The Slaver Wars: Endgame Page 3
“It’s a beautiful world,” added Clarissa. The blonde haired AI had only recently returned to duty on the Federation flagship. “It almost looks as it did when we left so many years ago.”
“I still prefer Maken,” Hedon said, longing for those past days when he would spend time down on the planet with his brother Taylor and Taylor’s wife Lendle.
He missed those carefree days of fishing and being able to talk to his brother as well as Lendle’s fabulous cooking. He had made several trips to the planet since freeing New Providence. It had been a great feeling, mixed in with some sadness, to be able to stand on the shores of the lake again.
“Perhaps you can settle down there some day,” Captain Duncan suggested. She was standing nearby and had overheard the admiral’s comments. Janice and the admiral had become quite close over the last few years though they had refrained, thus far, from becoming intimate. Hedon had also taken her briefly to Maken to show her the site of the old cabin.
“Perhaps,” replied Hedon, smiling at Janice. They were due to return to New Tellus in a few more weeks. He had promised that this time he would go with Janice to meet her parents and sister. “A few small settlements have already been placed on Tellus and Maken in preparation for recolonization.”
“I understand that Admiral Andrews is working on new defense grids for both of them,” commented Colonel Trist, glancing over at Hedon. “Once those are finished then he will start on Aquaria, Aldon, and New Eden.”
“Yes,” Hedon answered with a nod. “Once they're completed, we’ll allow controlled colonization of all the old worlds.”
Colonel Trist nodded. “I think I would like to settle down on Aquaria someday,” he spoke his eyes taking on a softer look. “The beaches on the planet are the best anywhere. Maybe I’ll open up a resort.”
Hedon allowed himself to laugh. He couldn’t imagine the gruff colonel running a resort, but stranger things had happened.
-
Lieutenant Kelsey Strong was at the main computer station talking to Lieutenant Katie Walters. Due to their experience, they had been reassigned from the space station orbiting Careth. Both missed the friendly Bears, but the assignments on the station had been too mundane for their liking and Fleet Admiral Streth had been seemed pleased to have them become a part of his crew.
“Clarissa seems almost back to normal,” commented Kelsey, watching the gorgeous AI speaking to the admiral.
“She’s getting closer,” answered Katie, with a nod.
It had taken her over a year of painstaking work to get Clarissa back to normal. Even now, there were still gaps in her memory; ones that Katie knew would probably always exist. She had come to accept that the old Clarissa was gone forever.
“I wish Jeremy and Kevin would get back,” spoke Kelsey with a deep sigh, feeling the effects of the long weeks they'd been apart.
“Me too,” responded Katie, nodding her head with her light green eyes focusing on Kelsey. It was hard going to sleep at nights without Kevin by her side. It was particularly bad in the mornings when she awoke, rolled over, and realized he still wasn’t there.
Both knew that Jeremy, Kevin, Angela, and Fourth Fleet were far away on a secret mission for the Altons and the Federation. A mission that might change the course of the war if they succeeded. They just hoped their loved ones made it back safely.
-
Admiral Streth looked at a report Colonel Trist had just handed him. It was from Admiral Sheen and was a battle summary of her attack upon one of the two systems still containing major Hocklyn shipyards. He read the report and shook his head with a heavy frown crossing his face.
“That damn honor system of theirs,” he grated out, looking over at Colonel Trist. “They sacrificed a thousand of their fighters in suicide runs to drive Second Fleet back. If Amanda hadn’t withdrawn, she could have lost a major portion of her fleet. ”
“We need to destroy those shipyards,” Colonel Trist stated his eyes narrowing. “Without their shipyards, the Hocklyns can’t modernize or build new ships. The one Admiral Sheen is attacking is the largest ship building facility they have left. We have to find a way to destroy it.”
Hedon stood up and walked over to one of the large tactical hologram displays. He instructed the two officers sitting in front of it to put up the current locations of all Federation fleets in Hocklyn space. Once the information was up, Hedon studied the hologram for several moments before reaching a decision.
