The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger: A Lost Fleet Novel Read online

  “It feels good to be going back out again,” said Ariel, who was standing slightly behind Jeremy and to his left. This was her customary position in the Command Center. She was also using her actual AI body the Originator AIs had built for her.

  “We’re clear,” reported Kevin. “Other ships are exiting the other spacedocks.”

  Jeremy nodded. Grayseth was leading a fleet of ten warships and Jeremy was leading a fleet comprising thirty ships. All were the same size as the Avenger. In this coming war with the Anti-Life, smaller ships would be inconsequential due to the forces being used.

  “Accelerator Ring is ready to activate,” reported Aaliss.

  “Activate it,” ordered Jeremy, his eyes focused on the large ring being displayed on the viewscreen. “Lieutenant Striker, link the two fleets to the Avenger’s nav computer. Take us through the vortex.”

  On the main screen, the huge vortex ring activated creating a dark blue spatial vortex. The two fleets were traveling to the Dyson Sphere closest to Anti-Life space. Once there, Jeremy intended to take a week to work with the fleets and then use their intergalactic drives to travel to a galaxy Bartoll and the other surviving Originators believed was under Anti-Life control.

  “Entering the vortex,” called out Lieutenant Striker.

  Moments later, Jeremy felt the familiar gut-wrenching sensation as the Avenger made the jump into intergalactic hyperspace.

  “All systems operating normally,” reported Ariel smiling. “We’re on our way.”

  Jeremy nodded. It was time to go find out just how big a threat the Anti-Life were.

  Chapter Seven

  The Distant Horizon and her fleet dropped out of hyperspace in the Ornellia System. They were instantly challenged by Federation forces patrolling around the planet.

  “Send our ship IDs,” ordered Kathryn, settling back in her command chair.

  “We have a flight of Talon fighters on rapid approach,” reported Captain Reynolds.

  “Giving us the once over,” Commented Commander Grissim approvingly.

  “How many ships does Admiral Jackson have?” asked Major Weir, the tactical officer.

  “Many of his ships have been recalled to the Communications and Transport Hub where their crews are being retrained to handle our new ships,” answered Commander Grissim. “However, he still has a pretty powerful fleet. All of the surviving AI warspheres and the fifteen-hundred-meter battle spheres are here.”

  “ZED’s in charge of all the AIs now,” added Kathryn. “From the last report, there are 138 warspheres and 12 battle spheres remaining.” In some ways it was sad the AIs would someday all be gone. However, for many who remembered the evil they had done in the home galaxy that day couldn’t come soon enough. Perhaps it was best ZED had elected to help the Ornellians and the fight against the Conqueror Drones. It gave the AIs a worthy cause to dedicate themselves to.

  “They don’t have any way to create new AIs,” added Andram, recalling the sadness ZED had shown when the AI realized there would be no more of its kind. “The Master Codex on Borton was destroyed in the battle with the Simulins. ZED said it’s just as well. ZED believes their AI civilization had no viable future. For the rest of their days they have elected to defend Ornellia and help destroy the Conqueror Drones that infest the Ornellian worlds and so many others.”

  “What about Admiral Jackson. Did any of his fleet remain?”

  “Some,” answered Commander Grissim. “He has six Human battleships, fourteen battlecarriers, and fifteen strikecruisers. There are also six Alton battleships helping to clear away the radiation and pollutants in Ornellia’s atmosphere.”

  “He’s using the battlecarriers to launch strikes against Conqueror Drones on the other Ornellian worlds,” added Kathryn. “They clear out an area and land Marines and Ornellian soldiers. Survivors are brought to the safe zones and then to Ornellia using the colony ships we provided them.”

  “The planet has nearly been cleared of radiation,” reported Clarissa, who was studying the sensor scans of the planet. “That’s why the Alton battleships are still here. They’ve been removing the radiation from the destroyed cities.”

  “We’ve been given permission to go into orbit,” reported Captain Travers.

