Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) Read online

  The Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection

  (The Galactic Empire Wars Series, Book 5)

  By

  Raymond L. Weil

  USA Today Best Selling Author

  Books in The Galactic Empire Wars Series

  The Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (Book 1)

  The Galactic Empire Wars: Emergence (Book 2)

  The Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (Book 3)

  The Galactic Empire Wars: The Alliance (Book 4)

  The Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (Book 5)

  Website: http://raymondlweil.com/

  Highly recommended books by other Amazon authors.

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  The Synchronicity War Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr http://amzn.com/B00EZB3WJQ

  Excelsior by Jasper T. Scott http://smarturl.it/excelsior

  Copyright © March 2016 by Raymond L. Weil

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Design by Humblenations.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Insurrection

  A Galactic Empire Wars Novel

  Chapter One

  Supreme Military Overlord Harmock gazed at the large viewscreen in front of him, which showed the burning remains of a Hytalian battlecruiser. Harmock was a member of the Zaltule clan of the Kleese race. He was the leader of a warrior caste that had been bred to engage in war and expand the Kleese Empire across the galaxy. When their last great enemy had been defeated, the Zaltule had been placed in deep sleep. For thousands of years, they had slept only to be awakened when it had been discovered their long sleep was becoming dangerous. The Zaltule were dying in the sleep chambers, so Supreme Overlord Xatul had made the decision to awaken them before the warrior caste was lost.

  The Kleese resembled giant arachnids but had a large hair covered upper body that rose up into the air with a large triangular shaped head and strange looking multifaceted eyes. Two nearly black arms extended from the upper chest ending in what looked to be hands with seven long, thin digits. The Kleese were large with bodies and six legs reaching nearly eight feet in width and six feet in height.

  “Hytalian flagship has been destroyed,” confirmed Minor Overlord Gareth, Harmock’s second in command. “Their remaining fleet is retreating toward their world.”

  The Kleese, for the most part, were devoid of most human emotions such as empathy, love, or pity. Instead, they focused on serving their clan and the Kleese Empire and the colder more harsh emotions that allowed them to rule with contempt all of the lower races of their empire.

  “What’s the status of their remaining vessels?” demanded Harmock.

  “One hundred and eighteen battlecruisers still remain as well as the defense grid above the planet,” reported Jalridd from his sensor console.

  Harmock stamped his feet upon the Command Pedestal as he considered his fleet’s next move. He had twelve hundred updated Zaltule battlecruisers. The ships were over three kilometers across and one thousand meters thick. Their hulls were covered in weapons emplacements with pulse fusion batteries and energy turrets in abundance. Hundreds of small hatches hid sublight antimatter missiles ready to be launched at a moment’s notice. Unlike the larger Kleese exploration ships, the battlecruisers were designed for war, and there were no large training facilities for conscripts or holding areas inside the ships. The ships were filled with power systems and narrow corridors that would make it nearly impossible for a conscript in a battlesuit to traverse. These ships were designed for fleet battles and planetary bombardment. They were capable of traveling at one hundred twenty light-years per day in Fold Space.

  “Move us in toward the planet,” ordered Harmock. “Contact the Hytalian ruling council and explain to them that if they agree to surrender, we will spare their world. They must swear allegiance to the Kleese Empire and wear the collars of obedience. If they refuse our demands, we will bombard their planet with antimatter missiles.”

  “I will have the message sent,” replied Gareth, fully in agreement with the Military Overlord’s pronouncement. The Kleese were the dominant species in the galaxy and all others were subservient. The remainder existed only to serve the Kleese race.

  -

  Harmock watched from the Command Pedestal as his fleet moved toward the Hytalians’ home planet. The Hytalians were a very advanced race, and Harmock was determined to see to it they didn’t join the Human led Alliance that had become so troublesome. The Humans had even attacked the Kleese home system, destroying a Zaltule shipyard, heavily damaging another, and demolishing the Zaltule deep sleep chambers on the icy moon where four Queens had remained in suspension. The Queens had died in their sleep. This was the first time in the recorded history of the Kleese that a Queen had been killed by another species. Not only that, a Human battlecruiser had managed to attack and destroy the heart of the Kleese capital city, killing over six million. Never in the long history of the Kleese Empire had another race dared such sacrilege.

  For over a year Harmock had been forced to halt his war of expansion against the nonaligned worlds. He had consolidated his forces and ensured the other Kleese worlds were well protected from future attacks. Former Supreme Overlord Xatul had also vanished with a major portion of the Kleese exploration fleet as well as two of the valuable Kleese trading stations. A search had been made but as of yet there had been no indication of where Xatul had fled. When he was found, Harmock intended to use the Zaltule warfleet to eliminate the former Supreme Overlord as it had been deemed he was unfit to rule the Kleese Empire. The Zaltule were now in charge, and all who refused to submit were being quickly eliminated.

