Conflict Unending

by Raymond L. Weil

  “How soon before we go home?” asked Kevin.

  “Soon,” Jeremy responded. “I need to brief Admiral Tolsen and make arrangements to transfer the captured Eternals to a suitable holding site.” Jeremy looked at the viewscreen. A dreadnaught floated there with the habitation squares of the Dyson Sphere in the background. A lot of good men and women had lost their lives in the past week. Jeremy knew from inspecting the damage to the Avenger just how close his own ship had come to being destroyed. Perhaps it was time for him to quit leading fleets into battle. It was something he was going to discuss with Kelsey when he returned home.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Avenger was safely in one of the large repair bays at the Communications and Transport Hub. Most of the crew had already headed home for a few days leave. Jeremy was sitting in his command chair staring at the empty spot where Commander Kyla Malen should be sitting. Her body and several others had been taken to the Dyson Sphere the three Federation races inhabited for a memorial service.

  Ariel was standing next to Jeremy respecting his silence.

  “I’m getting too old for this,” Jeremy said softly. “Maybe it’s time someone else took over as Fleet Admiral.”

  “Fleet Admiral Streth once thought the same,” answered Ariel, trying to find the right words. “However, he realized at the time, there was no one else he trusted to do what had to be done. Who else do we have that everyone, including the Originators, would follow?”

  Jeremy let out a deep sigh. He knew Ariel was right. There was no one else ready to fill his shoes. Admiral Kalen was an excellent fleet admiral, but a much better administrator. Perhaps Admiral Jackson or Admiral Tolsen in the future could take over. But for now Jeremy would have to continue to hold the weight of overall command on his shoulders.

  “Rear Admiral Barnes will be returning in a few more days,” added Ariel. “She succeeded in wresting the vortex Control Center away from the Simulins though it suffered heavy damage.”

  “Not as heavy as the Dyson Sphere we just left.” Jeremy could still see the massive hole that Rear Admiral Tolsen had blasted in the Dyson Sphere. In many ways, she reminded Jeremy of her brother.

  “Rear Admiral Barnes is sending most of her surviving Marines and combat robots to assist General Wesley in cleaning out the Eternals and Simulins in the Dyson Sphere we left. General Wesley believes with all the reinforcements, the job will be done by the end of the week.”

  Jeremy nodded as he stood up. “Let’s go home. I need to see Kelsey.” Kelsey had a way with words that would help Jeremy to put all of this into its proper perspective.

  -

  On the planet Gardell in the Eternals’ home galaxy, the Council of Eternals was meeting.

  “Our fleet wiped out!” said Second Leader Queexel, shaking his head in disbelief. “Fleet Commander Parnon dead! We should have taken that Shrieel and the war would soon be over.”

  “Our scout craft report there’s a hole nearly eighty kilometers across in the Shrieel,” added Second Leader Nolant. “If we had sent sufficient forces we could have invaded the Shrieel through the hole and taken it over.”

  Second Leader Fehnral stood up, his eyes cold and calculating. “Perhaps not. Never in the history of the Shrieels has one suffered such damage. These Humans are extremely dangerous and must not be underestimated. They may pose more of a danger to us than the Originators.”

  First Leader Clondax stood up looking slowly around the large stone table. The others sat down to listen. “The Humans suffered major losses in the battle. Fleet Commander Parnon destroyed a major part of their fleet. Not only that the Shrieel as mentioned earlier is heavily damaged. I propose gathering all of our fleets currently in Originator space into one large fleet and send them to the Shrieel in Galaxy X-938. I will accompany the fleet and will demand the Originators agree to live in one Shrieel and turn all the others over to us. After this most recent battle, they may be willing to negotiate rather than risk other Shrieels suffering similar damage. They must realize if we had another fleet in position, we could have taken the Shrieel.”

  “What if they refuse?” asked Second Leader Tarmal. “We lost a tremendous number of warrior robots as well as many of our elite shock troops.”

