Conflict Unending

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Just so the children are safe,” said Angela, looking over at Clair who was playing with a puzzle. The puzzle had large pieces and she was struggling with the last two. Ariel stepped over and patiently showed her where they went.

  “We won’t be going alone,” Kelsey said. “We’ll have other exploration dreadnaughts with us as well as a full warfleet of dreadnaughts. We should be able to handle anything we come across.”

  Kelsey looked over at Jeremy who was talking with Kevin and Brace. He looked so relaxed. It had been good for him to stay away from the war these last few months. Unfortunately Kelsey knew that would not last much longer. “We’re going to start actual construction in another few weeks.”

  “Just how big is this ship going to be?” asked Angela. “I have the communication system designed. Several of the Originators who specialize in subspace and hyperspace communications have been helping me.”

  Kelsey had to grin. “Fifty-two hundred meters,” she replied. “Slightly larger than the Dominator and more heavily armed.”

  Ariel stepped away from Clair who was starting another puzzle. “The ship will have the blue energy spheres of the Originators as well as dark energy cannons. As far as the Originators know, there is nothing that can stand up to such weapons. The ship will have a double triplex energy shield and the most advanced stealth technologies known. Her intergalactic hyperspace speed will be nearly 42 percent faster than what we have now.”

  “What about the crew?” asked Katie. “Who will be the commanding officer? Are you going to do it, Kelsey?”

  Kelsey shook her head. She’d had enough of command the months she had been in charge of the Dominator. “No, I’ve spoken about it to Jeremy and he’s suggested offering it to Rear Admiral Barnes with us as an advisory council. There will be a few Originators on board, a number of their AIs and others we’ve worked with in the past.”

  “Clarissa and I will both be on the ship,” added Ariel. “I can assure you we will make certain no harm ever comes to the new special children.”

  Angela walked over to Clair who was trying to smash a round puzzle piece into a square hole. She took the puzzle piece out of Clair’s hands and showed her where it was supposed to go. “How long will it take to build the ship?”

  “With Originator construction technology and everything we want in it, about six months,” answered Kelsey. “We still need to finish designing some of the labs and a few other facilities. I have a team of Altons along with several Originators who are working on that.”

  Katie looked over at Kevin who was eyeing a hamburger Jeremy was turning over on the grill. She let out a deep sigh. She had long since given up on changing Kevin’s eating habits. “I talked to Mikow before she left on the Distant Horizon and she’s interested in transferring to our new ship.”

  Kelsey laughed. “If we can talk Rear Admiral Barnes into taking command I suspect a lot of the crew will be requesting a transfer.” Kelsey had no problem with that. The crew on the Distant Horizon was the best one in the fleet.

  -

  “They’re probably discussing baby names,” muttered Kevin, looking over at the girls.

  “You need two names,” Brace reminded Kevin as he held out a platter so Jeremy could load it up with hamburgers and steaks.

  Kevin turned slightly pale. “I still can’t believe we’re having twins and Katie’s already talking about more later on.”

  “I could have told you that,” replied Jeremy as he put the hamburgers and steaks on the large platter. “Even when she was young she was always talking about having a big family. Five or six wouldn’t surprise me.”

  Kevin’s eyes bulged. “Five or six!”

  Brace laughed. “Angela wants a large family as well.”

  “Look, there are Grayseth and Marille,” said Jeremy as the two Bears came through the back gate carrying several large trays of food. “I’m sure they will be having a large number of cubs someday.”

  Kevin only shook his head. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  Jeremy watched as Kelsey took the two trays from Grayseth and Marille. Marille joined the girls and was excitedly telling them something. Grayseth walked over to Jeremy. “Any word from the Distant Horizon?”

  “Not yet,” Jeremy replied. Jeremy knew Grayseth was excited about the prospect of more Carethians coming to the Dyson Sphere. Already he was enlarging the city the Bears inhabited.

  “I heard the Eternals attacked one of the Originator fleet bases earlier.”

