The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five)

by Weil, Raymond L.

  -

  Hedon was still on the StarStrike, which was nearing New Tellus Station. Glancing at one of the large tactical displays, he saw that the Hocklyn and AI fleets had still not moved; they were just sitting there as if daring the humans to come out and attack. He had just finished speaking to Fleet Admiral Johnson, and they had decided to reorganize the surviving ships of Operation First Strike. There would be just two fleets, First Fleet and Second Fleet, and they were being reinforced with the six light cruiser fleets that were normally on system patrol.

  All ships would continue to just beneath the defense grid, where they would be rearmed and resupplied. In addition, the six large repair ships would initiate additional repairs on the ships that still had major internal and structural damage. Hedon had considered ordering them into the shipyards, but they were still combat capable and they would shortly need every ship at their disposal.

  “We’re being ordered to dock with the station,” Captain Duncan reported. “We’re supposed to dock at docking port seven, and they have a crew standing by with munitions and supplies for us. Fleet Admiral Johnson is standing by and will be coming aboard as soon as docking is completed.”

  “Very well,” Hedon replied with a nod. “Colonel Trist, carry out the docking maneuver, and take the ship to Condition Two while we are at dock but be prepared to go to Condition One and disconnect if the AIs or the Hocklyns begin their attack. Inform Admiral Sheen that she is in charge of First and Second fleets and to get the rearming done as quickly as possible.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Colonel Trist replied.

  “I’ll be glad to get a full load out of Devastator Threes,” Clarissa commented as the gorgeous AI strolled over to stand next to Admiral Streth. “We are being assigned two strikecruisers to join First Fleet in case we have to go up against an AI. Two other strikecruisers are going to Second Fleet.”

  Clarissa nervously checked her sensors once more. She was keeping a close watch on the AIs. It was times like these that she really wished she could send a message to Ariel. She still could, but it would take several days to get an answer back.

  Then in a lower voice so as not to worry the crew, Clarissa looked intently at the admiral with her deep blue eyes and asked, “Do you think New Tellus can hold against the combined AI and Hocklyn fleets?”

  “We’re going to try,” responded Hedon, knowing the AI was worried. It amazed him sometimes at how human Clarissa and Ariel could be and how at times they acted so much like a normal human.

  “I hope so,” Clarissa responded, and then her eyes brightened. “If we can hold them, we can return to Careth and rescue Ariel and the others.”

  “I’m sure Admiral Strong will be fine,” Hedon reassured the AI. “He and the bears have put up some really strong defenses. If he can stop their first attack, we should be able to get to him in time before the Hocklyns can mount a second.”

  Clarissa nodded; she really missed talking to Ariel. When they finally did get to talk again, she would have a lot to say.

  -

  A few minutes later, the StarStrike docked to New Tellus Station and Fleet Admiral Johnson made her way on board. The two Fleet Admirals met in the small conference room that adjoined the Command Center.

  “Hedon, it’s good to see you,” Karla said with a wide smile as she stepped into the conference room and shook Hedon’s hand.

  “I wish I could have brought more of the fleet back,” responded Hedon regretfully as he motioned for Karla to take a seat at the small conference table. Hedon knew he had led thousands of Fleet personnel to their deaths in Operation First Strike. At night, he could see their faces in his dreams.

  “It’s war,” Karla responded in understanding. “You hurt the Hocklyns and the AIs badly and have stopped their entire expansion. All of our long distance scouts say the expansion of the Hocklyn Slave Empire has ground to a complete halt.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Hedon said, but it still didn’t help the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach from the men and women who hadn’t returned with him. He knew that their sacrifice meant that new worlds were not being conquered, and millions if not billions of inhabitants were not, in turn, dying under the conquering fleets of the Hocklyn Slave Empire.

  “You also destroyed a lot of Hocklyn ships as well as ten AI ships in your campaign,” Karla continued in a serious voice. “You bought us the extra time we needed to prepare the Federation.”

