The Originator Wars: Conflict Unending: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 18
On one viewscreen, Hailey watched as six defense globes struck an Eternal battlecruiser’s energy shield, knocking it down. Another globe appeared and smashed into the hull, detonating its dark matter warhead. Instantly a small star formed where the battlecruiser was. When it died away all that remained was a mass of molten and twisted wreckage.
Other Eternal ships were being destroyed by the heavy weapons fire from the two Originator fleets. Eternal battlecruisers were dying at an ever increasing rate.
“The defense globes took out nearly two thousand of them,” reported Captain Adams elatedly. “Our own attack has taken out even more. Their defensive formation is falling apart.”
Hailey sensed it was time to move in for the kill. “Take the fleet in closer. I want to destroy as much of that fleet as possible. Lieutenant Sparks, instruct Admiral Lukel to do the same.” Hailey took a deep breath. Her strategy had confused the Eternals and then they had made a tactical error trying to switch formations in the midst of a battle. They were paying heavily for that mistake as their fleet was slowly but steadily being destroyed.
-
The Conqueror shuddered violently as two dark matter missiles hit the ship’s energy shield, severely jarring the vessel. The screen seemed to waver and then began to strengthen once more.
A gravitonic beam penetrated the weakened shield, blowing several energy beam turrets to shreds and blasting out a deep chasm in the hull. Several secondary explosions shook the vessel. Two particle beams penetrated the shield, tearing deep into the ship.
In the Command Center, Fleet Commander Tarsal was nearly thrown to the deck from the violent shaking the ship was going through. A console exploded, sending a shower of hot sparks across the room and burning an Eternal officer who collapsed to the floor.
Tarsal gazed at the tactical display, seeing the dire situation his fleet now found itself in. While they were still destroying Originator battlecruisers and occasionally one of the dreadnaughts, his fleet was now losing warships at nearly a three to one rate to how many Originator ships were being destroyed.
“Have you found a way past the hyperspace jamming?” He knew his fleet needed to withdraw or risk annihilation. Even if he could defeat the two Originator fleets, he doubted if he would be able to destroy the fleet base with its heavy weapons. Not only that there were still nearly eighteen hundred Originator battlecruisers protecting it.
“We have a tentative solution,” reported Devonn uneasily. “It may not work.”
“Do it,” ordered Fleet Commander Tarsal. He glanced over at the damage control console covered in glaring red lights. His ship was beginning to come apart around him. If they didn’t leave now they never would.
“Activating counter field,” reported Devonn. “Hyperspace drive is questionable. We may blow apart upon making the attempt.”
“Then we die,” said Tarsal simply. “Take the fleet into hyperspace.”
-
Suddenly in front of the Eternal ships spatial vortexes appeared and the fleet made a frantic jump, vanishing from the scene of battle. They left behind several hundred ships incapable of making the transition into hyperspace. At a number of the locations of the vanishing vortexes glowing wreckage appeared.
-
“What’s that?” asked Hailey, seeing the mysterious wreckage.
“Some of their ships couldn’t make the transition into hyperspace,” replied Caria. “The jamming field they initiated was too unstable and caused the hyperdrives in some of their ships to explode. The wreckage you’re seeing is the result.”
Hailey knew they had won the battle. All that was left was the mopping up of the damaged Eternal battlecruisers. She suddenly felt tired as the adrenalin rush subsided and her breathing returned to normal.
As she watched the viewscreens and the tactical displays it didn’t take long for the last of the Eternal vessels to be turned into space dust. It had cost several more Originator battlecruisers and one dreadnaught but the system was free of Eternal warships and the fleet base was still here. They had won!
-
“Get me a status on all fleet ships and the condition of their crews,” ordered Hailey. “I want to know the causality figures.” She knew some dreadnaughts had been destroyed as well as several thousand Originator battlecruisers. While the battlecruisers did not have any Humans or Altons on board they had all been crewed by AIs. To Hailey, they were casualties as well since she considered them to be a form of life.