  Jeremy nodded. “Yes; they managed to destroy it. I’ve ordered some of the fleet bases reinforced. We’re pretty certain we know which galaxy they’re going to hit next. Unfortunately, due to the distance and time it takes to get a major fleet there, I don’t see much more we can do for now.”

  “I was concerned about these fleet bases being vulnerable,” said Grayseth. “As soon as the Federation begins furnishing more crews for our ships, we can begin sending out fleets of powerful warships to stop these attacks by the Eternals.”

  “Soon,” promised Jeremy. “All the Dyson Spheres, the shipyards here, and the fleet bases are building new battlecruisers. We also have a number of shipyards building more dreadnaughts. When the time comes we’ll be ready and will go back on the offensive.”

  This seemed to please Grayseth. “My people are ready to go out on the hunt. We train daily for future battles.”

  “What is Marille so excited about?” asked Kevin. Even the girls seemed thrilled over what Marille was telling them.

  Grayseth grinned, showing his incisors. “Today is a day to celebrate as she just learned in a few months we will be having our first cubs.”

  “Little Grayseths,” said Kevin in shock. He could already see his house overrun with little Bears eating all the food in the pantry. The Bears were known for voracious appetites. It was one reason Jeremy had fixed a number of very large steaks.

  “Congratulations,” said Jeremy, knowing Grayseth must be thrilled about having future heirs. The Bears took family responsibilities extremely seriously.

  “Clair will be excited,” said Brace. “I can’t wait to see her and the cubs playing together.”

  “They will make fine playmates and will learn the way of the hunt together,” proclaimed Grayseth.

  Jeremy looked over at Ariel. She didn’t look surprised. Somehow, Jeremy suspected Ariel already knew. She made it a habit to keep track of all of them, and it was evident she had now added Grayseth to her list. He wondered what type of training she would set up for Grayseth’s cubs.

  “It’s time to eat,” announced Jeremy as he set the platter of hamburgers and steaks on one of the picnic tables.

  Everyone gathered around the tables and began filling their plates. Kevin grabbed two hamburgers and placed them on a bun, adding all the fixings. He added potato salad and baked beans until his plate was nearly overflowing.

  “I see your appetite is still there,” said Brace as he picked up a medium rare steak.

  Kevin nodded. “I have to keep up my strength.”

  “You’re going to get fat if you keep eating like that,” said Katie, shaking her head.

  “He won’t,” replied Ariel, smiling broadly. “I’ve already set up an appointment at the gym in the morning. I’ll make sure he burns off all the extra calories he’s having tonight.”

  Kevin groaned and then took a healthy bite of his hamburger. “It’s worth it.”

  “How are the Originators doing since all of them have been awakened?” asked Brace as he cut into his steak.

  “Fine,” Jeremy answered. “They seem to be accepting this new reality with us living in this Dyson Sphere and aiding them in the war against the Eternals. Many of them have already gone to work in the labs, the Tower, and the shipyards. Our first dreadnaughts with dark energy cannons should be coming out of the construction bays in another few days.”

  “What about the blue energy spheres?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “No, that’s one area where the Origi
nators are not budging. The only ships allowed to have the blue energy spheres are the Dominator and the girls’ new super exploration dreadnaught, probably because both of them are larger than Eternal battlecruisers and nearly indestructible.”

  Kelsey grinned at Jeremy’s reference to the new ship. “It will be the most powerful ship the Originators have ever built. Even more powerful than the Dominator.”

  “The Dominator does have dark energy cannons,” pointed out Kevin. They had been installed at the space station in the Lost Originators’ star cluster. “I wonder how Commander Zafron and Kazak will feel about your ship being more powerful.”

  “I suspect as soon as they get back and see the latest specs on the new super exploration dreadnaught they will want the Dominator updated to the most recent specifications as well,” said Jeremy as he buttered a roll. “Once that’s been done there won’t be much difference in the firepower of both ships.”

