleet would likely scan the system before attacking. If that scan showed the 750 attack interceptors in the space above the planet and ready to attack, in addition to Anderson’s fleet, maybe that would be enough to cause the enemy to change their minds and go somewhere else. It definitely wouldn’t hurt matters at all. Once the attack interceptors had launched their four fusion-tipped missiles at the enemy fleet, they could move inside the atmosphere for missile interdiction.

Once everything and everyone was in place, all they had left to do was wait.

-

Rear Admiral Liam Anderson was on high alert. He had his fleet stationed near the planet, with the attack interceptors in the rear of the formation. He would use them to help eliminate the enemy ships. Anderson had already instructed them to move in, once the enemy exited hyperspace, and to launch their missiles at medium-range distance. They should then have enough time to return to the planet and reload one more time to rejoin the fight. After their second round of attacks, they would move into the atmosphere to help shoot down any enemy fire that made it through to the planet.

Anderson felt he was as ready as he could be, given the situation at hand. He would stop this Confederation fleet once and for all. He had to.

-

Layla was very tired, as of late. She assumed it was due to the fact that she was carrying a child. She was lucky not to feel sick, however. Layla had heard her mother talk of how she had been sick her entire pregnancy with both of her children. Layla thought it a miracle her mother had had two children. If Layla had felt so terrible, she might not have more than one.

She made her way slowly up to one of the sky towers that overlooked the city from the Imperial Palace. This was one of her favorite places at the palace. She wasn’t sure if it was because her father had brought her up here often, as she grew up, or if it was the beautiful view of the city up here. The lights of the city reflected off the water from the small lake not far from the palace.

Layla wished she could see the stars up in the sky. The bright lights from the city drowned them out. She knew that, somewhere out there, the Confederation fleet was even now finalizing their plans to destroy another Human planet. Layla hoped that the planet that faced that enemy fleet would survive. She knew that the Confederation fleet was down in numbers and would likely only attack possibly one more planet. Hopefully during that attack, the Empire could destroy enough of the enemy’s ships to eliminate the threat that the Confederation fleet posed.

Of course it would just happen again. The Confederation fleet, or what was left of it, would go back to the Confederation and then repair their ships. Then they’d assemble another fleet and be back again. It would happen again and again, until the Empire had enough ships to adequately protect all their planets, or they found another way to win this war. What that was, she wasn’t sure.

There had been talk that the Empire and Earth would need to destroy Morag Prime to even have a chance of defeating the Confederation. It was assumed that, if the Morag stopped their fight against the Humans, the Druins and the Zynth would stop fighting as well.

She let out a long sigh. Layla wanted this war over before this baby came into her world. If that meant the destruction of Morag Prime, then that’s what they’d have to do. There was only one way that would be possible—with the help of Earth.

With Earth out of danger, for the time being, they had the opportunity to build up a large fleet. If the Empire could work to build up its fleet as well, they might just have a chance. Layla knew the Empire was already building ships around the clock. All their allies were as well. Maybe the Visth and the United Worlds Alliance would send a fleet to help.

Layla was sure that more races would join the fight, if given the chance. The question was, how could she let them know about the attack without letting the Morag know? Layla knew she needed to discuss her thoughts with Derrick. Maybe he had answers that she had not considered.

As she thought of Derrick, she felt a slight panic rise within her. Layla knew Derrick would want to lead the fleets to the Confederation to attack Morag Prime. There was nothing she could say or do to stop him. She admired him for his sense of duty but selfishly wanted to keep him safe here with her.

That would have to be a worry for another day. A lot of planning and preparation would need to go into this attack. It wouldn’t be something that would happen overnight.

If their new weapon, the atomic disrupter, was ready by then, that could be the edge they needed to win the war. It had been a few weeks since she’d had an update on the new weapon. Layla was sure there would be an update at their next Imperial Council meeting. Prince Andrew was staying on top of that project. And their next meeting was only a few days away.

Layla shivered as the wind picked up. It was time to return inside. She knew Derrick wouldn’t be back to their quarters again until the threat to the Empire had dissipated. Layla decided that she would head to the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds. She wanted to be there to see what was happening to her people. The strategizing she would leave to Marloo and Derrick, but it was important to her to know what was going on. Might as well watch it unfold on the viewscreens in the Command Center, than just pace around her quarters, waiting for Derrick to bring her an update.

-

Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull had just left a meeting with his brother, Marlon, and the Earth Human, Charles Wright. The news they shared with him was alarming. He had not heard of Falton Two before. Knowing what he had been told, he was sure the Morag had worked to keep this planet a secret from the rest of the Confederation.

What to do with this news was something he needed to reflect on for some time. Should he apprise his allies of the situation or wait until the threat of the Morag was lessened? Ardon decided to sleep on it and then to meet with the Triad tomorrow. Charles intended to return to the Empire and to inform the Imperial Council of his discoveries. Ardon might wait until he heard from the Empire before he shared these discoveries with any other race.

It was time to sleep. However, he knew sleep would be evasive tonight. Ardon had too much on his mind.

-

Captain Hadley had received a very puzzling encrypted message from Professor Charles Wright, informing her that, under no circumstances, was she to make contact with anyone near or around the planet. Doing so could be catastrophic to the Empire and the balance of power in the entire galaxy.

This news alarmed Hadley and her crew. They speculated as to what exactly it meant. All sorts of theories were discussed and then dismissed as impossible or not likely. The one thing that did seem clear to Hadley was that the Morag and these Humans here on Falton Two had some agreement or alliance. Why this was, she had no idea. How could the Morag be so set on destroying the Humans of the Empire and of Earth but have some peace with these Falton Two Humans?

Hadley shook her head. Nothing they had come up with so far could even begin to explain the truce her crew had witnessed here between the Morag and these Humans. She looked forward to hearing more from Professor Charles, but, according to his message, he was headed back to Golan Four to meet with the Imperial Council.

Until she had different orders, her scout ship was to remain in place, monitoring the activity on and around Falton Two. Hadley knew that, eventually, another ship would have to come and either take their place or resupply their ship. They were meant to be out on long-term missions, but, at this point, she was not sure how long-term this would turn into.

For now, they would remain where they were to learn as much as they could about these Humans here on Falton Two. What answers they would learn, she had no idea. Hadley felt that the professor had a lot of the answers, but it would be quite some time before she was privy to any of those.

-

Captain Avery was stationed with the supply fleet. They had already begun repairs on the Empire ships damaged so far in the battles of the Druin star systems. Repairs were going according to schedule.

Avery had received word to expect the new ships from Earth along with Rear Admiral Carrie within the next week. Rear Admiral Carrie would be leading them to the supply fleet with her ships remaining after the battle they had fought together above Ranier Two.

A message had come in, requesting a ship and a small escort for Professor Charles. It seemed he had made some important discoveries while at the archives on Bator Prime that he needed to share as soon as possible with the Imperial Council. Avery quickly arranged for a transport ship and a few battlecruisers to head to Bator Prime to pick him up. From there, they would return to the Empire and on to Golan Four.

Avery was more than a little curious what these discoveries were and why the professor was in such a hurry to get back to the Empire. Avery would not talk directly with the professor, however. So, more than likely, it would be a while before Avery found out what the big mystery was.

Honestly he had bigger issues to deal with than the professor’s mystery. With each passing day, Avery grew more concerned that his supply fleet would be discovered by an enemy fleet. Every time the sensor alarm sounded, his heart skipped a beat.

Avery knew there was always a small chance that a few enemy ships might follow the damaged ships to see where they went. This would lead them straight to him. Avery did have a nice-size task group to help defend the mobile shipyards, but his uneasiness continued to grow.

The Lormallians had a sizable fleet in the system as well. Yet he wasn’t sure they would help the Humans, should the Confederation show up and make trouble.

Avery had learned that the inhabited planet in this system, Proxy Seven, was where the telepathic nullifiers were produced. The sheer amount of transport vessels that came and went from the planet was impressive. They must have quite the operation down there.

That was the other thing that gave Avery cause for concern. If an enemy ship followed a transport vessel back here to see where the nullifiers were being manufactured, they would discover his fleet as well.

For these reasons, Avery had the supply fleet and the task group assigned to protect it on high alert at all times. He would not be caught off guard. He was prepared for the worst. Avery also hoped that he was overreacting and would never see his fears come to fruition, but only time would tell.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Morag Admiral Voxx, and the rest of the remaining Confederation fleet, were minutes away from exiting hyperspace at their next target. Voxx assumed that the Humans would have more ships in the system than when they had scanned it before. He also figured that the defensive grid would be stronger than the last time they had been in the system, like the case with the last planet they had attacked.

The plan was to drop out of hyperspace on the edge of the star system and make a quick scan to assess the situation. They would then decide whether or not to attack.

Voxx was determined to destroy one more planet. They would have to be vastly outnumbered before he would be willing to give up on his mission. On the other hand, he had no intention of dying today. If things started looking bad, they would exit the star system and return to the Confederation. There they would regroup and renew their attacks again.

One thing was certain, Voxx would know whether he could destroy another Human planet in less than ten minutes.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had only a small part of his original fleet left. With this next system, they would not be splitting the fleet. The plan was to stay together and to eliminate the enemy fleet first, then the space stations and the defensive grid, and finally the planet. They were stronger together.

Donlur leaned forward in his command chair, as the fleet exited hyperspace. The sensor alarms immediately sounded. His gaze was glued to the tactical display. How many enemy ships would there be in the system?

“The initial scans show the Humans have over nine hundred vessels in the star system, all assembled near the target planet,” called out the sensor officer.

“This is too large of a fleet for us to face. What type of vessels?” asked Donlur, with a voice of concern.

“The Humans have 133 battlecruisers, 43 dreadnoughts, 53 support ships, and 750 attack interceptors, Admiral.”

Donlur relaxed a little. Most of the fleet was the smaller attack interceptors. He was certain Voxx would want to move forward with the attack.

The scans also showed the defensive grid had been strengthened, which they had already assumed would be the case.

He sat more upright in his command chair, as he prepared for the battle ahead. Donlur had no intention of this being his last battle. If he needed to, he could move to the safety of the rear of the fleet.

-

Rear Admiral Liam Anderson kept his gaze glued to the viewscreens in front of him. He expected the Confederation fleet to exit hyperspace at any moment. When the alarms sounded, he felt the tension in his shoulders actually relax a little. No more waiting, the time for the battle was finally here.

The enemy fleet had exited hyperspace far out at the periphery of the system. Anderson assumed that was so they could run their scans to know what they were up against.

