Grayseth nodded, noticing where Jeremy’s eyes had strayed. This human great leader was so much like a Carethian. He had strict rules of honor he followed, and when Jeremy gave his word, it was like a bond. Grayseth knew that his human friend could be counted on to stand by Careth until the end or until they found victory.
He was a little confused about the relationship between Kelsey and Jeremy. Only in private did they show their true feelings for one another. That was one area where humans and Carethians were different. Female Carethians were not allowed to risk themselves in dangerous positions as pilots or as crewmembers on warships. Only a few had been allowed upon the space station, such as Malith, and then only in positions that would not involve actual combat. Grayseth knew that with humans it was different. Their females fought alongside them and showed just as much ferocity as the human males did.
Grayseth turned his attention back to the large viewscreen, seeing that the tugs had finished positioning the battle stations. Once the stations were powered up and their crews went on board, the station’s own position keeping thrusters would maintain keep them in place. Grayseth knew that by positioning the battle stations around the space station with their Devastator Three missiles it would allow the human fleet more versatility in its maneuvers when dealing with an attacking Hocklyn fleet or an AI ship.
-
“I don’t understand you humans,” Malith was saying to Kelsey as the female bear used her large hands to enter practice patrol routes for the new fighters into her console. “Your mate is over there, and the two of you scarcely acknowledge each other.”
Kelsey’s face flushed, and she shook her head slightly. “It’s complicated,” she explained in a quiet voice. “In our fleet you are not supposed to become involved with another member of the command crew as it could cause complications during combat as well as with the crew.”
“I understand that, I guess,” Malith conceded as she pressed several buttons on her computer. “But I have overheard members of your crew talking, and most are aware of your relationship and they are not bothered by it.”
Kelsey let out a heavy sigh. She and Jeremy were well aware that most of the crew knew about their love life. They didn’t make it a secret when they were down at one of the seaside resorts about spending time together. For now, it wasn’t a problem, but when they returned to Federation space someday, it might be.
“What about your own mate?” Kelsey asked as she reached forward and corrected a minor mistake in the information Malith was using to plot the patrol routes. “Your mate is still down on Careth.”
“He is a pilot on one of our warships,’ Malith spoke with pride as she watched Kelsey make the correction. She realized quickly where she had erred. “Our ships will hunt as a pack and will cause great harm to the evil ones when they return.”
“What is it like living in the underground cities?” Kelsey asked curiously.
She knew the bears had a number of hidden underground cities scattered around the planet. Even now, they remained secret in case the Hocklyns and AIs managed to destroy the orbital defenders and wreak havoc with the surface of the planet. Only Jeremy had been allowed inside of one and he had said very little.
“They are like massive, interconnected caves,” Malith replied slowly. “There are few open spaces for our young to play and learn the way of the hunt. Even in the underground cities, it has been difficult to teach our young our heritage.”
“I understand your heritage is important to you,” Kelsey commented.
“It is what makes us Carethians,” Malith replied as she set up the final patrol route on her computer. “In our early history there was much violence between different tribes. Over the years, we learned to hunt and work together, and our heritage has evolved around that. Now there are no longer different tribes, only Carethians, and we are very proud of that.”
Kelsey nodded. It sounded so much like what she knew of Earth’s own history until Jeremy’s father had changed everything. That was what Jeremy’s father had accomplished and was known for. Working with Katie’s father, the two of them had united the countries of Earth, introduced the Federation survivors on Ceres, and formed the beginnings of the new Federation.
With a heavy sigh, Kelsey began showing Malith how to calculate orbits and patrol routes an easier way. It made her sad to think about those early years at the Fleet Academy and the New Horizon incident. All of them had left their parents behind when they had gone into cryosleep. True, Admiral Johnson had introduced them to some of their close relatives that lived now, but it wasn’t the same. Sometimes Kelsey wished her mom were here so she could confide in her and ask for advice. Putting those thoughts to the back of her mind, she tried to focus on what she was showing Malith. She also knew that someday she and Jeremy would have a life and children together, if they survived the coming months.
-
Governor Malleck was back on Ceres. The meeting with the Federation Council had gone better than expected, particularly once Admiral Teleck had described the new battle stations and what they could mean. He had met privately with President Kincaid, and Kincaid had stressed that Malleck mustn’t do this again. All the worlds of the Federation needed to work together if they were to survive the next few months, and Ceres must do its part.
“So you’re leaving tomorrow,” Malleck said, looking over at Admiral Teleck who was standing next to him in the large ship bay which held four battlecruisers, including Admiral Teleck’s own flagship, the battlecruiser Ceres.
“Yes,” Teleck replied. “Fleet Admiral Johnson wants me to make a tour of our allies as a reminder that we are all a part of this coming war. She feels that if they see some of our more powerful warships in their space it will help to calm fears within their civilian populations.”
“How many ships are you taking?” Malleck asked. The Hocklyns hadn’t hit Admiral Streth yet, so he knew they still had at least two to four weeks before the Hocklyns could arrive at New Tellus.
“The Ceres and two other battlecruisers, two of our battlecarriers, four strikecruisers, six Monarch cruisers and twelve light cruisers,” Teleck replied. “All the ships are from Ceres as Fleet Admiral Johnson wants to keep her regular fleet units close by.”
