The Forgotten Empire: The Battle For Earth: Book three

by Raymond L. Weil

  “The Morag,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo. Of all the seven Confederation races, very little was known about the Morag.

  “Do you know how many ships will be involved in this attack?” asked Derrick.

  “Thousands,” replied Garmen. “They are pulling ships in from all across the Confederation, as well as from the star systems outside of the Confederation that they control.”

  “We must warn Earth,” said Layla. “Do you know when this attack will occur?”

  “The amassed fleet is scheduled to depart Bator Prime in three to four weeks.”

  Layla let out a deep sigh. She shuddered to think what it would mean if Earth were to fall to the Confederation. “We thank you for this information. Is there anything we can do for you?”

  Garmen seemed to hesitate. “We grow weary of being under control of the Confederation. When your Empire is powerful enough, we ask that you free our worlds. In return, we will join your war against the Confederation. Such evil as the Confederation represents must be brought to a stop.”

  “We shall gladly consider your request,” replied Layla. “The more worlds that join in our war against the Confederation, the sooner its evil will be brought under control and destroyed.”

  “Is there anything we can do for you while you’re here?” asked Fleet Admiral Marloo.

  Garmen shook his head. “No, we should leave before the Confederation detects our ship. Just promise not to forget us. You offer our people hope, which has long been absent from our worlds.”

  “We will not forget you,” promised Layla. “Someday your worlds will join ours in the war against the Confederation. Your people will be free once more when that day arrives.”

  “Thank you, High Princess,” replied Garmen. He and the other two bowed and then, under escort of the Imperial Guards, left the Royal Court.

  Layla looked at Derrick, Dylan, and Fleet Admiral Marloo. “What do we do?” They could not allow the attack on Earth to succeed.

  “I recommend we send Rear Admiral Leeson and Second Fleet back to Earth immediately,” replied Dylan. “We should also send a warning message to Pallas as well.”

  Fleet Admiral Marloo nodded in agreement. “Rear Admiral Barnes will be here with Third Fleet in another few days. I suggest that, once she has arrived at Golan Four, we send Second Fleet back to Earth at that time.”

  “Any objections?” asked Layla, looking at the others.

  “Sounds reasonable,” replied Dylan. “I wish we could send more, but it would endanger the worlds we have freed from the Empire. We have certain regions of the Empire we must hold, if we want to someday free the rest of our worlds.”

  “All of the Solar System is heavily defended,” pointed out Derrick. “I don’t know if any enemy fleet, no matter how large, can actually conquer it. However, this attack, if it is as massive as the Visth indicate, could cause considerable damage.”

  “We’ll send a hyperlight message today to both Earth and Pallas,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo. “That should give them six or seven weeks to prepare for the attack.”

  “Do it,” said Layla. She was greatly concerned about what they had just heard. She doubted if the Empire could survive without Earth and its support. Right now only the Solar System was fully prepared for war. It would take months before the core systems were equally ready.

  -

  After the meeting with the Visth, Layla and Krista occupied themselves with readying the Royal Court for the first meeting of the House of Worlds. The two Princesses oversaw every little detail, wanting everything to be perfect.

  “I want fresh flowers around the periphery of the Court,” instructed Layla to several of the people setting up everything.

  “Just don’t block the statues, tapestries, or the paintings,” added Krista. “They are a part of our history, and we want the representatives in the House of Worlds to recognize that.”

  Layla nodded in agreement.

  “Where did Derrick go?” Krista asked.

  “The admirals went to the underground Command Center to discuss what needs to be done about this attack on Earth. They’ll also send some hyperlight messages.”

  “Do we say anything about this to the House of Worlds?”

  Layla pursed her lips and then shook her head. “No, we don’t want the Confederation to get word that we know about the impending attack. We’ll brief the House of Worlds later, when we know more.”

  “I hate keeping secrets from them,” said Krista. “It’s not a good way to begin our rule.”