  “Then you’re ready?” asked Hedon, feeling some relief. That had been the main goal of Operation First Strike to begin with; to give the Federation the extra time it needed to finish its transition to a war economy.

  “As ready as we’re ever going to be,” answered Karla, grimly. Then her face took on a more somber look. “Hedon, I’m assigning Rear Admiral Tolsen and his fleet to your command. That will give you over one hundred and fifty warships to fight this battle.”

  “And what are my orders?” asked Hedon, knowing they were still facing tremendous odds.

  “Protect New Tellus Station,” Karla replied evenly, her eyes meeting his. “We will use the heavy weapons on the asteroid fortresses, the shipyards, and the missile platforms hidden in the defense grid to try to whittle down the enemy forces. Admiral Teleck is standing by with an additional fleet of nearly ninety ships if needed.”

  It was at that moment that both Fleet Admirals heard the new warning come over their mini-coms. “Additional Hocklyn and AI ships are jumping into the system,” Colonel Trist informed them. “Latest count is four more AIs and two hundred more Hocklyn warships.”

  “This is about to get serious,” Fleet Admiral Johnson spoke as she stood up. She had wanted to speak to Hedon about some other things. “I had better get back to the Command Center on the station.” Reaching the door, Karla stopped and gazed back at Fleet Admiral Streth. “Hedon, in this battle, don’t let me screw up!”

  “You will do fine,” Hedon promised. “You know what must be done, just do it. The people will follow your orders.”

  Karla nodded; it was good to know that Hedon was here if she needed him. However, the weight of what was about to happen weighed heavily on her shoulders. If she failed to hold New Tellus then the only system that had a hope of stopping the AIs and the Hocklyns was the Sol system itself. That would also mean that the rest of the new Federation worlds had fallen. Karla was determined that not a single Hocklyn or AI ship would leave this system intact. She would either stop them or die trying.

  Hedon watched Karla go. He well understood how she was feeling. Command at times could be a heavy burden, and Fleet Admiral Johnson had the survival of the entire Federation resting on her shoulders.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The command AI touched the tactical display in front of it with its flexible metal tentacle expanding the view of the human defenses. “This system must be annihilated before we move on to destroy the rest of the human worlds.”

  “Our other ships have found four additional systems inhabited by humans, and there are probably more,” the AI operating the ship’s data screens replied. “This sector of space is as we feared, the humans have expanded from their home planet and now may be more numerous than we expected.”

  “The humans think they have set a trap for the Hocklyns,” the command AI said as it continued to study the data on the tactical display. “We will continue to let them think that their trap has worked and then we will launch the real attack and destroy this system. Once this system has fallen, the remaining human worlds will be easy to annihilate. Their numbers will be immaterial to our fleet.”

  “The Altons chose well in picking this race to prevent our future expansion,” the AI at the data screens spoke as it continued to scan the incoming data. “If given additional time to develop their technologies, they could indeed become a major threat.”

  “Soon it will not matter, and no organic race will ever be a threat again,” the command AI replied, the glowing orb that served as its head growing even larger. “In a few mor
e decades, the project at the black hole will be complete, and the organic races will no longer be needed.”

  “The universe will be better off without contamination from the organics,” spoke another of the AIs in the Control Center.

  The command AI floated over next to the main communications console. “Let the attack begin.”

  -

  Richard was in his quarters speaking to Amanda over a private communications channel. The AIs and Hocklyn fleet had been sitting in the outer region of the New Tellus system for nearly two days, and this was only the second time the two had been able to speak to one another.

  “Once this is over I’ve arranged for us to spend two weeks at one of the ski lodges up in the mountains on New Tellus,” Richard was saying, wishing he could hold Amanda in his arms rather than just speaking to her over the com system.