“We lost 4,328 battlecruisers and twenty-eight dreadnaughts. Total casualties are 560 fleet personnel and 86,560 AIs.”
Hailey drew in a sharp breath. “How many Eternal vessels did we destroy?”
“We’re not certain of the final numbers because of the Eternal vessels which were destroyed in their attempt to enter hyperspace. We have confirmed kills on 7,433.”
“That’s nearly half of their fleet.”
Commander Sutherland nodded. “Yes and we know many others were heavily damaged.”
“Arrange with Allora for our damaged ships to put in at the fleet base for repairs. I need to send a full report of the battle to Fleet Admiral Strong.” Hailey knew the fleet base had been transmitting the complete battle to the Communications and Transport Hub. She was just thankful this battle was over and perhaps now the surviving Eternal fleet would withdraw back to their space.
-
Fleet Commander Tarsal gazed coldly at the tactical display showing his remaining fleet: only 2,579 battlecruisers. Many had been destroyed by the Originator fleet, others had blown apart upon attempting to enter hyperspace and even more had exploded upon exiting due to over stressed hyperdrives. The system they were now in was littered with the wreckage of the ships of his fleet which had died here.
“It will take at least four days to repair our surviving ships to the point they can safely travel in hyperspace for an extended period,” reported the Eternal at damage control. “The Conqueror will need to put in at a repair yard. Some of the damage we received cannot be repaired otherwise.”
Tarsal did not reply. He had been defeated by the Humans. That they had been in control of the two fleets he had engaged there was no doubt. He would order the fleet to proceed to the nearest Eternal galaxy for repairs and make his report to the council. It would not surprise Tarsal if he was reduced in rank and sentenced to a penal colony for his failure.
-
Several days later Rear Admiral Mann was preparing to leave the system of the fleet base and return to the Hub. Admiral Lukel would be remaining behind. Hailey was leaving him six thousand battlecruisers and two hundred dreadnaughts; the rest of the ships would be returning with her. Leaning back in her command chair she couldn’t help but wonder what Fleet Admiral Strong had lined up for her next. Whatever it was she would be up to the challenge. She knew how important it was they hold the line against the Eternals and their desire for an empire spread across the universe.
Chapter Thirteen
Jeremy was on board the Avenger escorted by a fleet of twelve hundred of the new dreadnaughts and sixteen thousand of the enhanced battlecruisers. They were in Galaxy X-938 doing mock battles against the Eternals. What made this fleet special was all twelve hundred dreadnaughts had Federation crews on board. As part of the training Admiral Tolsen, Admiral Baasil, Admiral Lankell, Commander Belson, and Commander Jontel were involved as well. Opposing the fleet was Admiral Cross and the fleet assigned to defend the Dyson Sphere. He had eight hundred dreadnaughts and nine thousand battlecruisers.
“So far Admiral Tolsen and Commander Belson have shown real talent commanding the fleet in the battle scenarios,” commented Ariel. She was standing just behind Jeremy and to his left.
Jeremy had to agree. “Admiral Tolsen commanded a dreadnaught built by the Altons. He’s used to commanding large fleets, particularly after what occurred in the Shari Empire. The ship he has now is a step up in size, speed, and firepower but he’s adapted quite well.”
This pleased Jeremy. He needed
more admirals he could depend on fighting the Eternals. He had already sent Admiral Jackson and Admiral Calmat to attack two other Eternal galaxies. Once this training was over, he intended to send two more fleets into Eternal space. After going over Rear Admiral Mann’s report of the battle in Galaxy X-268, Jeremy was determined to force the Eternals to allocate more of their ships to defend their space. He needed to buy time to train more Federation personnel on commanding Originator ships and becoming familiar with the advanced technology. Both were huge challenges.
“Ship production on all fleet bases and Shrieels is at maximum,” Aaliss reported. “New shipyards are coming online every day. Within a year warship production will exceed 430,000 vessels. All will be dreadnaughts or the enhanced battlecruisers. In addition, all the dreadnaughts will have dark energy cannons as well as our latest weapon updates.”
