The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril Read online

  The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril

  (The Star Cross, Book 3)

  By

  Raymond L. Weil

  USA Today Best Selling Author

  Books in The Star Cross Series

  The Star Cross (Book 1)

  The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (Book 2)

  The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril (Book 3)

  Website: http://raymondlweil.com/

  Copyright © January 2017 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

  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

  Epilogue

  The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril

  Chapter One

  For six months now the black fleets had been rampaging through Enlightened World space, targeting the smaller colonies guarded by the Protector Worlds, defeating defending fleet after fleet. Already several hundred billion Enlightened World inhabitants were rumored as having been harvested by the deadly beams of the Destroyers of Worlds’ motherships.

  Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell was determined not to allow that to happen here, as he studied the tactical display in front of him with deep concern. A Destroyers of Worlds’ fleet was inbound toward Bascom Six, which his homeworld orbited. Bascom was a K-type star and Bascom Six a large gas giant. Around it circled a series of moons, both large and small. Two of those moons were planet-sized, inhabited, and the center of Bascom civilization. The Bascoms had spread out over twenty star systems with major bases and scientific outposts in sixty others. Nearly four hundred years ago they had reached Protector World status.

  “Forty minutes until they drop from hyperspace,” Subcommander Orphren reported as he eyed the red threat icons on the tactical display. “All our outlying fleets have been recalled, but most will not arrive before the enemy.”

  The Lakiams had furnished the Bascoms with the means to detect the black ships in hyperspace. The black ships’ hyperdrives gave off a specific radiation signature, which was possible to detect.

  Admiral Lorell turned toward Subcommander Orphren. The Bascoms were of feline descent. Their eyes resembled a cat’s, and they had a thin layer of fur covering their body. Their hands possessed retractable claws, which could be extended in battle. Unlike the Visth, they had not totally given up their aggressive ways. “We are a Protector World. Too many of our fleets have been sent to defend those Enlightened Worlds and colonies under our protection. Now we face the very enemy we had hoped to defend them from.”

  Subcommander Orphren narrowed his eyes. “We have no reports of the Destroyers of Worlds attacking a Protector World before. Why would they do this and risk serious damage to their fleet?”

  Admiral Lorell raised his right hand, touching the long whiskers on his face. “I believe it’s obvious. If they destroy our fleets here and harvest our worlds, then all the Enlightened Worlds we’re responsible for will become easy targets.”

  -

  Subcommander Orphren’s gaze shifted to the numerous large viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center. He studied them for a long moment. Several Class One Orbital Defense Platforms were visible as well as one of the large Class One Command and Control Stations. In addition, numerous small defensive satellites, armed with dual energy beams, circled both inhabited worlds. In the past, these defenses alone would have been sufficient to thwart any attack against either of the twin moons. Now, with the advent of the Destroyers of Worlds, even these powerful defenses might not be enough.

  Subcommander Orphren’s expression didn’t reveal his deep concern regarding the coming battle. Their fleet had none of the dark matter hypermissiles, such as the Lakiams possessed. However, the Bascoms did have numerous antimatter hypermissiles of the two-hundred-megaton range. From the reports he’d read of several hard-fought battles against Destroyers of Worlds’ fleets, sufficient antimatter missiles targeted on one small section of a black ship’s energy screen could cause a momentary weakness. The home fleet would have the advantage in numbers as well as the powerful defenses of the two moons orbiting the gas giant. Every missile launcher was ready, and the missile storage bays were crammed with antimatter missiles.

  What frightened Subcommander Orphren most was that his family was on Debent, one of the two inhabited moons. His mate had only recently delivered two strong healthy cubs, giving Orphren five young ones. No way would he allow them to become food for the Destroyers of Worlds.

  -

  “Two of our fleets will reach us before the Destroyers of Worlds arrive,” the communications officer reported. “Admiral Dubal and Admiral Wythe will both get here a few minutes before the enemy.”

  Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell nodded his approval. The Bascom System held over twelve billion inhabitants. While most lived upon the two inhabited moons, a number of large asteroids had been hollowed out for additional living space. Also domed cities had been built on many of the other planets as well as on their moons. A robust mining industry encompassed the system. Asteroids, moons, and even some of the comets in the outer halo had mining operations ongoing.

  “What’s the current situation on all intrasystem traffic?” The Bascom System normally had hundreds of ships of all types moving about.

  “All ships capable of entering hyperspace are on their way to Andros,” answered Subcommander Orphren. Andros was the Bascoms’ largest colony world with over three billion inhabitants. “All nonhyperspace-capable ships are moving deeper into the system to avoid entanglement in any combat.”

  “What’s the situation on Debent and Glasht?” The two inhabited moons circled the massive gas giant, which gave off enough heat to help warm both worlds.