  Layla touched Krista’s arm. “It’s part of being a ruler. Sometimes secrets must be kept for the greater good. We will brief a few key governors.”

  Krista drew in a deep breath. “What color flowers do you want to decorate with?”

  “Purple, of course, and a mixture of others. But purple needs to be the dominant color.” Layla tried to concentrate on getting ready for the first meeting of the House of Worlds, but she was greatly worried about the attack on Earth. She hoped Earth would be ready for it.

  Chapter Six

  Admiral Reynolds had been called to the Pallas Command Center in response to a message received from newly promoted Resistance Fleet Admiral Marloo of the fledging Human Empire. Colonel Bryson had said it was important and asked Reynolds to come to the Command Center immediately.

  It took Reynolds nearly ten minutes to reach the Command Center from his quarters. Inside was a beehive of activity as, from here, the entire defense of the Solar System was being coordinated. Hundreds of viewscreens showed scenes from various worlds, moons, asteroids, and satellites. Also tactical displays focused on the defenses of the entire system and the individual worlds.

  Reaching his command chair, Reynolds sat down and looked expectantly at Colonel Evelyn Bryson, who was waiting for him. “What is it, Colonel?”

  Evelyn handed him a message and stepped back so he could read it. “It does not sound good.”

  Admiral Reynolds read the message and, as he did so, felt his heart start beating faster. “Are we sure about this? This isn’t somebody’s idea of a joke, is it?”

  “It’s been confirmed,” replied Evelyn. “They estimate we’re six to eight weeks away from the planned attack.”

  “Damn!” uttered Reynolds. “According to Fleet Admiral Marloo, we’re looking at a massive attack. Far larger than anything we’ve encountered before.” This was not what they needed with so many of the Solar System’s fleets away in the Human Empire.

  “At least Rear Admiral Leeson is returning with Second Fleet.”

  Reynolds nodded. “There is that. Someone in the Empire is using their head.” Looking up at the largest tactical display, which showed the entire system, Reynolds made some quick decisions. “I want Rear Admiral Collison, General Stern, Colonel Mills, Colonel Henderson, General Weston, and Colonel Green here as soon as possible. Have I covered the most important sectors?”

  Evelyn frowned, ticking off a finger with each mention. “Fourth Fleet to reinforce Earth’s defenses. Then those in charge of what will be the prime targets—the NAU military rep, Luna City’s tactical officer, the commander of Gateway One, the general in charge of Earth’s main shipyard, and Ganymede command, as an early-warning outpost. Sounds good.”

  “Tell them this is of the highest priority. How soon before Rear Admiral Mendoza is back?”

  “A couple weeks.”

  Reynolds nodded. “We must assemble a bona fide fleet for him to command, a true Sixth Fleet. He’ll probably get stuck defending Mars.”

  Reynolds leaned back in his command chair. He had six weeks at most to decide how to defend the Solar System from its largest attack so far. “Get me whatever information we have on the Morag. I want to see if I can figure out what we’ll be up against.” He wished he knew more about the size of the incoming fleet and how many of the seven races were involved.

  -

  Over the next hour messages went out from Pallas to almost all the military commands in the system. Status of
ships, interceptors, defenses, and bases were demanded in minute detail. Major Phillip Wainwright was in charge of tactical at Pallas, so a lot would be required of him in a short time.

  “Major Wainwright, I want a complete list of all the warships in the system and where they’re currently assigned. We’ll be making a number of changes. Also contact Colonel Janice Fillmore. I want her here as soon as possible.” Janice was responsible for ship production at the shipyards inside Pallas and for routine ship maintenance.

  Admiral Reynolds knew he would be very busy over the next few days. He needed to contact every colony and base in the system and see how prepared they were for the coming attack. A few would need to be evacuated.

  -

  The following day everyone requested attended Reynolds’s meeting, as well as all the members of the Pallas Imperial Council and Brett Newcomb of the Earth Imperial Council. Admiral Reynolds had just informed them of the message they had received from Fleet Admiral Marloo.

