“Leaving orbit, setting course for the Eternal ship,” reported the navigation officer. “Estimated transit time in hyperspace is four minutes.”
“How soon before the Star Rover arrives?”
Lieutenant Commander Edwards checked his console and then replied. “Approximately twelve minutes.”
Commander Roberts settled back in his command chair. “Well, this is going to be interesting.” He was hoping the dark matter missiles he had on board would make a difference. If not, this would be a very short battle.
The Salem accelerated forward and made the transition into hyperspace.
-
On the Eternal vessel, the sensor officer had noted the Originator ship’s entry into hyperspace. “They’re coming toward us.”
Commander Vaxall was not surprised. “Drop the sensor cloaking field. They know we are here and we’ll need all of the ship’s power for this battle.”
“It’s only an Originator battlecruiser,” pointed out Second Commander Delrom. “We should have no trouble defeating it.”
“Perhaps,” replied Vaxall. “It depends on what type of weapons it’s equipped with. Bring our energy shield up to full power and prepare to engage the enemy. We are the Eternals and will not be taken by surprise.”
-
“Enemy ship has dropped their stealth field and raised its energy shield,” reported the sensor officer. “I can now confirm it is a full sized Eternal battlecruiser. Length is four kilometers with a width of eight hundred meters.”
“Damn,” said Lieutenant Commander Edwards. “I was hoping it would be smaller.”
Commander Roberts frowned upon hearing they would be engaging one of the Eternals’ regular battlecruisers. The odds of destroying it were minimal. The only thing they could hope to do was force it to withdraw. The Eternals had to be shown wherever they appeared in Originator space they would be met with force.
The system they were in had its own defensive fleet, however, the weapons those ships were equipped with were far too weak to even consider using against an Eternal warship. It was better to keep those ships out of this battle until they could be rearmed with deadlier weapons.
“We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in twenty seconds,” reported the helm officer.
“Hit them with our dark matter missiles as soon as we exit hyperspace,” ordered Commander Roberts. Just maybe one of them would slip through the Eternals’ defenses.
The seconds ticked by and suddenly the ship dropped out of hyperspace.
“Launching missiles,” reported the tactical officer as his fingers touched several icons on his computer screen.
Commander Roberts’ eyes shifted to the ship’s main viewscreen focusing on the massive Eternal vessel. Almost instantly the sublight dark matter missiles began slamming into the ship’s powerful energy shield. The screen lit up with light as four hundred-megaton explosions detonated. When the screen cleared, there were several scorched marks on the hull of the Eternal vessel but no other signs of significant damage.
“Firing antimatter cannons!”
Roberts leaned back in his command chair. He had hoped the detonation of so many dark matter missiles would have caused much more damage. The odds of his ship surviving this battle had just become even less.
“They’re returning fire!” warned the sensor officer.
-
The Salem’s energy screen lit up as it was hit by a number of powerful energy beams as well as some one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles. The screen flared up brightly but held.
-
“Shield is down to 68 percent,” reported the tactical officer as his hands flew over his computer screen. “Firing second wave of dark matter missiles.”
“How far out is the Star Rover?”
Lieutenant Commander Edwards checked his console. “Another six minutes.”
“We have an antimatter beam hit to their hull,” called out the tactical officer. “One of the dark matter missiles created a slight weakness in the Eternal ship’s energy screen.”
On the screen, a jagged rent nearly twenty meters in length was visible.
“Damn, wish a missile had slipped through instead,” commented Edwards, his eyes narrowing sharply.
The Salem shook violently and several red lights appeared on the damage control console.
“Energy beam penetrated our shield,” reported the damage control officer. “We lost two antimatter turrets as well as one missile tube. I’m sealing off the affected compartments.”
“Shield is down to 48 percent.”
Commander Roberts stared at the damage control console. He knew before this was over many more red lights were going to appear. “Focus all of our antimatter beams on one section of the shield and let’s see if we can force it to fail. As soon as the beams are focused hit the same area with a dark matter missile.”
“We’re running low on the missiles,” reported the tactical officer. Since they were not a dreadnought, they were only provided a limited number of the powerful missiles.
The beams fired all targeting the same point on the energy shield of the Eternal vessel. Then the missile launched and a massive blast erupted in the same area. It was sufficient to partially weaken the shield and four antimatter beams penetrated, striking the battlecruiser. Dozens of compartments were ripped open and several explosions blew large hull fragments away from the stricken ship. Then the shield snapped back into place, cutting off the attack.
“That hurt them,” said Lieutenant Commander Edwards.
The Salem shook again only this time the shaking didn’t stop. Red lights began to flare up on the damage control console. The sound of explosions and tearing metal could be heard in the Command Center.
“Energy shield is down to 18 percent,” warned the tactical officer, his face turning pale. “It’s in danger of failing!”
“We have major damage to the hull near Engineering,” reported the damage control officer. “There are numerous compartments open to space and a number of power conduits have been destroyed. We’ve lost another six antimatter cannons and three more missile tubes. We have several fires burning and we’re venting atmosphere into space. Damage control teams are en route and I’m cutting off oxygen and venting the areas where the fires are.”
