The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (22 page)

Looking up at
a viewscreen, Hedon could see a Hocklyn warcruiser burning. Massive holes
covered its hull, and fires could be seen inside. Even as he watched, several
violet colored power beams struck the hull, carving deep into the ship. Violent
explosions began to wrack the warcruiser, which suddenly exploded as its
nuclear self-destructs activated. Moments later, there was nothing left but
glowing debris.

“Several
Hocklyn ships are attempting to ram!” Captain Reynolds warned as he saw a group
of enemy ships begin to accelerate toward the Human fleet.

“Intensify our
fire on those ships!” Hedon ordered as he shifted his gaze back to one of the
tactical displays. He knew that ramming was the only option the Hocklyns had
left.

-

Six Hocklyn
escort cruisers were in close formation protecting their last surviving warcruiser.
They were on a suicide run that would give them a chance to destroy part of the
attacking Human fleet. Missile fire and power beams began to strike the ships
as the Human fleet shifted their focus to this new threat. First one and then
two of the escort cruisers exploded in bright fireballs as their shields were
overwhelmed. A third and a fourth died quickly after Devastator Threes blew
them apart. Then the fire shifted to the warcruiser. Its shield wavered as Devastator
Threes exploded against it. Then several power beams blasted through the shield,
striking the hull. Violent explosions rocked the ship and then the shield
failed. Six Devastator Three missiles vaporized the warcruiser into plasma and
gas.

The other two
escort cruisers were now in amongst the Human ships. One crashed into a light cruiser
and the two vanished in a massive ball of flame. The second crashed into a
battlecruiser, causing heavy damage. The new energy shield had absorbed just
enough of the energy from the collision to prevent the ship from being
destroyed.

-

“Light cruiser
McLain is down, battlecruiser Resolute is heavily damaged,” Captain Reynolds reported
in a stunned voice.

“Let’s finish
off the rest of the Hocklyn fleet,” ordered Hedon, letting out a deep breath.
He knew that a lot of brave men and women had probably just died on the
battlecruiser. Glancing over at Janice, Hedon saw the pained look upon her
face. She knew how he felt about casualties.

-

War Leader
Briton held on to his command console as his dreadnought was hammered brutally
by Human weapons. On the damage control board, more lights were red than green.
He knew his ship was dying around him. Looking at the tactical screen, he saw that
only a few Hocklyn ships still survived. Even as he watched, two more icons
representing escort cruisers faded away.

“We are
defeated,” First Leader Bakh spoke, his face covered in blood from a vicious
cut across his forehead. The War Room was in ruin, full of smoke and several
burning consoles. Most of the crew were either dead or unconscious. “Honor
awaits us.”

“Honor awaits
us,” agreed War Leader Briton as he reached forward and pressed the large red
button on his control console.

Instantly, the
self-destructs in the dreadnought activated. Four large nuclear explosions tore
the ship apart as nuclear energy rushed through the hull. In moments, it was
nothing more than a glowing, expanding debris field.

-

“Last Hocklyn
ship has been destroyed,” Captain Reynolds reported with relief.

“What about
the second fleet?” Hedon asked. He wouldn’t consider this mission a success
unless he could destroy it also.

“It’s just now
exiting the gravity well of the other inhabited planet,” Colonel Grissim reported.
“They appear to be spinning up their FTL drives.”

“They’re
escaping!” oathed Colonel Trist, looking over at Hedon.

“Nothing we
can do about it,” replied Hedon, disappointedly. “Turn the fleet around and let’s
rejoin Commander Bixby.” Then, turning back to Colonel Grissom, “What were our
losses?”

“Two light cruisers
destroyed, two Monarchs suffered moderate damage, and the battlecruiser
Resolute is reporting heavy damage. At the moment, their FTL core is down and
it will take them four to six hours to make sufficient repairs to allow them to
jump.”

“Very well,” responded
Hedon, letting out a deep breath. “Have Commander Bixby jump his ships to just
outside the gravity well. Once we make rendezvous we'll decide upon our next
move.”