  “People are making their way into the deep shelters, and the government has relocated to the underground Command Center. Everyone who can’t make it to the shelters has been told to remain in their homes until the emergency is over.”

  Everything that could be done to protect the civilian population had been attended to. For months the military and civilian engineers had been building deep underground shelters, capable of protecting millions of the twin moons’ inhabitants. The Destroyers of Worlds’ deadly harvesting rays were believed incapable of reaching the people hidden in the shelters. All across the system, preparations were being undertaken. On the asteroids with ongoing mining operations, the crews were evacuated to the deepest levels. Emergency supplies had been stored in the lower levels just in case the Destroyers of Worlds put in an appearance. In the domed cities on the moons and planets, inhabitants were prepared to wait out the attack in underground bunkers.

  “Do we have the makeup of the incoming fleet?”

  “Yes, Fleet Admiral,” the sensor operator replied. “Latest sensor read
ings indicate 620 of their small spindle-shaped cruisers and two motherships.”

  “We’ll have them greatly outnumbered,” Subcommander Orphren said with obvious relief in his voice. “We’ll have a four-to-one advantage, plus the orbiting defenses.”

  “Assuming our other two fleets get here in time,” Fleet Admiral Lorell was quick to point out. “Sensors, have we detected Admiral Dubal’s and Admiral Wythe’s fleets?”

  “Yes, Fleet Admiral,” the sensor operator reported. “They are close and should exit hyperspace in twelve and sixteen minutes respectively.”

  Fleet Admiral Lorell spent several moments studying his fleet formation on the nearby tactical display. The fleet was positioned two million kilometers from the twin moons. He would meet the Destroyers of Worlds in open space, and, if the battle went against him, he would withdraw to the twin worlds to allow their powerful defensive grids to support his fleet. Each moon had twenty of the Class One Orbital Defense Platforms as well as one of the large Class One Command and Control Stations. In addition, hundreds of dual energy beam satellites were in orbit.

  Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell had his fleet aligned in a giant cylindrical formation with his battleships on the inside screened by the battlecruisers which made up the outer defenses. Bascom battleships were 1,200 meters in length and wedge-shaped. The battlecruisers were one thousand meters in length and of a narrower and slimmer wedge. The fleet’s primary weapons were force beams, energy projectors, and their powerful hyperspace antimatter missiles.

  Over the next twenty minutes, the two reinforcing fleets arrived and took up their positions in the massive formation. Once the combined fleet completely formed up, it moved farther away from the twin moons.

  Crews on all the ships and the orbiting defensive stations waited expectantly for the arrival of the Destroyers of Worlds. Only once had the deadly enemy been defeated; the Bascoms were hoping to repeat that success.

  -

  “All ships are in position and ready for combat,” reported Subcommander Orphren.

  He could see his home planet of Debent on one of the viewscreens. The world was blue-white and covered with large oceans. It was a beautiful world and one that someday would become an Enlightened World. He tried to spot his home city of Lanoor, near one of the deep blue oceans. Unfortunately a thick cloud layer covered the area. Letting out a long sigh, he returned his attention to the tactical display and the threatening red icons steadily drawing nearer.

  -

  “Eight minutes until black fleet dropout,” reported the sensor operator.

  All the Destroyers of Worlds’ ships were painted dark black, making them nearly invisible. They also deployed a sensor-dampening field, making their detection nearly impossible. However, the Lakiams had discovered the radiation signatures given off by the black ships’ hyperdrives as well as their sublight drives.

  “Battleships are to coordinate their missile strikes with their supporting battlecruisers,” ordered Fleet Admiral Lorell as he thought over his strategy. “From Andock and Lakiam reports, forty antimatter strikes—on a small area of the Destroyers of Worlds’ defensive energy screens—overloads them.”

  “I wonder what type of power systems the black ships use?” commented Subcommander Orphren. “From the reports I’ve seen, those screens are unbelievable.”

  “If they are energy screens,” replied Fleet Admiral Lorell with a frown, “they absorb energy and seem to store it. The Andocks and Lakiams state, if we can rupture the energy absorption field, it will release all its stored-up energy. When that happens, the black ship beneath the shield is usually destroyed or at the very least heavily damaged.”

  “Four minutes until black fleet dropout,” reported the sensor operator.

  Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell looked about the Command Center of his flagship. He could sense the heightened anxiety in the room as the crew prepared for battle.

  After hearing of the defeats of other Protector World fleets, the Bascoms had readjusted their defensive strategy. Realizing the black fleets could not be stopped without committing a major portion of their fleet, the Bascoms had pulled back large formations from some of the Enlightened Worlds they were supposed to defend. Only those close to the Bascom home worlds were still protected by large fleets. This had resulted in complaints from the affected Enlightened Worlds, which Bascom chose to ignore.

  “Two minutes until black fleet dropout,” reported the sensor operator.