Commander Roberts knew that was dooming whatever crewmembers were still in those sections but it had to be done to limit the spreading of the fires. “Do it.”
The damage control officer touched some icons on his computer screen and then reported in a strained voice. “Compartments have been vented. Fires are out.”
-
Commander Vaxall nodded in satisfaction as he saw the damage done to the Originator ship on the viewscreen. The ship wouldn’t last much longer. “Focus more of our energy beams on that vessel as well as antimatter missiles. Its screen is weakening and should fail momentarily.”
“The second Originator ship is about to exit hyperspace,” warned Second Commander Delrom.
“We will destroy this first vessel and then concentrate on the second.”
-
The Star Rover dropped out of hyperspace and immediately launched a full volley of dark matter missiles at the Eternal vessel. Commander Russell watched as massive explosions shook the enemy vessel but its shield held. “Fire all missiles at one location on the shield as well as our antimatter beams. Surely we can weaken it to the point to get one missile through.”
More explosions rocked the energy screen all focusing on one small area. Suddenly a missile went through the screen and smashed into the hull of the Eternal vessel. A massive explosion rocked the enemy ship and a good fourth of the vessel was vaporized in the fireball. Secondary explosions could be seen erupting in other areas, blasting out huge holes in the hull.
-
Commander Vaxall was thrown to the deck and stood back up with one arm hanging limply at this side. A protruding bone indicated it was broken. “Status!” he demanded, feeling anger about his ship being seve
rely damaged.
“Hyperdrive is still functional,” reported Second Commander Delrom. “However, we’ve lost a major portion of our hull and interior damage is severe. We have a number of fires burning and secondary explosions are occurring near the damaged area.”
Commander Vaxall stood absolutely still as he thought over his options. His ship was too damaged to assure victory over the two Originator ships. He could possibly still destroy the damaged one but the other would destroy his vessel. “Take us into hyperspace. We will return to Eternal space and repair our damage.” Vaxall could already feel the nanites in his body starting to repair his broken arm.
“The council will not be pleased we were detected,” commented Second Commander Delrom.
“I will deal with the council,” replied Vaxall. He knew for failing in his mission there was a very good chance he would be sentenced to a penal colony.
-
Commander Roberts breathed out a long sigh of relief as the Eternal vessel vanished into hyperspace. “What’s the condition of the ship?” he asked, looking over at Lieutenant Commander Edwards.
“Not good. The hyperdrive is functional but I would recommend we do what repairs we can before going to one of the bases.”
Commander Roberts nodded. “Very well, put us back into orbit above the fourth planet. Perhaps they can help us with some of our repairs. Also, send a message to Commander Russell and thank the Star Rover for their assistance.”
“What’s going to happen now?” asked Lieutenant Commander Edwards. “The Eternals have broken the agreement restricting them from entering Originator space.”
“I don’t know,” replied Roberts. “I need to go to my quarters and fill out a report on this action and get it sent in. It will be up to the Originator Council to determine if any type of military response is necessary.”
Roberts didn’t know what would happen as a result of this altercation. He also wondered if there were more stealthed Eternal battlecruisers lurking around. If so, what were they searching for?
Chapter Five
Jeremy was checking the status of the ships in the fleet. So far all were functioning with no major problems detected. They still had nearly four weeks of travel before they reached their destination. He was already feeling curious about what they might find and if they would be able to locate some sufficiently advanced races to help them bring the Eternals’ intergalactic expansion to a stop. Two or three times a day he talked to Kelsey to see how she was doing as well as their son. It was hard being so close to his family but unable to touch them or see them.
“We have a report from the New Horizon,” said Lieutenant Lantz. “There’s a report from the Communications and Transport Hub an Eternal battlecruiser was detected in one of the Originator controlled galaxies. There was a battle between it and two of our battlecruisers. One of our battlecruisers received substantial damage as did the Eternal ship before it withdrew.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened upon hearing this report. He had believed the treaty between the Eternals and the Originators would last for decades if not centuries. Now in only a few short years it may have been broken.
Aaliss stepped back from Communications and looked over at Jeremy. “I don’t believe the council will start a new war in Eternal space over this, particularly if this is just an isolated incident. There is too much at stake. I suspect they will warn the Eternals hoping that will be sufficient.”
“The question is whether this really is just an isolated incident. We will have to watch over the next few months to see if there are any other reports. I suspect if they’re in one galaxy, they may be in others.” Jeremy wished the incident hadn’t happened, particularly with him so far away from the Communications and Transport Hub.
“Why were they there in the first place?” asked Kevin with a deep frown. “Why risk igniting an even worse war? It’s to their advantage for our forces to be staying out of the galaxies they control.”
Ariel looked thoughtful and then spoke. “I believe they may be searching for something. If we detect more of their battlecruisers in Originator space in the future that will prove my suspicion.”
Kevin shook his head. “What can they be searching for? They already know where all the Dyson spheres are as well as most of the large Originator bases.”
