Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (16 page)

 “As you
command,” the communications officer reported. He quickly sent the necessary
messages, knowing that any hope of setting foot back on their home planet was
now gone.

For weeks,
they'd been preparing for the Kleese attack after hearing of what was happening
to other nonaligned worlds. They'd known it was only a short matter of time
before the Kleese came to their system to bring it forcibly into the Empire.
Achlyn did not intend to wear a Kleese collar of obedience now or ever. He would
die with his fleet first if it became necessary. However, the Delton High
Assembly had crafted another plan, one that gave them hope for the future.
They'd gathered all of their passenger and many of their cargo ships and placed
inside them all that was needed to continue the Delton civilization. It would
be Achlyn’s responsibility to escort them out of the Kleese Empire and find a
new world in a distant section of the galaxy.

For several
more minutes, the battle raged, and then the communications officer turned
toward Achlyn. “Evacuation fleet has entered Fold Space and is safely away.”

“Ships 189-779
and 121-768 have been destroyed,” the sensor operator reported. Examining the
tactical screen, he knew over half of the fleet was now nothing more than
glowing debris.

“We have many
ships that are heavily damaged,” Baylith reported, his large eyes focusing on
the commander. “They will not be able to withdraw.”

Achlyn nodded
in understanding. “Order all ships with functioning Fold Space Drives to
implement withdrawal plan Delton-221 and rendezvous at the emergency
coordinates. All other ships are to cover our withdrawal.”

The orders
were quickly passed and eighty-seven Delton battlecruisers suddenly spun about
on their axis and accelerated away from the surprised Zaltule battlecruisers.
They continued to gather speed and then activated their Fold Space Drives,
altering course to take them safely out of the system.

-

“They’re
fleeing!” roared Gareth as he saw the red threat icons that represented the
Delton battlecruisers pull away from the battle and then enter Fold Space.

“We’ll worry
about them later,” Harmock spoke in a hard and cold voice. “For now we must
destroy the ships that can’t escape.” Looking at the tactical screen, Harmock
could still see nearly forty Delton battlecruisers continuing to attack his
fleet. With their reduced numbers, they wouldn’t last long against the Zaltule.

For long
minutes, Harmock watched impassively as the remaining Delton ships were hunted
down and destroyed. None attempted to flee but fought until their ships were
blown apart. Harmock stood quietly as he thought about the ships, which had
escaped. That had been unexpected and now he had the aggravating prospect of
having to hunt them down and destroy them. It might take thousands of vessels
to find that small of a fleet in the myriad of stars that encompassed the
Empire. With a slight feeling of resignation, he knew he would have to call
upon the Council of Overlords and request the Empire’s exploration ships and
assault ships be put to the task. It might take a while, but they would
eventually find the missing Delton ships.

-

Fleet
Commander Achlyn watched tensely as his flagship exited Fold Space. The star
system they had entered was a red giant, and they were far from the system’s
primary. It was in this system the evacuation fleet was supposed to be waiting.

“Contacts!”
reported the sensor operator as numerous green icons began filling the tactical
screen.

Achlyn watched
the screen, feeling relieved that the evacuation fleet had made it to the
rendezvous point along with a sizable portion of his military fleet. “Give me a
status on the ships that are here,” he ordered. “Including our battlecruisers.”

“Eighty-seven
battlecruisers, sixteen passenger liners, and twenty-eight cargo ships,”
replied the sensor operator promptly.

Achlyn nodded.
That was all the ships that had been equipped with modern Fold Space Drives and
included in the evacuation. The passenger liners were large vessels, nearly one
thousand meters in length, and quite luxurious. They'd been used by Deltons
primarily interested in taking lengthy vacations to other nonaligned worlds.
Each passenger liner held over two thousand civilians. Many of them were
scientists, technicians, and even farmers who would be needed to raise crops on
a new world. The cargo ships contained supplies and the materials necessary to
help establish a new Delton civilization. Each cargo ship held several hundred
more civilians plus their crews. In all, not counting the battlecruisers,
nearly forty-five thousand civilians had made it to the rendezvous coordinates.