  “All ships, prepare to fire,” ordered Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell over the ship-to-ship comm. He leaned forward in his command chair, keeping a sharp eye on the viewscreens as well as on the nearby tactical display. The two minutes passed, and red threat icons suddenly blossomed on the tactical display.

  “Contacts!” called out the sensor operator excitedly. “Range is four million kilometers.”

  Immediately the alarm klaxons sounded, and red lights flashed.

  “Turn off those lights and alarms,” ordered Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell with a grimace. “We know they’re here. Let’s close the distance and not give them time to force us to react to them. I want to dictate the tone of this battle.” The hair on his neck stood up, and the adrenaline flowed. He had the black fleet outnumbered. Time to move in for the kill.

  -

  Vorn Prince Brollen gazed thoughtfully at the ship’s primary viewscreen, showing a magnified view of the waiting enemy fleet. Prince Brollen stood upright, having a basic humanoid form with two legs and two arms. That was where the resemblance ended. Prince Brollen looked like a cross between a humanoid and a wasp. His head was covered with very short hair and was triangular in shape with two antennae. Brollen’s eyes were multifaceted and could see in several different light wavelengths. He had small wasplike wings that normally stayed folded on his back. Prince Brollen’s hands consisted of seven thin digits to manipulate equipment. But the most shocking aspect was that he was telepathic, as were all Vorn.

  The prey comes for us, sent Military Commander Fraymot.

  It is as expected, replied Prince Brollen, turning toward his new military commander. His former military commander had been deleted after his failure in the battle with food species 236.

  All ships have formed up around the Reaper and the Scythe, reported the sensor operator. The prey move toward us at a low speed.

  The fleet is yours, sent Prince Brollen to Military Commander Fraymot.

  Fraymot stepped forward. All ships, proceed forward at 10 percent sublight. We will let the prey come to meet us.

  Vorn could communicate telepathically over short distances in space, allowing a Vorn military commander to speak instantly with any or all of the ships in his fleet. It allowed for very efficient battle maneuvers as ships could move together as one.

  -

  In space, the 620 spindle-shaped cruisers moved toward the enemy fleet. The Vorn were in a globular formation with the two motherships in the center where they would be protected.

  -

  Grand Fleet Admiral Lorell watched the enemy uneasily. They seemed so sure of themselves. “Are we certain no other black fleet formations are showing on our sensors?” He didn’t like what was seeing in the tactical display. The Destroyers of Worlds had never made such a tactical error before.

  “Long-range sensors are clear,” Subcommander Orphren replied as he walked over and gazed at the sensors set to detect Destroyers of Worlds’ ships in hyperspace. “There is only the one fleet.”

  Fleet Admiral Lorell still couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. Rising from his command chair, he stepped over to one of the tactical displays, searching for any sign that something was amiss. “I don’t understand this. They must know—with our fleet and the defenses of the twin moons—that their fleet cannot defeat us.”

  “They have never attacked a Protector World before,” Subcommander Orphren pointed out. “They may not be aware of our strength.”

  “I don’t buy that,” Fleet Admiral Lorell replied as he returned to his command
chair with a worried frown on his face. “They have been at this far too long to make such a mistake. No, we’re overlooking something.”

  Subcommander Orphren studied the sensors again, shaking his head. “I just don’t see it.”

  “Twelve minutes until engagement range,” reported the sensor operator.

  -

  The massive cylindrical shape of the Bascoms’ fleet and the compact defensive globe of the black fleet moved steadily closer. The Bascoms were confident their superior numbers would force the black fleet to withdraw before they reached the twin moons. However, the black fleet did not intend to lose this battle. They had learned their lesson in the battle with food species 236.

  -

  We are nearly in engagement range, sent Military Commander Fraymot.

  Our other fleets?

  Undetected. There is no evidence this food species has noticed their presence.

  This satisfied Prince Brollen. Since the debacle with food species 236, modifying the hyperdrives on their ships had been necessary. The scientist caste had proclaimed that food species 236 had been tracking the Vorn fleet through a specific radiation signature given off by the drives. A masking field had been developed to hide the radiation signature, making the fleets once more undetectable. Prince Brollen had left the masking field off his fleet so the food species in this system would believe they had superior numbers and a chance of defeating the Vorn ships. It also forced them to focus on his fleet and to not look for others they might not detect.

  Our fleets are in position, sent Military Commander Fraymot. They have not been detected.

  Prince Brollen nodded. Commence the attack!

  -

  On board the Bascom flagship, alarms sounded, and red warning lights flashed. Weapons fire came from all around the fleet.

  “Where’s that attack coming from?” demanded Fleet Admiral Lorell, his eyes narrowing sharply. He had been correct in suspecting something was amiss. “Use our viewscreens to search for additional enemy ships.” He suspected that somehow the Destroyers of Worlds had snuck other ships into the system.