Anderson ran their scans of the enemy fleet. They showed 346 battlecruisers and 39 battleships. With the help of the attack interceptors, Anderson was confident he could prevent the enemy fleet from destroying the planet. He could use a battlecarrier right about now, but he did not have one at his disposal. Then the attack interceptors could reload faster, not having to fly all the way down to the planet to reload. Anderson still hoped to get them reloaded and back into the battle at least once or twice. They would be his first line of attack.

As soon as the Confederation fleet moved closer to the planet, Anderson would send in the attack interceptors to launch their fusion-tipped missiles at medium-range distance. Then they would reload and reengage the enemy fleet.

Anderson took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He witnessed the enemy fleet enter hyperspace and exit not far from his fleet. “How far from combat range are they?” he asked.

“Nine minutes, sir,” replied the tactical officer.

“Let’s send in the attack interceptors. Remind them to release their missiles at medium-range and then head to Astor to reload,” commanded Anderson.

-

From the Command Center, tucked safely beneath a snowcapped mountain on the surface of Astor, General Marley watched the enemy fleet close in on the planet. The bunkers were all sealed, and the cities were still in the process of being evacuated. Every minute that Rear Admiral Anderson could hold off the enemy from firing on the planet gave the civilians longer to evacuate the cities.

Marley still held out hope that Anderson and his fleet could destroy enough Confederation ships that the enemy would abandon their mission to destroy his planet.

He watched as the attack interceptors began their attack run on the now much-closer Confederation fleet. Marley knew many of those crews were headed straight for their deaths, but they did it anyway. They did it to protect the people of Astor, for the men, women, and children who have no safe place to hide from the impending attack of the Confederation. To these courageous and brave pilots, he would eternally be grateful. Marley was safe inside the Command Center, not staring down the enemy in the cockpit of a ship.

As the attack interceptors closed in, they faced enemy fire. Fusion energy beams and antimatter missiles headed toward them like a wall of death and destruction. The attack interceptors launched their missiles at medium-range, just as the enemy fire reached them.

The viewscreens in the Command Center showed various views of the battle. One was that of a pilot of an interceptor. It seemed almost as if Marley were flying the interceptor himself. Marley watched as the pilot dodged the incoming firepower, until they reached their designated launch distance. Then the four fusion-tipped missiles could be seen leaving the attack interceptor and heading toward the enemy fleet.

As that pilot turned his attack interceptor around to head home, the view from the cockpit showed hundreds of other interceptors launching their weapons as well. Marley smiled at the scene unfolding before him. Nearly three thousand missiles were now headed toward the advancing Confederation fleet.

Marley knew that the most dangerous part of the attack interceptors’ mission happened now, when they had turned around to return to the planet to reload. The rear of the interceptors was not protected by an energy screen, only the front.

Through the view out of the attack interceptor’s cockpit window, small flashes of light could be seen. Marley’s heart sank as those flashes signaled the death of an attack interceptor and the crew of three that it held. Suddenly the view that he watched started diving. He assumed it was to miss whatever enemy fire was headed toward this interceptor.

Then the screen went black. A gasp could be heard throughout the Command Center. They all knew what that meant. Another interceptor had been destroyed, along with the crew on board.

Marley closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he found another screen to watch, as the attack interceptors’ missiles reached the enemy fleet. Ship after ship was damaged or destroyed in large explosions, as the fusion-tipped missiles hit their marks. A smile once again spread across Marley’s face. So far, the battle was going according to plan. The attack interceptors had destroyed a large number of ships. Now it was time for Anderson’s fleet to finish them off.

-

Rear Admiral Anderson watched from his command chair on his flagship, Lodestone. The attack interceptors had launched their missiles and had successfully destroyed a large portion of the front line of the Confederation fleet. The interceptors were now headed back to the planet to reload. Anderson hoped they would all be out of harm’s way before the fleet launched its firepower at the incoming enemy fleet.

“Two minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

Anderson watched the screens as the attack interceptors cleared out of the combat zone. He breathed a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about.

His fleet knew to target the battleships first, if possible. Anderson knew that the leaders of the enemy fleet would be housed in some of those ships. He reasoned that, if the leaders were destroyed, the fleet might just retreat to the Confederation.

At that moment, they reached engagement range, and a mass of firepower was launched toward the enemy fleet. Accelerator cannon fire, particle beams, fusion energy beams, and antimatter missiles were now headed toward the remaining Confederation fleet.

The space above the planet was lit up with all the firepower. Anderson swallowed a lump of fear that had begun to grow in his chest, as he saw the enemy fire inbound to his fleet. When it hit, energy screens lit up brighter and brighter. The unfortunate few overloaded and shortly vanished from his view in a brilliant flash of light and energy.

The accelerator cannons were ripping the front of the Confederation fleet to shreds. More and more ships moved forward to take their spots. Anderson knew that eventually there wouldn’t be any more enemy ships to take the position of those destroyed. With each red icon that disappeared from the tactical display, Anderson felt more and more confident that they would stop this enemy before they reached the planet.

The particle beam fire proved immensely effective as well. Each dreadnought had two cannons. The first would fire, knocking down the screen and drilling into the ship. The second one would fire, moving across the ship and causing significant damage. This usually ended up either causing the ship to explode or to break in two.

Anderson watched as tendrils of energy fire seemed to crawl from ship to ship, and then giant explosions would tear his ships in two or completely destroy the vessel altogether. His gaze traveled to the tactical display as green icons disappeared.

Anderson then saw on one of the viewscreens a battlecruiser that had a significant portion of its hull blown off, leaving dozens of compartments open to space. More explosions rattled the vessel as it came apart. An antimatter missile finished off the ship as bright explosions lit up the viewscreen.

Anderson decided to pull his fleet back a little to bring the nearest space station into the battle. He could use their additional firepower. The battle then grew more intense, as the weapons fire increased when the space station came in range of the enemy fleet.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr grew concerned about the fleet. The Human attack interceptors had destroyed a large portion of their front line in the initial attack. It was extremely difficult to eliminate the small attack craft. They were very maneuverable and hard to target. Falorr knew it was only a matter of time before the interceptors were reloaded and back in the battle.

The few Human ships present in the system were armed with both of the Humans’ new weapons, the accelerator cannons and the particle beam cannons. They were pulverizing the ships in the Confederation fleet quickly and efficiently.

Yes, the Confederation was destroying ships in the Human fleet too, but the Confederation was losing more ships than they were eliminating. At this rate, Falorr was not sure they would make it to destroy the Human planet. It was time to change tactics. Otherwise their objective of destroying the planet would not be feasible.

He quickly analyzed the planet’s defenses, looking for the weakest point. He needed a spot far from the Human fleet, not near a space station, that also had a relatively small amount of defensive grid elements. Did this vulnerability even exist?

Falorr zeroed in on what he thought was the best option for an attack. Now he needed Morag Admiral Voxx and Zynth Admiral Donlur on board with his plan. Part of the fleet would need to stay and face the Human fleet, which likely meant death, and the rest would jump to Falorr’s designated coordinates to break through the planet’s defensive grid and get a few missiles headed to the surface of the planet.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was impressed with Druin Admiral Falorr’s plan. It looked like the only option they had for getting a few missiles headed to the surface of the planet. They would divide the fleet in half, and Falorr would take the Druin fleet and the remaining Zynth ships to accomplish his plan. While Voxx’s Morag fleet remained and faced the Human fleet.

Voxx was confident that the Human leader would split his fleet as well, which would ultimately leave him fewer ships to destroy. Voxx was just as likely to get through to the planet as was Falorr and Donlur.

-

General Marley watched the viewscreen that showed the attack interceptors headed back to the battle above Astor. They had reloaded quickly and would soon be back in the fight. His gaze switched again to the fleet battle, when he noticed part of the remaining Confederation fleet disappear. Everyone scrambled to figure out where they were headed. They quickly realized that they had dropped from hyperspace on the opposite side of the planet.

The Confederation fleet that had moved to the opposite side of the planet was already bombarding the defensive grid. Immediately the defensive grid elements in that area returned fire. One ODP was barely in range of the enemy fleet. It began targeting enemy ships. The missile platforms and energy beam satellites that were in range of the enemy fleet began to target and fire on the fleet.

Soon explosions riddled the Confederation ships. Then bright flashes of light indicated the destruction of an energy beam satellite or missile platform. Marley noticed the attack interceptors were now headed to this new threat. A few moments passed before part of Anderson’s fleet moved in to intercept the enemy fleet. They attacked from the rear, quickly causing destruction to spread across the attacking fleet.

-

Rear Admiral Anderson felt his pulse quicken when part of the Confederation fleet disappeared. He had a sinking feeling they weren’t headed back to the Confederation. His suspicions were quickly confirmed when they exited hyperspace on the far side of the planet.

Anderson quickly readjusted his fleet formation to send a portion of his fleet to attack the group of enemy ships now bombarding the defensive grid. One ODP was at extreme firing range. It had already begun to launch its firepower at the Confederation fleet.

Anderson quickly rerouted the attack interceptors to this new threat. He had to ensure the enemy didn’t get through the defensive grid, where they could then fire on the planet. He did not like splitting his fleet, but he didn’t have much of a choice. At least he had the space station to help increase his firepower.

As Anderson switched his gaze to another viewscreen, he witnessed the powerful weapons of his fleet blow apart a Morag battlecruiser, sending debris flying across space. Another ship, this time in his fleet, vanished beneath a massive fireball as the vessel disintegrated.

The space station was having great success in targeting and destroying the enemy fleet with their ten dual particle beam cannons. These particle beam cannons could be fired three times a minute.

A portion of the Confederation fleet now focused its firepower on the space station. Anderson prayed it would last longer, hopefully long enough to win this battle.

The number of ships in both fleets was quickly dwindling. The question remained as to which one would survive long enough to complete its mission. The Human fleet in defending the planet or the Confederation fleet in destroying the planet?

-

General Marley had ordered all the missile platforms to go to continuous launch mode and to empty missile storage bunkers as quickly as possible. It was vital the defensive grid destroy as many enemy ships as possible.

The attack interceptors were now within range of the Confederation fleet attacking the defensive grid. Marley watched in amazement as the interceptors dodged and wove intricate patterns, trying their best to avoid the enemy fire. Marley winced when he witnessed bright fireballs litter space, as attack interceptors died.

Most of the interceptors fired their missiles at the enemy fleet before they headed back to the safety of the atmosphere. There they would wait in case needed to help shoot down any weapons fire that made it through the defensive grid. It was only a matter of time before that occurred.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur became more and more concerned, as he watched the Humans’ small attack craft launch their missiles at their fleet. They now had the Human fleet attacking the rear of the fleet and the attack interceptors and defensive grid elements attacking the front. Things were not looking good. He had already lost most of his remaining fleet. Donlur now had less than ten ships left in the battle. His uneasiness continued to grow.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx focused his firepower on the space station. He knew that, if he could eliminate it and its firepower, the battle would turn in his favor. Voxx also now had fewer Human ships to destroy, since they split the Human fleet.

