Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (13 page)

“How long do
you think this training will last?” asked Casey, looking across the table at
Ryan.

“Six more
weeks possibly,” answered Ryan, thinking about the training schedule Major
Winfrey and Major Stevens had discussed with him and the other lieutenants. “We
have a lot to learn, and look how long the training took in the Type Two and
Type Three suits.”

Lauren nodded.
“I get the impression they want to deploy us as soon as possible. It wouldn’t
surprise me if they have our first mission already in mind.”

Ryan was
silent. He wondered if that mission might have anything to do with whatever his
brother was up to. Reaching for his tea, Ryan took a long drink as he thought
about what uses the Type Four suits could be put to. The most likely seemed to
be direct combat against the Kleese themselves. To the best of his knowledge,
no one had ever fought a Kleese wearing a battlesuit. Ryan had a bad feeling
that was about to change and they would get to experience it first hand.

-

Beth was in
the Command Center of the Fire Fox along with Captains Foster and Stern. They
were well on their way to their first drop out point and they had come to the Command Center to watch.

“Four hundred
light years in five days,” boasted Captain Trace Stockwell with a pleased look
upon his face. “That’s much better than the last time we left the solar system.”

Beth had to
agree. The last time she'd been on board the Fire Fox was when they had
launched the rescue operation on the Kivean home world. There had been some
brief heavy combat in that operation, and if they had to go into combat this time,
she was glad to have the two officers standing beside her along.

“I checked out
the new hover tanks,” Captain Nicole Foster spoke, her eyes focused on the
ship’s main viewscreens. “We have eight of them on board and they have a powerful
energy cannon as the main armament. The tanks have two secondary railgun
cannons and dual explosive launchers. If we need some heavy firepower, they’ll
serve very well.”

“They also
have suit energy recharging stations built into them,” Captain Stern added her
deep blue eyes focusing on Major Williams. “They might come in useful in a long
battle or a long term deployment.”

“Let’s hope it
doesn’t come to that,” Beth responded. She had no desire to spend days cooped
up inside a battlesuit.

“Dropping out
of Fold Space in one minute,” reported Ensign Patrick Walker.

“All stations
are at Condition Two,” reported Lieutenant Eugene Bryan. Eugene was the main
sensor officer and also doubled as executive officer. The ship was at Condition
Two as a standard precaution since they were dropping out of Fold Space into an
unknown star system.

“Drop out!”
called out Ensign Walker.

The main
viewscreens seemed to shimmer and then the stars swam into sharp focus.

“Beginning
sensor sweeps,” added Lieutenant Bryan. “The rest of Seventh Fleet is dropping
out.”

“I have the
flag,” reported Ensign Janice Brill from Communications. “Admiral Adamson is
giving us six hours to run system checks and do any necessary maintenance.”

“Assault ships
are moving into defensive positions around the fleet,” spoke Lieutenant Bryan
as he watched the numerous green icons now on his sensor screens beginning to
shift around. “No hostile or unknown targets being detected within twenty light
seconds. Long-range sensors are beginning scans.”

“Looks as if
we’re in the clear,” commented Captain Foster with a relieved look upon her
face. She didn’t mind combat but preferred it on the ground where she could
control the situation. She felt helpless aboard a ship where all she could do
was watch.

They waited a
few more minutes until the long-range sensors indicated there were no detectable
threats in sensor range. Once that was confirmed, the ship was placed at
Condition Three.

Beth nodded,
pleased that so far the mission was going smoothly. “Let’s head down to the
barracks and get some additional training time in today.”

Beth preferred
to stay busy as it kept her mind off being apart from Wade as well as leaving
her mother in the retirement center at Vesta. She greatly feared one day she
would be gone on a long deployment to return and find that her mother had passed
on.

“Sergeants
Russell and Dawson will be glad to hear that,” Nicole spoke with a wolfish grin
on her face.