-

Several hours
later, First Fleet was floating in the depths of the system surrounded by
nothing but unblinking stars. Crews were busily repairing the battle damage
suffered in the brief but savage battle with the Hocklyns.

“I have a
final damage report,” Colonel Trist said as he approached Hedon. “We lost two
light cruisers, with another dozen ships reporting some damage. The only ship
that requires being put into a repair bay is the battlecruiser Resolute. I have
her casualty figures. The ship lost six hundred and twenty dead, fifteen
missing, and another three hundred and twelve injured. They report that all the
fires are out and repairs are well underway. We’ve sent additional repair crews
over from other ships to assist, as well as med teams.”

“What about
Hocklyn losses?”

“We destroyed
their entire fleet around the inner inhabited world,” Trist replied with
satisfaction in his voice. “It hadn't been upgraded and didn’t have powerful
enough weapons to seriously endanger our ships. Our improved weapons and
shields seem to be holding up well.”

“I spoke to
Admiral Cleeteus a few minutes ago and none of the Alton ships suffered any
damage,” Hedon added. “He wants to know what we’re going to do about the two
slave worlds in this system.”

“What are we
going to do?” Trist asked his eyes looking intently at Hedon. “We can’t afford
to fortify this system, at least not yet. We don’t have the resources.”

“No, not at
the moment,” responded Hedon, agreeing with his executive officer. He hated
leaving the system in control of the Hocklyns, but he didn’t see any other
choice.

“Perhaps it
would be best to leave the system as is,” suggested Colonel Grissom, coming to
stand next to Hedon. “It’s rich in natural resources and could be very useful
to the war effort at a later date. If we leave now, the Hocklyns will assume we
only came to destroy their fleet and will probably leave the two planets as
they are.”

Hedon nodded
slowly as he thought the suggestion over. “I think you’re right,” he said after
a moment. “As soon as the repairs are completed on the Resolute, we will return
to Careth. We need to consider what our next move needs to be. It’s obvious at
the moment that the Hocklyn fleets are still very vulnerable to our improved
weapons. We don’t know how much longer that advantage is going to last. Someday
we will return to this system and visit with its inhabitants. With their two
planets and heavy mining industry they would be good allies to have.”

-

Hedon was in
his quarters when he heard a knock on the hatch. He was sitting behind his desk
thinking about the recent battle. Reaching forward, he pressed a button and the
hatch to his quarters slid open. Janice was standing there with a concerned
look upon her face.

“How are you
doing, Hedon?” she asked as she stepped inside and the hatch slid shut behind
her. She knew that Hedon hated the loss of life in the battles, though he knew
they were necessary.

“We lost
another twenty two hundred fleet personnel in the battle today,” he spoke with
little emotion in his voice.

“We’re at
war,” Janice said, approaching Hedon. “If we don’t win this, the Hocklyns and
AIs will wipe us out; you know that.”

Hedon leaned
back and focused his eyes on Janice. Then he let out a heavy sigh. “I know,” he
said softly. “But every one of those men and women that just died has a family
somewhere. Will they understand the need for their sons or daughters'
sacrifice?”

Janice came
around the desk and placed her hands upon Hedon’s shoulders. “I suspect that
most will,” she responded gently. “There will be the normal grieving and they
will blame the AIs and the Hocklyns for their loved one's loss, not you.”

“I suppose
you’re right,” replied Hedon, turning his chair around and taking Janice’s
hands. “I will just be glad when all of this is over and the dying comes to a
stop.”

“That’s why
you’re the Fleet Admiral,” Janice spoke, her eyes looking fondly at Hedon. “You
can make that happen and someday return to Maken to rebuild that cabin by the
lake.”

Hedon closed
his eyes briefly, thinking of Taylor and Lendle. He knew they would have liked
the idea of him someday returning to that pristine vacation hideaway. He just
needed to defeat the AIs and the Hocklyns first.

Admiral Jeremy
Strong and Rear Admiral Susan Marks were standing in one of the large ship
construction bays inside New Tellus Station. Inside the bay was a partially
constructed battleship. Jeremy had recently been promoted to the rank of full
admiral.