  “Sounds great,” replied Amanda, trying to imagine what that would be like. She had really enjoyed their last trip to the mountain lodge, particularly the hot chocolate they had served. She had never been able to get that wonderful recipe.

  “I’m just glad you made it back safely,” Richard said. “I was worried.”

  “There were moments when I wondered if I was going to make it back,” Amanda admitted. “There were times I doubted if I would ever see you again.”

  Richard was about to tell Amanda how worried he had been the entire time she was gone when the red Condition One light in his quarters flashed on, as well as the alarms. “Admiral Andrews, report to the Command Center,” a voice spoke over the com unit on the wall.”

  “They're coming in,” Amanda suddenly said as she received a message over her mini-com. “The AIs and the Hocklyn fleets have begun to move and are heading toward New Tellus.”

  “That still puts them hours away if they don’t do a micro-jump,” Richard said, knowing he needed to report to the Command Center. “Amanda, don’t go off and get yourself killed, I still want a family someday.”

  “So do I,” Amanda replied in a more subdued voice. “Richard, I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Richard replied as he heard the connection end.

  -

  Fleet Admiral Johnson sensed the sudden anxiety that swept through the Command Center of New Tellus Station as the joint Hocklyn and AI fleets began moving at increasing speed toward them.

  “All fleet assets are at Condition One,” Admiral Freeman reported from his post next to Admiral Johnson. “Admiral Andrews is holding off launching additional fighters and bombers until the Hocklyns or AIs enter the gravity well. He is, however, rotating the squadrons currently out on patrol.”

  Karla nodded. Her eyes moved to one of the large tactical displays, which showed the inbound fleet. “I don’t think the AIs will jump inside our gravity well until the Hocklyn fleet is engaged with our ships.”

  “They may still be trying to lure our ships out to open combat away from the gravity well,” Major Ackerman suggested over the open mini-com channel. The Intelligence officer had been watching the Hocklyn and AI fleet intently for several hours, trying to deduce what their strategy might be. “That may be why they have not initiated a micro-jump.”

  “Also, by approaching at sublight speeds they keep our ships at Condition One and it wears on the combat capability of the crews,” Admiral Freeman added. He did some quick calculations and then turned toward the Fleet Admiral. “At their current speed it will take them nearly one hundred hours to reach the gravity well of New Tellus.”

  Karla weighed her options carefully; she knew that, at Condition One, all military assets would have their top people on duty. “The shipyards and the fortresses will stay at Condition One, all other military assets are to go to Condition Three and stay there until they receive further orders. The shipyards and the fortresses have the command staff and crews to remain at Condition One over a long period.”

  The orders were quickly passed, and the ships and the battle stations relaxed their state of alert. Around New Tellus Station Admiral Streth had all three fleets under his command go to Condition Three and ordered the first shift duty crews to get some rest. He had a suspicion that the Hocklyns and the AIs wouldn’t be satisfied with moving so slowly toward New Tellus. At some point, he was certain they would initiate a micro-jump. He wanted to be ready for them when they did.

  Karla continued to gaze at the tactical display showing the massive Hocklyn fleet and the ten AI ships moving steadily toward the human defenses. She was confident her defenses could handle the Hocklyns ships, but the AIs were another matter. She had the firepower to destroy them with the strikecruisers and the fortresses when they came into range, but the AIs might cause a lot of damage in the process. She also had sixteen of the new type two battle stations that could be used to launch Devastator Threes if necessary.

  Letting out a deep breath, she looked over at another display, which was focused on First Fleet. It gave her some comfort knowing that the StarStrike and Fleet Admiral Streth were close by. The legendary admiral had survived Operation First Strike, and now they would see if he could survive the maelstrom of destruction that was about to begin around New Tellus.

  -

  Fleet Commodore Resmunt was unsurprised at seeing that the human fleets were still refusing to come out and engage his forces. Forty hours had passed, and the humans had not budged from their heavy defenses around the blue-white planet they were protecting. Still, he knew he had accomplished something by keeping the human defenses and ships at a state of high alert. The human warriors would not be at their best when the attack was finally launched.