  “Sible, put us into orbit two thousand kilometers above the planet,” ordered Kathryn. On the tactical display were numerous green icons orbiting the planet including one large one which was the new shipyard being constructed. A number of fleet repair ships were still in the system and were helping to build the new station as well as assist the Ornellians.

  She wondered how Dax was doing. Dax was an Ornellian she had met when she first came to Ornellia. He had been in charge of a small shelter where a number of Ornellians were trying to hide from thousands of invading Conqueror Drones. Kathryn had used airstrikes to destroy the drones and promised Dax that someday she would return. Unfortunately, events got in the way and Admiral Jackson had been the one to return and save Ornellia from the vengeful Simulins.

  “How long will we be staying here?” asked Camlin.

  “I know you’re anxious to begin the search,” Kathryn said. “But I want to visit with Admiral Jackson and perhaps go down to the surface of the planet. We’ll only stay two days and then we can begin our search for the missing Originators. We’ll be using Ornellia as the center of our operations.”

  “I have been working out a set of search parameters,” reported Sible. “Lieutenant Strong has been assisting. It should allow us to cover the most likely locations in only a matter of a few months.”

  “We assumed the Simulins, using their probes, have covered the central regions of the Triangulum Galaxy,” added Kelsey. “This will allow us to cover the rest of the galaxy in a little over eight weeks.”

  Kathryn nodded. “You’re assuming the missing Originators are hiding where they can easily be found. I have a strong suspicion if that were true they already would have.”

  “But we know what alloys to search for,” Sible said. “Our new sensors can scan clear to the center of a planet or even a star. Even if they are well hidden we should be able to find them.”

  “We have twelve ships,” Kathryn said. “Set the search up for four groups of three. While the Simulins might no longer be a threat, we don’t know what we may find out there.”

  Kathryn’s eyes shifted to the large viewscreen showing Ornellia. She smiled as she saw the large green areas around the mountains. On her last visit those had been very small as the planet had been dying. Now that had been reversed. The atmosphere was clearer, almost back to normal. The Altons had performed miracles restoring the fragile ecology of the planet.

  “It is amazing what your people have done here,” Camlin said as she gazed at the viewscreen. “Sometimes I forget you come from a technological civilization. While not nearly as advanced as the Originators, it is still one to be reckoned with.”

  “Captain Reynolds, contact Admiral Jackson and request a meeting. Once I’ve met with the admiral I intend to go down to the surface.”

  Kathryn was anxious to go and see the world they had saved from the Simulins.

  -

  The next day Kathryn was in a shuttle descending toward the city of Dorman, now the new capital of Ornellia. Admiral Jackson was in the seat next to her. Outside the window, she noticed a large Indomitable Class battlestation.

  “How many of those were you able to salvage from Gaia?” She knew most of the battlestations in orbit had been destroyed in the battle.

  “Only two,” replied Jackson. “We were able to recover thirty-one of the Type Two stations. We’ve also built a few more. We currently have the two Indomitable stations, sixty Type Two battlestations, and over twelve hundred particle beam satellites in orbit.”

  “That’s a pretty powerful defensive grid,” said Kathryn impressed.

  “Hopefully we’ll never need it,” Jackson replied. “With the Simulin fleets destroyed we should have nothing to fear in this galaxy.”

&nbs
p; Kathryn didn’t say anything about the Anti-Life. The Triangulum Galaxy, as well as the Milky Way, were located more in the center of Originator controlled space. It was doubtful if any Anti-Life ships would ever show up here, or if they did, it would be far in the future.

  -

  On the surface of Ornellia, Dax Matol and Les Ketene waited impatiently at the spaceport for Admiral Jackson’s shuttle to set down.

  “It’s a great day,” Dax said happily. “Rear Admiral Barnes is returning.”

  “It’s been nearly a year since she was here last,” Les replied. “A lot has changed.”

