“That can easily be arranged,” replied Dylan. “How many ODPs are on the cargo ships?” Dylan wanted Tantula Five to be as strongly defended as possible, as he had plans for this system. Plans that would make the core worlds much safer.
“We have six on four transports,” replied Captain Anderson. “The other eight ships are full of defensive satellites and the parts for forty missile platforms.”
Dylan thought for a moment. “I want all six ODPs put into orbit around Tantula Five, plus half of the defensive satellites and twenty of the missile platforms. We’ve already rebuilt most of their defensive grid from the parts we had in our cargo ships. We’ll turn Tantula Five into a major Imperial base for this region of the Empire.”
“That will make for one hell of a defensive grid,” said Captain Anderson. “Only the core worlds will have stronger. We’ll need a place to put a base. From what I’ve seen, the planet is heavily populated. Is there a sparse-enough region for us to put in a large Imperial base, along with the necessary defenses?”
“Planet seven has a large inhabited moon that has been terraformed. Nearly four hundred million people live there. It also has a small shipyard and a large space station. I’ll propose to the Imperial Council that we greatly expand the shipyard and fortify the moon. A large dry area is at the north pole of the moon, where it’s sparsely inhabited, and that would make a great location for a base.”
“What’s the name of this moon?”
“Gideon.”
“Strange name for a moon.”
“I’ll also suggest that we keep all the ships currently here with me until the base is completed. Governor Ansell Dyson of Tantula Five has agreed to most of my proposal. While that’s being done, I’ll speak to the planetary governors of the other systems.”
“You need a lot more defensive grid components, as well as ODPs, to do all you want done. Those other systems will need to be heavily fortified as well.”
“Yeah, somehow I must bribe the council with something. I want at least two ODPs for each world as well as four for Gideon.”
“Between Gideon and Tantula Five they have a massive industrial base. How much of what you’re proposing could they do?”
“That’s a good question. I have a meeting with both governors on the Themis tomorrow afternoon. Want to attend?”
“I’ll be there,” promised Captain Anderson.
“One more thing,” added Dylan, as he gazed at the Orion on the viewscreen. “Have a couple attack interceptors brought over to the Themis. I would like to show them to the two governors.”
“I’ll send them over. Do you want me to arrange for a flyby of a full squadron of interceptors?”
Dylan thought for a moment. He really wanted to impress these two governors. “Yes, that’s a great idea. Go ahead and arrange it, and we’ll do it sometime during our meeting.”
-
Fleet Admiral Horrabe had finalized his attack plan on the Human star system of Earth. In front of him was a large hologram, depicting the entire Human system. “We will destroy their defenses from the outside in. We will start with the former Druin interdiction stations, which the Humans have turned into battlestations and an advanced detection system. There are eight of them, and we will divide the fleet into eight subfleets of one thousand ships each. We will attack all eight simultaneously, which will prevent the Human warfleets from protecting them.”
“And after we have eliminated the battlestations?” asked High Commander Corr. “What next?”
“A two-pronged attack upon the colonies around the two large gas giants in the system. We’ll divide the fleet into two sections of four thousand ships each. We will cleanse all life off the moons of the gas giant planets, leaving them lifeless.”
“A sound plan,” commented Corr, nodding his approval. “I assume after that we will attack the inner worlds?”
Horrabe turned to face Corr. “It will depend on what our probes tell us. We must know the size of the Human fleets in the system and the strength of their defensive grids. We must not rush into battle unprepared, as the admirals leading the two previous attacks did.”
Corr nodded. Horrabe was the greatest of the Morag admirals and was very powerful in his ability to use telepathy. The defeat of the Humans in the Earth system would be a great victory for the admiral. “I have more battle and damage control drills scheduled for later today.”
“Excellent,” replied Horrabe, as he shifted his massive weight in his command chair, causing it to protest. “We must continue to stress to the fleet that these Humans are not to be taken lightly.”
