Talosian Chronicles 6: Armageddon (29 page)

“You understand nothing, human. This war has never been about technology. None of your races have ever been a threat to this nation. None of you have ever faced more than a small portion of our total force. However, if you force my hand, I will turn the entire might of my Empire loose on your worlds.”

Unimpressed, Cindy calmly said, “If I don’t understand, then perhaps you could explain it to me; maybe we can find an equitable solution and stop this wasteful and costly war.”

“It is only your ego that leads you to think you can speak for your Alliance in this. I am not a fool human; you would never agree to our rule, nor would you be willing to simply surrender to us. So we fight. This conversation is boring me. Good-bye, human.” With that, the image dissolved.

“If power is the only reason you are fighting this war, Emperor, you were doomed to lose from the beginning. I only hope that this will end soon so billions more will not have to die to appease your megalomania.” Cindy turned back to her prisoners. “Now, we’re leaving. Everyone up and in single file. Out the door and follow the officer back to our ship.”

The Emperor heard Cindy’s final words, however, as did his advisers, who were sitting with him. “The human's words disturb you, my lord?”

“Yes, they did. She is closer to being correct than she knows. I was unaware of the fact that most of our forces had been destroyed already, or of the fact that they had destroyed your sacred warriors. It is unsettling for an enemy to tell you of your losses.”

“These strange humans are far more resilient and inventive than we gave them credit for. It is clear they are an inspiration to the rest of the Alliance. If they are also sharing their technology as our sources tell us, that officer's words may have been prophetic.”

The Emperor looked at the Priest and nodded his agreement. “These humans seem to be very good at doing the impossible, my friend. If we don’t stop them here, now, I’m afraid the human will be correct and this will be over shortly. Our remaining forces in that galaxy not involved in this operation will not stand long against any sizable attack, and we do not have any other available forces to send at this time. Even if we did, they would not arrive fast enough to make a difference. If we lose this battle, we may lose that galaxy. At that point, we will have lost our best source of Glatilin.”

“Are you still having the nightmares, My Lord?”

“Yes, and everyday they become more solid. If Shalo has failed, as it appears he has, I fear there is no way we’ll be able to stop what’s coming,” the Emperor replied.

“Perhaps, my lord, we should consider another strategy in this. We could negotiate a peace with these humans, as the Colonel suggested, but secretly authorize pirate raids to capture humans and bring them here, to our Empire. In this way, we could develop a renewable source for Glatilin while minimizing the losses we are incurring. We can use the excuse of 'restricted supply' to drive the price up,” the High Priest suggested.

A slow smile spread across the Emperor’s face as he considered the options and ramifications of the suggestion. “Get me a channel to the task force’s next Senior Commander.”

TDF
Star Dancer

TDRS
Necromancer

Selene, Earth's Moon

Sol System

Ian was getting very tired, but he knew he couldn't rest yet; there was still to much to do. The main Imperial Fleets were still advancing to Earth space, and they had to defeat them once and for all. At least some of his CIC team was able to resume their posts; more help was a good thing. He had started to drift off, and almost thought he dreamed it when the tech that was covering for Alex spoke to him.

“Sir, something’s happening out there. The Imperial ships have stopped and seem to be withdrawing towards the outer system."

“What? Are you sure?" Ian asked and looked down into the tank. She was right, they were starting to pull back instead of moving in.

"Huh!" he grunted. "Let them pull back for now, but keep an eye on them. I guess they didn't take the bait, Major," Ian said to the new Intel officer. "Ops, send a squadron of Shadow fighters to keep an eye on them."

“Silver squadron is launching Sir,” Chloe reported a moment later.

“Be sure to tell those pilots that if it turns into a furball to get back here on the double; They can defend themselves, but dont start anything,” Ian ordered.

“Yes Sir; you have an incoming message from Centauri Command,” Chloe replied. 

Ian grinned; “On screen.”

A very tired looking Ty Anders appeared on the screen and saluted Ian. “Admiral, it’s good to see you again. The Imperials seem to be pulling out here. I’ve ordered my fighters to shadow them, but they are leaving the system. Several cruisers are picking up the fighter pilots as they eject from their fighters. There is another, larger group of fighters that have landed on the third planet. My spotters tell me that they are powering down and just sitting there. Orders?”

“My aide just informed me that the same thing is happening here, only on a much larger scale. However, the Imperial fighters are heading for Mars,” Ian replied. "The fleet there is sending fighters to keep an eye on them."

“Well if this is really the end of the battle, let us know and we can send more help. We lost a lot of good people, but we’re still here,” Ty said.

Ian mopped at his face with his hands; he was getting tired. “I’m sorry for not asking sooner, Colonel. How are your forces?”

Ty smiled slightly to let his commander know that no offense had been taken. “We lost Four Battleships, twelve cruisers nine light cruisers and nine hundred twenty fighters. Eight more cruisers are damaged but functional. We managed to pick up the escape modules for the ships and seven hundred forty three pilots. Our marines gave better than they got, but still lost three hundred ninety four. As of the last report, we have no civilian casualties.” Ty paused. "Sir, the Zephyr was one of the light cruisers. There's been no word if John made it."

"Damn, how's Tabby doing?" Ian asked. John Harris had been Ian's flight operations chief when he took command of Star Dancer. Tabitha Harris was John's sister and one of Ty's old SEAL team members.

"She's worried sick, but holding together for now. Operations is still searching the list of rescued and recovered for her," Ty replied. "We'll find him, I just hope he's still alive when we do."

“Please tell your people how well they’ve done.” Ian paused to think for a minute. “I think if this is a withdrawal and not some ruse, I’d like for you to send two or three more cruisers here. We could use the help picking up the pieces. I’m afraid the rest of the ships will have to be released back to Alliance High Command as soon as we can get them fixed.”