“What about the Eternals?” asked Kevin, his brow wrinkling in a frown. “How many ships can they build in a year’s time?”
Aaliss and Ariel looked at one another and then Ariel answered. “We know they control slightly over ten thousand galaxies. We believe they have the capability of building nearly six million ships per year if necessary. That can change quickly if they add more shipyards.”
Kevin’s eyes grew wide at hearing this. “How can we ever defeat such an enemy?”
Aaliss shifted her attention to Kevin. “In five years we can have the Shrieels and fleet bases building nearly 800,000 ships per year. To go beyond that we would have to add more fleet bases and expand mining operations into thousands of additional star systems. The civilizations in the galaxies where there are Shrieels would quickly become aware of us, something we have been trying to avoid as the knowledge a race such as the Originators exists could have devastating effects.”
“Not as bad as what will happen if the Eternals conquer those civilizations,” Jeremy said. “Whether we like it or not at some point we’re going to need more allies. The six hundred galaxies in Originator controlled space and some of the more advanced civilizations they contain may have to become involved in the war.”
“The Originators won’t like that,” replied Aaliss. “But I understand your reasoning.”
“With the numbers they have is there any point in attacking their galaxies?” asked Kevin. “For every ship we destroy they’ll just build two more.”
Ariel stepped over closer to Kevin. “By attacking Eternal galaxies and destroying those shipyards we are forcing them to keep major fleets in those galaxies to protect them, fleets which could be attacking us.”
“But what if they decided to strip their fleets from those galaxies and attack us anyway?” asked Commander Malen. “They could overwhelm the fleet bases and isolate the Dyson Spheres in just a few months.”
“Only from the rest of the galaxy each Shrieel is within,” replied Aaliss. “We would still have the intergalactic vortexes built into each Shrieel as well as the new Accelerator Rings. While the Shrieels might be cut off from their galaxies they would not be cut off from each other.”
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. On the viewscreen, Admiral Lankell was leading his fleet against Admiral Cross, trying to force Cross to retreat from a large asteroid he was defending. The screen lit up with simulated weapons fire. “There are a number of Originators who believe the Eternals will attack us in force even if it means leaving their galaxies nearly defenseless. Dazon Fells is almost certain the Eternals will launch a major attack.”
“Dazon is correct,” said Aaliss, putting her hands on her hips. “The Eternals cannot tolerate the confirmed existence of Originators. We pose too big of a threat to them. They will risk everything to destroy us.”
“We need the blue energy spheres,” said Commander Malen, crossing her arms over her chest. “We could defeat the Eternals with those.”
Aaliss shook her head. “The weapons are too dangerous. The science behind their development was nearly banned by the Originators soon after its discovery. Fleets armed with the blue energy spheres could destroy entire galaxies. The weapon must never fall into anyone else’s hands. That’s why it’s been limited to the Shrieels, new battlestations, the Dominator, and Kelsey’s new super exploration dreadnaught.”
Jeremy stood up and walked over closer to a viewscreen. Admiral Cross had turned the tables on Admiral Lankell and was inflicting heavy losses on the Alton admiral’s fleet. Lankell had performed reasonably well in the scenario but Admiral Cross had used a little bit of trickery to lure Lankell into a trap. With Aaliss mentioning the new battlestations an idea of how they could be used against the Eternals came to mind. It was something he would have to ask some of the Originator scientists about when he got back to the Hub.
“With all the new weapons being installed on the Dyson Spheres, they should be safe from any size attack by the Eternals,” Commander Malen said. “However, what about the two vortex Control Centers the Simulins control? How big of a threat are those?”
“We’re preparing to deal with that,” Jeremy answered. “In another two weeks we’ll attack both of the vortex Control Centers and attempt to wrest control of them from the Simulins. Fleets are being prepared for the two actions and large numbers of combat robots are being built and programmed. We’re also expecting another twenty thousand Marines from the Federation to arrive in the next week. That will free up enough Marines currently on duty at the Hub to handle the ground attack. General Wesley already has a training schedule for the new Marines. He believes he can have them ready for deployment two weeks after they arrive.”