Corr nodded. He knew how important this coming battle was to the Confederation and particularly the Morag. To the Morag, the Humans were extremely dangerous, due to their immunity to telepathic manipulation.
-
In the Confederation, the Great Council was once more in session.
“We should move more rapidly against the Human worlds,” shrieked Councilor Cryler of the Zang. His wings on his back were partially open.
“We are moving at a calculated pace,” replied Ardon Reull of the Lormallians. “We will soon have control of over 70 percent of the Human worlds.”
“We should not launch a major attack until Fleet Admiral Horrabe returns,” said Klug of the Morphenes.
“I agree,” said Ralor Conn of the Zynth. “Every day we gain control of more Human worlds. We must inform our admirals in the Human Empire to avoid any major engagements until the Morag fleet admiral returns.”
Morag Councilor Damora smiled to himself. It was so easy to use his telepathy to bend the weak minds of the other councilors. Their thoughts were his, and they were too foolish to realize they were uttering his desires, not theirs.
“We shall continue our logical approach to reconquer the Human Empire,” said Councilor Ardon Reull. “When Fleet Admiral Horrabe returns, we will then launch a full-scale assault on all the remaining Human worlds.”
Everyone voiced their approval, and the meeting moved on to other items. Once more the Morag had guided the council in the direction they wanted.
-
Dylan waited patiently for the two governors to arrive. Already Captain Anderson had brought over two attack interceptors to be inspected by the governors.
The shuttle containing the two leaders entered the landing bay, and soon both governors stood before Dylan.
“Welcome to the Imperial dreadnought Themis,” said Dylan. “She’s the flagship of First Fleet. This is Captain Anderson of the Orion, who will take part in our meeting today.”
Tantula Governor Dyson nodded.
“Impressive,” said Governor Anna Bloom of Gideon, as she looked around. “I understand you have fought in a number of battles against the Confederation?”
Dylan nodded. “Yes, I have. We’ve done our part in driving the Confederation away from Imperial planets, and we will continue to do so.”
“I watched the battle over Tantula Five. Why did the Druins retreat? They had enough firepower to annihilate your fleet, as well as the resistance forces.”
“They would have lost too many ships in the battle to complete their mission to subjugate the Tantula system, as well as the other systems in the Hagen Star Cluster. When the Druin commander realized that, he had his forces withdraw.”
“Will they return?”
“Eventually they will. It could be tomorrow or weeks from now. But, at some point, they will definitely return and attempt to take control of this cluster for the Confederation. It’s too big of a threat to them if they don’t.”
Governor Bloom folded her arms across her chest. “What can you do to protect us? I don’t want to see my world bombed from orbit, and I don’t want to fall back under the rule of the Confederation.”
“Before I answer that, let me show you something.” With that, he led the governors and Captain Anderson to the two awaiting attack interceptors. “These are what we have based on Captain Anderson’s battlecarrier, the Orion. Each is capable of th
ree-day patrols and is equipped with fusion energy weapons and a forward-facing energy shield. Each interceptor can be armed with four low-yield fusion missiles. The ships do not have hyperdrives but have a very efficient subspace drive, which will allow them to patrol nearly every part of this system. Captain Anderson has arranged for a squadron to fly past the Themis shortly to demonstrate their abilities.”
“Can these destroy a Confederation warship?” asked Governor Dyson as he examined one of the interceptors in detail.
“We normally use them to take out damaged ships,” answered Captain Anderson. “In a mass attack, they could, indeed, take out a fully operational Confederation warship, but the losses would be high.”
“They work best when they are with a fleet of attacking ships,” added Dylan. “We’ve used them several times to great affect.”
“What size is the crew?” asked Governor Bloom.
“Three,” answered Captain Anderson. “A pilot, navigator, and weapons officer.”
Governor Bloom turned to face Admiral Cleemorl and Captain Anderson. “How difficult are these to build, and how long does it take to train crews?”