Suddenly Voxx found his battleship targeted by the space station’s particle beam cannon. His eyes grew in alarm. He quickly maneuvered another ship into the line of fire. He was glad he had the power to take over the minds of his people. It had just saved his life.

Voxx watched as the ship he had sacrificed to save his own life disintegrated in a large explosion of energy. He felt no regret.

Voxx realized that the Humans in the space station must have realized his ship was important, as they were once again targeting his ship with their weapons. He quickly moved his ship to the rear of the formation. However, now the space station kept targeting ships between his ship and them to clear a path back to his ship. He was in trouble.

-

Rear Admiral Anderson smiled when he saw the Morag battleship move to the rear of the fleet. It appeared they had identified the flagship of the Morag Admiral. Now all they needed to do was destroy it.

Anderson used his commlink to speak to the fleet, making all ships aware of the Morag Admiral’s coordinates. They quickly made a plan to have a few dreadnoughts jump to the rear of the enemy fleet and attack the enemy flagship.

Soon three dreadnoughts made their short jump to the rear of the enemy fleet and launched their accelerator cannon fire at the Morag flagship.

Anderson’s gaze was intensely focused on the viewscreen showing the enemy flagship. It appeared that the energy screen shattered, and then suddenly the ship disappeared.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx knew he was in trouble when three of the Human dreadnoughts disappeared. When they emerged behind him, he immediately ordered his crew to take them into hyperspace. Before the navigation officer could input the coordinates, the Human dreadnoughts fired their accelerator cannons at his ship. The first round smashed through the energy screen just slightly before the ship began its transition into hyperspace. They had gotten out of there just in time.

Now he would need to coordinate the attack from hyperspace. He was again thankful for his telepathic abilities. Voxx placed the commands quickly into the minds of the crews left above the Human planet.

Voxx then contacted Druin Admiral Falorr and Zynth Admiral Donlur. No doubt they had noticed his retreat. He needed them to stay and fight though. He cursed Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull, now that Voxx couldn’t reach out and communicate with them telepathically because of the telepathic nullifiers they wore.

Voxx reassured Falorr and Donlur that his fleet would stay and fight. He would meet them at the rendezvous coordinates just inside the Confederation.

He slammed his hand down on his command chair. Voxx had been looking forward to seeing the Human planet destroyed. Now he would have to settle with seeing it through someone else’s mind.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur had a bad feeling things would not go their way. He knew they had only minutes left before they would need to retreat or face certain death. As he had no plans of facing death today, it would mean a retreat.

They had almost managed to eliminate the defensive grid that was the only thing stopping them from firing on the planet. Part of their fleet was engaged with the Human fleet, and those ships were being destroyed rather quickly.

Suddenly the ODP in range of the fleet exploded in a giant fireball. Debris fell to the planet. Large streaks of light could be seen, as the debris burned up in the atmosphere.

After that, they made short work of the remaining defensive grid elements. They were finally through the grid and ready to fire at the surface of the planet.

They began launching their missiles at the planet. The Human attack interceptors began shooting down their missiles. As they continued to target the surface, the Human fleet attacking their rear began to hit ships in close proximity to the admirals.

-

Druin Admiral Falorr was satisfied that they had made it through the defensive grid and were now firing at the surface of the Human planet. It was only a matter of time before a few of them would manage to slip through the attack interceptors and the planet’s missile defense system.

As he gained more confidence in their mission success, his gaze shifted to another viewscreen, showing a nearby battlecruiser’s energy screen being overloaded. Then the ship vanished in a giant fireball. The Human fleet was almost through the ships behind him. They would soon have a clear shot at his flagship.

The remaining ships launched another round of missiles at the planet. Then Falorr gave the order to enter hyperspace, just as the ship immediately behind him vanished from the tactical display. He had to leave before his ship could be targeted. His energy shield had been repaired but was not functioning at 100 percent. Falorr could not risk a direct hit from the accelerator cannons or the particle beam cannons. It would mean almost certain death for him.

-

Zynth Admiral Donlur was relieved when Druin Admiral Falorr began charging his hyperdrives. He knew that meant it was time to get out of there.

Donlur quickly gave the orders to enter hyperspace. His navigation officer had already had their rendezvous coordinates input into the system.

As the Druin fleet entered hyperspace, Donlur’s Zynth fleet was right on their heels. Donlur felt lucky to be alive. He only had four ships remaining, three battleships and one battlecruiser.

He could now sit back and relax until they reached their rendezvous coordinates, which were safely back inside the Confederation.

Once there, he would be a short hyperspace jump from home.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx still controlled his fleet, even though he was no longer in the same star system. His fleet had managed to damage the energy shield of the space station. After that, they quickly launched antimatter missiles toward the weakened shield. Holes appeared in the energy shield then, and soon an antimatter missile slipped through. Once it detonated into the hull of the space station, it caused large explosions and damage.

A few particle beam cannons were still functioning and continued to target his fleet for a couple more minutes, until enough antimatter missiles had hit the space station that it disappeared in a massive explosion and sent debris hurtling in all directions.

Voxx smiled to himself. His fleet would have an easier time now. At that moment, the Druins and the Zynth entered hyperspace and left the star system. This caused the rest of the Human fleet to unite together to attack his fleet.

Numbers on both sides of the battle had drastically decreased. Voxx evaluated the situation and soon realized he did not have enough ships to destroy the Human fleet and the defensive grid. He would not fire any missiles at the planet today. He did not have enough ships left to do it.

Voxx did note the reports of large mushroom clouds on the surface of the planet, so the Druins and the Zynth must have gotten a few missiles through to the surface. He commanded his Morag fleet to enter hyperspace and to head toward their rendezvous coordinates.

-

Rear Admiral Anderson and his crew all cheered when the last remaining Confederation ships entered hyperspace. They had saved the planet from destruction!

“Sir, mushroom clouds are rising from the surface of Astor,” said the tactical officer.

“The Druins and Zynth must have gotten through the defensive grid before they left. How many missiles made it to the surface?” Anderson asked.

“It appears four missiles made it to the surface,” replied the tactical officer.

“Contact General Marley and see what was hit. Also contact Fleet Admiral Marloo to let him know the enemy fleet is gone.”

-

General Marley watched in alarm as four missiles made it through the attack interceptors. Hundreds of missiles had been launched at the surface, and the attack interceptors and the missile defense system had eliminated almost all of them. Only four had made it through.

One landed in the ocean. Tsunami alarms were quickly sounded along surrounding coastlines of the impending arrival of massive tsunamis.

Another missile detonated above a small city, disintegrating everything in the blast zone. Buildings were flattened, and a large fire spread out and consumed everything not already destroyed. For twenty kilometers in every direction, the damage was almost absolute. All life was extinguished from the area.

The third missile hit on the outskirts of a large city. The blast zone was large, destroying nearly half of the city. A large crater was all that was left of a once-vibrant city. The massive mushroom cloud rose to the sky.

The fourth missile detonated in a rural area. The only structures in the area had been on a small farm. The mushroom cloud released dust and ash all around.

As soon as the last enemy fleet had entered hyperspace, Marley immediately sent out the call for Operation Salvage. Nearby star systems would send ships and crews to help search for survivors and to begin cleaning the dust and ash from the atmosphere.

Citizens continued to evacuate the areas where the missiles had detonated. It would be a while before those areas were inhabitable again.

Marley was glad that the battle was over and that his planet was still mostly unharmed. The tsunamis had begun to hit the coasts, and more rescue efforts would begin in those areas. It was likely that thousands of people would die from the tsunamis. It would take days for the rescue efforts to finish.

All in all, Astor was lucky to have survived mostly unharmed. Today could have ended much differently.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Masters had watched the battle for Astor unfold from the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds on Golan Four. High Princess Layla had also arrived to watch the Confederation fleet attack the planet.

Everyone in the Command Center had been relieved when the Confederation fleet had entered hyperspace. At last count, the enemy fleet was down to about fifty ships. Not enough to attack any more planets.

Marloo and Masters agreed that the enemy fleet was likely headed back to the safety of the Confederation. Everyone in the Empire could sleep a little more soundly tonight. It would be at least a couple weeks before the Confederation would mount another attack.

The Empire had a lot of work to do in the meantime. Defensive grids to rebuild and ships to repair. Rear Admiral Anderson had reported that his fleet had 31 battlecruisers remaining and 12 dreadnoughts. The attack interceptors had 425 still flight capable. Many of the crews had ejected and had been rescued after the battle.

Now to rebuild and refortify. Hopefully Admiral Collison could destroy a few Zynth planets and shipyards. As long as the Empire could keep attacking targets in the Confederation, the enemy couldn’t send any massive fleets to attack the Empire. At least not as long as the Confederation’s own planets were at risk.

Chapter Twenty-Four

In the heart of the Confederation, the Human fleet neared their first Zynth target. The goal of this attack was to destroy the two inhabited Zynth planets, the inhabited moon, and all the shipyards in the system. Not an easy objective, but one Admiral Collison was confident they could achieve. There would be loss of life, both Zynth and Human, before the day was over.

Collison had received hyperlight messages from Golan Four, confirming the Confederation fleet there had destroyed both Leonora Five and Ranier Two but had not successfully destroyed Astor. That enemy fleet now retreated to the Confederation.

Soon the Zynth would understand what it felt like to lose a planet full of citizens that, more likely than not, have no actual part in this war. Maybe this would be the last straw that would push them over the edge and out of the war. The Zynth were obviously the weakest of the remaining Confederation races still at war with the Empire and Earth. Their own lives and planets were now at risk.

How they would react, no one knew. Maybe they would decide the fight was not worth the price and would withdraw from the war. This would leave only the Druins and the Morag, since the Lamothians were now focused on rebuilding their civilization. This was the Empire’s hope, that the Zynth would decide to leave the war against the Empire and Earth.

Collison also greatly looked forward to destroying a few Morag planets as well, but he would need more reinforcements for that. He was interrupted from his thoughts by his navigation officer. “Five minutes until we drop out of hyperspace, Admiral.”

“Take the fleet to Condition One, and run our long-range scans to see what we’re up against. The scout ship in the system has not reported any changes, but let’s check it anyway,” commanded Collison.

“Long-range scans showing fifty-three warships in the system as well as numerous civilian vessels,” replied the sensor officer.

“Just as expected. Let’s get this mission wrapped up as quickly as possible. I don’t want to be here long enough for any surprises.”

-

Captain Greeley had witnessed a lot of death and destruction since he had joined Admiral Collison with the last round of reinforcements from Earth. He knew that he would soon see more of the same. Greeley couldn’t help but feel sympathy toward the innocent lives that would soon be lost on their next targets, the two inhabited planets and the inhabited moon in the Zynth star system.