Malleck nodded. He was just glad that Ceres had been focusing for years on building up their fleet. “I assume that arrangements have already been made with our allies about allowing your fleet to enter their space.”
“Yes,” replied Teleck, nodding his head in the affirmative. “Our allies seem pleased that we are sending the fleet. I think even some in their own militaries need a morale boost.”
“How long will you be gone?” Malleck asked. He wanted Admiral Teleck back before the Hocklyns attacked New Tellus.
“Three weeks,” Teleck responded evenly. “If I receive word that the Hocklyns have hit Fleet Admiral Streth’s base or Careth, I will return immediately.”
“Just make sure you stay away from the Albanians,” Malleck warned the admiral.
“We’re not going out that far,” Teleck assured the governor. “Besides, the Albanians have made it very plain recently that we are not welcome in their space.”
“They may change their minds when the Hocklyns and the AIs arrive,” Malleck responded. “They will probably be screaming loudly for help then.”
“Perhaps,” Admiral Teleck responded. Something about the Albanians and their response to the Hocklyn and AI menaces just didn’t make any sense to him. How could such an advanced race stick their heads in the ground and hope the danger didn’t find them? “Admiral Kalen will be in charge of the Ceres military until I get back.”
“Have a safe trip,” spoke Governor Malleck, wishing Admiral Teleck wasn’t leaving. While Admiral Kalen was a well qualified commander and could handle the defense of Ceres if necessary, Malleck still felt more comfortable and secure when Admiral Teleck was around.
Chapter Twelve
Fleet Commodore Resmunt studied the latest readiness reports fr
om the ships in his fleet carefully. The AIs were still jumping the fleet at regular intervals that would cause them to arrive in human controlled space much sooner than Resmunt had originally planned. He looked up at the main tactical display and saw that all ten fleets had completed their latest jump. The AI ships were in the center of the formation with a large gap between them and the nearest Hocklyn ship. No one wanted to be close to those 1,500-meter behemoths and what they contained. So far, none of the AIs had come over to Resmunt’s flagship.
“Three more days and we will be in range of the humans,” First Leader Ganth rasped as his dark eyes focused on the Fleet Commodore. “We are receiving complaints from various ships about their drive harmonics becoming unbalanced.”
“I want to stop and retune our drives before we jump into combat with the humans,” Resmunt spoke as he gazed with frustration at the ten large green icons representing the AI spheres in the tactical hologram. “The day after tomorrow I will ask the AIs to allow us to do so.”
“What if they refuse?” Ganth asked his large eyes narrowing. “If the harmonics on several of those ships get much worse they may fail to make a rendezvous.”
“I will insist,” replied Resmunt, knowing it would cause him to have to deal in person with the AIs. “If they want this fleet ready for combat they will allow us the time we need to prepare our ships.”
The AIs had only allowed them to stop twice this far to retune the drives. It was becoming more evident with each jump that some ships were in serious need of maintenance time. In the jump they had just finished, a number of ships had been over ten million kilometers off when they exited their jump vortexes. They couldn’t afford that type of error if they were jumping into battle with the humans.
“The AIs are sending new jump coordinates,” Third Leader Vrill reported. “We are to be ready to jump in one hour.”
“Just barely enough time for our drive cores to cool,” complained First Leader Ganth, shaking his head. “If the AIs insist we continue at this pace, some of the ships will begin suffering serious damage to their drive cores.”
“They are focused on destroying these humans,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt grated out, his eyes darkening. “Order all ships to do what repairs they can until we reach our destination. If I didn’t know better, I would think the AIs are afraid of the humans.”
“Impossible!” spoke Ganth, shaking his large head in disbelief. “The AIs are made out of metal and don’t have those types of emotions.”
“I’m not so sure,” Resmunt responded with doubt in his voice. “From what I have heard from the High Council, the AIs do at times exhibit emotions.”
Ganth was quiet as he weighed that thought. Could it be possible that the AIs feared the humans and if so, what did it mean for the attacking Hocklyn fleets? It made First Leader Ganth wonder if there was something important that the AIs were not telling them.
-
On board the dreadnought Viden, War Leader Versith stared contemplatively at the deadly AI sphere showing on the main viewscreen.
“It is a frightening sight to have so many AI ships in amongst our fleet,” spoke First Leader Trion. He had never cared much for the AIs.
“As long as they remain aboard their ships we have nothing to fear,” Versith replied as he turned to face Trion. “How is Second Leader Jaseth doing?” Versith had assigned the First Leader to keep a close watch on the young Hocklyn warrior. Jaseth’s emotions had to remain in check if he wished to rise in the ranks of command and perhaps someday command a warship or even become a War Leader.
“He follows orders,” Trion replied evenly. The First Leader folded his sinewy arms across the chest plate of his light gray combat armor. “I still fear his hatred of these humans could endanger the ship. He will have to be watched very closely when the Viden goes into battle.”
“I don’t believe so,” challenged Versith, disagreeing with the First Leader as his trained eyes looked across the War Room and the busy crew. “His hatred will spur him to become an even greater warrior. If this war lasts for any measurable length of time, he could well become a leader in our fleet.”
