The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) (18 page)

“This is the
beginning of the war, Admiral,” commented Teleck, looking at several sheets of
paper that were lying on the large wooden conference table at his fingertips.
“Do you think it’s wise to risk Admiral Streth this early in the conflict?”

“No, I don’t,”
she confessed, wishing Admiral Streth wasn’t taking this risk. “But he is a
Fleet Admiral, and there is very little that I can do. He was adamant about
being present for this battle.”

“He wants this
Hocklyn fleet annihilated to send a message to the Hocklyns,” commented Anne,
knowingly. “That’s why he has moved Second and Third Fleet so close to Gliese
667C. He wants every ship in that fleet destroyed.”

“I just wished
he had taken the StarStrike,” said Karla, shaking her head worriedly. If
something happened to Admiral Streth, it would seriously shake the morale in
the entire Federation, particularly the Fleet.

“He doesn’t
want the Hocklyns to see such a large ship,” responded Anne, looking calmly
around the small group. Her Intelligence group had discussed this very
thoroughly. She would be returning to the StarStrike as soon as this meeting
was over. “He is aboard Admiral Sheen’s flagship, the WarStorm.”

“So many names
from history,” commented Admiral Kalen, softly.

“People all
across the Federation are familiar with the names StarStrike, WarStorm, and
Avenger,” Admiral Teleck responded. “Those ships are part of our history, and
now they well be a part of our future.”

“I think there’s
another reason Admiral Streth is there,” Anne stated, her eyes narrowing
sharply. “Admiral Streth doesn’t trust the Hocklyns; he is afraid they might
show up with a truly large fleet and he wants to ensure that they are defeated.”

“But why would
they?” asked Admiral Kalen, shaking his head doubtfully. “By now they must know
they are facing survivors from the original Human Federation of Worlds. They
have only come across the one mining colony and won’t believe there can be too
many of us; there just hasn’t been enough time. They may even believe that
Admiral Tolsen’s fleet is all that we have. They can know nothing of Earth.”

“Perhaps,”
replied Admiral Johnson, thoughtfully. “But in this I think we need to trust
Admiral Streth’s judgment. He wants to land a telling blow against the Hocklyns
and then launch his full scale attack against their empire with the Ready
Reserve.”

-

Later, Admiral
Johnson and Admiral Teleck were walking down a heavily armored corridor that
led to the capital city of Ceres. They passed through the last large armored hatch
and stepped out into an artificial world. Karla paused as she took in the magnificent
sight that spread out before her. Here, inside Ceres, the original Federation
survivors had carved an amazing home out of the hard rock of the asteroid.

“It’s
beautiful,” Karla spoke quietly as her hazel eyes took everything in. She had
been here before, but each time it affected her the same way.

In front of her
was a massive cavern over forty kilometers in length and twenty kilometers
wide. At its center was the capital city of Providence, named after one of the
original worlds of the Federation. Nearly four hundred thousand people called Providence their home. Around the city, the floor of the cavern was green and blue, with
flowing rivers and streams as well as several large lakes. Even in the city itself,
large areas of green could be seen.

“Its home,” responded
Admiral Teleck, proudly. “I don’t know if I could live anywhere else.”

“Ceres has
been the home of the Federation survivors for over four hundred years,” spoke Karla,
taking in a deep breath. Even the air smelled unusually clean and fresh. It
reminded her of the air on New Tellus during a spring day immediately after a
rain. “Your people have prepared for this moment in history ever since their
arrival in the system; now it’s finally here.”

“The war with
the Hocklyns,” spoke Teleck in agreement, glancing over at Fleet Admiral
Johnson. He wondered if she truly understood what this meant to his people. “Every
waking moment of the people of Ceres has been aimed at being ready for this
war.”

“It’s here,” Karla
stated with a long sigh. It was hard to believe that nearly three hundred years
had passed since her distant ancestor Greg Johnson had set foot on the crashed
light cruiser Avenger on Earth’s moon.

Admiral Teleck
turned and looked closely at Fleet Admiral Johnson. “Have you spoken to Katie
and told her who you are?”