  First Leader Clondax leaned forward. “Then I will take the entire fleet of over one hundred thousand of our battlecruisers and attack the damaged Shrieel. I firmly believe with the damage the Shrieel has suffered we can easily gain entry. Granted there will be some losses, but the Shrieel will be ours.”

  The other councilors looked at one another and finally agreed.

  “This war needs to end,” said Second Leader Fehnral. “We have already committed too many resources to it rather than expanding the empire.”

  Clondax turned his unwavering eyes toward Fehnral. Fehnral had been openly against this war from the very beginning particularly after he learned that Originators still lived. Once he returned perhaps it would be time to seek a new Second Leader responsible for scientific development. There were several of Fehnral’s underlings that would be quite suitable in the position.

  “I will send the order to our fleets as well as a message to the Shrieel in Galaxy X-938 that we seek to meet with the Originator leaders to discuss ending this war. We will set the meeting for twenty-six days from now. That will give our fleets time to meet at the designated coordinates.” Clondax was confident once the Originators saw the fleet he was bringing and after the damage done to the Shrieel, they would acquiesce to his demands.

  -

  Later Clondax stood on a balcony overlooking the massive city of the Eternals that governed the empire. It was nearly dark but the city was still busy as the work of running an empire never stopped. The recent battle at the Shrieel where the Simulins controlled a vortex Control Center had stunned him. Fleet Commander Parnon should not have been defeated! He had made a tactical error in committing so many of his ships at once. He should have kept some back in reserve. What did concern Clondax was the growing impudence of these Humans who evidently had unlimited access to Originator technology. That technology was dangerous and should not have been shared with a less intelligent race.

  Clondax flexed his hand. With the added strength the mechanical nanites provided he could bend a heavy piece of metal if he so desired. Once he had control of the Shrieels, the rapid expansion of the empire would take place. In another one thousand years, the Eternals would not possess just ten thousand galaxies, it would be one million and sometime in the far future this entire universe would be under Eternal control. The only obstacle to this future were the few Originators who survived and their Human allies. Once the Originators withdrew to one and only one Shrieel, he would eliminate all traces of the Humans. In time, he would be known as the Eternals’ greatest leader.

  -

  Jeremy returned home to be met at the door by Kelsey. She had a sad look in her eyes and Jeremy could tell she had been crying. “Ariel told me about Kyla. I’m so sorry Jeremy. She has been with us for so long it almost feels like we lost a member of the family.”

  Jeremy took Kelsey in his arms knowing how she felt. He had felt the same way ever since Commander Malen’s unfortunate death.

  “I was in the Tower when your fleet arrived,” confessed Kelsey. “I saw the condition of the Avenger. You all could have been killed. I thought you agreed not to lead the fleets anymore but stay here in the Tower?”

  Looking down Jeremy nodded. “I did, but this was too important. Once we have enough trained admirals from the Federation, I promise my days of leading fleets into battle like this one will be over. The only fleet I want to command will be the one protecting your new super exploration dreadnaught.”

  Kelsey nodded. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.”

  Stepping inside the house, Jeremy looked around. “Where’s Ariel?” They had separated at the Tower and Jeremy fully expected her to be here.

  “She’s in the nursery with Jacob. She thought we could use some time al
one.”

  Even though Jeremy was feeling sad he couldn’t help but put forth a weak smile. Ever since he was at the Fleet Academy on the Moon, Ariel had been looking out for him and the others. “Let’s go sit down and talk.”

  -

  Jeremy and Kelsey spoke late into the evening. They spoke of the battle at the Dyson Sphere where Commander Malen died. They talked about their future here on the Dyson Sphere, but most of all they talked about their friends and exploring together on Kelsey’s new super exploration dreadnaught. Ariel eventually came out of the nursery informing them that Jacob was sound asleep.

  “I will speak to the two of you tomorrow,” Ariel said as she left.