Russell and
Dawson had both refused promotions to lieutenants as they felt more comfortable
with their current rank. Russell and Dawson both had platoons they were in
charge of, and there had been an intense rivalry between them for years. Nicole
just enjoyed stoking the fire a little every once and a while.

As they made
their way out of the Command Center, Beth took one last look at one of the viewscreens
displaying the Constellation. She knew on their next Fold Space dropout that
Wade was planning on coming over to the Fire Fox. For now, she needed to work
off her pent up energy and the best way to do that was to run combat drills in
battlesuits with some of her marines.

With a deep
sigh, she stepped through the hatch and into the outside corridor. She reminded
herself she had a meeting with Harnett later to discuss the treatment of
injured marines in battlefield conditions. Harnett had been working on a way to
use medical nanites in combat situations. Harnett was a brilliant Kivean doctor
and had been instrumental in acquiring the production system for medical
nanites on the trip to the nonaligned worlds' trading station six years back.
She'd also helped set up the ultra modern hospitals and medical research
centers inside Vesta. From what Wade had told her, President Randle’s oldest niece
was going to be tutored by Harnett personally.

Thinking about
kids, Beth wondered when she and Wade should think about having some. They had
discussed it, but they both wanted a better feel for how the war was going to
go though the solar system did have some very powerful defenses now,
particularly Vesta. Maybe when this deployment was over she would bring the
subject up again. But for now, she needed to focus on getting her marines ready
for combat.

-

Supreme
Overlord Xatul looked over the assembled Council of Overlords. Including himself
there were twenty Kleese represented, though four of those were members of the
Zaltule. As a precaution, Xatul was keeping twenty of the large exploration
ships above the home planet to ensure that Harmock didn’t try to remove him
from power.

“What are the
latest reports from the Zaltule shipyards?” he demanded in a harsh and
unforgiving voice.

“They’re
turning out new warships as required,” Raluth answered his hard gaze meeting
that of the Supreme Overlord. “Material shipments are being met and Minor
Overlord Kaluse feels confident that he can meet all of War Overlord Harmock’s
fleet demands.”

“Two new
shipyards are even now being constructed,” the Zaltule Overlord Darthu added in
a cold voice. “Ships are being equipped with the most modern weapons known to
our science. We’re also in the process of updating some of our older vessels.”

“What’s the current
size of the Zaltule fleet?” asked Bixutl. He placed his hands upon the stone
table and leaned slightly forward. It seemed to him the Zaltule were becoming
too powerful too quickly and it was only a matter of time before they demanded
even more seats on the council.

“Six thousand
two hundred vessels,” answered Darthu, promptly. “War Overlord Harmock is
seeking a fleet of ten thousand vessels to ensure our successful conquest of
all races that might oppose our Empire.”

“What about
the Talt?” questioned Bixutl, recalling the report Darthu had delivered to the
council a few days back. “They inflicted considerable losses on War Overlord
Harmock’s fleet with their plasma weapons. They also possess a subspace drive
that seems to be superior to ours. Have we located samples or the designs for
either?”

“A minor
setback,” responded Darthu, evenly. “We have some of our top scientists and
technicians on the Taltian home world searching for the secret of their plasma
weapon as well as their subspace drive. From sensor scans taken by our
warships, it’s very probable that with a little more research our own
scientists can duplicate both even if we can’t find the blueprints.”

“There are
many more nonaligned worlds,” spoke Martule, hesitantly. “Many will be as
powerful as the Talt. What are Harmock’s plans for dealing with them? We still
have our exploration fleet as well as thousands of assault ships, which could
be used to help the Zaltule subdue those worlds.”

“The assault ships
are infested with vermin!” spat the Zaltule Overlord Creedal. “The vermin you
have taken for conscripts might be fine fighting uncivilized worlds, but not
the nonaligned races. Those will suffer the wrath of the Zaltule and their
leaders will know what it means to wear our collars of obedience.”

