The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (3 page)

“What about
the AIs?”

Ariel glanced
over at Jeremy. “They are still behind the Hocklyn fleet; I am not detecting
any buildup of energy indicating an imminent FTL jump.”

“Keep a watch
on them,” ordered Jeremy, crisply. He had his strikecruisers at key positions
in groups of two in case they had to respond to an attack by the AIs. For now,
Jeremy hoped the AIs stayed put.

“The Reprisal
and light cruisers are now in range; they are launching missiles and engaging
their defensive laser batteries,” Ariel continued.

Jeremy looked
back at the viewscreen. It was now crisscrossed with orange-red beams of light
where lasers were firing. Occasionally there would be a fiery explosion at the
end of one of the beams.

-

The fighter
battle had broken down into a wild, swirling dogfight as each side tried to
eliminate the other. All interceptor missiles had been fired. However, half the
Hocklyn fighters were equipped with small ship-to-ship missiles, which were
armed with powerful explosive warheads designed to cripple a small warship. They
had planned originally to use these missiles against the space station orbiting
the planet.

The Hocklyn
strike leader instantly ordered all fighters equipped with the heavier missiles
to attack the light cruisers. He knew the missiles probably couldn’t damage the
larger Human warship, but if enough missiles could strike the screens of the
smaller ships a few might get through. With the number of fighters the Humans
and Carethians had launched, he knew his war wings had no hope of reaching the
station in sufficient numbers to launch an effective strike.

-

“They’re
trying to target the light cruisers!” Major Thurman warned over his com as he
saw numerous Hocklyn fighters suddenly accelerate toward the nearby warships. “All
fighters, cut off those Hocklyns before they can launch their missiles!”

Major Thurman
hit his turbos and quickly fell in behind a Hocklyn fighter. Pressing the
button on his flight control a line of 30mm tracers reached out and struck the
Hocklyn fighter in its tail. It instantly exploded in a fiery fireball, and
Thurman grimaced as his fighter flew through the shattered debris and he heard
small fragments hitting his cockpit windows. On his small sensor screen, he
could see dozens of missiles streaking toward the light cruisers. He just hoped
the defensive laser turrets could shoot them down.

-

On the Monarch
cruiser Reprisal, Commander Karson Adams ordered all defensive lasers to target
the inbound missile strike. Already, over one hundred forty inbound missiles
had been detected with more being launched every moment. The sensor operator
had reported that none of them contained nuclear warheads.

“Lock on those
inbound missiles,” he ordered as he watched the tactical display intently. “I
want them destroyed!”

“Locking on
targets,” the tactical officer replied. “Firing lasers and interceptors.”

Space became
lit up with exploding missiles as lasers eliminated many of the inbound
targets, but some of the fighters were launching from almost pointblank range.
Missiles began impacting the light cruisers’ energy screens as multiple explosions
rolled across them.

The light
cruiser Wrath suddenly saw her screen weaken in one area from multiple hits and
two small missiles darted through, striking the armored hull. Two large
explosions shook the ship, blasting out deep holes in the hull and causing
damage to several power conduits. For a moment, the screen wavered; that was
all the Hocklyn fighters needed. Dozens of the small missiles flashed through
the weakened screen, ravaging the hull of the 700-meter light cruiser. Fires
broke out and key systems shut down, then a missile hit Engineering and the
main fusion reactor went offline. Moments later, the ship’s self-destructs
activated and the Wrath vanished as two nuclear explosions annihilated the
ship.

-

“All missiles
have been launched,” First Leader Trion reported as he listened to reports coming
in from the Hocklyn pilots.

“Order them to
return,” War Leader Versith ordered as he turned away from the tactical
display. “It's obvious that if we want to strike their space station, a larger
force will be required. We will withdraw back to Commodore Krilen’s position
and discuss the next attack with him. When we return, we will be better
prepared.”

“Victory will
be ours,” responded Trion, knowing that War Leader Versith was well versed in
strategy.

Jaseth was
silent, but felt frustrated as he had not been given an opportunity to use his
weapons. The Humans were so close, but he was powerless to extract vengeance
against them.

