Star One: Tycho City Survival (36 page)

A power struggle will erupt on Earth over who is to survive. On
Star One and at Tycho City they prepare for the worst, unfortunately, the
threat from Earth might be just as dangerous as the approaching neutron star.

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The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact

The 1,200-meter
battle cruiser StarStrike slid quietly through empty space. The ship was a
Conqueror Class Command Cruiser, one of the most powerful warships ever built
by the Human Federation of Worlds. There were only four of the powerful ships
of war in the Federation’s entire fleet. The StarStrike and its small fleet
were on a fact finding mission deep within suspected enemy territory. The
1,500-meter Galaxy Class Battle Carrier Victory was above the StarStrike, along
with its four light cruiser escorts. Several small fighter craft flew around
the small fleet keeping a constant vigilance for any incoming threats. Two
space destroyers were ahead of the fleet scanning for any potential enemy
targets. It was essential that the human fleet remain undetected until it had
completed its reconnaissance mission.

Fleet Admiral
Hedon Streth sat at his command console watching the main viewscreen on the
front wall of the Command Center. He was of medium build, and his dark hair was
just starting to turn gray on the sides. The admiral was forty-two years old,
and the worry lines on his face showed that he had been through a lot the past
few months. Months he would like to forget. It had been a trying and desperate
time for the entire human race.

The viewscreen
showed unwinking stars ahead, and the scanners and long-range sensors were free
of threats. The Command Center was in the shape of a rectangle, and its
twenty-crew personnel were efficiently going about their jobs. At the
reinforced security hatch, two heavily armed marines stood guard. No one
entered the Command Center without the proper clearance. Two more similarly
armed marines stood just outside the hatch in the corridor. Security now was
much more obvious than a few short months ago.

 “Still
nothing,” Colonel Amanda Sheen, the executive officer, spoke. She was standing
next to the holographic plotting table, which showed the present fleet
disposition and the CAP fighters that were flying their routine patrol routes.
She was currently checking the large tactical screens above her as well as the
information appearing on the table.

“Confirm
mission status,” ordered Admiral Streth, letting out a deep breath and shifting
his gaze from the viewscreen to his executive officer.

They had
picked this system hoping it would be clear of enemy activity. Their mission
was extremely sensitive, and the security of the Human Federation of Worlds
depended upon its success. Hedon felt the full weight of that responsibility on
his shoulders and knew that this mission just had to succeed. Failure was not
an option. The entire Federation was in extreme danger, and this mission might
well determine the future of mankind in the galaxy.

“Navigation, I
want a position status report,” Colonel Sheen barked, her blue eyes turning
toward the two officers sitting at the main navigation console.

“We are
currently one hundred and eighteen astronomical units out from the target
system’s primary. Fleet is currently moving in system at eighteen percent speed
of light on sublight engines,” replied the chief navigation officer.

“What do we
have on the long-range sensors?” Sheen asked over her mini-com, glancing over
at the large scanning and sensor console, which was manned by two fleet
officers. She wore a small communications device in her right ear, which
allowed her to contact any station on the ship in an instant.

“System has
two planets,” Lieutenant Stalls reported smoothly as he checked the latest
information coming in on his computer screens. “Both are gas giants in distant
orbits. No asteroid fields or moons detected. System is absent of any
artificial emissions.”

“System is as
we had hoped,” reported Colonel Sheen turning to face the admiral. “There are
no signs of any enemy vessels, and the system has no significant resources to
attract any type of mining or scientific activity.”

Admiral Streth
nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew that Amanda was a highly qualified
officer graduating in the top ten percent of her class at the fleet academy.
She was a brunette with a trim figure and thirty-two years of age. She was also
a firm disciplinarian. The crew respected her, and she was everything he could
ask for in an executive officer.

“Get me the
Victory, I think it’s time we get some information about this area of space,”
ordered Admiral Streth, reaching a decision. They had been moving steadily
deeper into suspected Hocklyn space for the last eight weeks. “It’s time we
launch the stealth scouts and find out what’s out there.”

Colonel Sheen
nodded. This was their mission and she was ready to get it started. Glancing
back at the sensor and scanner screens, she noted that they were clearly empty
of any hostile threats. That needed to continue for several more days if they
hoped for any chance of success. Looking around the Command Center, she could sense the heightened vibrancy in the crew at the admiral’s announcement to
begin the actual mission.

-

On board the
Victory, Commander Adler listened as the admiral ordered the launch of the
stealth scouts. The Victory had six of the highly advanced scout ships on
board, which were nearly undetectable to normal methods of scanning. It was
hoped that the Hocklyns would have no way to detect the small surveillance
vessels. Their entire mission and the safety of their fleet depended on it.

Adler ended
the communication with the admiral and turned to his executive officer Major
Timmins. “I want all six scout ships ready to launch ASAP. Mission is a go.”

“Finally,”
responded Major Timmins letting out a deep breath and then announcing over his
mini-com, “All stations stand by for scout ship launch. Mission is a go. Flight
bay, begin launch preparations.”

Instantly the
tension and excitement in the Command Center notched up. This was what everyone
had been waiting for. It was time to find out just how large the Hocklyn Empire
was and how big a threat they were to the Federation.

Commander
Adler turned toward the lieutenant in charge of Navigation. “I want a list of
the twenty nearest stars that are capable of supporting life-bearing planets.”

“Yes, sir,”
the young blonde replied as she began entering commands into her computer.

Lieutenant
Ashton was rated as one of the top navigators in the entire fleet. She also
held an advanced degree in Stellar Cartography. She had written an impressive
thesis on deep space navigation her senior year at the fleet academy on Tellus.