Karla laughed
and shook her head. “I’m her great great niece many times removed. I don’t
think that will mean much to her.”

“It might,” Teleck
replied. “All five of those young people on the Avenger have distant relatives
still living. It might do them all some good to realize they are not alone.”

“Perhaps
you’re right,” Karla admitted as she gazed up at a few small white clouds drifting
in the sky over Providence. She knew that the weather in the habitats inside of
Ceres was controlled; they could make it rain or even snow.

“I know of a
good restaurant in the city that has fabulous food,” Teleck added with a
friendly smile. “Why don’t we grab a bite to eat before resuming our duties?”

“Sounds
great,” replied Karla. She was feeling a little bit hungry, and a little time
off away from all the planning and war preparation would be nice.

-

Jeremy and
Kelsey were eating in the officer’s mess on the Avenger discussing the coming
battle; both had been extremely busy the last few days. Jeremy had been working
with the task force making sure that each commander understood the new tactics
and what was expected of them. Kelsey and Ariel had been working on perfecting
the hyperspace jumps so the fleet could emerge from the spatial vortexes in
fleet formation ready for combat.

“Katie
finished the last program we needed earlier today,” Kelsey reported as she bit
a large red strawberry in half. She loved strawberries; she always had.

“Then we’re
ready,” said Jeremy as he watched Kelsey swallow the rest of the strawberry. He
just hoped his tactics would work against the Hocklyns, if not his stint as an
admiral would be very short.

“Angela says
everyone is anxious for this battle to begin,” Kelsey added as she reached for
another strawberry. “The communication officers on the other ships report that
this waiting is nerve wracking.”

“Yes, I
realize that,” responded Jeremy, knowing how they felt since he was feeling
anxious also. “I don’t think we will have to wait much longer.”

“Mind if I
join you?” Colonel Malen asked. She was carrying a tray with a ham sandwich and
a glass of tea.

“Have a seat,”
said Jeremy, motioning for her to sit down. “Lieutenant Grainger and I were
just discussing the computer programs that Ariel and Lieutenant Johnson have finally
finished.”

“You know Admiral
that if these micro-jump tactics you have come up with work, it will
revolutionize how our ships fight.”

“Perhaps,”
responded Jeremy, showing a little doubt in his eyes. “We won’t know how well
they will work until we try them.”

“I had Ariel
run some simulations based on past battles with the Hocklyns, and in every case
the Hocklyns are taken by complete surprise,” Colonel Malen reported
confidently. “They have never seen anything like this.”

Jeremy was
silent as he listened to Colonel Malen continue to explain the results of the
simulations in more detail. She was an excellent executive officer and the crew
respected her, and she in turn respected them. Kelsey and the colonel began
discussing the micro-jump calculations, and Jeremy continued to listen with
interest.

-

On board the
battle cruiser WarStorm, Rear Admiral Sheen was in the Command Center making sure all the units of her fleet were ready for instant deployment to Gliese 667C.
Second Fleet was a very powerful and formidable force, consisting of four
battle cruisers, six battle carriers, twelve Monarch cruisers, four strike
cruisers, forty light cruisers, and twenty destroyers.

“It’s a big
fleet,” spoke a familiar and friendly voice behind her.

Amanda turned
and saw Admiral Streth standing there looking at the holographic display, which
depicted her fleet. “You’re the one that made it big, I just hope it’s enough,”
she replied.

Hedon looked
around the large Command Center, recognizing some familiar faces. Lieutenant
Benjamin Stalls was sitting in front of the sensor control panel, Lieutenant
Angela Trask was at Communications, and Lieutenant Ashton was sitting at Navigation.
In some ways, it was comforting to see a few familiar faces from the old days.

“It will be,”
he replied, confidently. “The only problem will be if an AI ship shows up, and
I don’t expect that. None of our stealth scouts has ever detected one.”

“Then I guess
all we can do is wait and hope the scouts detect the Hocklyns on their way in
so we’ll know what we’re up against.”

