Warpath (Rise of the Empire Book 4)

by Ivan Kal

  “Do we know how many they have?” Adrian asked.

  “There are one hundred and ten in their staging system. We believe that these are all they have and that this will be their first engagement. The ships have clearly never been in battle.” Laura answered, and Adrian turned his palm sideways in a Nel gesture of agreement.

  “Another more interesting thing we discovered is this.” Laura said and the holo changed to show a grouping of differently shaped Sowir ships. “These are their battleships and cruisers, the same class as they fielded thirty years ago. We haven’t seen any new classes of ships other than the Sowir dreadnoughts in the staging system. But what is interesting here is this.” She said, and the holo zoomed in on one of the ships.

  The people in the room studied the holo and then Adrian’s second in command Isani spoke. “Those are clear indications of repairs.”

  Laura nodded. “Yes. More than half of the ships we managed to get a look at, are ships that have been repaired in some quantity. And there are too many ships that were damaged, for them to be ships from the war with the Consortium. If your people’s data is correct they fought that war with about six hundred ships and most of those were destroyed.”

  “Yes, the data is correct. But then who had these ships been fighting?” Isani said.

  “Could have any other races of the Consortium still be alive?” Adrian asked.

  “They would have tried to get a word out to Nelus that they survived.”

  “And what about another race, were there any neighbors close to the Consortium.” Adrian asked.

  Isani shook his head. “No. And the Consortium never did explore on the other side of the Sowir space. There wasn’t a real reason for us to go there, the Sowir were a part of our Consortium and it wasn’t like we were expansionists.” Isani said.

  “If these ships are now here, something must have happened to free them up. Either they neutralized the threat or they came to an agreement.” Laura said.

  Tomas was looking thoughtfully at the holo when a thought struck him. “That might be why they accepted the treaty so fast, and why they left Nelus alone for so long. Perhaps they had another war on the other side of their territory.” He said.

  “That could be right, the prospect of fighting a war on two fronts might have scared them, but whatever it was is no longer relevant. They are no longer tied up somewhere else.” Jack added.

  “That may be so, but there is one more thing we realized by observing their systems.” Laura said and the holo changed to show two different vids. “These are two of the Sowir border systems. As you can see on the left, there was an incident on one of their stations, an explosion in one of their docking points. On the right here you can see one of the Sowir transport ships, less than twenty minutes after the explosion in the first system, it docked with the station in its system and then proceeded towards the hyperspace barrier. A month later it arrived in the system of the incident, it went straight to the station, and upon its arrival the repairs of the station began in earnest. It was obvious that they had waited on the materials from the second system.” Laura stopped and looked around the room.

  “They didn’t send a comm drone… FTL comms? You are telling us that Sowir have FTL comms?” Jack asked.

  Laura nodded grimly. “Yes. It is the only thing that makes sense. They are still using comm drones, which suggests that this is a new find. But this still complicates things for us.”

  “No kidding. If their fleet has FTL comms it shortens the time we have to attack their territory before they recall the fleet from Nelus. It shortens it by half.” Jack said.

  “True, but it will still take them months to get back. And with our trans-drives we will be able to strike at systems faster than they can respond. We will only need to work faster and make their fleet split up so that we can take it apart when it is weaker.” Laura said.

  “And what about Nelus?” Seo-yun asked. “It will take us a few more months at the least to get ready for our invasion, by that time the Sowir will have surely attacked Nelus. If we commit most of our forces to attacking the Dominion will we have enough to defend Nelus? I doubt that Sowir will recall all of their forces and leave Nelus alone after they have already started an invasion.”

  “You are right, they will most likely leave a force to either finish Nelus or to blockade it. Our response is fluid at the moment, if we commit our forces to defending Nelus we will be met with force that outnumbers ours, and even with our technological advantage we will be forced to follow the tempo that the Sowir set. We will take much more casualties than we would if we manage to split their forces and take them on when we have the advantage. Nelus’ defense is another factor, we know that their ships are inferior, but they have a good enough fortified system, and we did warn them. They might be able to cut down Sowir numbers a bit more as well.” Laura said. “That is why our plan at the moment is for Adrian’s fleet to provide aid for Nelus, while our main fleet invades the Dominion.”

  “My fleet will be ready by the end of the year. But my original plan was to have the fleet supported by a fleet of drones, at least one hundred. And Warpath sadly doesn’t have the capability yet to build the drones and finish the fleet in time.” Adrian said then shook his head. “I think that we need to change our plans a bit. If Sowir have FTL comms our advantage will be countered, we might be able to outmaneuver them, but we won’t have the element of surprise anymore, after our first attack every Sowir system will know about us.”

  “What do you suggest?” Tomas asked.

  “I suggest that we take on the Sowir fleet at Nelus.” Adrian answered.

  “If we send our fleet there, it will just give the Sowir a warning about us and time to do something about it. Not to mention that if we engage in a fight where they have an advantage in numbers, we will take more casualties.” Laura said.