  Kelsey watched as Ariel went out the door closing it softly behind her. “Sometimes I don’t know what we would do without our two overly protective AIs.”

  Jeremy nodded. He knew that sometimes all five of them took the two for granted.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

  Jeremy leaned back on the sofa his arm around Kelsey. “I need to meet with the Originator Council as well as Admiral Kalen and Governor Barnes. We need to discuss what is going to happen with those Eternals we captured.”

  Kelsey sat up, looking concerned. “What did you do with them? You didn’t bring them back here did you?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “No, we built a facility on an uninhabited moon near one of the fleet bases. “There’s a full company of Marines and the same number of combat robots guarding them. A number of Originator research scientists are already there studying the Eternals.”

  “Do you think they can actually shut them down?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Jeremy, recalling his last conversation with the Originator Council about that possibility. “From what I understand if the mechanical nanites can be neutralized, the Eternals will feel substantially weaker and maybe even confused.”

  Kelsey nodded as she stood up and pulled Jeremy up with her. “Let’s go to bed. You’ve been gone for a while and I know just what will make you feel better.”

  “Not tonight,” replied Jeremy, running his hand though Kelsey’s blonde hair. “I just want a good night’s sleep with you beside me.”

  “I can handle that,” Kelsey said in understanding. “We could both use a good night’s sleep. Let me go check on Jacob and then I’ll join you.”

  Stretching, Jeremy realized just how tired he was. He had experienced difficulty sleeping ever since Commander Malen’s death. The services for her and the others who had died were scheduled for the day after tomorrow. He just hoped with Kelsey at his side he would be able to finally get a full night’s sleep and accept the consequences of what had happened at the Dyson Sphere.

  -

  The next day Jeremy was in the new council chambers in the Tower where the Originator Council met. The council now had five members with the awakening of Councilors Metrecs and Roan.

  “I spoke to Reull Alistar earlier today,” Councilor Roan said. She looked Jeremy directly in the eyes. “He reports the mechanical nanites in the current Eternals have gone through a number of revisions. However, he is confident he can produce a shutdown procedure for them in a relatively short time. He has nearly his entire research staff with him as well as a few others who came from here. He says Jankel has been particularly useful.”

  “Jankel’s a brilliant research scientist,” said Councilor Bartoll. “I’m not surprised Alistar is finding him useful.”

  “How soon does he think he will be ready to try out the shutdown procedure?” asked Jeremy. They needed something to help keep the Eternals at bay.

  Councilor Roan took a deep breath and then answered. “He is already experimenting on the Eternals they have in the facility. He feels confident, based on their previous research, that he will be successful in just a matter of days.”

  “It will give us a weapon we can use against them,” said Bartoll. “How effective it will be remains to be seen.”

  “If it works, it will allow us to strike them at what they consider to be their strongest advantage,” said Jeremy thoughtfully.

  “I spoke to Admiral Kalen earlier,” said Bartoll. “It seems our plan to attach tracking devices on the Eternal fleets in our space has been successful. So far six fleets have been identified and are now being followed.”

  Jeremy looked at the councilors. “We believe there are ten. Once all ten have been identified, we will begin taking offensive measures against them.”

  “Dazon Fells believes it will be useless,” commented Councilor Castille. “He is convinced that for every Eternal fleet we destroy they will just send another.”

  “Don’t forget we have fleets in their space as well,” Jeremy reminded the councilor. “If we can force them to commit sufficient ships to protect their galaxies they may not have the warships to send to ours.” Jeremy was convinced the Eternals would not continue to allow his fleets to roam their galaxies destroying shipyard after shipyard. At some point in time, they would commit fleets to defend their galaxies.

  “We have no choice but to defend the galaxies in our space,” said Councilor Bartoll in a guilt-laden voice. “The Eternals are our problem and we have to find a way to deal with them.”

  “I think we are all in agreement on that,” replied Councilor Trallis.