“Sir, we’re receiving a request for communication from the Imperial Commander,” interrupted the female tech.

Ian raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Hang on Ty, let’s hear what he has to say. Put it through, Gail.”

“Human Commander, I am Shara Clan Force Commander Rayse, of His Majesty’s Imperial Navy. I am ordered to inform you that we are withdrawing from this fight and returning to our own galaxy. However, we have sustained too many losses to retrieve all of our fighters. The excess have been ordered to uninhabited planets, and to destroy their ships and await capture by you. My Lord Emperor has requested that they be taken care of until such time as they can be retrieved safely from your care. He also requests leave to continue our withdrawal peacefully. We will no longer fire on your ships unless we are fired on first. Is this acceptable?”

“Force Commander Rayse, I am Admiral Ian Williams of the Terran Defense Force acting as Alliance Commander for this operation. Those terms are acceptable and we will do our best to care for the ones you are leaving behind,” Ian replied.

“I am to ask what is to become of our original Commander? My Emperor would like him returned so he can answer for this loss,” Rayse asked.

Did they mean to execute the commander for losing a battle? How barbaric were these people? “I’m afraid they will have to stay with us for the time being, Force Commander. Since he was captured during the fighting, we consider him a prisoner while your pilots will be considered guests.”

“Not unexpected, Admiral. Our forces have been in this galaxy for many of your years and it will take time to organize the withdrawal. We currently estimate a minimum of half a cycle to evacuate to our embarkation point. As of right now, unless in self-defense, a general cease-fire has been issued to all Imperial forces in this galaxy. An Ambassador from the Emperor will contact your Alliance High Council to conclude the negotiations,” the being finished.

“Am I to understand that it is your intention to fully withdrawal from this galaxy?” Ian asked astounded.

“Yes, Admiral. My Lord Emperor has used his foresight. He knew that if this battle were to be lost, it would mean the total destruction of our Empire. It is his hope that this withdrawal will remove that possible future.”

Ian was shocked to silence for a moment. “Uh, Please inform your Emperor that I will pass along the information, but I have no authority to order a total stop to the fighting. However, I will inform Alliance High Command immediately. It may take a few days for the news to reach all the forces involved.”

“You have been a cunning and tenacious adversary, Admiral. Surprisingly, I feel no shame at admitting defeat to you. We will jump out of your space as soon as we have made sufficient repairs and retrieved what we can. Good day to you, Admiral.”

“Force Commander, there are a number of defensive systems that need to be deactivated before you can attempt to depart. Please call back when you are ready to make sure it’s safe for you to do so,” Ian told him.

“So, that’s what happened to our capitol ships. Very well, Admiral, we will notify you once we have completed our repairs and retrieval. Thank you for the warning,” Rayse said and bowed as the image darkened.

“Well, I’ll be,” Ian said under his breath. “Chloe, order all units to stand down to yellow alert. We'll need to stay on guard until they’ve jumped out, but it looks like it's over.”

“Orders sent, Admiral,” Chloe said. She had tears in her eyes.

"Ty, you'll need ot send shuttles and Marines out to round up the Imperial pilots and any surviving troops. Be damn sure to tell them they are not to harm any of them unless they are defending themselves," Ian ordered.

"I'll handle it. We'll take them out to the Marine barracks until we can get something more comfortable built for them," Ty replied.

"Good plan, we'll probably be sending you ours as well if you have room. I'm pretty sure we don't at the moment," Ian said.

"I'll make it happen Sir," Ty said. "Get some rest, Sir; you look like hell." 

“Thanks Ty, Williams, out.” Ian turned to the comm tech. “Gail, get operations to co-ordinate with Neptune Base to assist in rescue operations, and get me a line to High Command. After that, I’ll want to talk to the U.N. Secretary General. If you can’t get through to him, get me Major F’ren aboard the Raptor
T’gal
. Be prepared to broadcast to the world’s televisions sets again, I’m sure there are a lot of very frightened people down there. I’ll also want a video conference with all commanders as soon as possible.” He sighed, thinking of all the things he needed to do.

“Sir, if I can’t get the SecGen, you’ll want the
T’gal
to find him, right?”

Ian nodded and added, “I’ll need you to pass the word to all units about the cease fire, but tell them to remain on guard. Have them begin rescue operations as well. I’ll take care of the rest during the video conference in say… an hour.”

“Very good, sir.” Gail smiled as she turned to relay his orders. “Admiral H'joles on screen for you sir.”

Ian sighed again as he begin the process of rebuilding his forces and the planet. He wondered what was actually left to rebuild.

Ian once again stood looking out the big bay window at the planet of his birth. If you knew where to look, you could tell the areas that had been hit the hardest, even from orbit. However, they were no longer the ugly scars they had once been. Construction drones had been in constant use cleaning and decontaminating the soil, replanting grass and trees, rebuilding homes. There had been a loud outcry from several of the industries on the planet at the work being done by the drones.

The construction industry in particular complained at the loss of income they had suffered at not being able to get paid for rebuilding. When Ian offered to recall the drones after an area had been cleaned without replicator assisted reconstruction, the objections stopped almost over night. Ian knew for a fact that there simply wasn’t money available to pay for rebuilding.

The amount of damage done to the populations on the planet was immense. Economies had collapsed, food production had stopped, and fallout from the nuclear and antimatter bombs had contaminated large areas, including a good portion of the food production area. Ecologically, the war had been a disaster of unparalleled proportions. Millions of people would have starved if not for the billions of tons of food being supplied by replicators at refugee camps and donated by the Alliance. Millions more would have died from the global climate changes that were still being felt a month and a half after the fighting stopped.