Part of him questioned why they were doing it. Had they become the exact thing they were fighting against? Do you take an eye for an eye? Or, in this case, a planet for a planet? It didn’t feel like the right thing to him, but what could he do? He was only a captain. They had received orders from the Empire and Earth. Greeley knew their strategy was to hopefully scare the Zynth into withdrawing from the war. But, in Greeley’s mind, they were just giving the Zynth more reasons to attack them in the future. Maybe they should show them a little mercy?

He was brought out of his reverie by the feeling of his ship exiting hyperspace. It was time. He hoped he would have a chance to talk with Admiral Collison about his thoughts before they attacked any other star systems. But, for now, he had a job to do. He would help Collison attack the enemy fleet patrolling the system.

“What are we up against?” Greeley asked his sensor officer.

“Forty-seven battlecruisers and six battleships, Captain,” the sensor officer replied.

“How far until we reach combat range?”

“Seven minutes.”

“Prepare for battle. Target one of the enemy battleships first. Let’s eliminate the ones with the most firepower first.” Greeley watched the viewscreens in front of them, as they closed in on the enemy fleet. He then switched his gaze to the view of the planet in the distance. It was a beautiful planet. As the view zoomed in a little closer, it appeared to have more desert climates than tropical. What a shame it would soon be filled with smoke, debris, and ash. Greeley shook his head and switched his focus back to the enemy fleet.

“Four minutes,” called out the sensor officer.

Greeley swallowed, relieving his dry throat. He then took a deep breath and leaned forward in his command chair.

-

Zynth Commander Longmont was concerned the Humans might attack his system. This yellow dwarf system had two shipyards, which the Humans had been targeting. Now, not only were they destroying shipyards but also planets. The Humans had already destroyed three Druin planets. Since then, they hadn’t been detected.

Longmont had come to the conclusion that the Humans were no longer in the Druin-controlled area of the Confederation. They must have moved on to the Morag-controlled area or had come back to the Zynth area of the Confederation. Longmont hoped the Humans had moved on to the Morag area of the Confederation but had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were headed here instead.

Longmont did not have a large-enough fleet to fend off the Human fleet. He possibly had enough to slow them down but not to prevent them from destroying the shipyards or the planets. As he continued to pace back and forth in his private quarters, alarms sounded. He immediately felt panic rise in his chest. Longmont quickly headed to the Command Center to face his worst fears.

When he entered the Command Center, his gaze went straight to the tactical display. His sensor officer said, “Commander, we have detected a Human fleet exiting hyperspace. They have three hundred ships and counting.”

All gazes were on him for guidance. “Notify Admiral Menzen immediately, as well as Councilor Ralor Conn. Maybe there’s a way to save our planets from the Humans,” he replied. “How far out are the Humans from combat range?”

“Ten minutes, Commander.”

“Let’s position our fleet next to the shipyard closest to the enemy fleet, above the planet Kemprein. We can use the shipyard’s firepower to our advantage.”

The Zynth fleet quickly moved into position above the planet Kemprein.

“Any news from Admiral Menzen or Councilor Conn?” asked Commander Longmont.

“The Admiral says that we are to hold off the enemy as long as possible. Reinforcements are on their way. They should arrive in about an hour,” responded the communications officer. “Councilor Conn expects the Humans are only after the shipyards and then will be on their way. He does not believe they will attack the planets.”

Longmont held in his anger. Was there no one who could see this attack for what it was? This Human fleet was here for revenge now, retaliation for the planets the Confederation’s combined fleet had attacked and destroyed in the Human Empire. The Humans were not here only for the shipyards.

The Zynth would soon see the intentions of the enemy. Then they would know the harsh truth.

“Commander, the Human fleet has divided into three groups. One is headed to the moon of Winsmere, one to planet Desmendron, and the largest portion is still headed straight toward our location.”

“Winsmere has no shipyard. Why would they send part of their fleet there?” he asked aloud but knew the answer to that question. The Zynth living on Winsmere would soon breathe their last breath. Winsmere was only protected by a weak defensive grid.

“Three minutes to combat range, Commander.”

“Prepare to fire all weapons,” Longmont ordered.

-

Captain Drake and his task force had jumped to the inhabited moon in the Zynth star system. His ships closed in quickly to their target. Drake estimated it would take them less than five minutes to blow through the defensive grid. Then they would have nothing stopping them from bombarding the surface of the moon.

The surface of the moon appeared to be more of a forested place with a few large mountains. As the view zoomed in closer to the surface, Drake could even make out a few large cities. What a shame to destroy such a beautiful place. This was home to his enemy though. Drake could see no other way than to retaliate against the Confederation. They had, after all, destroyed two Human planets. He was thankful it hadn’t been Earth. Earth was a long way away from the Confederation—and the Empire, for that matter.

“One minute to engagement range, Captain.”

“Target defensive grid elements,” Drake commanded.

They soon targeted and destroyed the defensive grid. Bright flashes of light could be seen on the viewscreen as missile platforms, and energy beam satellites were eliminated. In less than three minutes, the surface of the moon was no longer protected.

Drake and his task group then launched the attack interceptors from the battleships. They would use them to destroy various targets all across the surface of this moon.

-

Lieutenant Garland and her squadron quickly launched from their battlecarrier, Freedom, once the all-clear had been signaled. As they gathered into their squadrons, they headed toward their designated targets. Garland’s squadron had been assigned various targets near and in one of the large cities on the surface.

As they made their approach, many in her squadron launched their missiles. Garland saw one hit a large mining area, as they made their approach to the city. A huge explosion detonated right in the center of the mining encampment. She smiled at how accurate these fusion-tipped missiles could be.

They moved on toward the city, destroying major infrastructure. Dams, power-generating facilities, and mining operations were all turned to desolate wastelands.

Once Garland neared her targets, she prepared to fire her missiles. The first would be a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of town. The next would be a large transportation hub. One thing about being so close to your target when you launched your missiles was that you could see more clearly what it was you were destroying.

In many instances, she could see Zynth citizens trying desperately to flee the area. Their effort was futile, as soon the entire area would be nothing but an inferno, leveling buildings and destroying everything in its path. No mercy would be shown here today.

Garland had two more missiles left. One would be delivered to the water treatment facility and the last to the center of the city itself. As her missiles were launched from her interceptor, she turned and headed back to their battlecarrier.

On Garland’s journey back, large mushroom clouds rose toward the sky out of her cockpit window. Cities were destroyed, homes leveled, infrastructure eliminated, and the moon’s atmosphere would soon be covered in ash and smoke.

It was now time to reload and to prepare to do it all again.

-

Zynth Councilor Conn had been summoned to an emergency meeting with the Zynth Council of Elders. Once there, he learned that the Humans had already destroyed all life on the inhabited moon of Winsmere.

There was great concern the Human fleet would soon destroy both Kemprein and Desmendron, currently attacking the shipyards above those planets.

“What can we do to stop them?” asked the Ancient Elder Lengore.

“I believe the only thing that might stop them is a peace treaty. One where we agree to stay out of the war and to not cooperate in any further aggression against the Humans of the Empire and of Earth,” stated Elder Montfort. “If we intend to save these planets, we must do this quickly.”

Councilor Conn said, “How can we even consider a peace with the Humans? The Morag would be furious with us. Then we would have to worry about what the Morag would do.”

“I believe the Morag have much bigger problems than us dropping out of the war. They would still have the Humans to deal with, plus the Lormallians, before they’d even consider us as a problem,” replied Montfort.

“Our fleets grow smaller every day,” Lengore added, “with our attack on the Human Empire and their attack on us. Not to mention the shipyards the Humans have destroyed will set us back in producing more warships. It will be months before we can even replace what we lost in the Human Empire with Admiral Donlur and what we have lost here, fighting off the Humans.”

“A decision must be made immediately, before the Human fleet begins to bombard the surface of the planets,” stated Montfort.

-

Rear Admiral Barnes and her portion of the fleet made their short hyperspace jump at the same time as Captain Drake. Once they exited hyperspace near the inhabited planet closest to the sun, they began their approach to the shipyard.

Barnes and her task group would eliminate the shipyard, before annihilating the weak defensive grid, and then the attack interceptors would fly in and hit their designated targets.

“Four minutes to engagement range of the shipyard,” called out the sensor officer.

“Let’s relieve the Zynth of this shipyard quickly. Prepare to launch accelerator cannons,” commanded Barnes.

Engagement range was soon entered, and the battle commenced. The shipyard was surprisingly well armed. The energy shield protecting the shipyard was also powerful. Unfortunately for the Zynth, it could not withstand the impact of the projectiles launched from the Human’s accelerator cannons.

Once the energy shield was knocked down, the shipyard was pummeled with accelerator cannon fire. Explosions rattled the large shipyard, one after another. The explosions eventually consumed the shipyard in one massive explosion, sending pieces of it hurtling toward the planet.

Barnes smiled, one less enemy shipyard building warships. Now time to focus on the weak defensive grid. As the task force moved into position, the battlecarriers launched the attack interceptors at the rear of the group. There they would form into their squadrons and then wait for the all-clear, signaling it was time for them to head toward their targets.

Barnes and her task group began targeting and destroying the defensive grid elements. Small flashes of light signaled one less defensive grid element. It reminded Barnes of the fireflies that come out at dusk back on Earth. She had loved to capture them in a glass jar as a kid. She smiled and then refocused on the battle at hand. Within five minutes, they had eliminated the only thing left protecting the Zynth on the surface of the planet.

Barnes gave the all-clear signal to the attack interceptors to begin their mission to their various targets.

-

Captain Elliott, on the battlecarrier Deneb, had already assigned targets to the various attack interceptor squadrons. Elliott watched the scene unfolding before him from all the various viewscreens at the front of the Command Center.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. His squadrons would be relatively safe today. There were no longer any threats to them in the star system. The Zynth planet did not appear to have any ground defenses. Elliott did not understand how any planet could be so unprotected.

Then he remembered that it had probably been thousands of years since the Zynth had been attacked in their own systems. No reason for them to spend time and resources on defenses that would never be used. He suspected that would change now, and the Confederation worlds would begin heavily fortifying their inhabited planets immediately. They were no longer safe. They were all vulnerable to attack.

Elliott knew that, if the Humans were to mount a massive offensive against the Morag, the time was now. Never again would they be less protected than they are at present. Their fleet numbers were down, and their ability to repair and to build more ships had been lessened. The Humans needed to strike soon, as soon as possible.

-

Admiral Collison neared the engagement range of the Zynth fleet. Collison knew it would not take too long to eliminate the enemy ships. Barnes and Drake had already jumped to their targets and would soon be destroying the planet and moon.