“Earth!” said Jeremy, his eyes widening with alarm and staring at Ariel. “They know we’re operating nearly all the dreadnoughts and our admirals and the Altons are in command of the Originator fleets. They may be searching for our homeworlds.”
“I don’t know,” replied Kevin, looking doubtful. “Would they violate the treaty in order to attack Earth or the Altons’ homeworld?”
“They would,” answered Major Preston from Tactical. “It would be a sound strategy. If they could eliminate the Altons and us from the equation, the Originators would be hard pressed to fight an offensive war against the Eternals. They would be forced to stay inside their Dyson spheres. They may even have to abandon all their bases in the galaxies under their control.”
“What should we do?” asked Kevin, his eyes resting on Jeremy. “We can’t let them find Earth.”
Jeremy took a deep breath. “I’ll send a message to the council and particularly Councilors Barnes and Tureen. If our home planets are in danger we need to make sure they’re aware of the threat so they can prepare for a possible attack.”
“Admiral Nagumo isn’t going to like this,” commented Kevin.
“He’ll do his job,” replied Jeremy. “He’s a good fleet admiral.”
-
Later that day in one of the Dyson spheres at the Communications and Transport Hub, the Originator Council was in emergency session.
“We have a developing situation,” reported Councilor Trallis. “All of you know about the Eternal battlecruiser discovered in Galaxy X-2381 by the battlecruiser Salem.”
“It was defeated and has withdrawn,” replied Councilor Roan. “There have been no reports of contacts in any of our other galaxies. This may be just an isolated incident.”
“That we’re aware of,” pointed out Councilor Barnes with a worried look on his face. “If they were employing stealth fields like the one the Salem encountered we may not know they’re even there. There could be hundreds of Eternal battlecruisers in our galaxies.”
Everyone was silent for several long moments as they thought over the implications of what Councilor Barnes had just said.
“Councilor Barnes is correct,” commented Admiral Jackson. He had a thick stack of folders in front of him. “My greatest concern is why the Eternals were there in the first place. I just received a message from Fleet Admiral Strong. He wants to increase our fleet presence in all the galaxies we control and search them for Eternal ships. We must determine if this is an isolated incident or an indication of something much larger.”
“There are too many galaxies,” protested Councilor Castille, his eyes widening. “It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack as you Humans would say.”
“Not if we just monitor the more advanced systems,” replied Jackson. “That’s where the Salem encountered the Eternals.”
Councilor Metrics looked over at Jackson. “What does Fleet Admiral Strong believe the Eternals are up to?”
Jackson took a deep breath and then replied. “There are several possibilities. They may just be searching our galaxies to see what type of intelligent races there are, scanning our defenses in those galaxies, or they could be searching for the Human Federation of Worlds as well as the Altons’ homeworld.”
“Why would they be doing that?” asked Metric, leaning forward.
“Admiral Strong believes if the Eternals are indeed searching for the Human Federation of Worlds. If they find the Federation, he believes they will attack it with overwhelming force. They will try to destroy the source of Humans, Altons, and Carethians we are using to operate our ships.”
“Genocide,” said Councilor Tureen, his voice quivering in shock. “How can they cont
emplate such a thing? It is uncivilized.”
“It is a logical step for them,” said Councilor Castille, shaking his head. “It is how the anti-life thinks. Fleet Admiral Strong may indeed be correct about the Eternals searching for the Human Federation of Worlds. It would explain the presence of the Eternal vessel and for them it would be a sound military strategy.”
“That would explain the presence of the Eternal vessel,” said Councilor Roan in agreement. “We must send more ships to see if there are other stealthed Eternal battlecruisers in our galaxies.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” suggested Councilor Trallis. “If this is just an isolated incident we may be putting too much emphasis on what it might mean. I agree we should deploy more of our ships to monitor the galaxies under our control and assign them to search for stealthed Eternal vessels. We need more information before we risk an open confrontation with the Eternals.”
Admiral Jackson nodded. “I would also suggest we send a full fleet of Originator ships to the Human Federation of Worlds just in case the Eternals attack. We should also place more ships in that galaxy’s Dyson sphere in case they’re needed. It is best for us to be prepared in case there is an attack.”
“What about advanced weapons for the Alton and Human Federation of Worlds’ fleets?” asked Councilor Tureen. “Both have large numbers of warships but their weapons are woefully weak when compared to an Originator battlecruiser.”
“I would be against that initially,” replied Councilor Metrics, with a deep frown. “We don’t dare allow the Eternals to capture intelligence on our dark matter missiles or dark matter energy beams.”
Admiral Jackson nodded in agreement. “However, we could make available our more powerful antimatter missiles as well as antimatter weapons. We could also give them our gravitonic cannons since the Eternals have those as well. It would make the Alton and Federation fleets more capable against the Eternals. We have already made available to both races better power systems as well as some weapons technology. I would also suggest we deploy some of our dark matter missiles and dark energy cannons. Both the Earth and New Tellus have massive battlestations in orbit. We could place Originator AIs on board to supervise the installations. If they are in danger of being captured the AIs can destroy them.”
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 6