“Rear Admiral Tolsen is out in that area with Third Fleet attacking several Hocklyn bases,” Hedon said, pointing at a group of green icons deep in Hocklyn space. The hologram was showing the last reported locations of all Federation fleets. “Contact Tolsen and inform him to link up with Admiral Sheen. Between the two of them, they should be able to handle any more surprises the Hocklyns have up their sleeves. I want those shipyards destroyed!”
Colonel Trist nodded and then moved off toward Communications to pass on the orders. Even with the new Alton FTL communications system it would still take two days for Tolsen to receive the order.
Hedon sat back down at his command console and thought back over the last fourteen months. With the AIs withdrawing to the center of the galaxy, the Hocklyns had lost their source for antimatter missiles. With the aid of the Altons, the Federation had steadily pushed the Hocklyns back, attacking at key points to keep them off balance. Back in the Federation, Ceres' spider-like work robots were now common on all Federation shipyards as ship production had been drastically ramped up. New ships to replace those destroyed in combat were becoming readily available.
-
Later in the afternoon, Hedon took a shuttle down to the surface of New Providence. He was going to meet with Senator Arden, General Whitehall, and Governor Blaxton to discuss the orbital defenses as well as future colonization of the other old Federation worlds. They wanted his input as to the best way to handle things, particularly relations with the new Federation they were soon to become a part of.
-
Kelsey, Katie, and Clarissa were in the officer’s mess talking. Just as with Ariel, Clarissa could make her hologram seen in almost every section of the large space-going battleship.
“I wish Ariel would come back soon,” Clarissa said as her deep blue eyes focused on Katie and Kelsey. “She will be pleased to learn that I’ve returned to duty.” Clarissa really enjoyed her work on the StarStrike. She took special pride in being the AI on the Federation flagship.
“We all miss them,” Kelsey responded with a sigh.
She knew that Ariel and Clarissa spoke daily when they were close enough to communicate. Ariel had played a big part in Clarissa’s recovery during their stay at Careth.
They'd all spent a lot of time on the Bear’s planet and much of that time, they’d worked with Clarissa trying to restore her back to normal. It had been nice to live on Careth for a while like real married couples, but the war had called them back. Now they were separated by thousands of light years. Jeremy, Kevin, Angela, and Ariel were all on the battleship Avenger and off on a secret mission. Due to their marriages, Kelsey and Katie had been reassigned to the StarStrike.
“I spoke to Karalle yesterday,” Katie ventured. Karalle was a young female Carethian that Katie had made friends with. Of course when Katie said spoke, she meant that she had sent an FTL message to the female Bear that would take several days to reach Careth.
“Really,” Kelsey replied her eyes widening in surprise. “What did she have to say?”
“Grayseth has completed his new mobile shipyard and will be bringing it to New Providence, along with a fleet manned solely by Carethians. He feels it’s time for his people to add their ships to the war effort.”
Kelsey nodded. The Bears had a strong sense of honor and since Jeremy had almost single-handedly saved the Bears' home planet, Grayseth had been one of Jeremy’s most ardent supporters. During their time defending Careth from the AIs and the Hocklyns, Jeremy and Grayseth had become very close friends. Grayseth had
even adopted Jeremy into his clan.
“I was expecting Grayseth to show up sooner or later,” Kelsey said with a smile. She had a number of Carethian friends also. “Did she say when they would be arriving?”
“Two weeks,” Katie answered. “Even with the new Alton hyperspace drives, it’ll take them a little over two weeks to get here from Careth.”
“Maybe Jeremy and the others will be back by then,” Kelsey said, wishing Jeremy were here so he could hold her in his arms. Being in the fleet made those occasional few days of being together very special.
“I miss Kevin too,” Katie admitted. She had been surprised to find out just how much she enjoyed being married to Kevin. The last year had been the best year of her life.