  “And this has been confirmed?” asked Brett Newcomb. He could already imagine the panic this would cause on Earth and Mars.

  Reynolds nodded. “Yes, Fleet Admiral Marloo has sent a few resistance support ships out to several nearby alien civilizations that the Confederation controls to confirm that warships have been recalled. He should know something definitive within the week.”

  “How many warships could we be facing?” asked Rear Admiral Collison.

  Reynolds hesitated briefly and then responded. “I’m told by the experts it could be anywhere from five to ten thousand.”

  “How many of the seven races are involved in this fleet?” asked Colonel Henderson.

  “We received a report this morning indicating that all seven races are committing ships.”

  There was silence around the conference table, as everyone took in these numbers and what it might mean.

  “What will we do?” asked General Stern.

  “Fight,” replied Reynolds. “We’ll form a new fleet around Rear Admiral Mendoza, as soon as he returns. I spoke to Colonel Fillmore, and we still have 212 warships in stasis. All those are currently being activated. I’ve already sent a request to the Fleet Academy on the Moon for additional crews. However, to get the necessary trained people we need on those warships, it’ll be necessary to move some of our people around.”

  “Even forming a sixth fleet, we’ll be tremendously outnumbered,” said General Weston.

  “We have six weeks to put the most powerful defenses we can around the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ganymede, and Titan.”

  “What about the other moons and asteroid mining bases?” asked General Weston, looking worried. “A lot of money went into establishing some of those.”

  Admiral Reynolds shook his head. “If we have anything extra, we’ll send it to them. However, I suggest we evacuate as many people off those moons and mining colonies as we can. We don’t have the resources to defend everyone from an attack of this size.”

  “How soon before Rear Admiral Leeson returns?” asked Pallas Head Councilor Drew Tristan.

  “Four weeks,” replied Reynolds. “He will be back way before any attack against us can be launched.”

  -

  The meeting lasted nearly all afternoon, as plans were made and then discarded. Finally they reached a point where everyone was in agreement, though still some problems remained to be worked out.

  “If we’re all in agreement, then we will adjourn,” announced Reynolds. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We’ll meet again in two weeks and go over everything again. I suspect, by then, some changes will be necessary.”

  As everyone stood, Admiral Reynolds looked at Rear Admiral Collison and asked him to remain.

  Once everyone had filed out of the room, Reynolds faced Collison. “Your fleet will still be responsible for protecting Earth. I’m assigning Rear Admiral Mendoza and Sixth Fleet to defend Mars.”

  “What about Rear Admiral Leeson?”

  “He will remain mobile. We’ll send him wherever he’s needed. We’ll pull in all the patrol vessels to add to Sixth Fleet. Their patrol routes will be taken over by our attack interceptors.”

  “Those will be some long patrols for the interceptors.”

  Reynolds nodded his agreement. “We’ll try to hold them to twenty-four hours at the maximum, twelve hours out and twelve hours back.”

  “The Confederation could hit us from any direction,” said Collison. “How do we defend against that?”

  Admiral Reynolds folded his arms over his chest. “If I were them, I would hit us from multiple directions, if they have enough ships. That’s one reason I want to keep Rear Admiral Leeson free, so he can respond to wherever we’re under the most pressure.”

  Collison frowned. “We’ll take some major losses if they hit us with a really large fleet.”

  “Yes, but, if we can make them pay a severe price for the damage they do, we can seriously hamper their future war efforts, at least in the short term. We’ll do everything we can to defend Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ganymede, Titan—and, of course, Pallas. If we can come through this with all six of them relatively intact, I’ll consider that a victory. Our primary goal must be to protect our industrial base, so we can rebuild.”

  “We may not have much of a fleet left when this is over.”

  Admiral Reynolds knew Collison was right. This would be a battle where the fleets might not be able to retreat. In some cases, they may have to stand their ground and slug it out with the Confederation forces. “We’ll strengthen our defensive grids as much as possible over the next few weeks, particularly around the colonies we can’t afford to risk ships to defend.”