  “What progress is being made in locating the rest of the hidden stasis facilities? Jeremy knew Major Wilde was finding more every day.

  Councilor Bartoll smiled. “Thanks to Councilors Metrecs and Roan we now know where they all are and even how many Originators are sleeping inside. There was a hidden communications facility here at the Communications and Transport Hub that linked all of them together as well as contained information on their locations. It’s how the Defenders of Zorn managed to send the message to all the facilities instructing them not to activate when the cure was found.”

  “How many are in stasis?” asked Jeremy, feeling curious. Currently, there were around twelve million Originators awake.

  “Another seventy to seventy-two million depending on how many stasis chambers have failed,” answered Councilor Roan. “We are forming as many teams as we can to hasten the awakening process.”

  “What about the Defenders of Zorn? Any traces of them?”

  “A few Originators that we have awakened were sympathetic in the past toward Zorn’s cause,” replied Councilor Bartoll. “They have been isolated until we determine if they are a threat. As far as Alborg and Albate, there still has been no trace. We are searching every Shrieel and even the fleet bases. So far there has been nothing.”

  Jeremy was not pleased to hear this. He understood that due to the massive size of the Dyson Spheres, it would be very easy for someone or even a group of people to stay hidden. “We need to keep looking. I’m afraid we haven’t heard the last from those two.”

  -

  Later Jeremy was meeting in his office with Governor Barnes and Admiral Kalen.

  “Rear Admiral Marks reports the first group of Federation fleet personnel have completed their classes at the academy,” said Admiral Kalen. “That’s over 112,000 new fleet personnel we can place on ships. “The Originators built a number of new buildings at the academy just to handle them all.”

  “Any problems?” Jeremy knew adjusting to life on the Dyson Sphere and the Originators advanced technology might be for a few.

  “Thirty-four requested to return to the Federation. They were having a hard time dealing with the Originator AIs.”

  This didn’t surprise Jeremy. Not after the war the Federation had fought against the Hocklyns and the AIs that ruled them.

  “We have Originator passenger ships arriving nearly every day from the Federation,” continued Admiral Kalen. “Federation fleet personnel as well as Marines. In another month we should have crews available for our dreadnaughts as fast as we’re building them. That’s a command crew of twelve, a few engineers, and a squad of Marines for each warship.”

  Jeremy looked over at Governor Barne
s. “What about the civilians?”

  “Same as the military,” replied Barnes. “There are additional passenger ships arriving daily. We have Humans, Altons, and Carethians arriving in large numbers. The Originators are building new cities for the colonists and have arranged for each of them to go through a short indoctrination course on the technology they will be exposed to. The current agreement with the Federation is to allow two million Carethians, six million Altons, and twenty million Humans to come to the Dyson Sphere.”

  This pleased Jeremy as it would give them a good population base to draw future fleet personnel from. Also the children from the three races would be exposed to Originator technology from a very young age. They would grow up without finding the miraculous technology strange.

  “What’s Grayseth been up to?” Jeremy tried to keep track of his large Bear friend hoping he was staying out of mischief.

  Admiral Kalen smiled. “I’ve assigned him to a small fleet of dreadnaughts here at the Hub. He’s been fighting mock battles with the new Federation recruits. I believe so far he’s won 82 percent of the contests. He says it’s fine training for the hunt.”

  Jeremy nodded. Since Marille was expecting their first cubs, Grayseth had been more willing to stay close to the Communications and Transport Hub. “I expect Grayseth will stay close by until after all the new Carethian colonists arrive. He’s excited about so many clans coming to the Dyson Sphere to take part in the hunt.”

  Have you had time to check out Kelsey’s new super exploration dreadnaught?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “No, I promised her I would wait until it’s finished. They’re all excited about going out exploring again.”

  Admiral Kalen looked over at Jeremy. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I may be going along with a fleet of dreadnaughts just to make sure they stay safe.”