“We can have the production lines set up within three weeks, and it will take about three months to train the crews,” answered Dylan. “If you’re interested, Captain Anderson and the Orion will be glad to train your crews, while the production facilities are being built.”
Governor Bloom looked at Governor Dyson with excitement in her eyes. “We could build hundreds of these, maybe thousands.”
“We have thousands based on Earth,” said Dylan. “They play a very important part in the planet’s defense. Let’s go to the Command Center, and we’ll observe the flyby and then go to a conference room to discuss our future plans.”
-
The four went up to the Command Center and watched the flyby, as well as some attack scenarios the squadron executed while buzzing around the Imperial ships. Afterward they went to the main conference room and spent nearly three hours discussing and arguing about what must be done to defend the Tantula system as well as the other inhabited star systems in the Hagen Star Cluster.
“Then we’re in agreement,” said Admiral Cleemorl. “We’ll make Gideon the primary Imperial base in this sector of space, and both Gideon and Tantula Five will join the House of Worlds. In return we’ll see to it that both Gideon and Tantula Five have extremely powerful defensive grids, PDCs, ODPs, attack interceptors, and sufficient Imperial fleet units to protect the system from the Confederation. In addition, Tantula Five and Gideon will help to build and to strengthen the defensive grids around the other six major Human-inhabited worlds in the Hagen Star Cluster.”
“We’ll be placing ourselves on the front lines,” said Governor Bloom, frowning.
“Yes, but you are already a target as the first line of defense into the core worlds. Now you will have the ability to fight back against the Confederation. For the time being, Resistance Fleets are here, and my fleet will remain. As soon as our meeting is over, I’ll contact the Imperial Council and arrange for more convoys of war materials.”
“Will they agree?” asked Governor Bloom. She knew she was putting her colony in grave danger by agreeing to this, but she did not want to see the Confederation take over her world. She shuddered, thinking about all the young people they had sent to their deaths. For that reason alone she was willing to do what Admiral Cleemorl suggested.
Dylan smiled. “Yes, I’m sure they will. Not only will we bring seven more worlds into the Empire, we will be drawing a line in space and telling the Confederation, You may not pass.”
The Hagen Star Cluster lay in a direct line between the core worlds of the Empire and the main part of the Confederation. What Dylan wanted was to place a massive roadblock between the Confederation and the core worlds, one the Confederation would not dare to attempt to go around, lest they leave their own core worlds vulnerable to attack.
-
Layla walked through the newly completed sections of the Palace, inspecting them. Along with her was Andrew, Brenda, Fleet Admiral Marloo—who wanted to speak to her about some matters of urgency—and four Imperial Guards. They were in the upper level of one of the recently rebuilt sky towers. “It’s magnificent,” she said, smiling. “So much has been accomplished in such a short period of time.”
“The Imperial Palace is a symbol of power throughout the Empire,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo. “From what I understand, over two thousand work robots are involved in the renovation and the new construction under the guidance of several hundred construction engineers and architects.”
“They’re doing a wonderful job,” commented Andrew, as he stepped out on the balcony overlooking the capital. The sky was clear with only a few wispy white clouds. It was quiet up this high, just some imperceptible noise from the Palace construction and from the city. “I can see why you enjoyed living in the Palace.”
Layla stepped outside and stood near Andrew. “As soon as Krista returns, we shall move into the Palace. It’s time for the Palace to come back to life.”
Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Layla turned to face Fleet Admiral Marloo. “What is it you wanted to speak to me about?”
“I just received a message from Admiral Cleemorl. He wants to heavily fortify Tantula Five and Gideon.”
“Gideon?”
“The terraformed moon in the Tantula system with a Human population of over four hundred million. Admiral Cleemorl wants to make Gideon into a forward base for the Empire. He has sent a long list of what he will need. If we agree to this, then all seven inhabited worlds of the Hagen Star Cluster will join the House of Worlds and will become a part of the Empire.”
Layla returned her gaze over the city. She saw thousands of aircars in the sky lanes. “There are other smaller Human colonies in other star systems in the cluster, aren’t there?”