“Don’t worry,
Amanda,” Hedon replied in a quiet and calm voice. He smiled gently. “The new
Federation is very powerful, plus we have three allies. We’re not in this alone,
this time it will be different. The Hocklyns have never faced or encountered
anything like we’re about to throw at them.”

Amanda nodded
as her eyes wandered to the ship’s main viewscreen, which was focused on one of
the new strike cruisers. With its 1,000-meter length, it was a very awe-inspiring
sight and extremely powerful. Perhaps Admiral Streth was correct and this time
things would be different.

-

War Leader
Bisth smiled craftily to himself as his combined fleet completed its jump. He
wasn’t as confident as Fleet Commodore Resmunt was that the humans only
controlled a few worlds with a small population. To him there were too many
things that didn’t add up such as the size of the fleet that had jumped Sangeth,
plus their weapons. It suggested an advanced civilization with a large
population. How this could be possible from a few thousand human survivors was
unknown, but he had decided to err on the side of caution.

“Jump
complete, War Leader,” First Leader Gresth reported. “All ships report
successful jumps.”

Bisth nodded
and gazed at the main viewscreen, which was showing the space around them. They
had jumped close to a small nebula. He had decided to avoid jumping into any
star systems as they neared the target world. If this was indeed a larger civilization
than Resmunt believed, then the nearby star systems might have pickets in them.
Bisth wanted no early warning of his strike; he would hit quickly and
decisively.

His cold eyes
slowly swept over the War Room seeing with satisfaction that everything was as
it should be. Each Hocklyn was busy at their posts performing their assigned task
with maximum efficiency. To do less could result in a loss of honor.

“Two more days
and we will be at the human world,” First Leader Gresth rasped, his cold gaze
meeting the large dark ones of Bisth.

“Then we will
earn our honor,” Bisth spoke with satisfaction in his voice. “A quick victory
over any opposing ships, and then we land our Protectors on their planet. After
we have located the information we need, we will send a ship back to Fleet
Commodore Resmunt. Once that has been completed, the rest of our ships well
continue on to the human’s home world and conquer it. We will achieve much
honor in this campaign.”

“Enough to
rise in stature and wealth,” Gresth added, his eyes showing fire. Gresth wanted
to rise to the position of War Leader and this campaign might just allow him to
do that.

“Enough for
all of us,” Bisth assured his Second Leader. Bisth’s eyes returned to the
viewscreen and the dark nebula. They were coming, and these new humans would
soon know the wrath and power of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. After their worlds
had been conquered and their military destroyed, the humans would become the
newest slaves to serve.

Admiral Tolsen
let out a deep breath. He could sense the growing apprehension in the crew of
the Command Center as they waited for the expected Hocklyn attack. He knew part
of the uneasiness was because he had split the fleet. Currently the WarHawk was
waiting just outside of the gravity well of Caden’s World with what remained.

Glancing over
at the tactical image being projected above the plotting table, he could see his
other battle cruiser, the Dawson and on the other side of her was the battle
carrier Independence. The rest of the fleet was hovering in support positions
awaiting orders. He still had two Monarch cruisers, four light cruisers, and
eight destroyers that made up his decoy fleet. His fleet was acting as live bait
to encourage the Hocklyns to launch their attack. It was a risky tactic, but he
didn’t feel he had any other choice.

In order for his
plan to work, he needed to lure the Hocklyns in and then retreat into the
gravity well of the planet, thus trapping them. If need be, he could call up
the ten destroyers and four light cruisers in orbit around Caden’s World to
support his fleet. Once inside the gravity well, the Hocklyns wouldn’t be able
to escape into hyperspace using their jump drives. After that had been
accomplished, he would then call in the rest of his fleet as well as the other
waiting fleets from their hidden positions out around the system’s comet ring.

“I hate this
waiting,” Colonel Beck grumbled as he checked the current status of the fleet
units. He had been busy speaking to the other ship departments over his
mini-com. Everyone was expressing nervousness over the long wait for the Hocklyns
to attack.

He looked over
at several young officers who were talking quietly to themselves. He let out a
deep sigh, the crew was well trained, but there were a lot of young crewmembers,
some just fresh out of the academy.