“Three minutes to engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.

“Prepare to fire accelerator cannons,” commanded Collison.

The Zynth fleet fired their weapons just before they entered optimal engagement range. A wall of firepower was headed straight for them. Collison braced for impact. The firepower hit the Human fleet, lighting up the energy screens all across the front line of the formation. The energy crawled across the energy screens, looking for a weak point. A few were found, and, as more enemy firepower arrived, it overwhelmed the energy screens on a few battlecruisers. Collison winced, as those battlecruisers vanished from view in large explosions.

The Human fleet launched their attack, and soon ships were dying all across the Zynth fleet. Collison knew it wouldn’t take long to overwhelm this small enemy fleet.

-

Zynth Commander Longmont was stunned and terrified of this new weapon the Human ships used. He had been briefed on this weapon, but seeing it in action was altogether different than hearing about it.

It was like his ships didn’t even have energy shields. The Human weapons just went right through it. What was he to do? How could he defend against this?

As Longmont began to lose all hope, he received a message from the Zynth Council of Elders, Ancient Elder Lengore, the head of the Council of Elders.

“We have decided to withdraw from this war with the Humans. Contact the Human Admiral immediately, and let him know of our decision.,” said Lengore.

“Yes, right away,” replied Longmont.

Longmont immediately tried to contact the Human Admiral. He had only moments before it would be too late.

-

“Admiral Collison, we’ve received a transmission from the Zynth,” called out the communications officer.

Collison was surprised but said, “Put it up on the viewscreen. Let’s see what they have to say.”

“Yes, Admiral. I will also engage the translation software so we can understand him,” replied the communications officer.

“Also cease-fire while we talk,” commanded Collison. “See if they stop firing.”

A few moments later, the tactical officer said, “Admiral, the Zynth have ceased fire.”

“Good, let’s see what they have to say.”

As the viewscreen switched to a view of a Zynth, silence filled the Command Center. The Zynth were a reptilian race that resembled an ancient Earth raptor, only slimmer and with actual arms and clawlike hands. They have yellow reptilian eyes.

“Greetings. I am Commander Longmont of the Zynth. I have been contacted by our Ancient Elder Lengore of our Council of Elders. He has informed me that we, the Zynth, are pulling out of this war against the Human Empire and Earth. We wish to be neutral and will no longer participate in any attacks of the Confederation on the Human Empire or Earth. We will stay out of the Human Empire and out of the Bacchus Region of space.

“Please stop your attacks on our planets and shipyards. Our fleets that were inbound to this star system have turned back and are not coming here. We have no war with you Humans anymore.

“We have realized the Morag have fanned the flame of our hatred and encouraged our aggressive feelings toward your race. We will no longer live under the control of the Morag. We have already received and will be receiving more telepathic nullifiers from the Lormallians. This you can confirm with them yourself. We do not want war with the Morag. However, we do not want to be their puppets on a string either. Will you agree to our missive, Admiral?”

Collison couldn’t believe what he heard. This was what they had hoped they would accomplish here. The Zynth had decided to pull out of the war. “I will contact our High Princess and our Imperial Council and inform them of your Council of Elders’ decision. We will cease-fire until we have heard from our leaders. However, if any Zynth warships emerge from hyperspace, we will take that as a sign of aggression and renew our attacks.”

“Yes, Admiral. Please let me know what your leaders decide. Thank you for your understanding,” the Zynth commander responded.

After the Zynth commander ended the transmission, Collison immediately said, “Get me Fleet Admiral Marloo on the screen.”

-

Lieutenant Burr, attack interceptor squadron leader from the battlecarrier Deneb, led his Scorpion Squadron toward their targets on the surface of the Zynth planet, when the mission abort command came through.

“All attack interceptor pilots, mission abort. Repeat. Mission abort. Do not fire your missiles at your targets. You are to stay in a holding pattern above your targets until further notice,” said Captain Elliott.

Burr and the rest of the pilots pulled up and away from their targets. “I wonder what’s going on?” asked Lieutenant Carr.

“I do not know. Let’s stay close to our targets, in case we are commanded to attack,” responded Burr.

Burr flew in closer to get a better look at one of his targets. It was a large dam that held back a massive body of water. He turned the interceptor down the valley to survey what damage would be done by destroying the dam. The entire valley, or what was left of it after the explosion, would be entirely flooded. It appeared at least six medium-size communities would be underwater.

As he navigated down the valley, he was surprised to see the many farms and forests along the valley. The sides of the valley were covered in trees—well some type of treelike plant that he had never laid eyes on before. The valley had been cleared, and some plants grew there in neat rows. It appeared to have irrigation as well. For the first time, he realized that the Zynth were not really all that different from them after all. They were not some faceless monsters that only caused death and destruction.

Burr passed over a group of younger Zynth, who appeared to be playing some game. As he circled, he decided that the game resembled that of hockey. They were using sticks to hit a ball into certain areas marked by large rocks. The Zynth waved up at him, as he circled. Why are they not afraid of us? Don’t they know what we are here to do?

Burr turned his interceptor around and headed back to the rest of the squadron. He couldn’t look too closely at this planet, or its inhabitants, if he would soon be ordered to destroy it.

-

High Princess Layla was awakened from bed by her husband, Derrick. “What’s going on?” she asked, as she slowly got out of bed.

“We have heard from Admiral Collison. We need an emergency Imperial Council meeting immediately,” replied Derrick.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll answer your questions as you get ready,” he said.

“Okay. So, tell me what’s going on.”

“Collison said that the Zynth Commander contacted him and said that the Ancient Elder of their Council of Elders had contacted him and said they want to pull out of the war with the Empire and Earth,” said Derrick, with a smile.

“How do we know this is not a trick to stall for time for reinforcements to show up?” asked Layla, as she pulled on her dress.

“He said that all reinforcements had turned around and were no longer headed to the star system where our fleets are located. Then our scout ships confirmed it.”

“Do you think they are being truthful?”

“We have a copy of the message from the Zynth Commander. Collison had the notion to record it, just in case.”

“I can’t wait to see that.”

“The rest of the Imperial Council that is on the planet is headed to the chambers now, as well as Fleet Admiral Marloo. The other Imperial Council members not here will be video-conferenced in. As soon as we arrive, they will play the video message. Admiral Collison and his fleet have ceased fire until they hear from us, so time is ticking.”

“Give me ten more minutes, and I’ll be ready. I have to look the part, in case they want me to respond with a video message of my own.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”

A few minutes later, they headed quickly to the Imperial Council Chambers. Once inside, they all sat down to watch the message.

Everyone sat in silence, as they watched in shock at what the Zynth commander said. Once the video message had concluded, the council members debated for a few minutes on what they should do.

“Why would we accept the surrender of the Zynth, when we did not accept the surrender of the Lamothians?” asked Governor Julian Bemire of Ambary Two.

Marloo responded, “We had a scout ship following the Lamothians and knew that a large fleet was headed to intercept our fleet in the Lamothian star system. Plus the Lamothians had been warned and had disregarded Princess Layla’s warnings. We also must keep in mind that we Humans remain a delicacy food source to the Lamothians.

“Right now we have a scout ship following the Zynth fleet headed to intercept our fleet attacking in their system. It has since turned around and headed back to where it came from. This is why we know they are not stalling for time.”

“We do realize, however,” Derrick added, “that this peace from the Zynth attacking us and us attacking them is most likely temporary. If, in the meantime, we can defeat the Morag and Druins, then I doubt the Zynth will come after us on their own.”

Marloo nodded. “It gives us a little time to focus on two enemies instead of three. We will keep in mind that the Zynth will be rebuilding their fleet and refortifying their planets, as will we. There might come a time where the Zynth reenter this war. We will face that when the time comes. For now, this allows us to focus on one less enemy.”

As soon as the decision was made, Layla moved in front of the camera to record their response.

“Zynth Commander Longmont and the Council of Elders, I am High Princess Layla Starguard of the Human Empire. We have received your message requesting peace between our two races. We have debated it here with our Imperial Council and have reached a decision. We accept your withdrawal from the fight against us. We will stop all our aggression in the Zynth-controlled area of the Confederation. If, however, the Zynth show any aggression toward us in the future, we will come and destroy many of your planets. We do not want to do this, but we will and can, if you break our agreements. We will keep our ships out of the Zynth-controlled area of the Confederation, and the Zynth will keep their ships out of the Human Empire and the Bacchus Region of space. We look forward to a future of peace and prosperity for the Human Empire and Earth, as well as for the Zynth.”

-

Once Collison received the transmission of the High Princess’s message, he sent it on to the Zynth. He would definitely be checking with Ardon Reull of the Lormallians to confirm what the Zynth had said about the nullifiers.

Collison did not have to wait long for a response from the Zynth. They had agreed to the terms that the High Princess had laid out.

Collison immediately ordered all attack interceptors back to their battlecarriers. Once all were on board, they would exit the system. Collison communicated the rendezvous coordinates to the rest of the fleet. Then he sat down in relief. One less enemy. He’d call that a win any day. Now they had two more enemies to go.

-

Lieutenant Burr had received the orders to return to the Deneb. As he led his attack interceptor squadron away from the surface of the planet, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief wash over him. He wouldn’t have to destroy this beautiful planet after all. Burr had been surprised and relieved to hear that the Zynth were pulling out of the war and would remain neutral. Now if only the Humans could find a way to defeat the Druins and the Morag.

-

Captain Greeley was absolutely elated over the news. No more destroying these planets and the innocent citizens who lived on them. Today had definitely been a success. One for the history books, they would say back home.

He relaxed into his command chair, as he watched the last attack interceptor land in the battlecarrier nearby. It was time to leave and to return to the supply fleet. When he felt the familiar twinge in his stomach as they entered hyperspace, he couldn’t help but smile.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zynth Admiral Donlur took a deep breath and swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He had received word from the Zynth Council of Elders that they were withdrawing from the war against the Humans. In many ways, Donlur was relieved. In some ways, he wondered why so many Zynth crew members had died in this war with the Humans?

Donlur was sad to hear that the Humans had destroyed the inhabited moon of Winsmere. It had been a beautiful moon, with a habitat full of many fascinating creatures. Donlur understood that they had surrendered to save the two inhabited planets that would imminently be destroyed. By all accounts, they had only been saved by a few minutes. The Human attack interceptors had already been inbound to their targets on the planet. It sounded to him like Desmendron and Kemprein had been saved by mere seconds.

Now Donlur was expected to inform Morag Admiral Voxx of their withdraw from the war with the Humans. Donlur knew it would not go over well with Voxx. Donlur wouldn’t be surprised if Voxx eliminated the rest of his Zynth fleet in anger. That would only be four ships, but Donlur didn’t want to die today. He had narrowly escaped the Human Empire unscathed. It would be tragic for them to die in the Confederation from his supposed ally. Well, soon to not be his ally. Also not his enemy technically—but Donlur doubted Voxx would see it that way.

