Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (6 page)

“It’s those
damn Zaltule,” uttered Wade, shaking his head. “Their warships are more powerful
than those of the Strell and they have superior numbers. The Strell have taken
some horrific losses and Marken feels they’ll have no choice but to surrender shortly
rather than risk the destruction of any of their home worlds.”

“Then the
Kleese will come after us,” Beth said, feeling a cold chill run down her back
at the prospect of more of the massive disk ships coming to the solar system.

“No, Marken doesn’t
think so, at least not at first. He believes they’ll go after the nonaligned
worlds.”

“Even with their
neutrality agreement?”

“The Zaltule
don’t believe in neutrality,” responded Wade, grimly. His eyes took on a more worried
look. “The Zaltule believe you’re either a part of the Kleese Empire or you’re their
enemies.”

Beth stopped
in mid-stride and looked back at the Constellation where some of her crew were
exiting the hatches. Then she looked at her husband accusingly. “You’re going
to the nonaligned worlds,” she said with dawning comprehension. “That’s why you
came back in the Constellation.”

Wade was
silent for a moment before confirming Beth’s words. “We’re going back,” he
corrected her. “We’re going to some of the nearer nonaligned worlds; you and I
and a very carefully handpicked group of marines. We’ll be escorting several high-level
diplomatic ships, which will be making a last ditch effort to bring as many of
the nonaligned worlds as possible into an alliance with us.”

“Will there be
any combat?” Beth asked her eyes seeking Wade’s. It had been years since any of
the marines under her command fought in a battle.

“We’re taking
the Fire Fox and the Crimson Star,” Wade answered solemnly in explanation. “If
there is, we’ll be prepared.”

“What about
warships?”

“A full
fleet,” Wade answered. “We’re taking the Constellation, the three new
battlecruisers, sixteen light cruisers, and two hundred of the latest disk
assault ships.”

“You expect us
to fight a major battle,” Beth said sharply her eyes widening at hearing how
many assault ships would be going. “Are the Kleese that close to returning to
this sector of space?”

“We think so,”
Wade said as they resumed walking and stepped through the airlock. “If the
Kleese attack one of the nonaligned worlds in our sector of the galaxy we have
a plan. It may only work once, but if it does we have a good chance of bringing
a number of the nonaligned worlds into the Alliance.”

“What if we
can’t bring them in?”

“Then we
lose,” Wade said in a softer voice. “By ourselves, we can’t hope to stand up to
the Zaltule in a galactic war; at least not yet. Many of those nonaligned
worlds have a science and technology more advanced than the Kleese. You’ve seen
some of that technology from the computer flash drive they gave us.”

Beth nodded.
The cloning technology, new ion cannons, and even better sensors and energy
shields had come from the nonaligned worlds. There had also been some modifications
to the Fold Space Drives to improve their efficiency to allow for greater
speeds. The flash drive had been a gold mine of information and still was.

“How soon do
we leave?” she asked. She still needed to make sure that her mother was settled
in at the retirement home and could get by without her presence. She'd felt
guilty about putting her there in the first place, though she knew it was for
the best.

“Four weeks,”
Wade answered. “The new battlecruisers have to go through their space trials
and some special weapons we’ve designed have to be finished. We also have to
make some modifications to the Constellation.” Wade stopped and turned toward
his wife. “Beth, I didn’t want you to go on this mission, but we can’t risk
this failing. We have to have our best people.”

“I understand,
Wade,” she responded, taking his hand. “We’re marines and we’ll do whatever is
necessary. Now, let’s go home. I think we can find something more pleasant to
do for a while. The war can wait until tomorrow.”

Nine thousand
light years from Earth was the Kleese home world. The Kleese planet orbited a
small K Class star, which was slightly cooler than Earth’s. The sun was
yellow-orange in color with twelve planets orbiting it, as well as several
small fields of asteroids. The fourth planet was nearly devoid of life due to
the early, turbulent years of the Kleese civilization and the wars they'd
fought for planetary dominance. Hundreds of millions of Kleese had died, many
in thermonuclear explosions or worse. Biological warfare, chemical warfare,
every horror one could imagine had been unleashed upon the surface of the
planet as the different castes fought to eliminate one another. The wars were
harsh, with little or no mercy shown to the defeated.

Much of the
planet had been laid to waste from the use of those brutal weapons. When the
wars finally ended, only one faction of the Kleese race had survived. The
others had all been eliminated and their deep underground nests destroyed. The
Kleese were egg layers, and females laid multiple eggs in their nests, which
were protected by the dominate males. Great pain had been taken by the winning
faction to ensure all the nests of their enemies were destroyed to ensure no
future competition for the limited living space left.

As the Kleese
looked around their ruined world, they realized that it was no longer capable
of sustaining a thriving civilization. They had been forced to turn to space as
the ravaged surface of their planet was no longer capable of supporting what
remained of their civilization. All forms of animal life had been decimated in
the century’s long wars. Virtually all the vegetation upon the planet had died
out from the multiple nuclear winters that had covered much of the planet in kilometer
thick layers of ice. The Kleese fled to space, knowing that to remain upon
their home planet would ultimately mean their death. Only one city remained and
it was from here the Kleese Council of Overlords ruled over their extensive Empire.