Supreme
Overlord Xatul remained silent as he contemplated Creedal’s words. He wondered
if the real reason to keep the exploration ships and the assault ships away was
to ensure they didn’t discover any new technology or scientific breakthroughs
the nonaligned worlds possessed. Were the Zaltule trying to keep any procured
advanced technology for themselves? It was a worrisome thought.

“I have also
heard that the Zaltule Queens have been awakened and new nests have been
created,” spoke Overlord Syndat. Syndat didn’t speak often during the council
meetings, though he controlled three of the Empire’s large trading stations as
well as the fleets assigned to them.

“Is that
true?” asked Xatul, feeling irritated. The Queens were not to have been
awakened without his permission.

“Six of the
ten Queens have been awakened,” confirmed the Zaltule Overlord Tintul. “We dared
not take the risk of any of them dying in the sleeping chambers. If there are
any signs of failure in any of the remaining four, they will also be awakened.”

“Where are the
nests located?” demanded Xatul his voice echoing across the chamber. “They were
not to be awakened without my knowledge.” Xatul leaned forward, his six legs rattling
the floor and his multifaceted eyes focused intently on Tintul.

“It was
decided that due to the combat losses suffered from fighting the Strell and now
what looks like possibly more projected casualties in subduing these nonaligned
worlds, the lost warriors of the Zaltule must be replaced.”

Xatul was
silent wondering if this was a direct challenge to his authority. There were
only a few Zaltule warriors in the immediate area and he had forces of his own
he could call upon. He wondered if he should execute all four of the Zaltule
Overlords as an example of what it meant to go against the wishes of the
Supreme Overlord of the Kleese.

“I will take
you to the new nests,” Tintul spoke quickly, realizing the danger he'd just
placed himself and the others in. While some of the overlords at the council
table were weak, that did not apply to the Supreme Overlord. In many ways, he
was like a Zaltule. “We would be honored to introduce you to our Queens.”

“I may indeed
take you up on that,” Xatul replied as he gazed coldly at Tintul. “What are the
current attack plans of War Overlord Harmock?”

“We will be
attacking the nonaligned worlds with six fleets of five hundred vessels,”
answered Darthu. “With those numbers, we will easily outnumber any opposition
we may come across and limit our losses in battle. War Overlord Harmock
estimates he will have subjugated all of the nonaligned worlds within the
year.”

“Then we’ll
move out into the rest of the galaxy,” Zaltule Overlord Lackeln spoke. “Our new
fleets will be ready and we’ll begin expanding the Empire in earnest.”

“It may be necessary
with so many new worlds coming into the Empire to make more use of the vermin
conscripts,” added Darthu. “Zaltule warriors will not be used as occupiers for
worlds infested with primitive vermin. On worlds where the vermin infestation
is too great or hopelessly primitive, the planet’s surfaces will be cleansed.”

“Very well,”
Xatul said as he pondered the coming attack upon the nonaligned worlds. He'd always
known that at some point in time the free alien species would have to be
brought under Kleese control. For now, he would allow Harmock to do as he
pleased in the war. “Keep me informed of all developments.”

“As you
command, Supreme Overlord,” Darthu responded.

Bixutl had
listened to the exchange with interest. There was little doubt in his mind that
once the Zaltule Queens were established and new young were being hatched the
numbers of the warrior caste would swell rapidly. They would grow fast enough
that in a relatively short time they might begin to replace other Kleese throughout
the Empire. Someday, the entire Empire might be nothing but Zaltule. Somehow,
he had to find a way to slow the Zaltule down. Once again, his thoughts turned
to the Humans. He'd sent an exploration ship toward their system and it should
be arriving there in the next few weeks. Perhaps then he would know if he had a
weapon he could use to control the warrior caste.

Harmock gazed
without mercy at the destruction his fleet was inflicting upon the nonaligned
world’s fleet that had dared to oppose the Zaltule. On the main viewscreen a
long, needle-shaped spacecraft burned as massive holes were driven through its
hull, igniting the atmosphere within. The needle ship was nearly one thousand
meters in length and had been equipped with heavy energy beams as its main
armament.