  “Some of those colonies won’t like that.”

  “I know,” replied Reynolds, frowning. “But there’s nothing else we can do. We’ll evacuate everyone we can.”

  “Some of those colonists and miners will be stubborn. They may not be willing to leave. Many of them have put everything they have into those operations.”

  “We’ll do the best we can. The rest is up to them. I can’t promise anything more.”

  Collison took a deep breath. “What about our shipyards and space stations? Those are bound to be primary targets.”

  “We’ll add more defenses to them. We can’t afford to lose any of our primary shipyards, even though the ones here on Pallas are pretty well secure. The Confederation would have to destroy the asteroid to get to them.”

  Collison nodded. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Admiral Reynolds agreed. If it did, that most likely meant they had lost the battle, and the Solar System would be in ruins.

  -

  It was time for the first meeting of the House of Worlds. High Princess Layla and Princess Krista were escorted into the Royal Court by Rear Admiral Masters and Fleet Admiral Marloo. As soon as they entered, the Royal March of the Human Empire began. Everyone stood and watched the procession, many with curious looks upon their faces. Twelve Imperial Guards formed an honor detail, escorting the Royal Princesses to the front of the Royal Court and up the stairs.

  Layla and Krista both wore full-length gowns appropriate for the occasion. Once again Emira had been highly attentive in picking out the appropriate clothes for the two Princesses.

  Captain Emerson turned and faced the House of Worlds. “Her Majesty, the High Princess Layla Starguard, and Princess Krista Starguard.”

  Everyone bowed slightly, at which time Layla and Krista took their seats, allowing everyone else to sit.

  “I call to order the initial meeting of the Human Empire’s House of Worlds,” said Layla in a clear and steady voice. “For the first time in over one thousand long years, the House of Worlds is now in session.” Looking out over the Royal Court, she noted representatives from over seventy Human worlds. Layla wished there were more, but, for now, this would do. At least it was a beginning.

  Governor Stein stood and asked to be recognized, which Layla did. Part of this had already been carefully rehearse
d.

  “I have been asked to help coordinate this inaugural meeting of the House of Worlds. I am Governor Darl Stein of Golan Four. In the past an elected Imperial Council member was responsible for these meetings. Unfortunately we do not currently have one. I think the first order of business is to elect eight members from eight different worlds to become our first Imperial Council in over one thousand years.

  “The council will be responsible for advising the High Princess, as well as carrying out her requests. I believe everyone here understands how a Constitutional Monarchy works. In front of each of you is a detailed description of how it worked in the original Human Empire, if you need a quick recap. We have made a few slight changes, due to our current situation.”

  “What if we don’t want to become a member of the Empire?” asked one of the governors from an outer world.

  “You don’t have to join,” replied Layla. “However, there are many benefits to joining, as you will be part of something much bigger than just one world. In time we hope to have the resources of all one thousand Human worlds joined together, working for the common good.”

  Layla paused. “In front of you is a ballot listing all the governors here today. I have spoken briefly with everyone on the ballot, all forty-seven named thereon. What I would like to do is have each governor stand and give a brief report on their world. If you would like to be considered for the council, please say so and the reasons why.”

  “Once everyone has spoken, we will provide a new list of names to consider of those who have shown an interest in being on the council,” added Governor Stein. “This will be for a two-year term, as we expect to add many more worlds to the House of Worlds over the coming years. Eventually the terms will be extended to four years. There is a term limit of three consecutive terms for any member of the Imperial Council. I will begin by talking about my world and why I would like to serve on the Council.”

  -

  For the next three hours the governors spoke, as well as the representatives from worlds whose governors could not attend. Every so often Layla would interrupt to ask a question. At the end of the three hours Layla called a one-hour recess for everyone to take a break and to think about what they had just heard. They were encouraged to talk among themselves about the various candidates.