  Again Adrian shook his head and smiled softly. “I think that you are greatly underestimating how much more advanced our ships are. The Sowir ships are the same as they were thirty years ago, their new class is bigger, but it is nothing new. We on the other hand have built an entirely new fleet that is upgraded by the combined knowledge of the Consortium, Earth, and us. The Earth had more than sixty years to develop its technologies after we left, and they did. Our ships are superior, and they aren’t even equipped with the latest technological advancements we have. My ships on the other hand are. I am not suggesting that we send the Empire’s fleet to Nelus. My ships will go as planned, what I want is that you give me all of your battleships to come with me.”

  “Our battleships?” Laura asked.

  “Yes. My ships are powerful, but you are right, the numerical advantage of the Sowir is something I am not yet prepared to pit them against. That is why I want the battleships to serve as support. As soon as the Sowir fleet arrives at Nelus, my fleet can come in and catch them between the defenders and us. While your fleet invades their territory. If we eliminate the Sowir fleet before they can recall it, our invading fleets will have an easier job.” Adrian said.

  “If we give you the battleships our invading fleet will be only dreadnoughts and support ships.” Laura stated.

  Adrian nodded, “The Kraken class will fill the role of battleships, and it will have more of the advanced tech.”

  Laura thought about it for a minute then nodded. “It could work. If you are sure that you can take care of the Sowir fleet.”

  “Yes, with the help of Nelus fleet.” Adrian said.

  “Well then, I guess that we need to start developing a new plan.” Tomas said.

  Chapter Ten

  February; Year 31 – Trivax

  A flash of blue light announced a ship dropping out of hyperspace. A moment later, several more flashes appeared and even more ships arrived, the rate of new arrivals increased until dozens started arriving every few seconds. But soon enough the flashes of light stopped and eighty six ships stood silently at the hyperspace barrier of Trivax system. Then a few minutes later all of th
e ships started moving together towards Rofvax, the fifth planet in the Trivax system.

  ***

  Quvor raced through the halls of the Space Exploration Center on Trivax, the headquarters for the entirety of Trivaxian’s space affairs. He was woken not twenty minutes ago by news that their satellites detected visitors to their system. Quvor had immediately dressed and left his temporary quarters, he was visiting the headquarters for his annual brief and assessment, which was mandatory for all who served in the Space Exploration Fleet (SEF). Quvor was the Commander of all SEF ships, after his encounter with the first alien life, his career path changed, he became the most famous Trivaxian, and with the gift that the aliens gave him his people changed. It wasn’t easy, there was a lot of strife, but eventually they united and created the Space Exploration Institute to study and develop the technologies that the aliens gifted them with.

  Of course the aliens didn’t really give them the plans for any of their technologies, instead they gave them knowledge of concepts and ideas. That allowed Quvor’s people to learn and discover things on their own. Some on Trivax were very suspicious of that, citing nefarious purposes, because they didn’t give them everything. But Quvor knew that the aliens didn’t have bad intentions, they helped his ship when they didn’t need to, and they had no reason to give them the gift they did other than their good will.

  That was why Quvor was feeling elated, visitors to their system meant that the people that had saved him might be back. Quvor had waited a long time for this, he was barely thirty cycles old when they came, and now he was entering the middle age of his life. He had all but abandoned hope that he will get the chance to thank his rescuers in person.

  Finally, Quvor arrived at the control room.

  “Quvor!” The Director Tofor yelled out and waved as soon as Quvor entered the room. Quvor made his way through the people running around from one station to another. The room was in complete chaos.

  “Director, did they establish contact?” Quvor asked as soon as he was closer.

  The Director exchanged looks with people around him before turning back and answering.

  “Not yet. That is why I wanted you here. We have a monitoring satellite close enough to get a good look at them. Here, take a look at this.” Director Tofor said, and one of his people gestured for the Quvor to look at one of the monitors. Quvor leaned down and looked at the images of the visitors. Immediately he realized that the ships on the monitor looked nothing like the ships that helped him thirty years ago. All of the ships had the same general shape, that of a hexagonal prism, with a few slight differences.

  The differences were minor, some had widened back portions, and others had sections sticking out on the sides. But the core was the same. Ten of the ships were much larger than the others, and with no point of reference Quvor couldn’t really tell how big they were.

  “These look nothing like the ships that helped me…” Quvor said slowly.

  The Director shivered, his fur making a wave in a clear sign of nervousness. “We compared the images that your ship took, but you saw them in person, we wanted to be sure… Are you certain that they are not the same ships?”

  “Yes Director. But I guess that it could still be them, they could have different kind of ships. We just don’t know much about them.” Quvor answered.

  “We have been sending them a welcoming message since we discovered them, using the protocols that they left us in the message. We have added their learning software with the basics of our language, although if these were the same people they would already know our language…” Director said.

  “I concur, if these are the same people why are they not communicating?” Quvor raising his head to look at the big monitor on the room’s wall. He saw the calculation of the visitor’s course and speed. They were on a direct course with Rofvax, and at their current speed will arrive in ten days. “They are going to Rofvax, but I don’t understand why? We only have a small colony there, two mining operations, and a station in orbit. There is nothing else of interest there, if they wanted to get in contact with us it would make much more sense to come to Trivax.”

  “Unless they don’t want contact.” Someone said.