  “We’ve located a lot of survivors, both on Ornellia and our other planets,” responded Dax. “I spoke to Oman Lantoll yesterday, and the population of Ornellia is nearing five million. He believes there are still at least that many survivors on our other planets. More are being found every day. Admiral Santeld has assigned task groups with two Human battlecarriers to each of our worlds. Daily missions are being launched destroying the Conqueror Drones. Someday soon all of our planets will be free of the metal monstrosities.”

  “Look, there’s the shuttle,” said Les excitedly, pointing upward.

  -

  The shuttle landed and Kathryn and Admiral Jackson stepped out. They were instantly greeted by Dax and Les.

  “It’s good to be on Ornellia again,” said Kathryn, smiling at the two Ornellians. “I can see that a lot of progress has been made.”

  “Thanks to your people,” said Dax. “Your fleet repair ships have helped us to get our factories running again and our people now have hope for a future.”

  A loud noise above them drew their attention. Looking up Kathryn saw several large shuttles inbound.

  “Almost every day one of your colony ships returns with survivors from our other worlds,” explained Dax. “Many more survived than we had believed possible. We’ve also eliminated many of the Conqueror Drones so far fewer of our people are dying every day. In time they all will be rescued.”

  “Admiral Santeld has combat operations ongoing on all of Ornellia’s colony worlds,” added Admiral Jackson. “He’s using the fighters and bombers from our battlecarriers to drive the Conqueror Drones away from all regions where survivors may be located. In addition we’re flying constant surveillance missions searching for survivors who may be hiding in shelters or even basements under buildings.”

  “We’re not going to be able to save everyone, but we’re finding more than we had hoped for,” said Les.

  “What about your evacuation fleet?” asked Kathryn.

  There had been some talk back at the Dyson Sphere about sending a ship out to see if they wanted to return to Ornellia. The evacuation fleet had no knowledge of the defeat of the Simulins and was still traveling toward the edge of the galaxy where they would enter intergalactic space and go on to a small star cluster.

  “Our surviving council member, Oman Lantoll, and I discussed that several weeks ago,” replied Dax. “We both feel they should be given the option to return if they wish. Our biggest concern is how far away they are. Even if they turned around now it would take them well over a year to return to us.”

  “I think we have a solution for that,” replied Kathryn with a smile. “We have the technology to bring your evacuation fleet back in a matter of weeks once we find them.”

  “Weeks!” uttered Les in shock. “I knew your vessels were fast, but that’s unbelievable.”

  Kathryn stood thinking for a minute. “We’re going to be searching for a missing ship over the next few months. I’ll make it a point to find your evacuation fleet and see what they want to do. If they decide to come back, I’ll make the necessary arrangements.” Kathryn thought explaining they were hunting for a lost ship would be far easier than telling them about the missing Originators.

  Dax had a pleased look on his face. “That would be fantastic. Many of our leading scientists and technicians are on board that fleet. I hope you find your missing vessel.”

  “There are also a number of our warships with the fleet as well,” said Les. “It would give Admiral Santeld a powerful fleet. One that could protect Ornellia in the future.”

  “I’ll inform council member Oman Lantoll,” said Dax. “He will be excited to hear what you’ve told us.”

  Kathryn looked around the busy spaceport. “Why don’t the two of you take Admiral Jackson and I on a tour and show us what’s been done since I was here last?”

  “You’ll be surprised,” Dax said with a big grin. “We’ve opened up a number of our smaller cities which weren’t damaged during the Simulin attack. We’ve destroyed nearly all of the Conqueror Drones dropped on the planet.”

  “We’re still flying strike missions,” added Admiral Jackson. “Anytime we receive reports of possible Conqueror Drones we send in Marines and Ornellian Soldiers to flush them out. In each case we have fighters and bombers circling ready to blow them apart.”

  “We find fewer every day,” Les said. “In another year we will have scoured every section of the planet, and hopefully that menace will be gone.”

  Kathryn let out a deep sigh. “Conqueror Drones are an abomination. The way they kill is a direct reflection of the heartlessness of the Simulins.”

  Admiral Jackson nodded. “Sometimes I’m not certain that Kazak didn’t have the right idea. Perhaps it would have been better to destroy all of their worlds in this galaxy.”