“That’s a big
damn ship!” Susan said as she looked at the myriad of workers swarming over the
construction site. There were even a large number of the spider like construction
robots from Ceres scrambling over the ship’s frame.

“I wonder who’s
going to get it?” Jeremy spoke as he watched the mad pace of construction.

“It’s yours, Admiral
Strong,” spoke Fleet Admiral Johnson from just behind them as she walked up and
smiled at the two young admirals. “We just need to decide upon a name.”

“Mine?” Jeremy
said feeling flabbergasted.

“After what
you did at Careth and keeping the Carethians safe for so long, you deserve it.”

“A
battleship,” Susan said grinning and looking over at Jeremy. “So, what are you
going to name it?”

“The Avenger,”
replied Jeremy with conviction as the knowledge that this ship was going to be
his began to sink in. “I think the Avenger deserves to become a battleship.”

“We can retire
your former flagship,” Karla suggested with a nod. “We can reassign her to duty
at Ceres. I think that will be fitting for the ship.”

“How soon
before the battleship's done?” Jeremy asked. He had a strong suspicion he
wouldn’t be going back to Careth until it was completed.

“Not as long
as you'd think,” Karla replied as her eyes shifted to the massive framework
surrounding the new ship. “The construction robots really speed up the building
process. It should be ready for initial space trials in four months.”

“Four months!”
Jeremy exclaimed his eyes growing wide. That was much sooner than he'd
expected.

“Yes, four
months,” replied Karla with a smile on her face. “We’re also building a new
battleship for Admiral Sheen as well as one for your Carethian friend,
Grayseth. Most of the people in the Federation feel uneasy with the
construction robots, but we are using them here and at Ceres. They are also
beginning to use them at the big shipyards over Earth and the Moon to help
speed up construction.

“Grayseth
wants to build a war fleet,” responded Jeremy, recalling the long conversations
in which the bear indicated he wanted to build a fleet to attack the Hocklyns.
“He wants to join us in our war against the Hocklyns and the AIs.”

“Yes, that’s
what I understand,” Karla replied, pleased at the Carethians wanting to take a
more active role in the war. “We have already arranged to send them nearly a
thousand of the construction robots to use in building their new shipyard. If
things go as planned, they'll begin building their first true warships in six
more months.”

“The
Carethians will make good allies for the Federation,” Susan added, folding her
arms across her breasts. “They are excellent fighters and their pilots are as
good as their Federation counterparts.”

“They’re the
type of allies the Federation needs,” Karla responded. It was one of the
reasons that President Kincaid and the Federation Senate had agreed to build
the battleship for Grayseth.

“What are the
plans for our fleets?” asked Jeremy, curiously. Both he and Susan had been wondering
how powerful a force they'd be allowed to take back to Careth.

“There will be
one Fourth Fleet,” Karla replied as she turned to face the two. “It will
consist of a battle task force as well as a carrier task force. Jeremy, you
will have overall command of the fleet with Susan as your second. It will be
quite large; possibly the most powerful fleet we have built to date. All the
new construction is going toward Fourth Fleet and the new Second Fleet. Other
ships will be sent to Fleet Admiral Streth as well as Admiral Telleck.”

“Then the
Federation Senate has agreed to fight the Hocklyns in their own territory?”
Susan asked. She knew that the Senate had been debating just how many ships
should be committed to this operation.

“Yes, as well
as our allies,” replied Karla, recalling her most recent conversation with
President Kincaid. “The Kessels and the Darvonians are both building as many
ships as possible to add to the war effort. They know how lucky we were to
survive here at New Tellus. If not for the Altons intervening, the system would
have fallen.”

“Will that
leave enough ships to defend the Federation from attack?” asked Jeremy,
concerned. He didn’t trust the AIs at all. It would be just like them to mount
another attack against the Federation.

“Yes, we have
nearly finished bringing the inactive reserve back into service,” responded Karla,
recalling all the headaches bringing the older ships back up to battle
readiness had been. “We have sufficient ships to stop any Hocklyn or AI attack
against the Federation or our allies. The Altons also have ships they've
assigned to our defense. If we’re going to win this war, we must take the fight
to the Hocklyns and the AIs.”