Xatul looked impassively
across the massive stone table at Overlord Harmock, the leader of the Zaltule.
There had been several changes on the council as had been expected with the return
of the Zaltule from their triumphant victory over the Strell. Four Council
Overlords had been challenged, and all four had lost in duels meeting their
untimely deaths, as was tradition. Council duels were fought to the death to
ensure that the defeated Overlord could not later return and attempt a second
challenge. Such duels were frowned upon as they could keep the council in a
constant state of flux. By fighting to the death, the council was always
controlled by the most powerful members of the Kleese race and challenges were
few and far between.

Advancement on
the council was done through open challenges and if the council agreed the
challenge was legitimate, then a battle to the death was arranged. If the challenger
won, they would take over the council seat of the slain Overlord. In this case,
the Zaltule had chosen four of the weaker Council Overlords, easily beating
them in open combat.

Hymtal and
three other Council Overlords had been eliminated and replaced by Darthu,
Lackeln, Creedal, and Tintul all of the Zaltule. In addition, Overlord Harmock
had taken the position of Supreme Military Commander of the Kleese, a position
that was deemed equal to Xatul as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese race.

“The war with
the Strell is over,” Harmock announced his thick, hairy arms folded across his
powerful chest. His multifaceted eyes looked at the other Overlords as if seeking
anyone who might dare challenge the changes that had come to the council.

“Then it is time
for the Zaltule to return to sleep,” suggested Raluth. “There are no further
threats to the Empire; the Zaltule have done their duty.”

“No!” roared
Harmock his fierce gaze centering on Raluth in anger. “We were dying in the
sleeping chambers; we will not return there. The Empire still has many enemies
and as long as there are Zaltule, we will fight for the glory of our Empire.”

“What
enemies?” Raluth dared to ask. He wondered if he continued to ask questions whether
a member of the Zaltule would challenge him to combat. He was a powerful
Overlord, but the Zaltule were trained as warriors from birth.

“The nonaligned
races, to begin with,” answered Harmock, leaning forward and placing his two
hands upon the table. His six legs stomped the hard stone floor of the council
chamber noisily. “These races have been laughing at the Kleese, sitting behind
the neutrality agreements they signed with this council.”

“Most of those
nonaligned worlds have a very high level of science and technology,” Xatul
began as he gazed directly at Harmock. He was not afraid of the Zaltule war
leader. “It was decided war against them could result in serious losses to our
exploration fleet. They were bypassed and the Empire continued to expand
against the inferior races, which populate the majority of the galaxy. The
nonaligned worlds serve a purpose in trading with the Empire and not
interfering in our affairs. They furnish many high-tech products, which are not
available on the more primitive worlds.”

Xatul had
arranged for one hundred and ten of their large exploration ships to be in
orbit of the home planet when the Zaltule returned as a show of force. All of
them were controlled by Xatul or those loyal to him. It was his insurance card so
that he would remain as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese. So far, Harmock had
not indicated that he was going to challenge that.

Harmock turned
toward Darthu, one of the Zaltule who had taken over a seat on the council. He
was also very well versed in science. “How big a threat is the technology of
these worlds?” He'd been impressed by Xatul’s show of force with the
exploration ships. It had shown him that at least for now, Xatul could remain
as the Supreme Overlord. It would make the rest of the Kleese race more
tolerant of the Zaltule if Xatul remained in power, at least for now.

“Several of
them are very highly advanced,” Darthu admitted. “They are unlike much of the primitive
vermin that infests other worlds.”

“We shall add
their science to ours,” declared Harmock, waving his hands at the council. “We’ll
take them one by one until they know the feel of an obedience collar around
their necks. They’ll serve and work for the Empire!”

“Their science
and technology will be a boon to our military might,” Darthu confirmed. “Once
we have assimilated their science and applied their technology to Kleese warships,
our warriors will be unstoppable.”

Bixutl stood silently
upon his six legs, listening. He was not in as powerful a position as Xatul. He'd
made dealings with Kaluse, who had assured Bixutl he would be allowed to remain
an Overlord as long as the Zaltule shipyards received the required materials
needed to update and build new warships.

He wondered if
he should mention the Humans. Nothing had been heard from them in years. The
Humans had freed a large number of Kivean scientists and the Kiveans were one
of the most advanced races known. If the Humans had that technology available
to them, then the Zaltule might face a formidable enemy someday. The question
was how Bixutl could use that knowledge to his advantage. The other Overlords
seemed to have forgotten how dangerous the Humans had been, but Bixutl had not.
Perhaps he should send one of his exploration ships out to check on the upstart
race. It could be done discretely with the Zaltule none the wiser.

“This council
is not as it was in the old days,” stated Harmock, rising to his full height.
“There are no races in the galaxy of equal stature with the Kleese and no
warriors as powerful as the Zaltule. Many of the vermin races are unfit to even
serve the Empire and should be exterminated.”