  “The Hytalians are refusing to surrender,” Minor Overlord Gareth reported in a harsh voice, his eyes focusing on the Supreme Military Leader. “They dare to defy us!”

  “Perhaps they hope an Alliance fleet will arrive in time to save them,” spoke Salten, the weapons officer.

  Harmock turned to glare at Salten with angry red flashing in his multifaceted eyes. “We’re too far away from the Human led Alliance,” he proclaimed in a commanding voice. “The Humans cannot reach the Hytalians in time. We’ll engage the Hytalian fleet and destroy it as well as all of their orbital works. When that has been accomplished, we’ll allow them one more chance to surrender before we destroy their world.”

  -

  The black ships of the Zaltule fleet rapidly approached the Hytalians’ planet. The defending fleet fell back into the planet’s powerful defensive grid hoping to add its firepower to the
ir own. On the surface of the planet, sirens were sounding, sending the populace scurrying to find shelter. In the council chambers of the Hytalian Senate, accusations were flying over the failure of their fleet to defend them.

  “We should have joined the Human Alliance!” yelled one of the senators standing up to his full seven feet height and shaking his thin hand accusingly at the chairman of the council. “When the Lanolthians came and offered us a seat in the Alliance, we should have accepted!”

  “War!” challenged another senator, who was much older and nearing the end of his long life. “We are a peaceful culture; we are not warriors! We could not in good faith join the Alliance.”

  “Look above us!” the first senator said in a shrill voice. “The Zaltule have brought the war to us!”

  “But the neutrality agreement,” cried out the older senator, shaking his head in denial. “The Kleese promised to obey it; that’s why we signed it to begin with.”

  “The Zaltule are not the Kleese we signed the agreement with,” replied another senator, rising to his feet. “The Zaltule have been violating the agreements since they awakened. The only nonaligned worlds that remain free are those few who have joined the Alliance. By us not agreeing to join, we signed our own death warrants!”

  A high-ranking military officer opened the doors to the council chamber and stood gazing at the assembled senators. “The Zaltule ships are nearing our world; the surviving admiral of our fleet does not feel he can prevent them from bombarding the surface of our planet. The Zaltule are demanding we surrender and swear obedience to their empire.”

  “Bah!” one of the younger senators said, rising up and shaking his head. “They will place their obedience collars around our necks, and we will be slaves from then on. Our fleet must fight!”

  The older senator pointed his shaking fingers toward the other senators. “We must surrender; war is not our way.”

  “Surely our defense grid will protect us,” the original senator to speak said. “It’s very powerful, and we built it for just this type of emergency. Who is our surviving admiral?” They had all been informed the commanding fleet admiral had died along with his flagship in the initial attack.

  “Admiral Aniled has taken over command,” the military officer replied.

  “A good admiral,” commented the chief councilor, rising to his feet. “What are our chances of stopping this attack? Can we prevail?”

  “I fear not,” the military officer answered with sadness in his eyes. “We did not design the defense grid to stop a fleet of this size and power.”

  “Nevertheless,” the chief councilor said, folding his arms across his chest. “We will not reply to the Zaltule until we know how our fleet and the defensive grid fare.”

  “Then we all may die,” replied the military officer in a calm voice.

  “Then we die,” the chief councilor answered, determined to give the fleet and the defensive grid the opportunity to save the planet. The other alternative was too horrific to even contemplate.

  -

  In orbit above the planet, the admiral in charge of the surviving ships of the Hytalian fleet prepared to engage the enemy. His one hundred and eighteen battlecruisers had fallen back to the powerful defensive grid that surrounded the planet. Six hundred orbiting satellites armed with powerful dual energy cannons were focused on the inbound Zaltule fleet awaiting the command to fire.

  “We are about to die,” said Admiral Aniled to his second in command as he listened to his orders from the council over his comm unit. “The council refuses to surrender.”

  “It will be an honorable death. Death in battle is much more preferable than wearing a Kleese obedience collar.”

  “You are right, my friend,” responded Admiral Aniled, taking a deep fortifying breath. “Order the fleet to prepare for combat.”

  -

  Supreme Military Overlord Harmock felt annoyance over the continued refusal of the Hytalians to surrender their world. In the past few months, many nonaligned worlds had done the same. All had been conquered and brought fully into the fold of the Kleese Empire.

  “Enemy fleet is within range,” reported Jalridd.

  “Destroy them,” ordered Harmock coldly. “Let none of their ships escape.” It still angered him that the Kleese Council of Overlords had granted so many advanced worlds autonomy through the use of the neutrality agreements. It had been necessary for his fleets to conquer them one by one.

  “Firing weapons,” said Salten as he activated the Warrior’s Fire’s weapons.