  Kathryn didn’t reply. She had often wondered the same thing, particularly after seeing how ruthless and barbaric the Conqueror Drones were.

  -

  For nearly half a day, Dax and Les showed Kathryn and Admiral Jackson all that had been accomplished on Ornellia. They even took a shuttle and flew across the planet seeing the other cities and fields, which were now alive with crops and animals. Livestock and other wild animals had been brought in from their other worlds. For some reason the Conquer Drones didn’t kill the animals on the planets, just the inhabitants. The radiation normally killed off all domestic and wildlife on a planet after a year or two. It took that long for the radiation to spread to every region of a planet. The animals had been brought from the relatively radiation free zones in distant agricultural regions or from around the mountains.

  They finally returned to Dorman where Kathryn held a brief meeting with Oman Lantoll, who wanted to see Kathryn after hearing she was down on the planet. He had expressed his own opinion that the evacuation fleet would want to return once they heard Ornellia was free once more.

  -

  After returning to the Distant Horizon, Kathryn felt very pleased with what she had seen on Ornellia. The planet was well on its way to making a full recovery from the Simulin attack and invasion of the Conqueror Drones. Now it was time to begin her mission. She would order her task group of the search fleet to head out in the direction the Ornellian evacuation fleet should be. They would run their search pattern for the missing Originators until they found the Ornellian fleet. She suspected they would be joyous upon hearing they could return home without fear.

  “Commander Zafron and Kazak are anxious to begin the mission,” Commander Grissim said almost as soon as Kathryn entered the Command Center. “One or the other has been on the comm nearly every hour wanting to know if you had returned.”

  “Well, I’m back now. Do we have the search parameters set up?”

  “Yes,” answered Sible. “We’ve also taken into account your desire to find the Ornellian refugee fleet. Our task group will be searching the area they’re most likely to be in.”

  “Maybe with a little luck we’ll find both the missing Originators and the Ornellian fleet,” added Clarissa.

  “Let’s hope so,” replied Kathryn. But she had a strong suspicion finding the missing Originators would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, except this haystack was the size of an entire galaxy with billions of stars.

  -

  Jeremy watched in satisfaction as his two fleets pummeled a large asteroid, causing it to break up into thou
sands of pieces. They were using the gravitonic cannons and antimatter projectors of the two fleets to destroy it. The gravitonic cannons projected intense gravity waves, which disrupted the molecular forces holding material objects together.

  “Asteroid has been obliterated,” reported Major Preston from Tactical.

  “The strength of these weapons is unbelievable,” said Kevin, staring in disbelief at the shattered asteroid on the viewscreen.

  “Far more powerful than anything we had before,” commented Commander Malen. “Should we try out a dark matter missile?”

  “No,” Jeremy said, shaking his head. “We saw the effects of the one Kazak set off in the Gaia System and the ones on our ships are only slightly weaker.” He still had nightmares over what had happened over Gaia and everyone they had lost. If not for Kazak setting off the missile, they all would have died. It was hard to believe after everything Kazak had done they all owed him their lives.

  “All of our ships in the Shrieels are being similarly armed,” Aaliss informed Jeremy. She was standing next to him with her arms folded across her chest. “In every Shrieel and shipyard, our warships are being brought out of stasis and updated with the latest weapons technology and other advances. The shipyards at the Communications and Transport Hub are producing new warships based on the designs developed by all three of your races as well as the Originators. Most will resemble the ships in this fleet.”

  Jeremy looked over at the Originator AI. “If we go to war with the Anti-Life we’re going to need them.”

  Aaliss was silent initially and then she spoke. “I never knew what war was like until the battle at Gaia. For the first time in my life, I felt actual fear. Is that normal in battle?” Aaliss had been one of the Originator AIs on the Distant Horizon.

  “Very normal,” answered Jeremy. “If one isn’t afraid, then they shouldn’t be going into battle. It’s that fear which keeps us from crossing the line.”