Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (31 page)

Star One: Neutron Star

Star One: Dark Star

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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (Book
1)

Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Book 2)

Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (Book 3)

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The Lost Fleet (A
Slaver Wars novel) spring 2015

The Star Cross spring 2015

Galactic Empire Wars: The Alliance summer 2015

Turn the page
for an introduction to The Star Cross a new military science fiction novel that
will be published in early 2015.

The Star Cross

Chapter One

The Earth's
800-meter heavy battlecruiser Star Cross slid silently through empty space, the
ship’s powerful sensors scanning everything ahead and around it. Her four light
cruiser escorts were in screening positions protecting the massive
battlecruiser from attack. The 600-meter light carrier Vindication followed
closely behind, protected by six small destroyers. Each ship was on high alert
and tensions were high amongst the crews. Everyone glanced anxiously at one
another, wondering what was awaiting them at Earth.

In the Command Center of the Star Cross, Admiral Kurt Vickers watched the main viewscreen focused
on the light carrier as four fighters left the flight bay to patrol ahead of
the fleet. The light carrier had twenty fighters in its flight bay as well as
twelve small bombers.

“CSP has been
launched,” Lieutenant Lena Brooks reported as the four friendly green icons
appeared on her sensor screen.

The
twenty-eight year old young woman let out a quiet breath, hoping they would
remain undetected. She felt her pulse racing and knew she wasn’t the only one
in the Command Center that was worried. Lena focused her hazel eyes upon the
admiral, awaiting further orders. She trusted him to bring them through the
coming ordeal.

“Current
status?” asked Vickers in a steady voice, turning to his XO and commander of
the battlecruiser, Captain Randson.

The captain
checked several data screens before turning toward the admiral. “Long-range
sensors are indicating no unusual movement from the enemy ships. I don’t think
they detected our hyper jumps.” Randson let out a deep, ragged breath, feeling
the tension running through the Command Center. Everyone’s nerves were on edge.

Admiral
Vickers nodded as he turned his gaze to the primary tactical screen on which
information from the long distance scans was now appearing. He took in a sharp
breath as he contemplated what his next action needed to be. He felt a
tremendous weight of responsibility upon his shoulders, knowing his next few
decisions could well determine the future of the human race. The crew in the Command Center were waiting for his orders expectantly. Everyone wanted to know what had
happened here in the Solar System and if their friends and families were still
alive. He knew they had good reasons to be concerned.

Two weeks
back, a mysterious and hostile alien fleet had appeared out of hyperspace and
annihilated the two human fleets permanently stationed around Earth for
protection. The majority of the ships had been destroyed before their shields
could be raised or a single weapon fired. Only a few had managed to fight back
and then only briefly. This wasn’t surprising as no aliens had been detected by
any of Earth’s long-range exploration ships and no one had been expecting an
attack, so the ships had been at a low level of alert.

The Star Cross
and her fleet had been in the Newton system practicing maneuvers and testing
the new particle beam weapons the battlecruiser and the light cruisers had been
equipped with. The Newton system held a thriving human colony of nearly eight
million inhabitants, along with a large orbital station designed for deep space
exploration and minor ship repair. The colony had a number of large scientific
outposts, as ships sent out on exploratory missions were required to report to Newton before being allowed to return to Earth. Newton was also the only true Earth-type
planet to be discovered so far in their explorations. There were other planets
humans could survive on, but none could compare to Earth or Newton.

A heavily
damaged light cruiser had jumped into the Newton system to report the shocking
news of the attack on Earth. The ship’s commander had barely managed to escape
and lost over half of his crew in the brief battle above the planet. The report
of the attack had shaken the colony and after conferring with the colony’s
leaders, it had been decided that Admiral Vickers would return to the Solar
System. His mission was to determine the current condition of Earth as well as
the number of alien ships still present.

“What now?”
Captain Randson asked as he stepped closer to the admiral. Upon the tactical
screen, a large number of red threat icons were visible. “There are twenty
alien ships in orbit above Earth. Four of them are approximately the same size
as the Star Cross, and the rest seem to be similar to our own light cruisers.”