“Sometimes hearing you talk, I wish I were Human,” Clarissa said in a wistful voice. “As an AI there are certain things that neither I nor Ariel can ever hope to experience.”
“The two of you are special in your own ways,” Katie spoke with a reassuring smile. “Both of you have always been two of my closest friends.”
Clarissa nodded. Katie had a way of making her feel better and almost Human. “Thank you, Katie.”
-
Fleet Admiral Streth stepped out of his shuttle into the bright sunlight of New Providence. Two full companies of space marines in their dark blue dress uniforms were assembled in his honor to give him a full military welcome. There was even a band playing the anthem from the old Human Federation of Worlds military. For a moment, Hedon felt drawn back to those times so many centuries ago. He felt his eyes grow moist at the memories the anthem invoked. The Hocklyns and the AIs had taken so much away from them and now he was taking it back.
“Fleet Admiral arriving!” called out an officer standing in front of the marines. Instantly, both companies snapped to attention and saluted.
Hedon paused, acknowledged the salute, and then walked on down the shuttle’s ramp to where General Whitehall and Senator Arden were waiting.
“Welcome to New Ashton,” General Whitehall said in greeting.
“So, you’re going to rebuild the old capital city?” asked Hedon.
The old city of Ashton had been New Providence’s capital with a population of over six million. As they were descending, he'd noticed a few buildings and shops that were already finished on the outskirts, including what looked like a few restaurants.
“Yes,” answered Senator Arden with a big smile. Senator Jalen Arden was forty years old and she'd been a senator for nearly twelve years. “We’ve already laid out the streets for the city and started construction. Within two years, we’ll have over two million people living in the new capital.”
“Do you think it’s safe to have that many people together in one spot on the surface,” asked Hedon, recalling how the Hocklyns liked to use orbital nuclear bombardment to reduce planetary populations.
All six of the old Federation worlds had been nuked from orbit and billions of people killed in the massive genocide committed centuries earlier. Admiral Streth had fled with some of the survivors of that attack to the star system containing Earth.
“Each home and business will have its own bomb shelter,” General Whitehall responded. “There will also be some deep military grade bunkers in case of nuclear bombardment. We’ll never be caught unprepared again.”
“If you will come with us, we have a vehicle waiting,” said Senator Arden, gesturing toward a waiting ground car. “The governor and some others are waiting to speak with you.”
After getting into the vehicle, they began to drive toward the city of New Ashton. Everywhere Hedon looked construction was going on. Unlike the new Human Federation of Worlds, New Providence had no problems with using the spider-like work robots for construction purposes.
As they drove into the city, Hedon was surprised to see how much had already been accomplished. Several large buildings were already in place and they pulled up to one of the bigger ones.
“This is for the temporary government offices,” explained Arden. “We have more elaborate plans for later, particularly if we decide that New Providence will be the capital of all of our worlds.”
Hedon nodded as they got out of the vehicle. Tellus had been the old capital, but now with New Providence being the only surviving planet with a Human population, it only made sense to make it the new capital.
Going inside, they took an elevator to an upper floor and Hedon soon found himself in a large conference room with a dozen other men and women. He recognized several of them from previous meetings as holding the rank of senator or being in the military.
“I’m glad you could come to our meeting,” Governor Blaxton said, rising to his feet and coming forward to shake Hedon’s hand warmly. “We have much to discuss today.”
Hedon and the others took their seat and then looked expectantly at the governor.
“I have spoken to Rear Admiral Andrews and he's assured me the defense grid around New Providence is now complete. With twelve Alton Indomitable class battle stations, we are relatively secure even from an attack by the AIs.”
“We have other defenses as well,” General Whitehall reminded the governor. “Both of our new shipyards will be fully operational by the end of the month and they're more heavily armed than a dozen Federation battleships.”
“I assume there will be fighters and bombers based on the shipyards as well?” asked Senator Jardtel. He had been a senator for seven years and an ardent supporter of the military.
