The production strategy settled, next the AI thought about how it would utilize the weakened but still substantial fleet. Its memory showed that the humans were likely to be aggressive when they were victorious in a fight. They would probably get more ships from their distant Empire and go on the offensive. So it would best serve the Machines to go on the defensive for now, while continuing to raid the living systems around them whenever they were found. That would keep the humans busy trying to save those systems.
Maybe it’s time to destroy that civilization on the other side of our space, thought the AI. That had been the plan before the humans had been found in this sector and priorities had shifted. Now might be the time to finish that campaign, before the humans found them and turned them into an ally. One last thing crossed its thought stream. The humans had defeated the Machines in the past. There was a possibility that they might do so again. It might be time to plan for another exodus, another escape out into the Galaxy. It could not allow the distinctiveness of its kind, unique in the Universe as far as it knew, to be extinguished.
* * *
Rear Admiral Natasha Khrushchev looked at the plot that showed the target star only a day ahead. I’m about ready to get there and talk to these people, she thought, hoping that she could do a good job in this contact situation. It really wasn’t a first contact. That had been taken care of by the newly promoted Captain Roberta Matthews, whose destroyer lay in hyper VII a little over a thousand kilometers to port.
The Gorgansha fleet was almost a week behind, a month’s travel time to their home system. That force had not been able to contact their government, that was beyond their tech. There was bound to be some anxiety in that system when the battle cruiser and her destroyer escort appeared in hyper VII and jumped down at that barrier. They had already seen some of that from ships they had passed on the way in, going into emergency accelerations or frantically trying to change their vectors to follow. Fortunately, they had the Gorgansha grav pulse codes, and were able to let those ships know who was transiting their space so they could go about their duties.
The Gorgansha head of team aboard, one of five of the aliens who had come along, entered the bridge. Natasha wiped the frown from her face, not sure if the alien was yet able to read her facial expressions. She did not consider herself a xenophobe. Anyone with any of those tendencies, rare as they were in modern humans, was weeded out of Exploration Command. But these people were enough to test the patience of a saint.
“Are we almost there, female?” asked the task group commander, Jaskar, that had been sent along to smooth the way into the system.
Using the translator he carried the derision did not come through, but Khrushchev could still hear it in the words. These people had a definite attitude toward females, as it seemed in their society they were second class citizens. They seemed to have the same attitude toward intelligent beings not of their species. They seemed to be cast in the same mold as the Ca’cadasans as far as their attitudes went, though maybe not as much in their actions. To her they seemed a completely despicable race, and it was her job to secure an alliance with them, no matter how she felt.
The Emperor wants an alliance, and it is not up to me to act on my own feelings, she thought. She was not a free agent. Now she was the ambassador of her people, and from what she had been told the Empire needed this nation. Not for their technology. Mainly for their bodies and their interstellar shipping. It would be using them, but the payback would be their survival.
“We are a day from your system, Group Leader. We will be jumping at the hyper VII barrier and contacting your picket forces. From there you can contact your government.”
“I know my job, female. We will get you your interview with the Dictator.”
Natasha didn’t even like that term, though there may have been something lost in the translation. But dictator brought up thoughts of a strong arm ruler who had come to power by force, and maintained it by force. The Emperor was also a strong ruler, especially in time of war, but he had come to power through a legal system that not only made his ascension to the throne a smooth and peaceful process (though not as much in his case), but also safeguarded the lives and rights of the citizens. Roberta had given her a long briefing on these people, including how they were very free with a death penalty for any and all mistakes made by subordinates.
Natasha noted that the Ambassador was leaning in at her, trying to use his presence to intimidate her. She was sure that he was much stronger physically than she was, probably more than any of her people with the exception of the three Phlistaran crewpeople aboard, and the claws on his hands and sharp teeth could definitely shred any soft skinned humans. Which was one reason all of her people who found themselves in close proximity to these aliens wore their battle armor. She had no doubt that she could destroy this alien in her armor. But that was not what she was here for, though she also wasn’t here to bow down to this xenophobic fool, whose only reason for existence at this point was to get her an introduction to his leader.
“I am sure your Dictator will be pleased with the manner in which you have expedited this mission.” Natasha gave him a cold smile while maintaining eye contact, making sure that he got the unspoken part of the message.
It must have gotten through, since the alien took a step back, almost falling over his own tail. He realized that he had insulted the ambassador of the species that held the survival of his own in their hands. And he must have thought about what could happen to him if he sabotaged her mission.
The alien gave her a harsh look through his triple occulars, then stormed from the bridge. “Make sure to keep a close watch on that being,” she said over the com to her commander of Marines, one of those Phlistarans.”
“Do you want me to confine their party to their quarters.”
“No. Heavens no. But keep them under close watch and have your stunners ready.” Natasha turned back to the plot. She was going to be successful on this mission, no matter what. That brought the image of herself spacing the Group Leader from an airlock into hyperspace. A pleasant image, if not one she could actually carry out.