“Yes. Eighteen other star systems with major mining colonies. Several of those are on terraformed moons with growing populations.”
“Can we afford to send what Admiral Cleemorl wants?”
Fleet Admiral Marloo let out a deep and long sigh. “We would be sending nearly 43 percent of all our defensive grid production and 22 percent of our ODP production for the next three weeks to accomplish what he wants. Yet he’s planning a massive project that could seriously hamper the Confederation’s advances in the future.”
“Will that affect our own defenses, if we divert so much of our war production to the Hagen Star Cluster?” asked Andrew. He had been quietly listening.
“No, the core worlds are already heavily defended,” answered Marloo. “The main thing we’re still adding here are the ODPs. Much of our current defense production is aimed at protecting many of the smaller colonies and mining operations around the core systems.”
“Talk to the Imperial Council,” said Layla after a moment. “Tell them I want to do this, as it might keep the Confederation away from the core worlds. It’s better to fight the Confederation in deep space rather than around our homeworlds. It will also give us another heavily defended area of Imperial space.”
Marloo nodded. “As you wish, High Princess. I believe it’s the right decision.” Fleet Admiral Marloo bowed slightly and then left.
“So that’s how you do this,” said Andrew, impressed.
Layla smiled. “You learn how to read people. I could tell Fleet Admiral Marloo wanted to do this. I just encouraged him slightly. He will go to the Imperial Council, and sometime tomorrow I’ll have the paperwork on my desk to sign.”
Andrew looked down. From here he could see the Royal Gardens. They had really grown and were already looking magnificent. Andrew knew that shortly Layla would allow tours of the Royal Gardens and a few of the completed sections of the Palace that dealt with the history of the Empire. Many of the art pieces from the lower levels of the Imperial Library would be on display as well. Layla had mentioned that she was anxious to get the Palace reopened. Even two of the sky towers would be op
en to the public, and tourists would be allowed in the top two levels to admire the views of the capital.
Looking up, Andrew saw that all the sky towers had nearly been rebuilt. Only one was still in progress, and the sky bridges linking the towers were nearly finished as well. He knew that special lighting would light up the entire Palace at night.
Andrew looked out over the city. Millions of people lived in the capital. He knew that Layla was already working on returning Golan Four to the same state it had been in before the fall. Large nature preserves were being reestablished, and huge blocks of land used for agriculture were being returned to their former state. A few complaints had come from the landowners, but Layla had seen to it that they were well compensated.
“Brenda, what do you think of all this?” asked Layla, smiling.
“It’s breathtaking,” replied Brenda, her eyes open very wide. “I’ve never been in one of the sky towers before. They’re magnificent.”
“Are you ready to assume your duties as one of Andrew’s attendants?”
Brenda nodded. “Yes, I’ve always dreamed of living in the Palace.”
Layla laughed. “I’m glad you feel that way. I’ll have Emira meet with you. She knows everything about being an attendant and will get you started.”
“Thank you,” replied Brenda. “I won’t let you or Andrew down.”
“I know you won’t. That’s why you will make a wonderful attendant.”
-
Later that afternoon, Layla was in the suite of offices which Governor Stein, now Chief Chancellor Stein, had made available to her. In another week a similar suite would be finished in the Palace and the necessary personnel assigned. Andrew was with her, as she explained some of what she was doing. She was glad that Andrew was a Royal; it would take some of the load off her shoulders, as well as Krista’s.
“My biggest concern will always be the people,” explained Layla from behind her desk. “The Imperial Council will send governing bills to me, passed by them or the House of Worlds. I’ll study them and decide if they are beneficial to the people or if they should be changed. At some point in time, I’ll have people who will study all the bills and explain to me what their exact impact will be on the people and the Empire. There will be bills I won’t like, but they will be necessary. I can’t have everything my way, or the position of the monarchy will become too powerful.”
The Forgotten Empire: The Battle For Earth: Book three Page 15