  -

  The space between the two fleets suddenly was filled with deadly energy and pulse fusion beams. The Hytalians’ beams were nearly comparable to the Zaltules’ energy weapons; however, the Zaltule had the more powerful pulse fusion beams as well as larger ships allowing them to bring more weapons to bear. The Zaltule energy screens were also more powerful as they had taken technology from numerous conquered nonaligned worlds to strengthen them.

  The Hytalian ships were pyramid shaped and one thousand meters in length. Bright white energy beams lanced out to strike the Zaltule shields. The beams struck and then held as all the power the Hytalians could bring to bear was applied in an attempt to penetrate the powerful screens. More ships brought their weapons to bear trying to bring the shields down in coordinated attacks. Suddenly a beam penetrated, blasting a deep hole in the side of one of the Zaltule battlecruisers. The massive ship seemed to shudder and then several more beams penetrated, raking the hull with deadly energy. A large section of the hull was laid open, damaging numerous energy conduits. The shield wavered, and the Hytalians used the opportunity to launch several sublight antimatter missiles. The two missiles flashed past the weakened energy screen and struck the damaged enemy vessel. Two brilliant fireballs formed and moments later, the Zaltule battlecruiser blew apart.

  However, the Zaltule were also firing. Energy beams, pulse fusion beams, and antimatter missiles were pummeling the Hytalian shields. The concentrated firepower from twelve hundred Zaltule warships was too much for the Hytalian fleet. Ship after ship saw their shields go down and then died in massive blasts of light as antimatter missiles sent them to oblivion.

  -

  Admiral Aniled held on to his command chair as his flagship shook violently from the enemy attack. “Report!” He knew the battle was going badly for his fleet.

  “Thirty-seven of our ships have been destroyed, numerous others are reporting heavy damage,” his second in command reported.

  “The Zaltule?”

  “Four of their ships have been destroyed and seven or eight others have been damaged.”

  “Our defense grid?”

  “It’s firing, but having little effect on the Zaltule battlecruisers. The defense grids’ energy cannons just aren’t powerful enough.”

  Admiral Aniled nodded, knowing the situation was getting desperate. On the main viewscreen, he could see one of his battlecruisers. Several Zaltule energy beams penetrated its shield, carving huge glowing rents into the side of the vessel. Then a pulse fusion beam struck, sending large sections of the hull drifting away into space. A Zaltule antimatter missile slammed into the bow of the ship and the vessel vanished in a fiery explosion.

  Admiral Aniled felt his flagship shake violently, and warning alarms began sounding. Several consoles exploded into flames, sending sparks flying across the Command Center. The fires were hurriedly put out, but the smoke caused by the damage was only slowly clearing. Aniled felt his eyes watering and he began coughing. “Damage report!”

  “Sublight drive is out, energy screen is down to 40 percent, the secondary fusion reactor is offline, and we have numerous compartments open to space,” replied his second officer. “We were hit by an antimatter missile that exploded just inside our energy shield. A little closer and we wouldn’t be here.”

  “Have the defense grid switch their targeting to just a few of the Zaltule warships. Perhaps that way they can overload their energy shields.”

 
“We’re not going to last much longer,” the second officer commented as he carried out the admiral’s orders. “We’re losing ships too quickly.”

  A few more moments passed as Admiral Aniled kept a grim watch on the tactical display and the ship’s viewscreens. All around the flagship Hytalian ships were dying. Ship after ship was blown apart in what seemed like a wave of systematic destruction.

  “Defense grid has been retasked and is firing,” reported the second officer.

  -

  The satellites in the defense grid shifted their targeting to just four Zaltule battlecruisers. Over one hundred energy beams flashed out and struck each ship. They were joined by the more powerful beams of the surviving Hytalian warships and after just a few moments, the Zaltule energy screens flickered, and brief openings began to appear. The entire bottom section of a Zaltule battlecruiser exploded, and massive pieces of glowing debris began hurtling away from the stricken vessel. Moments later four sublight antimatter missiles streaked in, and four miniature suns appeared. When the fireballs died away, all that remained of the Zaltule ship was a spreading debris field of glowing molten metal.

  -

  Supreme Military Overlord Harmock gazed icily at the large viewscreen as another Zaltule battlecruiser vanished in an antimatter fireball. “Target the defensive satellites,” he ordered. “I want every Hytalian space construction annihilated.”

  “Orders have been sent,” Minor Overlord Gareth responded. “Switching fire of all secondary batteries to defensive satellites and other space structures. There are three large space stations in orbit. Should we destroy them as well?”

  “Yes,” replied Harmock. His cold, unblinking eyes moved to the weapons officer. “I don’t want there to be any signs the Hytalians ever ventured into space.”

  On the main viewscreen, numerous explosions began erupting around the planet in lower orbit. Each explosion marked the death of an orbiting defense satellite. Three massive blasts of light in higher orbit signified the death of the three space stations. Harmock nodded his triangular shaped head satisfied at the destruction. There was always a penalty for resisting the Kleese.