“We have taken
many conscripts from those vermin races,” Martule spoke in disagreement. “They
have made excellent fighters for our battlesuits and have allowed us to greatly
expand the Empire. They also serve as occupation forces sparing us the
necessity of using Kleese to hold the numerous worlds we have added to the
Empire.”

Harmock shifted
his gaze toward Martule. “None of the vermin races will ever serve upon a
Zaltule warship! You may continue to use these excrement species to expand the
Empire against other vermin. The Zaltule will focus on adversaries more worthy
of our warriors.”

“When will you
attack the first of the nonaligned worlds?” inquired Xatul, knowing he had no
choice but to support Harmock in this. To do otherwise might endanger his
position as the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese.

“Shortly,”
Harmock responded. “The warships of the Zaltule must be repaired from the
damage inflicted by the Strell. Our strategists will begin to review which nonaligned
worlds to strike first; this should not take long and these worlds will soon become
a part of the Kleese Empire as they should have been all along.”

-

Second
Lieutenant Ryan Nelson stood at the base of Charring Mountain with his nineteen
soldiers in battlesuits. Once they conquered the mountain then they could be
called Space Marines. It was a daunting task ahead of them and one Ryan had
dwelled on considerably since their previous defeat. He didn’t intend to lose
again.

“What’s the
plan?” Casey asked as she walked over to stand next to Ryan. She felt secure in
her battlesuit and was anxious to get the drill started. She and Ryan had spent
considerable time the night before discussing their previous attempt at
Charring.

“We’re going
to try something different,” answered Ryan, as he turned his battlesuit toward
Casey. He'd spent several hours the previous night, after speaking with Casey,
thinking about different strategies and what others before him might have
tried.

To the casual
observer, the ten-foot tall black battlesuits looked ominous and threatening.
They were able to keep the soldier inside alive for over twelve hours on its
own environmental and power systems. It also was capable of using its suit
functions to treat major wounds and inject necessary chemicals into the wearer’s
body to allow them to continue to fight even if mortally injured.

“Only five of
us will have RG rifles, everyone else will be carrying energy cannons.”

“What?”
stammered Casey her eyes growing wide in disbelief. “We’ll never make it even
close to the top without more RG rifles and their explosive rounds.”

“Maybe,” Ryan
responded as he turned back toward the waiting mountain.

Looking up the
heavily forested slope, he couldn’t even tell where they'd gone up the mountain
in their first assault. Everything had grown back or been replaced. He wasn’t
sure how the Kiveans did it, but the mountain looked as if it had never been
touched.

“How do they
do that?” asked Casey, guessing what Ryan was thinking.

She had come
to know Ryan very well over the years they had been together and trusted his
judgment. She knew there were several Kiveans around that kept the different
training facilities on Centerpoint functional. She'd been around Kiveans at the
Academy as well as immediately after coming out of the cloning facility and had
a lot of respect for their science.

“I don’t know,
but we have to assume all the popups have been replaced and are probably in new
locations.”

Casey nodded;
Ryan had always had a knack for solving problems as long as she had known him. As
a clone, she had technically only experienced seven actual years of life.

“Let’s go,”
Ryan ordered over the general com frequency as he glanced at the waiting
battlesuits. “Two scouts ahead and we’ll form six lines of three. Let’s see if we
can make it to the top this time.”

“Here we go
again,” mumbled Alexander as he checked the energy cannon he was carrying. It
had a full charge, but it was much bulkier than an RG rifle. Alexander had a
propensity for the smaller weapon, but today that was not to be.

“Let’s not get
shot this time,” Lauren suggested as the two took up their positions in front
of the rest of the platoon. Lauren didn’t know what they'd done wrong to keep
drawing the position of scouts. Scouts tended to get shot first. She wondered
if Corporal Hunter was still upset with her and Alexander. She'd hoped that after
the scene at the Chinese restaurant the little incident in the mess hall would
be forgiven.

Ryan watched Privates
Parker and Adams move out. Since the two had served as scouts the first time
around, he felt they'd be better prepared to spot popups. He needed any edge he
could get, and he hoped the two privates would be able to give him one. He
wondered what his parents would think if they could see him standing here at the
base of Charring Mountain in a Type Three battlesuit. Ryan knew that his
parents had hoped he would apply for the fleet and away from the marines. However,
Ryan decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps, and conquering Charring Mountain would put him well on the way to doing just that.

-

In the dome’s Command Center, Major Winfrey smiled to himself as he saw Ryan begin sending his soldiers
up Charring. He was curious as to why the second lieutenant had elected to take
mostly energy weapons with him this time. The energy weapons would give out
long before the lieutenant and his platoon made it to the top.

Dylan leaned
back in his chair gazing at the multiple viewscreens on the wall, which
afforded him an unobstructed view of all of Charring Mountain. Major Stevens
would be joining him shortly, and Dylan was interested in hearing the majors
take on the weapon mix that Ryan had chosen.  

-

General
Mitchell was meeting with newly promoted Fleet Admiral Thomas Kelly in his
office to discuss potential action against the Kleese. He shuffled several
papers around on his desk before finding the report he was searching for.