Well, Donlur might as well get it over with. The longer he stood here and thought about it, the more concerned he became. Donlur would prefer Voxx not hear the fear in his voice. Remorse, possibly, but not fear.

“Get Morag Admiral Voxx on the commlink,” he said to his communications officer. He was silently thankful he wore a telepathic nullifier. At least Voxx could not implant commands into his mind or any of his crew’s to harm themselves or the ship.

“Admiral, I have Morag Admiral Voxx on the comm,” said the communications officer.

“Put it up on the viewscreen.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

Donlur steadied himself, as Voxx’s face appeared on the viewscreen.

“What is it that you need?” Voxx asked, a suspicious look on his face.

“I have been instructed by the Zynth Council of Elders that the Zynth are pulling out of the war against the Humans. We will now be neutral. I believe this decision was made under duress, in order to save two of our planets and billions of Zynth lives. The Human fleets in the Confederation were poised to destroy both Kemprein and Desmendron. They had already destroyed the inhabited moon of Winsmere,” Donlur said in a neutral voice. He was doing his best to remain calm and to not panic.

Why did he have to inform the Morag? Why didn’t that responsibility fall to Zynth Councilor Conn? Surely this news would have been something to discuss at the next Great Council of the Confederation. Not between two Admirals who were returning from battle.

Donlur saw Voxx struggle to keep his composure. “I am very disappointed to hear this news. I will inform the Morag High Council immediately. I am certain they will not be pleased with this news. We trust you will remain neutral and not help the Humans in any way,” Voxx said, as he narrowed his eyes.

“As far as I am concerned, the Humans are still our enemy. We are no longer fighting against them, but they are not and will never be our allies,” Donlur said confidently.

“I am glad to hear that. I am not sure that is true of the rest of the neutral races of the Confederation. They will be dealt with eventually. Be advised that the Zynth will be dealt with as well, if we discover you have aided the Humans in any way in the future. You should pass that information on to your Council of Elders,” Voxx said angrily.

“Yes, I completely understand and will inform them of your words myself.”

With that, Voxx ended the link.

Zynth Admiral Donlur sank back down into his command chair in relief. They were still alive.

For now.

Donlur glanced over at the tactical display. The Morag made no course change. Maybe the Zynth would remain unscathed. Donlur had no intention of dropping out of hyperspace at the rendezvous point. They would continue on to the Zynth-controlled area of the Confederation. At least their chances of survival would be higher that way.

-

Morag Admiral Voxx was livid when he heard that the Zynth were pulling out of the war. How dare they! he thought to himself. He could only imagine how the Morag High Council would react to this news.

When Zynth Admiral Donlur had communicated the news to Voxx a few minutes ago, he had considered exiting hyperspace and destroying what few Zynth ships were left in the fleet. Being that only four remained, he decided it would be a waste of his time. Not to mention that he didn’t need to create another enemy right now.

While the Morag might be losing an ally, it was the weakest one they had right now. Well, next to the Lamothians. Except the Lamothians probably had more ships left in their fleet than the Zynth.

The Morag still had the Druins, and it would take a lot more than the Humans destroying a few planets to make the Druins bow out of the war. The Confederation seemed to be crumbling before him. What could they do to fix it?

Then Voxx laughed. The Morag had no intention of fixing the Confederation. Their plan was to rule the entire galaxy. It did make defeating the Humans a little more difficult but not impossible.

What they needed was a massive fleet and a few new weapons, all of which they would have in a few months’ time. Then the Humans would be dealt with swiftly and decisively. All the Morag needed was a few more months to rebuild their fleet and to finish developing the new weapons. Even now, at numerous research facilities, the particle beam cannons and the accelerator cannons were being developed. They would crush the Humans once they had the same firepower as them. All they needed was time.

-

Admiral Collison and his fleet neared the Lormallian star system where the Empire supply fleet was staged. Overall, their missions had been a success. They had managed to get the Zynth to withdraw from the war.

Collison had already confirmed with Lormallian Councilor Ardon Reull that the Zynth had requested more telepathic nullifiers. This in and of itself would anger the Morag, if and when they found out about it.

The Human fleet had successfully destroyed three Druin shipyards and three planets. Now they needed to focus on Morag targets. The fleets would wait at the supply fleet for the reinforcements Rear Admiral Carrie brought, before they made their next attack runs. In the meantime, they had a few ships that needed some major repairs in the mobile shipyards, plus numerous ships needed minor repairs and maintenance work.

Collison would have lots of reports from the scout ships to review of the Morag fleet deployments and patrol movements. Collison also suspected that the reinforcements from Earth would have more information about what the Fleet Admirals there had in mind for the short-term and long-term goals of Collison’s fleet.

His fleet now had 211 battlecruisers and 102 dreadnoughts. All 59 battlecarriers were still in good condition. They could resupply attack interceptors from the supply fleet. Rear Admiral Carrie’s fleet had 32 battlecruisers and 8 dreadnoughts with her, in addition to the Earth fleet that would have 137 battlecruisers and 31 dreadnoughts. They would soon have a sizable fleet to attack the Morag with.

In total, once all the reinforcements arrived, his combined fleets would total 380 battlecruisers, 141 dreadnoughts, 59 battlecarriers, and a little over 9,000 attack interceptors. Would it be enough to cause major destruction in the Morag-controlled area of the Confederation to end the war? Collison wasn’t confident about that, but they could definitely cause more trouble for the Morag.

-

The Great Council of the Confederation was once again in session. They met yet again on Druin Seven. This was considered the middle ground between the Zynth, Lamothians, Druins, and Morag.

Morag Councilor Damora had just received word of the news that the Zynth were pulling out of the war with the Humans. He seethed in anger. Their allies were falling like flies.

As Damora entered their newly built council chambers, he took his seat at the head of the table. He considered it the head of the table, but, as he took his spot, he realized the table was now round. There was no head position.

His eyes narrowed, as the other three councilors made their way into the room and took their seats around the round table. This table would not do. Damora needed these councilors to realize he was in charge, and his position at the table was a piece to that illusion. He smiled slyly. It wasn’t an illusion. The Morag were undoubtedly in control of this council.

Once everyone was seated, Damora looked in disgust at Zynth Councilor Conn. “I hear you have some news to share with the council,” Damora said in barely contained anger. His red eyes seemed to glow brighter.

Zynth Councilor Conn stood and addressed the council. “The Zynth Council of Elders have ruled that the Zynth will no longer take part in this war against the Humans.”

At this, the Lamothian and Druin councilors gasped and stood. “How dare you side against us? Are you now our enemy?” asked Druin Councilor Clun.

“No. We are not your enemy,” Conn replied calmly. “We had no choice but to withdraw from the war. The Humans were poised to destroy two of our planets and billions of Zynth lives. The Humans had already successfully destroyed the inhabited moon of Winsmere and the one billion lives of those who made the moon their home.”

“We did not surrender when faced with the same situation,” replied Druin Councilor Clun angrily. “We lost three planets, and eleven billion Druin lives along with them. Yet we did not turn tail and run to suckle at the breast of our enemy!”

“No,” Councilor Conn responded, with assertiveness. “The Druins are fortunate to have more inhabited planets than the Zynth. We did not want to end up like the Lamothians.” With that, he gestured to the Lamothian councilor. “We were concerned the Humans would return again and again, until we had no planets left to call home. We have a smaller fleet to protect our planets and inhabited moons than the Druins and the Morag. We have learned our lesson from the unfortunate experience of the Lamothians. We will not end up where they are—guests on someone else’s planet and dependent on the goodwill and the help of others to help them rebuild their civilization.”

The Lamothian Councilor sat back down and folded his arms across his chest. “So the Zynth are now our enemy.”

“No. We have pulled out of the war with the Humans, but we do not ally ourselves with the Humans. They agreed to stay out of our area of the Confederation as long as we stay out of the Empire and the Solar System. We intend to uphold this agreement. This does not mean we are no longer allies with you,” Councilor Conn said, as he gestured to each of the councilors sitting around the table.

“If you will not fight with us against our enemies, then you are no good to us,” stated Druin Councilor Clun.

“On the contrary, we have many important resources and goods to trade with your races that you cannot obtain from your own planets. In this, we hold our value and place here on this council. We are still one of the Seven Races of the Confederation. That has not changed.”

“On the contrary, we do not need you on this council. If you are unwilling to join us in the fight against the Humans, there’s no need for you to be here and thus privy to our plans to conquer this uprising the Humans have started. Just look at what they have done to this council. We were once seven races strong. Now we have dwindled to three,” replied Morag Councilor Damora.

“I am sure all the other councilors here and those no longer a part of this council would agree that it is not the Humans that caused this fracture in our Great Council but the Morag and their underhanded means of controlling this council for centuries!” Councilor Conn responded harshly.

Damora slammed his hand down on the table, breaking it into pieces. He smiled. He didn’t like this table anyway. He noticed that the other two councilors had not jumped to his defense but remained silent. They were looking at him for his response, however. So they agreed with this traitor. He made a note of this and would inform the Morag High Council.

“I think the rest of us agree that the Zynth are now removed from this council. We may continue to trade with you, but you will not be privy to the plans we make here against the Humans. We cannot trust that you will not trade favor with them for the information you obtain here.”

“So be it,” responded the Zynth Councilor. “Good luck in your fight against the Humans. I feel you will need all the luck you can get to defeat them. It will cost you dearly.” When he finished, he turned and walked from the room.

As he made his way out, Damora said, “We don’t need luck. We make our own.”

-

The Imperial Council was meeting in their chambers in the House of Worlds on Golan Four. Chief Chancellor Stein was giving an update on the rescue efforts and the mitigation efforts being made on Astor. On Leonora Five and Ranier Two, efforts were already underway to begin cleaning the atmosphere. This was not the first time planets in the Empire had been attacked, and a lot of research and development had gone into ways to help the planets heal and to become livable quicker. Once Stein had finished his update, he asked, “What is the status of the fleets in the Confederation?”

Fleet Admiral Marloo stood and said, “This latest mission has been a success. Admiral Collison and his fleets managed to destroy two Zynth shipyards and one of their inhabited moons. Before they destroyed two of their planets, the Zynth Council of Elders decided to pull out of the war against us, thus saving their planets.”

“Do we think they are sincere? Or just merely saving their planets from imminent destruction?” asked Governor Lindsay Littrel from Jalot Four.