-

“The light
cruiser Wrath is down,” Kevin reported as he watched the green icon representing
the stricken ship vanish from his sensor screen.

“Too many
missiles got through,” Ariel reported with sadness in her voice. “I believe
their reactor went offline and the ship suffered catastrophic damage causing
the self-destructs to engage.”

“What about
the other ships?” Jeremy asked with a heavy frown. He hadn’t planned on losing
one of the light cruisers.

“Light damage
only,” Ariel reported as she looked over the indicated ships with the Avenger’s
sensors.

Jeremy watched
as the Hocklyn fighters broke contact and fell back toward their waiting fleet.
“Order our fighters to pursue to the edge of the gravity well but not to get too
close to the Hocklyn warships. I don’t want them to be able to fire their defensive
weapons upon our fighters.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Colonel Malen replied as she passed on the orders to Commander Marks.

-

The Hocklyn
fighters quickly flew back to their waiting ships and after landing, the
Hocklyn warships began jumping into hyperspace. White, swirling spatial
vortexes indicated the departure of each ship. Once they were gone, the
vortexes faded away as if nothing had ever been there. The AIs waited until the
last one left, and then they too vanished into hyperspace.

-

“What did we
lose?” asked Jeremy, looking over expectantly at Ariel. He had come to depend
more and more upon the talented AI for tactical information. She was also his
friend.

“Human fighter
losses are one hundred and twenty-two; the bears lost sixty-seven. We also lost
the light cruiser Wrath with three other light cruisers suffering light damage.
Hocklyn losses were four hundred and sixty-eight fighters.

“This was a
probe of our defenses,” Colonel Malen commented as she gazed at the tactical
display, noting the absence of any red threat icons. She placed her hands
behind her back and looked over at Jeremy. “Next time they will return with a
much larger force.”

“You’re
right,” answered Jeremy, knowing that when they returned the Hocklyns would not
just be using their fighters. “We need to be prepared for a major fleet battle
in the next few days. Take the fleet back to Condition Three and have the
damaged light cruisers put in at the repair bays on the station. I want their
battle damage repaired as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Malen replied. “It shouldn’t take more than a day to repair them.”

Jeremy nodded.
He knew that with the loss of the light cruiser the battle could be called a
draw. He felt ill knowing over seven hundred Human and bears had lost their
lives in the short battle. He also knew that in the next one many more lives
would probably be lost. Jeremy let out a deep sigh; he just hoped that Admiral
Streth was still alive and on his way with a relief force. If not, no one in
his fleet would survive when the AIs and the Hocklyns finally hit them with
their full force.

Looking over
at Kelsey, he could see the look of concern in her deep blue eyes. She forced a
smile and Jeremy smiled back. Both knew that if Admiral Streth did not show up
shortly, the rest of their lives could probably be numbered in days.

Fleet Admiral
Streth strolled purposely down the hallway until he reached the doors of the
Federation Senate Chambers. The two heavily armed marines standing guard at the
door said nothing as they saw the anger on his face. They stood aside as he
pushed the heavy doors open and entered the chamber.

President
Kincaid looked up from his seat and frowned upon seeing who had interrupted the
meeting of the Federation Senate. From the look on Admiral Streth’s face, he
knew this wouldn’t be good. He let out a heavy sigh, knowing exactly what the
admiral was going to say.

“What do you
mean there will be no relief fleet for Careth!” Admiral Streth roared in anger
as he walked around to stand between the seated president and the twenty-eight
members of the Federation Senate. “I promised Rear Admiral Strong that I would
return for him and I fully intend to do that!” He glared at the senators,
daring them to dispute his words.

“Not without
any ships,” Senator Fulbright commented, unperturbed by the admiral’s
impertinence at interrupting the Senate meeting. “If I remember correctly,
there isn’t much left of the Active Reserve Fleets. You managed to get most of
them destroyed.”

“I still
command what’s left of First and Second Fleet and we’re ready to return to
Careth,” barked Admiral Streth, his eyes staring down the senator from
Serenity. “We can be ready to depart within 48 hours.”

