Toleda was beautiful with deep blue waters that ran in long stretches throughout the land masses. The land was green and gold with white snow-capped mountains strewn about in long ridges that stretched for much of the planets perimeter. As the Shanghai moved closer we could make out the glowing lights of the massive Kurtz cities on the night side of the planet.
Soon the single moon of Toleda made its way into view from the far side of the planet. As the destroyer slowed to a stop we had our first looks at the Frekkin Transit Pull. There were eight such pulls in a cluster located in a stationary position just outside of Toleda's orbit. The entire scene as viewed on our high resolution holo-screen was surreal.
For seven days we used the destroyer's sensors to monitor traffic coming in and out of the Rho Puppis system. Most of the ships were small transports, but we were treated to the rare arrival of one of the Sodium harvesters from a far system. The massive ship had in tow a string of massive containers that stretched out for 500 kilometers behind it.
There was enough Sodium in the one haul to power the entire planet of Toleda for hundreds of years. But the mega-ship and its cargo were soon lined up in the same direction as one of the Transit Pulls. Rial Mabia identified the pull as heading towards the Waffen home world of Eldred in the Spica system. It was a 221 light year journey from Toleda.
I quizzed Mabia on the Waffen and was told they were a species of flyers. They were bipeds, but they made use of thin membranes that would stretch out under their arms, allowing them to cruise from a higher location to a lower one much like the flying squirrels of Earth. Eldred was a rocky world with few flatlands and the Waffen had genetically adapted to their environment through many millennia giving them their gliding ability.
But the shipment would not stop there. It would likely continue on for another four hops before reaching the Frekkin world of Mossis. Mossis was rumored to be a gateway world and as such was heavily armed as a first defense for the Frekkin worlds, of which there were twelve. Everything in the empire revolved around those twelve planets. At least that was what Rial Mabia had been taught in her grade school education nearly 250 Earth years before.
Travelers who landed on Mossis were rumored to never be heard from again and any cargoes destined for there were stopped short of delivery with crews sent back along their way with new ships and new orders. No Out-worlder was permitted to lay eyes on the Frekkin and return. I speculated that it was likely only a ploy to keep the outer worlds in line by adding a layer of mystery to whatever lore surrounded the Frekkin.
In addition, crews and ships were changed at every Transit Pull. Kurtz were not allowed to visit Eldred and Waffen were not allowed on Toleda. The Frekkin Empire was set up so that only trade was allowed between worlds, trade that was taxed by the Empire. There was also no common spoken language. Any communique between worlds was done using Frekkin writing and reading. There were only a handful of subjects on any world who could translate and it was kept a highly guarded secret. The Frekkin maintained a tight grip on their subjects.
We had been observing for a week and I had not slept since leaving Earth. My suit meds saw to it that I was fully alert and nutritionally healthy at all times. But the Human brain required rest and with no activity going on I decided it was time for a nap. I passed command on to my second, Admiral Josh Barron, and then made my way to my quarters. I adjusted my suit to control the length of time that my bio-computer thought would be best. I was soon fast asleep.
Eighteen hours passed before I was again awake. The suit stimulants kicked in bringing me fully alert within seconds. I immediately sought status of anything that had happened during my rest. The first report was that Rial Doria's ship had been detected. It was docked in the Kurtz city of Hervik which was only 200 kilometers from the Kurtz capital of Gurthead.
I began to toy with the idea of sending a Kurtz spy from our ranks down to the planet to investigate further. But the Kurtz were not a people to be trusted. They had already shown through their easily changed loyalty, from their own people to me, to not truly be loyal. They would sell out to the highest bidder if their current circumstance was unstable.
I then questioned Mabia on the speeds of the Frekkin ships without the Transit Pulls. She did not know. I began to form a plan, a plan of attack, an attack on the Kurtz home-world of Toleda. I quizzed Mabia on what ground defenses the planet had to which she responded that she was not sure. She had never heard of any nor did she know of any need as while they were subjects of the Frekkin they were under their protection.