-

Down below in
the main flight bay, the six scout ships were brought up on elevators from
their secure hangers beneath. The ships were covered in a layer of dark
composite material that the scientists swore would be impervious to Hocklyn
scans. Power sources were muffled, and the ships were built to present a
minimal profile to enemy ships.

Each scout
could carry a six-man crew and were capable of operating independently of the
fleet for eight to ten days. They had FTL drives as well as powerful sublight
engines. The ships were wedge shaped with gentle curves. Each was twenty-two
meters long and twelve meters wide. Weapons consisted of six Hunter
anti-fighter missiles hidden inside the wings and two medium lasers in the
nose. The nose lasers were a recent development and had been added at the last
minute to the scouts. The pilots were still arguing whether the lasers were an
improvement over the 30 mm cannons they had replaced.

Technicians
quickly checked over all six ships, making sure they were ready for their
missions. The ships had been kept on standby for nearly two weeks. A quick
check and all the scouts were deemed ready for immediate launch. The deck chief
notified flight control that all six scouts were mission ready.

Flight control
was at the far end of the massive flight bay. Large reinforced glass windows
looked out over the bay allowing the controllers inside to see the activity in
the bay. Inside flight control was a hum of busy activity as men and women
watched their consoles and kept track of all the activity going on inside the
bay as well as outside. The CAG was standing next to the flight operations
officer at the main control console. Across the back wall, numerous viewscreens
depicted activity inside the bay. Several large scanner screens showed the
flight space around the fleet and the current locations of the CAP fighters
that were out on patrol.

Activating his
mini-com, the CAG gave the order for the flight crews to board their scouts.
The technicians were finished, now it would be up to the highly trained crews
to begin their mission and bring home the information the Federation so
desperately needed.

The waiting
crews quickly made their way into their respective vessels. They had been in
the pilot’s ready room, hoping this star system would be secure enough so they
could start their covert mission. Nerves had been getting on edge and tempers
had been flaring as they moved farther away from the Federation and deeper into
what was suspected to be Hocklyn controlled space. They all felt relieved and
energized that it was finally time to launch the mission.

Captain Karl
Arcles settled down into his pilot’s seat in one of the scouts and looked over
at his copilot, Lieutenant Lacy Sanders. The young twenty-six-year-old blonde
looked slightly pale. It was one thing to train for this type of mission; it
was another to actually do it.

“Nothing to be
nervous about Lieutenant,” Arcles said with a reassuring smile. “Just treat
this as a routine flight. We’ve done this often enough in practice.”

“Yes, sir,”
replied Lieutenant Sanders taking a deep breath. Lacy could feel her heart
racing. She looked over at Captain Arcles and said nervously. “Only this time
it’s for real, and what we find may determine the future of the entire human
race. I know they said the Hocklyns shouldn’t be able to detect our scout
ships. We all know that the Hocklyn’s technology level is higher than ours.
What if the experts are wrong?”

Arcles leaned
back in his seat and didn’t reply. The lieutenant was correct. The future of
humanity's home system and its four outlying colony worlds rested on what this
mission discovered about the Hocklyns. The Hocklyns had attacked the Human
Federation of Worlds without provocation. Millions of innocent people had died
in the brutal attack.

The mission of
this fleet was to find out just how large an empire the Hocklyns controlled,
and what could be done to prevent future attacks. Was it just a few worlds as
the Federation government hoped, or was it a large galaxy-spanning empire? The
Hocklyns held a decisive edge in technology. That had already been determined
from the technologies on their ships. Did they also hold a decisive edge in
population as well as natural resources? Karl just hoped the experts were right
and the scout ships were undetectable.

“Launch at
your discretion, Captain Arcles.” The CAG’s voice came over the com system.
“Good luck and good hunting.”

“Let’s get the
systems powered up,” ordered Arcles glancing over at Lieutenant Sanders. “It’s
time to get this show on the road.”

It only took
the two a few minutes to finish powering up the small ship and complete their
final preflight checks. The techs had already checked everything earlier, so it
was mainly a matter of flipping a few switches and powering up the sublight
drive.

“Everything
shows green,” Lieutenant Sanders reported as she tightened her safety harness.
She closed her eyes briefly and said a short prayer. This mission frightened
her. They were so far away from home, and if anything happened, they would be
on their own. No one would be coming to save them.

Captain Arcles
reached forward, taking the scout ship’s controls. A moment later, the little
ship darted out from the flight bay and moved away from the majestic battle
carrier. “Insert first FTL coordinates,” he ordered, looking over at Sanders.
He had flown with the lieutenant often enough that he knew that once the
mission began she would calm down. She was a very capable officer; she just
needed to learn to control her anxiety.

The lieutenant
tapped a few commands into her navigation computer and then nodded as she
double-checked the results. “Coordinates locked in.”

Arcles nodded
and turned the controls over to the ship’s flight computer. He watched as the
FTL timer began counting down and soon neared zero. The other scout ships
didn’t show on the small ship’s scanners and sensors, but he knew they were out
there.

“Standby for
FTL insertion,” Arcles spoke over the com to the other crewmembers. There were
two mission specialists in the cockpit behind him who were responsible for the
scout’s sensors and stealth systems. Two more technicians were back in the
small crew compartment.

Moments later,
a spatial vortex of blue-white light appeared directly in front of the curved
nose of the scout ship. The scout ship darted into the vortex, which instantly
vanished, leaving no sign of the scout. Within a few minutes, the other five
scouts had vanished in the same way. Each scout had a different set of
destinations to search.

-

Admiral Streth
watched as the six scout ships vanished into the blue-white vortexes of light.
He let out a deep breath and wondered about what they would find. They were
nearly six hundred light years from home, and in what was believed to be enemy territory.
The entire outcome of the war might very well rest on what the scouts
discovered.