  “I need to get to my ship.” Quvor turned to the Director. “I think that we need to recall all our ships back to Trivax.”

  “What about Rofvax? Should we send some there?” Director asked.

  “Our ships are much slower, we wouldn’t get there in time. And we have only twelve ships with weapons, all in orbit around Trivax.” Quvor’s ears twitched. “We need to keep trying to contact them, we still don’t know their intentions.”

  “We will keep trying Commander.” Director Tofor said, and Quvor turned and left to get his shuttle crew, he needed to get up to his ship.

  ***

  Adjutant Michaela Ogden watched as Fleets Master Laura Reiss walked into the monitoring room, and then made her way towards Michaela. The Fleets Master was here at her urgent request, and Michaela swallowed hard as the dark haired woman approached her.

  “Report, what happened?” Fleets Master said as she finally came to rest above Michaela and her station.

  “Ma’am. I am in charge of monitoring the drone we have in Trivax system. Approximately an hour ago the drone’s passive sensors detected eighty six ships entering the system from hyperspace. Immediately upon entering they started moving inside the system and towards Rofvax the fifth planet in system.” Michaela said.

  Fleets Master’s eyes darkened, “What do we know? Can we identify the ships?”

  “No Fleets Master. The ships don’t match any of our visual records. With the passive sensors we are looking at events as they happened sixteen hours ago. If we use the active sensors we will know much more…” Michaela said.

  “Hold off on the active sensors, I don’t want to betray our drone’s existence just yet. Let’s see how things develop for now. Keep me informed Adjutant.” Laura said, then turned and left the room in a hurry.

  Michaela sighed in relief, it seemed that it was a good decision to interrupt her superior.

  ***

  Johanna was woken by a ping in her implant, as soon as she opened her eyes her HUD flashed and she saw that she had an urgent call from Fleets Master. Immediately she got up and put on a small robe before sitting down on her terminal and accepting the call. The holographic display sprung to life and the face of Laura Reiss looked out at her. In the corner there was a small number, 0.002s, the lag time of the connection. Johanna’s fleet was almost one hundred light years away from Sanctuary, but thanks to the FTL communication relays that Johanna’s fleet was seeding outside of the Empire’s territory they could speak in real time.

  “Fleets Master.” Johanna acknowledged.

  “Johanna, there is a development. A group of unknown ships arrived in Trivax system a few hours ago - clearly more advanced than what Trivaxian’s have now - and set a course towards the system’s fifth planet. They didn’t show any hostile moves yet, but I need you to take your fleet close, I want you one transfer away in case anything goes downhill. It could be a peaceful encounter, but we both know that there is a chance it is not. It has happened too many times for us to ignore the possibility. If it is a peaceful encounter we won’t interfere, but if these new aliens are hostile we need to act. Trivax is on a direct course towards Earth, and we can’t allow a hostile race to move in, not to mention that I will not leave Trivaxian’s to fend for themselves.” Laura said.

  Immediately Johanna felt her heart tighten, and nausea hit her stomach hard. “What about a war fleet? My ships have been redesigned for exploration…”

  Laura shook her head. “It would take them too long to get there from our territory, at least three months. You can be there in seventeen days.” Laura’s eyes softened as she looked at Johanna, “Our sensors didn’t detect anything that suggest that these ships are anywhere close to our level, they are moving slow even by Sowir standards. But I realize that you have been burned by lack
of information before. That is why this time you will wait until we are sure that they are hostile, then we will go active with our drone and gather all the information you need.”

  Johanna grabbed the hem of her robe and squeezed hard to prevent her hands from shaking. “I… Yes, Fleets Master.”

  “Good. I will send a task force from the First Fleet just in case, but it will arrive too late to be of use for you. You will be on your own.” With that Laura saluted and ended the comm.

  It took another five minutes for Johanna to gather herself enough to stand up. She walked to her closet and retrieved her skin-suit and uniform coat. All the while her heart pounded in her chest. Images of Earth burning and suffocating in ash as it tore itself apart flashed in her mind. She had thought that time would make the memories go away, but it was still as fresh as the day she realized what Ra’a’zani had done.

  Taking deep breaths Johanna got herself under control, she was a soldier, she wouldn’t let fear control her. After another couple of minutes she finally got her heartbeat back to normal.

  If the aliens in Trivax system were hostile, she would enter into battle against an opponent she knew next to nothing about again. But failure to do so would be at the cost of innocent lives. And Johanna made an oath to herself that she would never again let the thing that happened to Earth repeat. Straightening her back, Johanna exited her quarters and headed towards the Command Center. She had a fleet to command.

  ***

  Two days later Quvor sat on the bridge of his ship, the Survivor. His lower arms were crossed at on his stomach, while his upper rested on the armrests of his chair. There were still no communications from the alien visitors. And they still kept the course towards Rofvax. The more time passed without any kind of response from the aliens, the worse the feeling in the Quvor’s chest got. There were probably countless reasons as to why they didn’t respond, from incompatible technology to cultural norms. But the only thing that was going through Quvor’s head was the last message from the aliens that saved him thirty years ago. The universe is a dangerous place. If you choose to join us out here, you will need to be ready to face the consequences of that course.