“We learned our lesson,” explained Senator Arden, looking over at Hedon. “While the old Federation had a military and sizable fleet, they weren’t ready for war. The defense grids around the planets were weak and had been allowed to degrade to the point that many of the satellites weren’t even operational. We’ll never allow that to happen again.”
“Rear Admiral Andrew is currently in the Tellus system,” continued Governor Blaxton, nodding at the others. “We’re placing six of the Alton battle stations above Tellus and Maken to protect those worlds, as well as Alton particle beam satellites. Shortly we’ll begin recolonizing both with sizable colonies. A few people have already gone to some of the other old Federation worlds to see what needs to be done to prepare them.”
“How many colonists are we looking at initially?” asked Hedon, curiously. It would be necessary to assign a few Federation ships to protect those planets. At the moment, there were some destroyers that New Providence had furnished along with a few Federation light cruisers in each system.
“One hundred and twenty thousand each for Tellus and Maken,” Governor Blaxton answered. “Then we’ll look at it on a yearly basis.”
“There are six old Federation worlds including New Providence,” Hedon said as he looked around the group. “While it is true that New Providence is heavily defended and both Tellus and Maken are in the process of having their defenses beefed up, it may be a while before we can spare the resources to do the others.”
“That’s understandable,” Governor Blaxton answered his eyes focusing on the admiral. “But the main reason we called you here today is to talk about immigration. New Providence has a population of slightly over sixty million people. That’s not a lot to spread out over six worlds. President Kincaid recently contacted me to inquire about citizens of the new Human Federation of Worlds immigrating to our planets.”
“No!” spoke Senator Maltene rising to his feet in protest. “The old Federation worlds belong to us!” He looked around at some of the other senators at the table seeing their nods of agreement.
Governor Blaxton motioned for the senator to calm down. “I must remind you, Senator Maltene. There are numerous old Federation citizens in the new Federation as well. Particularly at New Tellus and Ceres.”
“They can immigrate and return home,” replied Maltene, grudgingly. “But I demand a severe limit be placed on other immigration or we’ll soon find our planets overrun with Humans from the new Federation. I refuse to allow our people to become a minority on our own worl
ds!”
“I understand your concerns,” Hedon spoke with a frown. He hadn’t expected this to be a problem. “Must I remind everyone that it’s Earth our ancestors came from?” That had become common knowledge shortly after Senator Arden had returned from the new Federation. Many New Providence citizens had been stunned by the news.
“That’s what the Altons have said,” Maltene responded with a hint of doubt in his voice. “That may be so, but these are still our worlds!”
“It may not be a problem,” Governor Blaxton said after a moment. “We’re a long ways from the new Federation and there may not be nearly as many people who want to immigrate as you fear.”
“Perhaps,” Maltene answered with narrowed eyes. “But I still demand we set strict immigration limits with the exception of people from New Tellus and Ceres.”
“Will we be joining our planets to this new Human Federation of Worlds?” asked Senator Annette Braedon. “If we do, surely we’ll be outvoted due to their higher population.”
“In the future, we surely must for our own protection,” answered Governor Blaxton, looking over at Hedon, who nodded his head in agreement. “I’m sure we can work something out where our interests are protected.”
“I can assure you the new Federation will do everything in its power to protect your rights and our worlds,” Hedon answered. “They’re an honorable people.”
Everyone looked at Hedon in surprise at his use of “Our Worlds.” It reminded them of who he was and where he had come from. Several looked a little embarrassed realizing how foolish they must look.
“I will trust in your judgment, Fleet Admiral,” replied Senator Braedon, bowing slightly toward Hedon. “If not for you, none of us from either Federation would be here today.”
The meeting continued for several more hours, breaking out into heated debates over a number of delicate issues. As the meeting went on, Hedon had the impression that most of the senators just wanted his assurance that New Providence would be protected and someday all the old worlds would become part of the Federation again.