“Where to
now?” asked Baylith. “I don’t think we should stay in this system too long. The
Kleese will be searching for us shortly.”

“To some of
the outer nonaligned worlds,” responded Achlyn, turning to face his second
officer. “We must warn them of what the Kleese are doing before we flee the
Empire. Some of them might want to send evacuation fleets along with us.”

“It will be a
long voyage,” Baylith commented his large dark eyes growing even wider. “The
civilians might not like being inside the ships for such an extended period of
time.”

“They will
adapt,” Achlyn answered. “We will spend six hours here to allow our warships to
make necessary repairs to the damage they suffered in the battle. Once repairs
have been made, we’ll enter Fold Space and head outward toward the far reaches
of the Empire. Perhaps by warning other nonaligned worlds, they will be better
prepared when the Kleese come for them.”

-

 Harmock
glared with rage at the four Delton leaders in front of him. Each wore a
metallic obedience collar and had been defiant in their answers when asked
about where the Delton warships had gone. Harmock stepped over and took a small
black box from the hands of one of his fellow Kleese. He saw the fear suddenly
grow in the Deltons' large eyes as they recognized what the box was. It had
been explained to them earlier when the obedience collars had been placed
around their necks.

The Deltons
looked at each other nervously and then back at the terrifying Kleese. There
were six of the spider-like Zaltule in the audience chamber. Just gazing upon
them was a frightening experience, sending cold chills through the four
leaders.

“You will
answer!” Harmock snarled as he pressed one of the buttons.

A resounding
explosion rang out in the chamber as the head of one of the Deltons was blown
off, showering the other three with blood. They cringed as they saw their
fellow leader fall lifeless to the floor, his body still pumping blood, which
was spilling out onto the ornate tiles. They looked back in terror at the
Kleese that towered over them.

“How many
ships were in the fleet?” demanded Harmock, stepping closer and gesturing
toward the black box he still held in his hand. “I will continue to blow your
heads off until someone talks. If you refuse, then I will start on your
families, including your offspring.”

The three
looked at one another, knowing there were too many Deltons who knew about the
evacuation fleet. Even if they said nothing, the Kleese would eventually learn
of the fleet. Fortunately, the rendezvous coordinates were only known to the
ship commanders and they were long gone.

“We sent an
evacuation fleet of forty-four ships away from our world,” one of them
confessed his large eyes wide with fear, knowing his answer probably meant his
death. He then looked up at the Zaltule leader with defiance replacing the
fear. “They’re going out of the Empire where you will never find them!”

Harmock eyed
the three, feeling defiled at having to deal with a lower race even though it
was a nonaligned world rich in science and technology. “You should have
answered my question sooner,” he spoke as he adjusted the black box and pressed
the button again. Three more explosions rang out as the remaining leaders fell lifeless
to the floor.

“That’s more
ships we’ll have to find,” spoke Gareth his voice showing aggravation.

“They should
be together,” commented Harmock as he turned away from the dead Deltons. “Their
warships and civilian ships are bound to have joined up. When we find one ship,
we’ll find all of them.”

Harmock left
the chamber, his multifaceted eyes gazing about. Zaltule warriors were fanning
out across the planet, eliminating resistance and placing the collars of
obedience on all Delton leaders and their scientists. Soon the planet would be
completely compliant and another cog in the growing Kleese Empire. As soon as
he returned to his flagship, he would be sending a message to the Council of
Overlords. They had some ships to find and he expected the council to cooperate
fully or he would be forced to add more of the Zaltule to its governing body.

-

Ryan stood
once more upon the summit of Charring Mountain, only this time over seventy
percent of his platoon stood with him. Over the past weeks, they'd learned how
to use the Type Four suits to spot the hidden weapons on Charring and to take
them out before they could fire. The suits now felt like a second skin and for
the most part, Ryan couldn’t even tell he was wearing one. Even the neural
implant now seemed like a natural extension of his senses.