“We believe they do want to pull out of the war. According to information obtained from Lormallian Ardon Reull, the Zynth were the last race to decide to go ahead and to stay aligned with the Morag. We believe they have realized that they cannot win this war against us. They lost almost all their five hundred ships they had brought to the Empire with the other Confederation fleets. Plus they’ve lost another four hundred or so ships in their own star systems trying to stop Admiral Collison’s attacks.

“With fewer shipyards to build ships and the fact that their own planets were now at risk has all culminated in the decision for the Zynth to withdraw from the war. The perfect storm, so to speak, to get them to abandon their alliance with the Morag.”

“How do we expect the Morag will react to this news?” asked Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three.

“I am sure not well,” responded Marloo. “We had backed the Zynth into a corner and had made surrender the wisest choice. The Morag will not see it that way, I am certain.”

Stein said, “This will probably lead to the Zynth being dismissed from the Great Council of the Confederation, which puts their numbers down to three. With the Lamothians focused on rebuilding their civilization, they will not, for the foreseeable future, be looking to come after the Empire.”

Vice Fleet Admiral Derrick Masters stood and said, “This situation leads us to an unprecedented opportunity to end this war once and for all. With the Zynth withdrawing from the war and the Lamothians busy with their own survival issues, we are down to two enemies, the Druins and the Morag. We must take advantage of this opportunity and go after the Morag. We believe that, if we can destroy Morag Prime, it could turn the tide in this war. We cannot allow the Morag enough time to develop more and better weapons. We cannot allow them the time to rebuild their fleets. The Morag are at their weakest ever right now. We would be remiss if we did not take full advantage of this.”

Everyone on the council looked around the room at all the others. Heads began to nod. “I believe you are correct, Admiral Masters,” responded Stein. “What type of fleet would it take to destroy Morag Prime? Is it even possible?”

Derrick looked over at Marloo. “We believe it is possible. Earth has been amassing a large fleet to send here for this exact purpose. We also believe the Lormallians would join us in this attack. The Visth and the United Worlds Alliance would as well. There have also been discussions that many races in the Confederation would join the fight as well, if given the opportunity.”

Marloo added, “It would be a massive combined fleet of many races. Humans, Lormallians, Visth, and numerous others, all united to defeat our common enemy. Together we are stronger. Together we can defeat the Morag.”

“Wouldn’t the Morag just take over the minds of the other races and use their ships against us?” asked Therron.

“The Visth and their alliance, along with the Lormallians, have been working to amass enough telepathic nullifiers that would cover all the other races and the crews in their ships. The only thing we need to figure out is how to communicate and to coordinate this attack without the Morag or the Druins finding out,” said Marloo.

“When are we planning to commence this attack on Morag Prime?” High Princess Layla asked.

“As soon as the Earth fleets arrive here and have time to do maintenance on their ships after their long hyperspace jump. Plus they may need to resupply as well,” said Marloo.

“When do we expect the Earth fleets to arrive?” asked Layla.

“Pallas Admiral Reynolds estimates the fleet will be ready to leave within the next two weeks. It will then take them approximately three weeks to get here from the Solar System,” replied Marloo.

“So we would be ready to start the journey to Morag Prime in about five weeks?” asked Littrel.

“Yes,” replied Marloo.

“Will our new weapon be ready by then?” asked Therron.

Prince Andrew stood and said, “No, our new weapon will not be ready by then. The research and development team have reached some complications in their research of the atomic disruptor. According to the head scientist Canaan Roy, this setback will put them back at least another couple months or longer.”

“That’s too bad. It could have been another advantage for us over the Morag,” responded Stein.

“We believe we can win this war with the help of our allies, even without this new weapon,” said Derrick confidently.

“Are there any objections to this new plan of attacking Morag Prime?” asked Chancellor Stein.

“Will we be sending fleets from the Empire as well?” asked Therron.

“Yes. We hope to send a sizable fleet to the Confederation, while still leaving enough ships here to defend our core worlds,” responded Derrick.

“Do we have enough ships to do that?” asked Therron.

“Yes. First Fleet is now up to 593 battlecruisers and 74 dreadnoughts. Fifth Fleet now has 789 battlecruisers and 114 dreadnoughts. Plus we still have another five weeks to strengthen our fleets even further,” said Marloo.

“What about Admiral Collison and his fleets in the Empire?” asked Therron.

“They will continue to attack Druin and Morag targets. This will keep the enemy fleets busy and will continue to weaken our enemy. We also believe, as long as we keep attacking targets in the Confederation, the enemy will not suspect a larger attack is imminent,” said Marloo.

“This sounds like it could be the beginning of the end of this war with the Confederation,” said Littrel.

“Yes, it does,” commented Layla. “While we are on the subject of new beginnings, Derrick and I have an announcement to make to the council. We intend to inform the rest of the Empire shortly but wanted the council to hear the news first. We are expecting our first child just after the new year begins. If things go according to plan, the Confederation will be in ruins, and our child will truly be born into a new era. An era free from Confederation attacks and threats.”

Everyone around the room chatted in excitement about the new baby and the upcoming attack on the Confederation.

Then Prince Andrew stood and said, “And Professor Charles Wright is headed back from his trip to the archives on Bator Prime. According to his messages, he has discovered some very important things while he was there. He will make his report to the council as soon as he returns from his trip, sometime next week.”

Epilogue

“Mom, how long will we have to stay in this bunker?” asked her eldest son.

“Most likely around two years, darling,” she replied. It would be much harder for her now that she was on her own. Her husband had made good money working on the shipyard. Her income would not be enough. Of course, down here in the bunker, things worked a lot differently. She would need to find a job down here. Hopefully she could keep teaching, as she did on the surface.

The children would still attend school, just as they had on the surface of Leonora Five. It would take a little while to get it all organized, however.

They lived in a small apartment about half the size of the home they had had on the surface. They had stored essentials here before the attack. When the alarms had sounded, and they had evacuated to the bunker, they each had brought one bag of personal belongings. She looked over at the boys, now playing with their dog. At least they had been able to bring along the dog.

She missed her husband terribly and knew life in the bunker would be challenging. She really could have used his support throughout the next couple years down here in the bunker and then back on the surface to help rebuild their lives, once allowed to go back aboveground.

It would be a long two years, 730 days, assuming the atmosphere had been cleaned in that amount of time. The boys were already keeping track of the days. Six marks were etched onto the wall. They had a long way to go.

Suddenly a knock sounded on the door. She stood to answer. However, her youngest son beat her to the door. When it opened, she gasped. There, standing in the doorway, was her husband!

They all ran to him and enveloped him in a big family hug. They all started talking at once. “How did you make it? Where have you been the last six days?” she asked.

“We got on a transport vessel off the shipyard right before it was destroyed. I did not think we would make it. I was sure the enemy ships would target and destroy our transport vessel. They didn’t though, so we made it. The bombing started before we could reach the bunker. The aircar that took us from our transport vessel to the bunker was knocked out of the sky.

“A lot of my buddies died in the crash. A few of us survived and were able to make it to the bunker. It was already closed though, and we weren’t sure they would let us in. Thankfully they did. I was then admitted to the hospital for treatment from the crash. I was just released from the hospital and came straight here. I am so sorry I couldn’t get word to you before now.”

She smiled and said, “We are just glad to have you home, safe and sound. Well, to this little place that will be our home for a couple years.”

“As long as I am with my wife and kids, and we are safe, I don’t care where we are,” he replied.

They all laughed and felt great relief. They were lucky. All of their family had survived. It seemed impossible to be true, but here they all were, together again.

-

Admiral Collison cleared his throat and pushed the commlink so that all the vessels in the fleet could hear his announcement. “Today is a special day. We are taking a moment to celebrate our victories here in the Confederation. We have a few days to rest and to recover while we await the arrival of our reinforcements.” Collison looked over at Rear Admiral Barnes and said, “I would like to thank Rear Admiral Barnes for her hard work and determination. She is an incredible leader, and I am proud to serve alongside her.

“As many of you are aware, Captain Drake has been given more responsibility in helping to lead this fleet.” Collison turned to Captain Drake and said, “I am proud to today promote you, Captain Drake, to Rear Admiral.”

Collison then opened the small box he had concealed in his hands and took out the small pin, and pinned the insignia to Drake’s uniform. Collison then took a step back and saluted the new Rear Admiral. Drake saluted him back, and then a huge smile spread across his face. “Congratulations, Rear Admiral Drake,” Collison said, as he returned Drake’s smile.

-

Rear Admiral Carrie and Captain Sutton, with the Earth fleet reinforcements, were on their way to the Confederation to meet up with Admiral Collison. Although Carrie and the Earth fleet were not as strong as they had been before the battle over Ranier Two, they still had enough ships to help Collison wreak more havoc in the Confederation. Between Carrie’s fleet and Sutton’s, they had a total of 169 battlecruisers and 39 dreadnoughts. Enough ships to eliminate more Morag and Druin targets.

They would rendezvous with Collison and the fleets at the supply fleet in three more days. Then they would start hitting more targets until the actual attack to end the war would begin. A smile crossed Carrie’s face. The Morag had no idea what would soon be headed their way. She and her fleet were just part of the distraction. They would help pull the Morag fleet to other planets, away from Morag Prime. The Human fleet would also be hitting more enemy shipyards and warships to further soften the Morag defenses.

Yes, time was ticking on the reign of the dominance of the Morag. They would soon be toppled. Carrie headed to her quarters to get some rest. Then she would comb through all the data from the scout ships to help Collison determine their next targets.

-

“I stand before you today to mourn the loss of life that has occurred in the war with the Confederation. The loss of life of those citizens on Leonora Five, Ranier Two, and Astor. The loss of life of those who gave their lives while fighting to protect our people, our way of life, our Empire. We can never replace them, but we can keep our memories of them in our hearts and minds.

“However, we can and will rebuild our fleets and our planets and our cities. We will be stronger than ever. With new allies seeking us out every day, and our Empire growing every day, we will rise up to defeat those who try to defeat us. We will not sit by and let the Druins and the Morag win this war. No, we will fight. We will win. We stand united.

“We will make the Empire a safe place to live for our children and our children’s children.” Layla turned and smiled at Derrick before continuing, “Today, as we celebrate our freedom, on a more personal note, we also celebrate the hope of a future. A future that soon will make me not only the High Princess of the Empire but a mom as well.”

The camera faded to the insignia of the Human Empire, a large starburst on a background of stars, while the Imperial March played.

Layla let out a deep breath, and Derrick walked over to hug her. “That was great. You did an amazing job.”

Krista, as well as Andrew and Kala, all agreed. The future looked bright.

-

Ardon Reull had met with the Ruling Triad of the Lormallians, and they had all agreed. It was time to unite and to destroy the dominance of the Morag in the galaxy. Specifically they would all unite and destroy Morag Prime. The Human Empire had suggested Ardon reach out to any Confederation planets that might be willing to join the fight. The call to rise up was now. The attack would be coordinated soon, once the Earth fleets arrived at the Empire.