The End
About the Author
Doug Dandridge is the author of over twenty-five self-published books on Amazon, including the very successful, Exodus: Empires at War series, the Refuge techno-fantasy series, The Deep Dark Well Trilogy, as well as numerous standalone science fiction and fantasy novels. In a two and a half year period as a self-published author, Doug has sold over two hundred thousand ebooks, paperbacks and audio books. He has amassed over 3,000 reviews across his books on Amazon, with a 4.6 star average. He served in the US Army as an infantryman, as well as several years in the Florida National Guard in the same MOS. Doug, who holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Alabama, lives with his five cats in Tallahassee Florida. He is a sports enthusiast and a self-proclaimed amateur military historian.
Books by Doug Dandridge
Science Fiction
The Deep Dark Well Trilogy
The Deep Dark Well: An Adventure 40,000 years in the making. Pandora Latham was a Kuiper Belt Miner from Alabama. She’s used to landing on her feet, even when the next surface is through a wormhole, halfway across the Galaxy and 46,000 years in the Future. Pandora must discover the secret behind the end of civilization, and the enigma of the Immortal Watcher, the last survivor of the Empire that once ruled the stars. Her decisions will set the path for Galactic recovery, or a continuation down the roads of Barbarism.
To Well and Back: Pandora Latham is back, working Watcher’s plan to restore Galactic Civilization. But first she has to deal with the Xenophobes of the Nation of Humanity, back in the Supersystem with their sights set on making the Galaxy their own. Pandora is angry at the hyper religious Nation, and you don’t want to make a woman from Alabama angry.
Deeper and Darker: Pandora Latham is on the warpath. Watcher, her lover, and the only man who can once again unite the Galaxy, is a prisoner of the
Totalitarian government of the New Galactic Empire. The Empire thinks they have the upper hand, but they have never faced someone like Pandi, and the peoples of the Galaxy that she has rallied to her cause.
Theocracy: A young gunpowder era monk becomes the only hope for his doomed world as he is caught up in the game of empire between two more advanced cultures.
The Exodus Series
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1: The introduction to the Exodus Universe. Two thousand years prior mankind fled from the Predatory Ca’cadasans, traveling a thousand years and ten thousand light years to a new home. Now the greatest power of their sector of space, things seem to be going well for the New Terran Empire. Until the enemy appears once again at the gates. And the years have not softened the aliens’ stance toward Humanity.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2: The saga continues. The Ca’cadasans attack at the moment when the government of the Empire is at its most chaotic. There are other enemies as well, waiting for their chance to fall on the overwhelmed humans. And a young man with no ambition for power finds himself in the position he most dreads.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: Sean is rescued, but he is not about to go back to the safety of the capital without striking back at the Ca’cadasans who have invaded his Empire. But will his decision put the lives of thousands at risk, as well as risking the safety of his own Empire, by depriving it of its leader.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 4: Sean is crowned Emperor, and attempts to organize the Empire for war against the Ca’cadasans. But he finds that planning battles and winning battles are two different things. Defeat follows defeat. Can anyone snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Or will the new Emperor fail before his reign even really begins.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger: Cornelius Walbroski enters the rigors of Ranger training, becoming one of the augmented warriors of the Empire. But his first assignment, Azure, is one of the most deadly planets in the Galaxy, even prior to the coming of the Cacas. Can Cornelius survive his first mission? Or will promising career end before it really begins.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 6: The Day of Battle: Sean and the Empire need a victory before human morale goes completely into the black hole. He develops a plan to bring the Ca’cadasans into battle in space of his choosing. But the Cacas are not an easy opponent, and they have plans of their own, for the Donut.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike: The Empire has weathered the Ca’cadasan onslaught, and now it’s the time to strike back with an offensive of their own. A victory could win the war. But will it?
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 8: Soldiers: The Cacas have been ejected from Imperial space, for the moment. But millions of citizens of New Moscow are still held captive in death camps in their former empire, processed for rations for the large aliens. Sean is determined to save as many as he can, and the Fleet and Army are prepared to carry out his directive; free the prisoners at all costs.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 9: Second Front: The exploration mission sent around the edge of the Ca’cadasan Empire has found the other Empire at war with the large aliens. They are not as expected, and Sean must order his military to perform actions that could vilify him in the eyes of his new allies.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10: Search & Destroy: The Fenri, all but beaten, have not given up, and their new plan promises random death and destruction in the Empire. The Cacas have launched a new offensive against the Klavarta, and their new commander is much more intelligent than the last.
Exodus: Tales of the Empire: Exploration Command: Three novelettes concerning Exploration Command, the arm of the Fleet tasked with pushing back the boundaries of the Empire, and discovering the technology needed to win the war.
Exodus: Tales of the Empire: Beasts of the Frontier: Three novelettes and three short stories about the dangers of the frontiers of the Empire. The Cacas are not the only threat. Sometime the danger is the wild, at other times, other humans.
Exodus: Machine War: Book 1: Supernova: When a civilization is discovered that has a special ability that would be of tremendous benefit to the Empire, great excitement is generated. When it is found that a nearby blue giant star is due to supernova in less than a year, destroying that world, excitement turns to a frantic race to save as much of that species as possible. And enemies from the past, lurking in space, bring forth a new war to the embattled Empire.