Commander Malen shifted her attention to a viewscreen showing Admiral Lankell’s fleet in full retreat. He was doing a pretty good job holding his losses to a minimum. “I spoke to Rear Admiral Marks at the Fleet Academy just before we left. She’s set up a training schedule for the new recruits coming in from the Federation. There is a large group of Humans, Altons, Originators, and Originator AIs who will be doing the instruction. It’s a six-week training schedule to prepare Federation personnel to command our new warships.”
Jeremy grinned. “I think Susan was shocked when I laid that job on her. She’s doing a fabulous job with the new Fleet Academy. She’s also thrilled so many new Federation citizens will be transferring to the Dyson Sphere. It will give her a wider range of recruits to choose from.”
“In another six to eight weeks we will begin to see a massive increase in the crews we have available for our dreadnaughts and to help out at the fleet bases,” Aaliss said. “Rear Admiral Mann believes our combat efficiency at the fleet bases could be increased substantially if there were Humans and Alton in the command crews.”
“Admiral, we have an emergency message from Maklyn at the Dyson Sphere,” reported Lieutenant Shayla Lantz. Maklyn was the Military AI in command of the defenses of the Dyson Sphere in Galaxy X-938. “He just received word from the Hub that the Eternals have launched new attacks against fleet bases in Originator space. Reports indicate at least ten fleets of ten thousand Eternal battlecruisers are involved.”
“That’s one hundred thousand warships,” gasped Kevin, his eyes widening in shock.
“Dazon was right,” said Jeremy, realizing the enormity of the attack. “The Eternals are going to attempt to destroy the fleet bases to isolate the Dyson Spheres.” Jeremy wasn’t certain what to do. He could take more battlecruisers and dreadnaughts from the Dyson Spheres and assign them to the fleet bases. There were over 500,000 battlecruisers which had been updated. The problem was where to send them. Spread out over two thousand fleet bases, even if he used every battlecruiser available that would still only be 250 ships at each one, not enough to prevent the Eternals from attacking and destroying the bases. It would also strip the Dyson Spheres of ships they might need to defend themselves.
Kevin looked over at Jeremy. “What are we going to do?”
“Contact Maklyn and have him inform Admiral Kalen to initiate Operation Dragon.” Jeremy had hoped this wouldn’t be necessary.
Ariel lo
oked surprised. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“I don’t see what else we can do. We have two thousand fleet bases to defend.”
“It will substantially weaken our dreadnaughts and delay their deployment.”
“Only for a while,” Jeremy replied. He was taking a risk but it might buy them some time.
“What is Operation Dragon?” asked Commander Malen, looking confused.
Jeremy took a deep breath. “Operation Dragon is a strategy Admiral Kalen and I came up with. We’re going to strip all the defense globes from the dreadnaughts at the Communications and Transport hub and send them to the fleet bases. We also have a large number in reserve waiting for new dreadnaughts to be built; we’ll be using them as well. Initially, all fleet bases will receive three thousand defense globes. In addition, the Dyson spheres will be sending one hundred battlecruisers and four dreadnaughts to help defend each fleet base.”
“One hundred battlecruisers and four dreadnaughts won’t do a lot of good against fleets as large as these,” said Kevin, shaking his head.
Ariel glanced over at Commander Malen and then Kevin. “This is a purely defensive strategy. With the extra warships and the defense globes, the fleet bases will be harder to destroy. Many of the fleet bases have new dark energy cannons and antimatter chambers installed. We’ve added more gravitonic cannons and antimatter projectors. Between the bases’ weapons, the defense globes and the warships we may just be able to make the Eternals hesitate in attacking them for fear of major losses to their fleets.”
“I guess we’ll know how that will work shortly,” Commander Malen replied. “I’m afraid no matter what we do they’re still going to destroy the bases.”
Jeremy looked back at the viewscreens; Admiral Baasil was up next. Jeremy knew Baasil was one of the more experienced Alton admirals as he had already shown in these war games.