“Perhaps,” responded Trion, doubtfully. “But there are many in the fleet that don’t care for Second Leader Jaseth and would not hesitate to challenge him to fight an honor duel if he were to leave the Viden.”
“Then we will make sure he stays on the ship,” Versith replied in a stern and commanding voice. He had promised Jaseth’s family that he would look after the young Hocklyn warrior. His long friendship with the family had made him feel honor bound to offer that commitment.
“As you command,” replied Trion, knowing that Versith was close to the young Hocklyn’s family. “I will continue to watch Jaseth. But I fear that honor will be slow to come to Jaseth in this war.”
-
Deep in the bowels of the ship, Jaseth was busy practicing with his blade. He was in a training room with a number of blade targets hanging from the tall ceiling. Stepping forward and pivoting on his left foot, he drove his blade deeply into the shoulder of his intended target. Stepping back, he swung his fist, feeling the sharp nails on his fingers dig into his palm as he struck the center of the target.
Jaseth reached out and wrenched his blade free. Since leaving the home system, his wounds had healed up, leaving only minor scars. Each day he came to this room and worked on his combat skills. He knew that, in the future, he would have to face many more honor duels if for no other reason than he was the son of the former High Leader. Many would always hold that against him regardless of what he did in the coming war.
“You drive your blade deep,” rasped a voice from the open doorway.
Spinning around, Jaseth saw Fourth Leader Armith who served in Engineering. The two were not friends but did occasionally spar together.
“I seek to inflict pain on my opponent,” Jaseth replied in a steady voice. “If this were a human, that blow would have incapacitated him.”
“Perhaps,” Armith replied as he stepped farther into the room. “But we know nothing about the human warriors and their combat skills. All we know for certain is that they have defeated us each time we have met them in battle.”
“Not this time,” Jaseth spoke, his eyes flashing red. “This time the humans will die. Between our ships and the AIs none of the humans will survive!”
Turning, Jaseth kicked one of the targets, sending it flying backward. “I intend to ask War Leader Versith to allow me to go down to the fleet base and test my combat skills against the humans that will be defending it.”
“That job is for our Protectors,” spoke Armith, shaking his head in disapproval. “The Protectors find their honor in individual combat; we find ours with the fleet.”
“No!” Jaseth insisted as he placed his blade back in its scabbard. “My blade craves human blood, and it shall have it!”
Jaseth walked past Fourth Leader Armith and out of the room. He was determined that he would meet the humans in individual combat. His honor would not be denied.
Armith watched him go. Just from speaking to Jaseth, he could sense the pent up rage the young warrior had inside. Armith shook his head; the honor Jaseth yearned for was not the kind craved by other Hocklyn warriors, he wanted revenge for what had happened to his family. Armith greatly feared that no good would come of this. He would speak to First Leader Trion. Jaseth would require constant scrutiny when the Viden went into battle or he could endanger the ship with his reckless desire for vengeance.
-
Admiral Streth was meeting with Admiral Sheen, Admiral Adler, and Admiral Kimmel on the StarStrike. All four knew that their time was rapidly running out, and the Hocklyns and AIs could show up at any time. For several days now, Hedon had been feeling as if something momentous was about to occur. He had learned in the distant past to trust these intuitions. There was no doubt in his mind what it signified. The Hocklyns and the AIs were coming.
“James, I want you to take the supply fleet and go to system K-994
and wait for us,” Hedon ordered. “Your fleet should be safe there and when we arrive I imagine we will be in need of all of your repair ships.”
“That’s seventy light years from here,” Rear Admiral Kimmel replied with concern in his voice. “Will your ships be able to make it that far if they receive major damage?”
Hedon let out a deep breath and then replied. “Not all of them. I expect we will suffer heavily when the Hocklyns and AIs arrive, but it is the only way to ensure they follow us back to New Tellus.”
“You still plan on us meeting them in the gravity well of the planet?” asked Amanda, knowing it would greatly increase their losses as they would have to fight their way out of it to jump to safety.
“We have no other choice if we want to substantially weaken their fleet,” replied Hedon, knowing this decision would cost the lives of thousands of fleet personnel. However, this wasn’t about saving members of the Fleet; it was about saving the new Federation of Worlds and the billions of people who were depending on them.
“Jacob, you will have all twenty-three of our battlecarriers assigned to your fleet,” Hedon began as he thought for the thousandth time about the best way to fight this impending battle. “Under no circumstances are any of your fighters or bombers to attempt to engage an AI ship. I want them to focus on the Hocklyn’s lighter units.”
“Their escort cruisers,” Jacob responded, surprised. He arched his eyebrows and looked over at the admiral. “Wouldn’t we do more good focusing on their heavier units?”
“No, we will need those fighters and bombers if we want to reach the Federation with a major part of our fleet intact. I don’t want them sacrificed needlessly. Your fleet will stay just inside the second satellite defensive layer with the majority of our destroyers. Forty of them will be assigned to protecting the battle carriers and the others will be scattered amongst the satellites to provide defensive fire.”
The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five) Page 18