Ardon was certain numerous worlds would be willing to join the fight. The question he had to figure out was how he could send out the call to rise up without alerting the Morag or Druins. The Human Empire had suggested that they use the stealthed scout ships to send out the call in many different systems. By sending directional hyperlight messages to each planet, they wouldn’t have to worry about the enemy hearing the message. The only concern would be if any of those planets would report the information to the Druins or Morag.

The production of telepathic nullifiers had increased dramatically. All the crews would need to wear them, except for the Humans, when they made their attack on the Morag. This was essential to their victory.

The Visth and their United Worlds Alliance would be reaching out to surrounding worlds as well. They already had over 375 worlds in their alliance and were hard at work building up their defenses and fleets.

The more he thought about it, the more Ardon realized they actually had a shot at defeating the Morag and destroying Morag Prime. If only they could stitch together a big-enough fleet.

-

The Visth and the United Worlds Alliance had received the message from their allies, the Humans, about uniting to destroy Morag Prime. They had already begun to amass a fleet that could aid the Humans in this endeavor. They were also reaching out to other planets that might be willing to join the fight.

The United Worlds Alliance had now grown to over 375 worlds. More and more worlds were requesting to join the alliance almost every day. Their fleets were growing too. Many of these worlds had been secretly building warships for years and had amassed numerous small fleets. The fleets needed training, but the ships were built.

Stralon Karn was confident he could amass a large fleet to aid the Humans in their attack of Morag Prime.

-

The High Queen of the Barsoons had received the encrypted message from the Lormallians, regarding the planned attack on Morag Prime. The Barsoons lived in massive city hives, now housed underground after the last attack the Morag had unleashed on their planet.

They had descended from a species of bees and had developed into a species of medium intelligence. At the heart of each city lived the queen and her court, all of whom were quite intelligent and directed the activities of the other Barsoons living in the city hive.

Beneath the surface in deep underground caverns was where the Queen, her Royal Court, and the essential workers had ridden out the Morag’s attack. Also housed underground were the egg hatcheries, where future generations of Barsoons waited to be hatched. They had everything they needed to continue their civilization in these caverns. They have tens of billions of eggs that could be hatched to rebuild their population quickly.

The Barsoons had sufficient capabilities to build warships and had been doing so since before the Morag had destroyed the surface of their planet. The time had come to wake her sleeping army. They had the ships, and now they needed the crews. It would take a few weeks to get ready, but their day had finally come. It was time to destroy their enemy and, in doing so, free her hives and their planets from the clutches of the Morag and the Confederation.

-

The Creetins had received the call to rise up against their enemies. The Creetins were an insect race, very similar to a praying mantis, standing six feet tall. The Creetins were spread across twenty-two star systems that fell under Confederation control. The Morag had recently destroyed one of their planets that had been in open revolt, after the Humans had shared information about the Morag’s telepathic abilities. The Creetins had been secretly building a fleet of ships to someday use against their enemies. Their ships might not be as powerful and have the same weapons as the Morag and the Druins, but they had developed some weapons of their own.

They were excited to have the opportunity to join with other worlds against the Confederation. The Creetins had been closely monitoring things in the Confederation since they had heard about the Morag and their secret telepathic abilities. It had been welcomed news when the seven races of the Great Council of the Confederation had fractured. It seemed their enemies were weakening. The time to attack was now. They would await word from the Visth, and then they would rise up to defeat their enemies.

-

The Screel had been contacted by the Lormallians about joining the attack against the Morag. The Screel resembled flying bats but had a set of arms with fingers. Screel General Mingoh surveyed his warships they had been secretly building in their underground lairs. They had successfully designed and built these ships without the Confederation discovering them. General Mingoh had been watching and waiting for the opportunity to join others in the fight to destroy the Morag-led Confederation.

After discovering the truth about the Morag’s telepathic abilities, Mingoh knew others would be willing to join the fight against the Morag as well. He had managed to get word to the Lormallians about getting in a shipment of telepathic nullifiers. His fleet of warships would do them no good if the Morag could just take over their minds and thus take over their ships.

Mingoh had received his first shipment of the nullifiers today. With them came the word of a planned attack, coordinated by the Humans of the Empire and Earth, the Visth and their United Worlds Alliance, and the Lormallians themselves. Mingoh would need more nullifiers, many more nullifiers.

The planned attack was a few weeks out, so there was still time to finish more ships and train their crews. His crews would only have simulated training, but that was better than no training at all.

It appeared that the Screel would have the opportunity they had waited for—the opportunity to join others in the fight to break the hold the Morag had on the Confederation.

If it were up to him, he would join the Visth and their United Worlds Alliance. He would wait until after this attack, however, and see where the chips fell.

-

Admiral Cleemorl surveyed his fleet. Rear Admirals Manson and Fulmar had returned from Xnea Two, so Cleemorl’s entire fleet was together again. The shipyards had been working 24/7 to build more warships. His fleet had taken a large hit with all the ships that they had taken to the Confederation, some of which had been destroyed, as well as those that stayed behind to help reinforce Collison’s fleet.

Cleemorl’s fleet was now back up to 593 battlecruisers and 74 dreadnoughts, which was about the size of the fleet Fulmar had brought to the Confederation to aid in the efforts there. They still had a long way to go before they were back to where they had been before the Confederation attack in the Hagen Star Cluster, but they were headed in the right direction.

Gideon was still in the process of being rebuilt. Significant strides had been made over the last several weeks. The base was being repaired and weapons turrets fixed. Within another three weeks or so, the base would be fully repaired. Gideon was once again becoming a fortress that would be almost impossible to defeat.

Collison smiled. Now, if only he could manage to increase the defenses of all the planets and inhabited moons across the entire Empire, then he would rest more soundly.

He also hoped to have enough ships to aid in the destruction of Morag Prime. Cleemorl likely wouldn’t have the opportunity to take part in the battle. He would probably stay here in the Hagen Star Cluster, in case the Confederation had a surprise of their own headed this way at the time of the coordinated attack on Morag Prime.

Oh, Cleemorl couldn’t wait to watch the viewscreens of the destruction of that planet. He imagined what it would feel like for the Morag to finally lose a planet. Over the last few thousand years, the Morag had destroyed planets of so many other races—many of their so-called allies within the Confederation itself—and it was finally time to receive their reckoning. He wished he’d be there to give it to the Morag but also knew someone had to stay behind to protect what they had built here in the Empire.

It was time to head to the surface of Tantula Five and have dinner with his beautiful wife. There was no imminent threat to the Empire right now, so he was planning on taking Cheryl on a little vacation for some much needed one-on-one time. She had no idea of his surprise, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when he revealed his secret.

-

Professor Charles Wright neared the periphery of the Human Empire. In only a few more days, he would meet with the Imperial Council and also the leaders of the Solar System to inform them of everything that he had found on his expedition to the archives at Bator Prime.

Charles paced anxiously back and forth for hours. He was still grappling with his discoveries and trying to wrap his mind around everything. This discovery could very well change everything. At least everything they thought they knew about the Confederation and who the major players were there.

He didn’t have all the answers to the questions he would be asked or that he had been asking himself. What he did know though was that the Human Empire and Earth needed to be apprised of the situation sooner rather than later. What they did with that information after that was up to them.

As for him, he had every intention of staying in the Empire with his daughter. He hoped that he could enjoy his retirement and hopefully have the opportunity to spoil a grandkid or two. He smiled as he pictured his daughter, Kala, and her husband, Andrew, as parents. What a sight that would be. One Charles hoped he had the privilege of seeing himself.

-

Layla stood with her husband, Derrick, on one of the sky towers at the Imperial Palace. He held her in his arms, as they looked up at the night sky. She was thinking about all that their future held. To think that they might soon defeat the Morag? How amazing that would feel to live in peace and to not worry about alarms sounding in the middle of the night. She wanted that so badly for her child and for her people.

The future also scared her. What if Derrick wanted to accompany the Empire Fleets into the Confederation to join the attack of Morag Prime? Layla wanted him out of harm’s way but wasn’t sure she could stop him from going. Or, if she were being honest with herself, if she could stop him. He was very bound by his duty to his fleet and to the people of the Empire. She loved him for it but, at the same time, knew it might one day require a sacrifice she wasn’t sure she could handle.

Derrick looked at her and smiled. She returned his smile. She needed to focus on the good things and not worry about the things she couldn’t control. Layla looked forward to seeing if this baby would resemble Derrick more or her side of the family. She had already been toying with names and had soundly dismissed a few Derrick had suggested. She honestly thought he had been joking at the time but soon realized he had not been.

“What has you smiling?” Derrick asked her, as he watched her eyes light up when she laughed.

“Oh, I was just recalling some of the names you had suggested for our baby,” she responded, with a sly smile.

“I was serious. I like those names,” Derrick said in an equally serious voice.

“I don’t doubt that now, but the answer is still no.”

“Well, we have a few more months to figure it out.”

“Yes, we do. Hopefully by then, that will be our biggest worry, what to name our child,” Layla said.

“Considering that this child will lead the Empire into a prosperous future, filled with peace instead of war, I guess the name is pretty important. It needs to be something that is strong and fierce. One that is unique and memorable.”

“No pressure there,” Layla said, with a laugh.

“Let’s go inside. We need a good night’s rest. It’s been a while since we had the luxury of not worrying about what was going on. No fighting is occurring tonight, not involving any Humans anyway. We should take advantage of the lull in battles and enjoy the worry-free evening.”

“I hope we have many more of them in our future,” said Layla wistfully.

“Me too,” responded Derrick.

They turned and walked hand in hand back inside.

-

Pallas Fleet Admiral Reynolds surveyed the ships in the fleet, destined to end the war with the Confederation. He looked out across the vast fleet from the observation deck on one of the shipyards above Earth. From here, he could see Luna City that had been successfully rebuilt on the moon better and stronger than before. The Solar System now churned out an enormous number of warships. Without an enemy to defend against nearby, they had stockpiled a large number of ships. They also had a massive number of battlecarriers that housed attack interceptors.

Meanwhile, the fleet had been working on fleet formations and battle simulations.

Reynolds wished he could see the reactions of the Morag when this fleet began exiting hyperspace above Morag Prime. He was entrusting Rear Admiral Martinez to lead this fleet to the Empire and then on to the Confederation.

They would keep adding to the fleet for another two weeks, at which time the fleet would then set off on its long journey to the Empire. There it would pick up more ships and make their next leg of the journey into the Confederation.

Reynolds smiled. The Morag would soon know what it was like to feel fear, as they watch their homeworld be destroyed. And, along with it, their Morag High Council, and their leadership.

Soon, very soon, the tide would turn.

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. 