“Additional ships
are in route from the planet’s surface,” Jalridd the Zaltule at the main sensor
console reported as a warning alarm began sounding.

“They launched
from the surface of the planet?” asked Harmock, wanting to make sure he had
understood correctly. A ship the size of these needle warships should not be
able to land or be launched from a planet.

“Yes,” Minor
Overlord Gareth spoke as he turned toward Harmock. “Evidently the Ralathe use
some form of powerful antigravity repellers to allow their ships to land upon
their world. It’s possible the construction facilities for their spacecraft are
also located on the surface.”

“Make
capturing those facilities a priority,” ordered Harmock, wanting to capture the
technology. He could see how useful it would be in landing ground forces. “How
many more needle ships did they launch?”

“Forty-three,”
answered Jalridd as he studied the information coming in on the ship’s powerful
sensors. Even as he spoke, the tactical screen was being updated.

“The ships
were launched from three major space complexes on the planet,” Gareth added as
he adjusted a viewscreen to show a close up of the Ralathe home world.

The planet
Ralathe was a semi-arid world with much of its surface covered in deserts.
However, a wide swath around the planet’s equator was covered in verdant
vegetation indicating a living and healthy planet. The Ralathians had their
cities on the edges of this green band. A large number of rivers snaked across
the surface around the cities and into the tropical area where numerous massive
blue lakes could be seen.

“Move us
toward the planet,” ordered Harmock. “We’ll engage these last warships and then
subjugate the planet. By this time tomorrow, the leaders of this world as well
as their major scientists will wear the collars of obedience.”

“As you
command,” Gareth responded.

-

The forty-three
Ralathian warships formed up into a loose cone formation and advanced
resolutely toward the inbound Zaltule warfleet. Already the four outer defense
squadrons had been crushed by the superior numbers of the Kleese. FTL
transmissions were already being sent to other nonaligned worlds warning them
of the Kleese transgression. It was rapidly becoming clear that the long-standing
neutrality agreements, signed by the Kleese ages ago, were no longer being
honored.

The Ralathian
ships’ activated their powerful energy shields and targeting sensors reached
out, locking onto multiple targets. After a quick discussion between commanders,
it was decided to target only ten inbound Kleese warships at a time. After the
first ten were destroyed, they would target the next ten and so on. It had
taken longer to deploy these ships as special weapons had been brought from the
secret armories to be loaded into the ships’ missile tubes. It had been hoped
these missiles would never have to be used as their destructive power was truly
frightening.

Upon the slim
hulls of the Ralathian ships, armored hatches slid open and sublight missiles
were readied. The special warheads on these missiles seemed to glow with a mysterious
energy. From all forty-three ships, missiles flashed away as the order was
given to fire. Each ship fired two missiles at their targets, knowing it was
necessary for only one to get through to do its deadly work.

Kleese
computers managed to locate and destroy twenty-two of the inbound missiles but
the rest struck their targets, lighting up the Kleese fleet with an eerie
light.

-

Harmock
watched in unbridled anger as ten of his battlecruisers burned from a
mysterious blue energy eating away at the hulls of the ships, changing the hull
material into a strange reddish glowing substance. The missiles had exploded
against the energy screens of the Zaltule ships and then streamers of blue
energy had darted through, attacking the armored hulls.

“What is it?”
he demanded, turning toward Gareth for an explanation.

“We don’t
know,” answered Gareth, as he queried other ships and even a few of the Zaltule
scientists aboard the Warrior’s Fire. “No one has ever seen anything like this
before. The energy seems to be eating away at the very hulls of our ships and
changing it into something else.”

“But what’s it
changing it into?” demanded Harmock, seeing that one of his warships was now
completely covered and its hull was glowing a dull red as if it had a life of
its own. The viewscreen suddenly darkened as a tremendous flash lit up space.