  “It’s nearly time,” Resmunt spoke in his deep rasping voice as he studied the tactical display.

  He was pleased that the AIs had agreed to let him help coordinate this part of the attack. He had come up with a plan that would seriously degrade the human defenses and also demoralize their forces.

  “It is good,” First Leader Ganth replied with a nod. His hand touched his knife. “Our warriors and Protectors are anxious to add to their honor.”

  “We launch our attack in two hours,” Resmunt spoke in a steady and determined voice, his large dark eyes turning toward the First Leader. “We will jump to just outside the gravity well of their planet and then move toward their largest shipyard. If we can take it and destroy the ships protecting it, then the battle will be ours.”

  “What about the rest of our ships and the AIs?” Ganth asked. He felt it was dangerous beginning this attack without their full fleet, particularly with those eight large asteroids orbiting the human planet. He had studied the long-range scans of the weapons emplaced upon those asteroids, and they were powerful beyond belief. Many Hocklyn warriors would go to their honor in destroying them.

  “Our other ships and the remaining AI ships will jump in as soon as we launch our attack,” Resmunt informed First Leader Ganth as he thought over the strategy he had suggested to the AIs. “They will form a second attack wave once we are engaged with the humans.”

  “Then honor will soon come to us,” Ganth spoke, pleased that the attack was about to start. With the full firepower of their fleet, as well as the AIs, they should be able to overwhelm the human defenses no matter how powerful they were. It would be costly, but victory would be theirs.

  -

  Two hours later, six hundred and twelve Hocklyn warships and ten AI ships jumped to the very edge of New Tellus’s gravity well. Instantly, warning alarms sounded on all Federation warships, battle stations, fortresses, and shipyards, including New Tellus Station.

  The Hocklyns seemed to hesitate for a moment and then began moving slowly into the gravity well, followed closely by the AIs. It took Fleet Admiral Johnson only a moment to realize that New Tellus Station was their intended target.

  “Get me Admiral Streth,” Karla ordered as the command crew worked at a heightened pace, knowing that the battle was finally upon them.

  “Admiral Streth is online,” the communications officer reported.

  “Admiral
, the Hocklyns and AIs are moving in, it looks as if New Tellus Station is their primary target.”

  “I agree,” Hedon replied evenly. “It’s the largest shipyard we have, and they can see how heavily we are defending it. They must believe by destroying it they can seriously degrade our defenses.”

  “More ships jumping in system,” Colonel Trist suddenly reported over the com channel. “It looks like the rest of the Hocklyn fleet and the remaining AIs.”

  “This is going to get serious quickly,” Hedon told the Fleet Admiral as he watched all the new red and orange threat icons appearing in the outer system. “They might try to overwhelm our defenses with a mass attack.”

  “Hedon, I’m turning the Tellus over to your command also,” said Karla, knowing that Admiral Streth could make the best use of their second battleship. “Should we call Admiral Teleck in?”

  “No,” Hedon answered quickly. “As the battle progresses there will come a point where we will need some fresh ships and crews; his fleet will provide just that.”

  “Good luck, Admiral,” spoke Karla, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

  Cutting the connection, Karla gazed at one of the tactical displays showing the now rapidly approaching Hocklyn and AI fleets. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing quicken. Even though she was the Fleet Admiral, she had never been in combat before.

  “They will have a lot of fighters with them,” Major Ackerman informed the Fleet Admiral. “They will need to be eliminated if we want our bombers to have any success.”

  “Between the shipyards, the fleet, and the fortresses we have the fighters to do that,” commented Admiral Bennett as he walked into the Command Center and took up his station close to the Fleet Admiral. “It will be necessary to hold our bomber attacks off until we have substantially eliminated a large number of the Hocklyn fighters to ensure the success of their attack runs.”