  Grayseth took a large bite out of his steak and smiled. “This is excellent. I truly enjoy the taste of your beef. We have nothing like it on Careth. I stopped by the shipyard building my new dreadnaught yesterday. It will be finished shortly, and I’ll be taking it out on its first hunt.”

  ‘Nowhere dangerous,” interrupted Kelsey with concern in her voice.

  “No,” replied Grayseth. “I’m taking the ship to one of the galaxies without a Dyson Sphere to inspect several of the fleet bases. I’ll have other ships with me, and it is doubtful we will encounter any Eternal vessels. It will be a good opportunity to test the ship’s weapons and train the new crew.”

  Marille looked over at Kelsey. “He’s restless. It has been too long since the last hunt. It will do Grayseth good to get away from the Dyson Sphere and lead a fleet once more. The hunt is our way of life and the way our cubs will be brought up. There will be many stories of Grayseth to share around the fire pit in our den.”

  “To the hunt,” said Grayseth, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

  “To the hunt,” replied Jeremy. He knew Grayseth was anxious to get back out into space after spending so long on the planet they had been stranded on and where they had nearly died. A number of his crew had met their deaths on that harrowing planet. Jeremy was glad Grayseth and part of his crew had managed to survive. Jeremy wasn’t sure if the situation were reversed if he could have done so. It was the Bears’ belief in the hunt which allowed them to survive in that harsh environment.

  -

  For the rest of the evening the group talked and laughed, even sharing stories of past adventures. For this evening there were no concerns or worries about the future.

  Later, after everyone left, Jeremy and Kelsey were cleaning up the last of the dishes.

  “I wish we could do this more often,” said Kelsey. “I really enjoyed tonight.”

  “So did I,” replied Jeremy. “Did you see the look on Kevin’s face when he found out about Marille?”

  Kelsey laughed. “Yes, it was hilarious.”

  Jeremy smiled. Kelsey looked so radiate and alluring when she laughed. “I promise we will do this again real soon.” Jeremy walked over and put his arms around Kelsey, kissing her gently on the lips.

  It was at that moment Ariel suddenly appeared in front of them. She still had the ability to use her holographic image when she felt the need. “We just received a message from Rear Admiral Barnes. The Federation has agreed to send aid. Two million Carethians, six million Altons, and twenty million Humans. In addition, half the graduating class from the Fleet Academy on the Moon will be assigned to the Communications and Transport Hub as well beginning immediately and in the future.”

  “She did it!” said Kelsey with relief appearing on her face.

  Jeremy nodded. “Yes, she did.” Now Jeremy could begin planning the real war against the Eternals. With crewed ships he could now commit fleets without fearing unnecessary losses from overzealous military AIs. Tomorrow he would speak to Bartoll and the rest of the new Originator Council. It was time for the Eternals to learn what real war was like.

  Chapter Four

  Commander Zafron watched the tactical display intently as the Dominator with its fleet of dreadnaughts and new battlecruisers moved through the outer regions of the Median Galaxy. The fleet was operating under stealth and had been following a number of Eternal ship convoys.

  “We’ve extrapolated their destination,” reported Kazak, a military AI. Kazak was easily eight feet tall and dressed in a high-collared dark red military uniform. He was very Human in form except his skin had a more bluish tone to it than did the Altons. His hair was a dark black and his facial features seemed very normal. “There’s a K-Class star up ahead the convoys are heading toward.”

  “This may be the main base we’re seeking,” said Commander Zafron, who was dressed very similar to Kazak. Zafron was an Originator and the commander of the Dominator.

  The fleet had been sent out to attack the Eternals in this galaxy. Fleet Admiral Strong and Councilor Bartoll hoped such an attack would force the Eternals to deploy more of their warships to defending their galaxies. Since there were over ten thousand of them, it could result in a vast reduction in ships the Eternals had available to attack galaxies controlled by the Originators.

  The Dominator was five thousand meters in length and nearly six hundred in diameter. It was armed with the most powerful weapons known to Originator science and protected by a triplex energy shield.