Vickers
nodded. “From the reports we received from the captain of the light cruiser,
the alien ships are heavily armed. I don’t want to risk an engagement with them
at this time if we can avoid it. We need more information.” Kurt had spent
hours with Captain Owens going over the tactical data recorded during his light
cruiser’s brief battle above Earth.

“Our new
particle beam weapons should give us an advantage,” Randson carefully pointed
out. “None of the ships we had over Earth were equipped with them.”

“Can we detect
any transmissions from Earth, the Moon, or from Mars?” The Moon and Mars both
held sizable human colonies. Kurt didn’t like the fact they were going into
such an unknown situation and the Solar System was so quiet.

“No, and all
the scientific outposts are also silent. There’s not a peep coming from the
asteroids or the moons of Jupiter and Saturn,” Randson replied with growing
concern in his eyes. His wife was on Earth just outside of Houston. He hoped
she was okay; he didn’t know what he would do if something had happened to her.
They'd been married for fourteen wonderful years. They also had a
twelve-year-old daughter about to enter those rebellious teenage years. “We
could send a couple of the destroyers in to check on some of the outposts. It’s
just too damn quiet! I can’t believe they've all been wiped out.”

“Not yet,”
replied Kurt, shaking his head as he thought about the communication silence.
“They might be detected. Right now, our biggest tactical advantage is that the
aliens don’t know we’re here. I want to keep it that way for a while longer.”

“Sir,” Ensign
Brooks spoke her eyes alight with fear. “The long-range sensors are picking up
elevated radiation levels from Earth.” Styles had been working at her console
fervently, trying to get better readings on the home planet.

Captain
Randson stepped over and studied the data, the frown on his face deepening.
“There have definitely been a few nuclear weapons dropped on the surface,” he
stated, taking a deep breath. “The level isn’t dangerous, but it’s four times
higher than normal. I’m not sure we can afford to wait. What if they drop more
bombs?” He gazed at the admiral, his eyes showing his deep concern over the
radiation readings. He was itching to find out if his wife and daughter were
okay.

“The bombs may
have been dropped in the original attack,” Kurt said evenly, struggling to stay
calm.

He knew if the
radiation levels were correct millions of people could be dead on the planet.
He felt anger growing inside him at an enemy who would nuke a planet from
orbit. This said a lot about the temperament of the aliens they faced. He'd
never married, though he did have a sister working at Houston. Both of his
parents were deceased and he and his sister, Denise, were very close. She was
married with a six-year-old son.

“You’re
correct,” responded Randson with a curt nod. “What are your orders?”

Admiral
Vickers studied the tactical screen for a few more moments as he tried to
decide what the best course of action was. It was obvious the enemy ships could
not be allowed to continue to orbit the planet; they had to be driven off
before they nuked Earth again. The presence of an elevated radiation level
changed things considerably. Vickers was afraid to even guess at how many
people had already died. He wondered if the aliens had landed ground troops to
occupy the planet.

“It looks as
if the shipyard is relatively intact,” Kurt said as he looked at the large
green icon on the tactical screen. Earth’s only shipyard orbited forty thousand
miles above the planet.

“It is, Sir,”
Ensign Brooks spoke, nodding her brunette head as she studied one of her data
screens. “My scanners are showing only minor damage to the shipyard, and its
power systems still seem to be operating.”

“I wonder why
they spared the shipyard?” asked Captain Randson with a questioning look upon
his face. “You'd think it would’ve been one of their first targets.”

“Unless they
want if for themselves,” Kurt responded as he thought about the two thousand
men and women who operated the station. He wondered if they were still alive or
had been killed by boarders. There were just so many unknowns facing them.

“The first alien
race we encounter and they are the ones to find us,” Randson spoke as his eyes
narrowed. “Why did they attack us in the first place?”

The higher
officers in Earth’s space fleet had always expected to eventually encounter an
alien race as the planet’s exploration ships ranged deeper and deeper into
unexplored space. First contact protocols had even been set up, with linguists
and other specialists assigned to each exploration mission just in case another
exploring spacecraft from an alien civilization was encountered.