“The sensors
are showing a massive energy release!” Jalridd warned as the Warrior’s Fire
began to vibrate violently. Warning alarms began sounding, indicating some
compartments on the massive battlecruiser had been compromised. “From the
readings we’re receiving, the ship’s hull was converted to energy and then
exploded as it became too unstable. Initial readings indicate a blast in the
four hundred to five hundred-megaton range.”

Even as he spoke,
several more Zaltule warships detonated. Warning alarms continued to sound in
the Command Center as damage reports started to come in.

“Target those
ships!” roared Harmock as ten additional ships were struck by the Ralathian’s
deadly weapon. “Hit them with everything we have!”

Hundreds of
pulse fusion beams flicked out to strike the Ralathian ships’ energy screens.
Sublight missile after missile began launching in sprint mode as a panicked
Zaltule fleet fought for their very lives. Resistance such as they were now
seeing had not been expected. The weapon the Ralathians were using was a
nightmare weapon the Kleese energy shields seemed powerless to stop.

-

In the
Ralathian fleet, first one and then two defending battlecruisers blew apart as
Zaltule energy beams and antimatter missiles tore brutally into the ships. The
Kleese were attacking with desperation and a vengeance. Ralathian ships began
to die faster and the space around them was aglow with energy weapons fire and detonating
antimatter warheads.

The Ralathians
were now on their third group of Kleese warships as their deadly missiles
delivered their warheads, which exploded on contact with the energy shields and
from which tendrils of blue reached down to leach onto the vulnerable hull armor.
Where the blue writhing energy touched, the metal seemed to melt away and
reform into a dimly glowing red sludge. When enough of the hull had been converted,
a chain reaction began blowing the ship to oblivion as hundreds of megatons of
uncontrolled energy were released.

-

In order to
reduce the damage to the Zaltule battlecruisers Harmock had ordered them to
open up the fleet formation, putting more distance between ships. On the main
viewscreen, he watched as the space occupied by the Ralathian ships began to
look like the fiery heart of a burning star. It was aglow with exploding
antimatter missiles and blue pulse fusion beams.

The Warrior’s
Fire had moved back toward the rear of the Kleese formation to ensure its
survival. Harmock stamped his six legs restlessly as he watched the last few
Ralathian ships die under the onslaught of hundreds of pulse fusion beams and
antimatter missiles.

“The last Ralathian
ship has been destroyed,” reported Minor Overlord Gareth as he checked the
tactical screen.

On the main
viewscreen, the Ralathian fleet had been turned into glowing plasma and
drifting areas of burning gas, which was rapidly beginning to fade. Shortly,
there would be no sign that forty-three needle-shaped battlecruisers had met their
destruction in that small area of space.

“What were our
losses?” demanded Harmock, knowing that once again he had lost more ships than
had been projected.

“Forty-eight
destroyed and twenty-seven others damaged,” Gareth responded as he studied the information
from the battle. “We lost most of our warships in this last attack when the
Ralathians used their new weapon.”

“When our
warriors descend to the surface, I want a priority made in finding the secret
to this weapon we just faced. Our energy screens seemed to be useless against
the missiles they launched at us. If the rest of their ships, which we
destroyed earlier had been equipped with the same type of missile we might very
well have been forced to withdraw.”

“It will be a priority,”
confirmed Gareth. “This weapon could be highly useful to our fleet if we ever
encounter a powerful enemy, particularly since it seems to be able to penetrate
an energy screen.”

Harmock
remained silent. Both of the two nonaligned worlds they'd attacked had
inflicted far more losses upon the Zaltule fleet than Harmock had believed
possible. He wondered what else lay ahead for his fleets as they continued to
bring the nonaligned worlds into the Empire. It might be necessary for him to
reevaluate his timeline for conquering the nonaligned worlds.