“That was
easy,” Casey spoke as she looked at the upraised pedestal and the waiting red
button on the pylon, which would signal victory. “Surely this will mark the end
of our training.”

“Possibly,”
conceded Ryan with a nod. He walked over to the pedestal followed by his
platoon and stepping up onto the platform, pressed the red button on the pylon
one more time.

“Drill is
over,” Major Stevens announced over their suit coms. “Everyone report to the
parade grounds for an announcement.”

“I wonder what
that’s about?” asked Private Parker. This was the first time a drill had ended
that they had been told to report to the parade grounds. He wondered if they
had done something wrong.

“Guess we’ll
find out when we get there,” Private Adams responded as she turned around and
began walking toward the steep slope that led back down from the summit.

Lauren hoped
this signified that their training was over, though she felt apprehensive about
where they might be deployed. The training over the last few weeks had been
intense and physically exerting. The platoon had been forced to push the new
battlesuits to the limit as they learned to respond instinctively to changing
battlefield conditions. The biggest part of the training was learning to trust
the neural implants and use them in conjunction with the suit’s weapons to
assess and annihilate an opponent.

Ryan and Casey
followed the platoon back down the mountain as their thoughts dwelled on the
weeks of intensive training they'd been through. Both had been shot by stunners
numerous times and felt the impact of RG rounds bouncing off their suits. They
had learned to use caution and stealth to accomplish their objectives and come
to realize that a marine in a Type Four battlesuit was far more dangerous than
one in a Type Three.

Reaching the
parade grounds, Ryan had his platoon line up in formation and then they stood
waiting for Major Stevens. With surprise, he saw both Major Stevens and Major
Winfrey walking toward them, followed by Captain Taylor and Sergeant Morris.
The four weren’t wearing battlesuits but were dressed in their normal Space
Marine uniforms.

“Congratulations,”
Major Stevens’ voice rang out as he gazed at the assembled platoon. “You’re the
first platoon to complete combat training in the Type Four battlesuits. We
expect the other three platoons to finish their training over the next few
days.”

“You will be
deploying immediately,” Major Winfrey continued as his eyes swept over the
platoon. “A new troop transport has been constructed for your deployment. Over
a month ago, a mission was sent to the nonaligned worlds in an attempt to bring
them into an Alliance our government is attempting to form. This Alliance is essential if we hope to successfully fight the Kleese. Your transport will be
sent to assist in possible combat operations against Kleese ground forces, most
likely their warrior caste the Zaltule.”

This
announcement caused the marines to shift about uneasily at the prospect of
fighting the legendary Zaltule they'd heard so much about. Several looked at
each other and then their attention returned to Major Winfrey.

“You will not
be going alone as four hundred other Space Marines in Type Three battlesuits
have also been assigned to the transport,” he added. “This transport has been
specifically constructed to take you into a hostile combat environment, go into
orbit, and then land you at your target. It’s crucial we show these possible Alliance worlds that we have the capability to fight the Kleese on the ground and drive
them from a world.”

“I knew it,”
muttered Alexander, shaking his head. “We’re going to fight the Zaltule and
we’re going to die.”

“No, we’re
not,” answered Lauren. She was glad that Alexander was on their private
frequency where the others couldn’t hear. “We’re going to kick their butts;
that’s what we’ve been trained to do.”

“I hope you’re
right,” replied Alexander, falling silent. Too often in the scenarios they'd
fought on Charring Mountain he'd been one of the lead scouts and had been
killed so often he had lost count.

“I am right!”
Lauren said, loudly. “Now, listen to what the Major is saying.” She was hoping
to hear more information as to what they might soon be facing.

Ryan listened
to Major Stevens and Major Winfrey as they continued to talk. There was no
doubt in his mind they were being deployed to where his brother had gone. Ryan
suspected very shortly he would be seeing Wade again. He just hoped they both
returned from this mission; it would devastate their parents if something
happened to one or both of them. Ryan was determined to make sure that didn’t
occur. He glanced over at Casey, glad she was at his side. Casey was his
closest friend and he knew that as long as the two of them were together, they
could get through anything the Kleese might throw at them.