I sent orders to Captain Dang to scan the planet’s surface for ships. I wanted a full accounting of what we might be up against if an assault was to be undertaken. He waited until the planets 33 hour rotation had ended before responding with his estimates.
He counted 31 mega-ships, 54 battleships, 126 cruisers, 244 destroyers and 96 carriers. Aside from the carrier fighter counts he had no way of knowing how many other fighters they had. All-in-all it was a formidable fleet.
But our weapons were superior, our shields stronger and our drive systems would allow us to easily outmaneuver their ships. We also had training on our side as most Kurtz had never known battle and any simulated training they did was of a minimal nature. Their numbers were more for self-esteem as a people than anything. The real protection supposedly came from the Frekkin.
I ordered the Battle Planners to get to work immediately on as many scenarios for an attack as possible. I wanted simulations run 24 / 7 to provide us with "best estimates" of what we might find once in battle. All ships were soon placed on full alert status as the war simulations began.
Every crew manned their posts with the same determination that was expected from them during the real thing. Several lower level commanders had taken it upon themselves to not reveal that information to their charges when shifts changed. That practice was ended when two crewmen left their posts in an attempt to take back the bridge of their ship from simulated invaders who had come aboard. They had been talked down from their assault just before using live fire.
We ran the simulations for four days and the results of even the worst scenarios came out well in our favor. The Kurtz fleet, even though it was far larger in size, was no match for our new technologies. Mabia then threw in the added potential that if we came in with an overwhelming attack at first, the rest of the Kurtz fleet might surrender and submit to our empire. When the odds were against them, survival and adapting to new rulers was something they did very well.
I soon had thoughts of the first planet falling under the rule of the Human Empire. We were not prepared for governing an alien species and I was not fond of the thought of winging it. I organized a Council of Governance and drew on every crew member that had any diplomatic experience.
I ordered the council be headed from Command on Earth. Plans for immediate subjugation of the Kurtz home world would need to be put in place before we moved. Days soon turned to weeks as the plans began to solidify. When the Council of Governance (COG) was satisfied with their outlines I put our attack plan into action.
We were going to war on another planet with a species that had made war with us first. I had feelings of revenge coursing through my veins even though my conscience told me it was wrong. It was a personal struggle I would have to deal with if I had any hope of continuing on as the Human Empire's Supreme Commander. It was a title that I had created at first to intimidate the Kurtz, but it had somehow stuck.
I was seated at the head of an armada, commanding a fleet of warships on the edge of conflict with another world, commanding a planet to follow my lead and to do my bidding. I had an uneasy feeling that constantly lurked in my subconscious, telling me that it had all come about too easily; it remained in the forefront of my mind.
Who was I that the whole Human race was so willing to follow? Who was I that others would lay down their lives for my goals? Each time the thoughts arose I confronted them with the words of wisdom my grandfather had given me so many years before. Jus
t always do your best with what you have and learn from your mistakes. Be confident in your abilities and trust in your decisions. If you do your best you will know that you have done all that was possible.
As my confidence returned I sat back in my chair. I was the Supreme Commander of the Human Empire and our conquest to free the galaxy was about to begin. I brought my captain's screen online. I raised my arm as all watched and then slowly lowered it in the direction of Toleda, my outstretched finger pointing the way.
Chapter 5
As the ship decelerated we broke through light speed and within minutes the first ships of the Kurtz fleet were lifting off from the planet's surface. Minutes later tens of thousands of missiles lifted out of silos heading in our direction. They came quickly and once above Toleda's atmosphere they MIRVed into a dozen or more warheads apiece. It was a scenario that we had not planned for.
I ordered the smaller ships to align behind the battleships and for all to keep their shields at maximum. I had hoped that our approach would be invisible with our active skins enabled, but the Kurtz had a method to detect us. I reasoned that perhaps we had dropped out of light speed too late as our destroyer had been camped out for weeks without being detected.