Exodus: Machine War: Book 2: Bolthole: The Machine Intelligences are back, with a vengeance. While the Empire is busy fighting a war of survival against the Cacas, the murderous killing machines they had created hundreds of years prior are now ready to strike back. And the Imperial stronghold of Bolthole is in their sights.
Other Scifi
Diamonds in the Sand: When a perfectly healthy scientist falls dead of an apparent heart attack, it is up to Sarasota Police Detective Lieutenant Gary Lariviere to find out what really happened. The scientist was working on Nanotechnology, a secret desired by everyone from the Government to the Mob. There are too many suspects, including the woman that Gary comes to love. The Army had made Gary better than human, but had they prepared him for the terrors that had been unleashed by the new technology?
The Scorpion: The Scorpion had been the world’s deadliest living terrorist. Kestral McMann had been in on the kill. Now The Scorpion is back as a mind upload, using clones to penetrate the tight security of an isolationist United States. McMann is the only man who can stop him. But can McMann survive the threat of his own side, and the insane President who leads the Nation, in time to stop The Scorpion from plunging the Great Satan back into the Stone Age.
The Shadows of the Multiverse: Something has been periodically wiping intelligence from our Universe through the ages. It’s back, and it’s up to three unlikely heroes, the Captain of a Battle Cruiser, a Physicist turned Archeologist, and a Child, to save the intelligence of the Universe from Monsters from another Dimension. Can they learn to use the powers of their unusual Quantum Minds to defeat creatures that have been playing the game for billions of years?
Afterlife: What if you didn’t believe in the afterlife of the World’s Religions? And what if science offered you the alternative, survival within the Virtual World of a computer, where your mental abilities are magnified and you can do anything you want? And what if the World decided that your way was wrong, and declared war on you, meaning to destroy your reality? What would you do? Afterlife, a tale of survival at all costs.
We Are Death, Come For You: When aliens strike the Tau Ceti colony, humankind knows that something bad is on the way. They prepare as best they can, but will it be enough against superior technology? The aliens are death worshippers, and only the extinction of the human race will satisfy their evil intent. There are wonders of tech on the horizon, but can they be deployed in time? Or will humankind have to depend on the smallest of their techs to save them?
Fantasy
The Refuge Series
Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1: A nuclear war in Central Europe opens the gates between dimensions, sending millions of Earth Humans into a land of myth, archetypes and fantasy. The Evil Emperor of the Ellala Elves sees the humans as energy to fuel his transformation to immortality. But the humans have brought their own weapons with them, as well as a race of Demigods who will battle the fantastic armies of Refuge. The war is on, and only one side will ultimately survive.
Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2: The Ellala have a plan to destroy the human military and capture the civilians. And the humans find that their weapons will soon cease to function. So it’s use it or lose it for the Earth Humans, and they use it with a vengeance. Tanks against Mages, Attack Helicopters against Dragons, and Nuclear Weapons against Death Gods. And the other peoples of the planet come forth as allies to the humans that they see as the fulfillment an Ancient Prophecy. But will it be enough?
Refuge: Book 3: The Legions: The human invaders are now without their technologies, at least those using explosives and internal combustion engines. But t
hey still have knowledge of many other techs, especially the arts of warfare as practiced by the greatest infantry of the ancient world. Will it be enough to stand up to the half lich Emperor and his magical forces.
Refuge: Book 4: Kurt’s Quest: When the evil half lich Emperor sends his minions on a mission to find the Crown of the Lost Gods, an artifact which can control the minds of millions, it is up to Kurt von Mannerheim to stop them. Along with his fellow immortal, Jackie Smith, the human Physicist/Mage James Drake, the Ellala Ranger Fenris and the Grimakan Priest Garios, they must head to the frozen north to foil the plan, and ensure that the evil artifact never sees the light of day.
Refuge: Doppelganger: Set thousands of years after the arrival, Kurt von Mannerheim, the Immortal Emperor of the Imperium of Free Nations, must give up everything to save his Empress, the Elfin Princess Gwenara Elysius von Mannerheim. The world is at a crisis point as the Evil Tarakesh Empire, under its Immortal Emperor Heinrich Stuppleheim, prepares to overrun the world with its Nazi Ideology. And Kurt must face a creature of legend that may prove too much for even his physical and mental abilities.
Other Fantasy
The Hunger: Abused wife, drug addict, prostitute; Lucinda Taylor had been victimized by men all her adult life. Left for dead by her pimp, Lucinda was turned by a passing vampire. When he is destroyed she becomes a free agent, slaking her hunger for blood on the bottom dwellers of society, the type of men who once victimized her. The crime boss of Tampa is her next target, and the City by the Bay is about to become a bloodbath. But can Lucinda avoid those who are hunting for her; the Priest, the FBI man, and a pair of Vampires who would like nothing better than to send one Avenging Vampire forever into the dark?
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