  On the tactical display, numerous friendly green icons surrounded the Dominator. There were one hundred and twenty dreadnaughts, all with Human and Alton command crews and eight hundred of the new and larger battlecruisers each commanded by a military AI. It was a very powerful fleet with one primary purpose; cause as much damage to the Eternals in the Median Galaxy as possible.

  “We will approach the system assuming the Eternals will detect us,” said Zafron. “Their sensors may be able to penetrate our stealth fields.”

  Kazak stepped over closer. “We will scan the system as we approach to choose our targets. We should drop out of hyperspace in combat range of any Eternal facilities in the system.”

  “Agreed,” replied Zafron. “Prepare the fleet to attack. This needs to be a swift surgical strike. I don’t want to give the Eternals time to respond.”

  Kazak quickly passed the orders on to the rest of the fleet. Then he took his position at the tactical station ready to use the Dominator’s weapons to annihilate any and all opposition.

  “Captain Franklyn, I want all outgoing Eternal communications jammed upon our emergence from hyperspace.”

  “Yes, sir,” Franklyn replied. Franklyn was a Human fleet officer assigned to the Dominator.

  -

  The fleet rapidly approached the system and at thirty light years the Dominator’s sensors began scanning the target. The sensors instantly located several convoys as well as a number of large space stations. There were also three hundred Eternal battlecruisers in the system, most around or near the space stations with a few patrolling the outer regions of the system.

  -

  “No signs of detection,” reported Captain Grayson from his sensor console. Grayson was also a Human fleet officer. “Our new stealth fields may be fooling their sensors for now.” The fields had been set to a different frequency in the hopes the Eternals were still scanning for the old one. “I believe we may be able to slip into the system undetected.”

  “I concur,” added Kazak. “We should get in our first weapons strike before the Eternals realize we’re in the system.”

  Commander Zafron spent a moment studying the sensor readings. “There are twelve large space stations. I want ten dreadnaughts assigned to attack each one using dark matter missiles. The Dominator will attack the largest station, which should be their primary shipyard. All the battlecruisers will strike the largest Eternal fleet formation.”

  “Ships will be timed to emerge from hyperspace simultaneously at all targets,” Kazak replied as he prepared the Dominator’s weapons and communica
ted the attack plan to the other AIs in the fleet.

  “Take us in,” ordered Commander Zafron as he leaned forward in his command chair.

  -

  Fleet Commander Caleeb was in the Command Center of the largest shipyard in the Alonng System. There had once been a vibrant colony world of the Malorre in the system but it had been destroyed when it refused to surrender to the Eternals. Now the largest shipyard in this galaxy orbited the dead planet. Twelve construction bays built new Eternal battlecruisers to be used in the conquest of other galaxies. Convoys were constantly bringing in raw materials and specialized parts for the construction of the warships.

  Caleeb gazed at the tactical display showing the other large space stations orbiting the planet. There were two other shipyards and nine stations responsible for receiving and refining metals the convoys were bringing in. Caleeb relished the power he wielded. Much of this part of this galaxy was under his control. Thousands of worlds owed allegiance to the growing Eternal Empire. Eternal warships paid periodic visits to these worlds, escorting convoys of raw materials and vital supplies back to the various systems in the galaxy where the Eternals built new warships. There was no doubt in Caleeb’s mind the Eternals would someday control all or most of this universe. It was the right of the Eternals as they were the most powerful and intelligent race.

  “Convoy from the Stralon Star Cluster is entering the system,” reported Dakar, the Eternal at the Sensors. “The ships will be docking at stations seven and eight for unloading. They’re carrying ores of heavy metals.”

  “Get them unloaded and out of the system as soon as possible,” ordered Caleeb. “Warship production has been increased by the Council of Eternals, and we need more raw materials.” The raw materials were brought to the processing plants in the nine stations and then converted or manufactured into armor and other parts for the warships. Cargoes from inhabited worlds brought computer parts and other specialized equipment.