As the first of the MIRVed warheads came within range I order the battleships to begin firing upon them with our Protactinium coil guns. In a near instant the warheads began to explode one by one as the tiny yet dense projectiles reached their targets.
The remaining warheads, which numbered more than 300,000, began using a swirling pattern in their approach thus making the coil gun projectiles far less effective. The horde of warheads continued closing in. I ordered the gravity beams brought online and within seconds the warheads again began to explode as we swept the space they traveled in. But their numbers were too great and our weapons systems were soon overwhelmed.
I ordered a "brace for impact" as the first of the warheads reached our position. I then ordered our weapons to stand down and for the extra energy to be applied to our shields. The shields on the Atlanta rose from 20% to 40% to 60% as the relentless stream of warheads detonated in our space. The attack continued for an hour as the Kurtz defenders continued to launch new missiles from the planet's surface.
It soon became apparent that the Kurtz warheads were not powerful enough to overcome our defenses. But it had given them time to mobilize their fleet. By the time the last of the warheads had detonated their vast armada had been organized into three massive flotillas that approached our position. I ordered our mini-fighters readied to be released. It was time the Kurtz new what overwhelming numbers meant.
The Kurtz flotillas on the left and the right launched all of their fighters at once. Their numbers were more than a million strong. As they formed up for their attack I ordered our guns and our gravity beams to come online. When the approaching fleets reached 40,000 kilometers I gave the order to begin firing.
As the first of the alien fighters took hits and exploded our cruisers and destroyers slipped out from behind our battleships forming a skirmish line. The Kurtz took the bait and ordered their horde of fighters and their ships into battle. At 20,000 kilometers our sensors began to feel the effects of the Kurtz gravity beams.
Shields registered 1% and held steady. The Kurtz fighters raced forward. When the fighters reached 3,000 kilometers I ordered our mini-fighters released.
In less than a minute nine million mini-fighters were launched. The dense swarm soon encountered the million alien fighters. The battle lasted 20 minutes before the last of the alien fighters were destroyed. I gave the recall signal and checked the tally on our losses. Our mini-fighter ranks had been lowered by 76,434. The Battle Planners were ecstatic.
I then ordered the three battleships to train all weapons on a single designated mega-ship. With the press of a holo-button on my command console the single mega-ship was decimated. The utter destruction was so complete that our sensors detected nothing left of it larger than a meatball.
I then sent a message to the Kurtz fleet commander asking for their immediate surrender. I received no response and the Kurtz fleet continued to slowly close. I gave our navigation team an order to take evasive action if the alien gravity weapon was detected. I reasoned they might be interested in a tit-for-tat trade for one of our own.
When the detection of a gravity wave soon began to build on our shields the Atlanta's BHD came online moving us nearly instantaneously 5,000 kilometers in the vertical. The combined beams of 26 mega-ships all missed their target. I ordered another round of fire at the second mega-ship and seconds later it and its crew were no longer in existence. But the Kurtz were stubborn and continued with another assault, aimed at the Tel Aviv. Again our battleship maneuvered easily away from the attack.
After the third mega-ship vaporized, the Kurtz commander came online, he was interested in what we had to say. I again told him that I was only interested in the unconditional surrender of the Kurtz fleet and the Kurtz people. They were the subjects of the Human Empire and all of their positions and ranks in their society would be maintained. I added that depending on their cooperation many might see promotions in the expanding Human Empire.
I gave their commander several minutes to think it over before insisting on an answer. As I had suspected earlier, the Kurtz leadership rolled over on their backs exposing their soft underbellies. With a single gesture the Human Empire had doubled in size.