“We may never
know,” replied Kurt, brusquely. “Ensign Brooks, are you detecting anything else
on the long-range sensors?”

“No,”
responded Brooks, shaking her head.

“What about
communications?”

“Nothing,”
replied Randson, shaking his head. “There are no radio or video broadcasts of
any type being picked up from Earth, the Moon, or Mars. Everything is silent.”

“I’ve managed
to get some additional information on the radiation in Earth’s atmosphere,”
Lieutenant Brooks added her eyes indicating growing worry. “It’s originating
from twenty-two different sources. All points of origin are where major cities
are located.”

“Formerly
located,” Randson said his eyes widening in anger. He hoped Houston wasn’t one
of those sources. His eyes shifted back to the admiral. “We need to get into
Earth orbit. What if they drop more nukes?”

 “Get me
Captain Watkins on the Vindication,” ordered Kurt, folding his arms across his
chest as he thought about his options. He knew he didn’t really have any but
one. The knowledge that some of Earth’s cities had been nuked changed
everything.

“Captain
Watkins is on the com,” the communications officer reported after a moment.

“Henry, we
need to drive those alien ships away from Earth. From our scans, it’s obvious
Earth has suffered a nuclear bombardment. We can’t afford to allow them to bomb
the planet again.”

“I was afraid
of that,” his long time friend replied. “Our scanners are showing the same
thing. What do you have in mind? We’re outnumbered by nearly two to one.”

“I’ll jump in
first with the light cruisers. We’ve spotted what looks like four enemy capital
ships. We’ll try to take them out with the new particle beam weapons. Once
we’re engaged, you and the destroyers will jump in. Launch your bombers and
target the smaller ships with tactical nukes. Hopefully, we’ll have enough
surprise on our side to carry this out.”

“It’s risky,”
Henry replied after a moment’s pause. “But I don’t see that we have any other
choices. I just hope everyone’s families are still alive.”

“Get your
bombers ready,” Kurt ordered decisively. “We make the jump in twenty minutes.”

Lieutenant
Brooks stepped over and handed Kurt a list of cities hit by nukes. He noticed
with relief Houston wasn’t included. However, Chicago, Washington, Paris, Cairo, Moscow, and numerous other cities scattered around the world were. He felt
his heart grow cold as he looked over the list. If this was correct, there
could be well over forty million casualties from the orbital attack.

“It’s not too
late to turn back,” Captain Randson reminded Kurt in a quiet voice. “We could
return to the Newton colony, load everyone up, and head out for parts unknown.
We could find a new world to start over on.”

“I thought of
that,” replied Kurt, somberly. “But what do I tell all of our crews? Most of
them have family on Earth or one of the outposts here in the Solar System. I
think we'd have a mutiny on our hands if we didn’t at least try to find out
what happened. For all we know there could be a lot of survivors depending on
us to drive these aliens off. It would also take us too many trips to move
everyone off Newton. We don’t know of any other inhabitable planet we can go
to.”

“You’re
right,” Randson conceded with a sigh, his shoulders drooping. “Let’s just hope
this is a battle we can win.” He was also relieved that they were going in. He
didn’t want to leave his family stranded on Earth.

-

The tension
and anxiety in the Command Center had increased considerably as the time for
the attack neared. All the ships in the fleet were at Condition One with their
crews at battle stations. This would be the first time any members of Admiral
Vickers’ fleet had actually gone into combat.

“Ready to
jump,” Captain Randson reported as he listened to the readiness reports from
various ships over their short-range coms. His eyes focused on the admiral, who
was still studying the large tactical screen on the front wall of the Command Center.

Kurt nodded.
There was no point in waiting. “All ships initiate jump in sixty seconds,” he
ordered. “They are to fire upon targets as soon as they exit hyperspace and
don’t need to wait for orders from the flag.”

“Message
sent,” responded Captain Randson as he activated a counter on his console.
“Helm; prepare for hyperspace insertion.”

Randson
buckled himself into his chair in preparation for combat maneuvers. He knew the
hyperspace jump would only last a few seconds. He wondered what they would find
when they reached Earth.