“As much as I
hate to say it, the Council of Overlords might have been correct in signing a
neutrality agreement with these worlds,” uttered Harmock, looking over at
Gareth. “The ships of the Zaltule are designed for war and our caste is trained
as warriors. Exploration ships and assault vessels would have suffered far more
losses and may not have been able to conquer the two systems.”

“They should
have awakened us sooner,” spoke Gareth his multifaceted eyes focusing on the
War Overlord. “They let the nonaligned worlds grow too strong and now the
Zaltule will have to pay the price for that tactical error with our blood.”

“It will not
happen again,” declared Harmock. “The Zaltule will never return to the sleep
chambers, and once the Queens are established in their new nests and the first
hatchings begin, we will take over more of the council.”

“The council
should be controlled by the Zaltule,” suggested Gareth.

“It will be,
in time,” confirmed Harmock. “For now it has a purpose to serve until we can
greatly increase our numbers. While that happens, we will continue to subdue
the nonaligned worlds and prepare to expand beyond the borders of our Empire.”

“To the edge
of the galaxy,” spoke Gareth, rising up to his full height upon his six legs.
“The galaxy will be ours!”

“Yes,” agreed
Harmock. “Someday the Kleese Empire will reach from one edge of our galaxy to
the other. There is no power that will be able to stop us.”

-

Ryan took a
deep breath as he stood behind a large tree trunk halfway up Charring Mountain. This was the twentieth time he'd led his platoon up the mountain in the last
thirty days. So far, he had made it to the top four times. Each time he did,
their next assault on the mountain met even more embedded weapons. On top of
that, the mountain was now seeded with a minefield that made just moving about
on the steep slopes a challenge. The mines wouldn’t damage a battlesuit, but
they would toss you up in the air making you an easy target for a long-range
stunner. Ryan also suspected the intensity of the stunners had been increased
since marines who had been hit multiple times claimed the pain was more intense
each time. He knew from his own experience it seemed to be so.

“When do we
get some rec time?” muttered Private Parker from where he was standing behind a
jagged boulder. He looked over at Private Adams, who was twenty meters away and
lying in a hole left from an exploding mine.

“When we reach
the top again,” replied Lauren in exasperation. They all needed some rec time,
but Alexander didn’t need to remind them of it constantly.

Before
Alexander could make a reply, Major Winfrey’s voice suddenly interrupted the
drill. “Drill is over,” Winfrey spoke in a commanding voice. “Lieutenant
Nelson, move your platoon to the armory and get a full load out for your
weapons.”

“What’s up?”
Ryan asked as he stepped out from behind the tree trunk. He noticed that all
the suits in his HUD that had been showing amber or red had suddenly turned
back to green.

“We have four
unidentified ships that have just dropped out of Fold Space close to Mars.
General Mitchell has placed the military at Condition Two with Mars at
Condition One.”

“We’re on our
way,” Ryan answered as he motioned for his platoon to follow him down.

“Are they
Kleese?” Casey asked worriedly as she trotted over close to Ryan. “Do you think
they’ll want to use us to try to take those ships?”

“We won’t know
until we get to the armory,” Ryan replied as he stepped around a shattered tree
stump. “I just wonder why there are only four ships. If this was an attack they
would've used a much larger force.”

“A probe
perhaps,” suggested Casey. She'd spent a lot of time going over the past
battles fought in the solar system. She felt suddenly nervous and her stomach
weak knowing they might shortly be going into battle. She didn’t want Ryan to
know how queasy she was feeling.

A few minutes later,
they were standing in front of the small armory, which held the weapons and
munitions for their training dome. Major Winfrey, Major Stevens, Captain Taylor,
and Sergeant Morris were there waiting for them. All were in Type Four
battlesuits.

“Arm up,”
ordered Major Winfrey. “The other three platoons have already and are on their
way to their assignments. “RG rifles only with class one explosive shells. You'll
also need to take your Energy Lances.”

Ryan nodded;
the class one explosive shells had the explosive force of a regular grenade while
the class twos were much more powerful. The class twos were too dangerous to
use inside Centerpoint.