Eight squads of BGS Marines were immediately dispatched to the eight Transit Pulls in the Rho Puppis system. All active beams were shut down and the unfortunate travelers that were in route dropped back to their normal maximum speeds. I wanted to feel bad as they were innocent beings, but we could not afford the Frekkin fleet showing up in the Rho system before we were prepared. We had much to learn from the Kurtz command about who the Frekkin were and what they were capable of.
I sent our Ambassador, Rial Mabia, planet-side to begin transitioning the Kurtz government to a system managed by Humans. She was greeted with open arms and broad smiles. The Kurtz feigned immediate loyalty to the point of annoyance.
I requested access to their star system database to which a group of Kurtz technicians soon responded. We had maps and locations of 6 of the 46 star systems in the Frekkin Empire. It was all the Kurtz were allowed access to and although the data included the position of Mossis it contained nothing more about the planet.
Months were spent learning the Frekkin Transit Pull systems before it was decided to turn them back on. No new traffic would be allowed on the beams, but those unfortunate travelers who had been in transit were given the option to continue into the space of the Human Empire.
Rial Boota was immediately made the Science Commissioner of the Kurtz faction of the Human Empire. His team went to work integrating all known Kurtz technologies into the Human systems. As a sign of our gratitude to the Kurtz for joining the Empire their Sodium reactors received efficiency upgrades, cutting their Sodium needs in half. All Kurtz fleets were directed to deliver all cargoes to the Kurtz home world as no further trade would be done with the Frekkin.
Back on Earth the COG had been readying their governmental changes. More than a dozen transports had been filled with more than a thousand Human advisors for the transition. The advisors arrived six days after the official surrender communique was received. Again, the advisors were given authority to give out titles to which the Kurtz responded with enthusiasm.
Trade emissaries were sent to evaluate the Kurtz world for the exchange of resources. The Kurtz were in need of Sodium, a resource we had in plenty. We, on the other hand were in need of diamonds for use in our industries and for the Kurtz latest robotic technologies.
Cultural appreciation exchanges were begun with the hopes of solidifying relations by "knowing" your friends. Academic exchanges were established so that the Kurtz could be indoctrinated as to what it meant to be a subject of the Human Empire. Within a matter of months it seemed the transition to the HE was going smoothly.
&nbs
p; Before the first Human set foot on the Kurtz home-world, all non-Kurtz aliens residing there had been given the option of conversion to the HE or exile to a colony base that was to be established on Epsilon Eridani. If relations were established with their home-worlds they would be given transport home. All accepted dominance by the HE.
More than 500 Kurtz who had been under the authority of Rial Mabia had been indoctrinated into the new HE-Kurtz Intelligence Corps. The HECIK was a highly classified organization and its agents were soon put to work in the Kurtz population looking for any signs of disloyal behavior. Edicts of communications restrictions were soon established restricting all forms of communication to wired only. It had taken months to lay cables, but the Kurtz world of Toleda was fast on its way to becoming a dark planet.
It had not taken long for our intelligence corps to determine the Frekkin were attempting to gather information. Two minimal Transit Pulls had been detected and it had been determined that their sole purpose was to accelerate any signals originating from Toleda. Instead of those signals taking decades if not hundreds of years to reach those transits, they would only take one seventh of that time.
Those transit channels were soon blocked by unmanned craft that delivered nothing but heavy metal music from Earth’s 1970s. Our intel guys had a good laugh at how the Frekkin might interpret the lyrics sent their way.
With the transmissions limited, it became easy to pick up Frekkin spies from the population. Their interrogations were turned over to the Kurtz who had no tolerance for disloyalty. Only two such spies died at their hands as their techniques for extracting information were ruthless, but effective. I had personally been through the process and survived.
As an added precaution each Kurtz Intelligence Officer (KIO) was given the task of monitoring two other intelligence officers. They were of course told that they were the only ones doing any monitoring. KIO were not allowed to contact any other KIO and the officers they were monitoring were changed every few weeks. It was determined to be an effective way for the HEKIC to keep themselves honest as offers of rewards and possible promotions were laid out as incentive.
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