“Calm down,” spoke
Senator Davis from Bliss, focusing his eyes on the venerated admiral. “We understand
your desire to return to Careth, but the fleet is in shambles after the Hocklyn
and AI attack on New Tellus. We don’t have the ships to spare at this time to
launch a rescue operation.”

“We lost less
than twenty percent of our total fleet,” Senator Barnes from Ceres interrupted,
glaring across the room at Senators Fulbright and Davis. “We have the ships for
a relief force and I strongly protest anyone who says otherwise. Must I remind
you that there is a sizable Ceres fleet under command of Admiral Stillson at
Careth also?”

“The Hocklyns
and the AIs could launch a major attack against Careth at any time,” Admiral
Streth informed them as his eyes swept over the Federation Senators. “We can’t
wait any longer. Over three weeks have already passed since the Hocklyn
attack.”

“We still have
a large number of ships in the repair bays at New Tellus,” Senator Fulbright
reminded the admiral in a conciliatory tone. “In my opinion, we can’t launch a
relief force until we have repaired our ships and new construction replaces
what we have lost. We have the entire Federation to think about. Careth will
have to wait.”

“The Inactive
Reserve is being brought online and will be fully operational in another three
months,” Senator Anderson from Earth commented. “That will more than make up
for our fleet losses.”

“But they’re
older ships,” protested Senator Fulbright, shaking his head in denial. “We
can’t count on them to protect us if the Hocklyns launch another major attack.
What if they attack somewhere else besides New Tellus or Earth? Is there any
other system here that could survive an attack the size of the one they
launched against New Tellus?”

The Senate
Chamber was quiet as the senators looked worriedly at one another. They knew
that the smaller systems would be vulnerable to such an attack. While many
agreed with Admiral Streth’s desire to send a relief fleet, they also knew they
had their own worlds to be concerned about. Many of the senators refused to
meet Admiral Streth’s eyes.

“We also need
to further upgrade our warships with Alton weapons and shields,” President
Kincaid said, rising to his feet in an attempt to take back control of the
meeting. “We all would like to launch a relief fleet to Careth, but now is not
the time, Admiral.”

“How long
before Alton weapons can be installed on our warships?” Senator Malle from Mars
inquired. “If we encounter more AI ships in such a relief effort, those weapons
will be sorely needed.”

“The
StarStrike and the New Tellus are already undergoing upgrades for the new
weapons systems,” replied Admiral Streth, trying to keep his anger in check. “We
have a team of Alton engineers at New Tellus working with our people to upgrade
the two battleships as well as our battlecruisers. The two battleships will be
ready in another two days.” Hedon had the crews working around the clock in
order to have the two powerful ships ready to deploy. “We can be ready to leave
by the end of the week.”

“When all the
ships are upgraded, come back and see us,” President Kincaid suggested as his
eyes focused on Admiral Streth. “We understand your desire to rescue Rear Admiral
Strong and the ships under his command. It will do him no good if you rush off
in ships that haven’t been properly updated.”

“A wise
decision,” Senator Fulbright echoed, pleased that Admiral Streth was not going
to get his way. He was also surprised that President Kincaid was siding with
him.

Admiral Streth
stood in silence as he regarded the looks upon the senator’s faces. He knew he
could not win this argument, at least not yet.

“I will return
when the ships are ready,” promised Hedon. “When I return I will not take no
for an answer.” He turned and exited the Senate Chambers, still angry with the
senators. It reminded him why politicians should not be allowed to run a war.

President
Kincaid watched him leave. He wished he could send the ships that Fleet Admiral
Streth wanted. It pained him to know that the Special Five were in grave danger
and could very well lose their lives at Careth. Rear Admiral Strong and the
other four of that special group were very important to the entire Federation.
Kincaid didn’t want to think about the ramifications if the relief force was to
arrive too late. Kincaid knew he could have forced a vote, and while a number
of key senators would have supported the measure, those opposed would have
outnumbered them.