“Twelve million Originators,” said Commander Sutherland, his eyes showing disbelief. “And they’ve slept in stasis for over two million years.” It was hard for him to comprehend such a thing.
“If it was any race other than the Originators, I’d have a hard time believing it also,” replied Hailey.
Sutherland’s eyes shifted to the nearby tactical display showing the 120 super large transport ships of the Originators at the heart of the fleet. There were also forty Originator cargo ships as well. “We could be in for one hell of a battle if the Eternals reach that star cluster before the evacuation is complete.”
Hailey nodded. “That’s why we’re bringing nearly every Alton medical technician we had back at the Dyson Sphere with us. We have to awaken all twelve million of these Originators and give them the cure for the pathogen. They will need a few more days after that to recover sufficiently to the point they can be taken up to a transport ship and sent back to the hub.”
“That could take several months,” said Sutherland deeply concerned.
Hailey nodded. She was afraid they were going to run out of time. “I fear the Eternals will show up before we’re through with the evacuation. One way or another I believe we’re going to have to fight them in a major fleet battle, even bigger than the one at the Dyson Sphere in Galaxy X-938.”
Sutherland drew in a sharp breath. They had nearly lost their entire fleet in that battle. “I hope Fleet Admiral Strong knows what he’s doing. We’re going to be risking a lot if this comes down to a major confrontation between us and the Eternals.”
Hailey understood that. “We need those Originators. There are over two hundred Dyson Spheres and most of them only have a few squads of Marines protecting them. Many of the Dyson Spheres are depending on newly created Military AIs and their regular AIs to operate the defensive systems.” She looked over at the tactical display. It was covered in large green icons representing the ships of her fleet. She wondered how many would be left when she returned to the hub. In every battle she had fought against the Eternals she had lost a hell of a lot of ships and she didn’t expect it to be any different this time.
-
In the star cluster of the lost Originators, more Originators were being awakened and given the cure for the pathogen every hour. On the orbiting space station all fifty thousand Originators were awake as well as the two councilors. They had met with Councilor Bartoll, Commander Belson, Commander Zafron, Andram, and Jeremy. They had been stunned the same as everyone else at learning how much time had passed since they had gone into stasis. They were visibly upset when told about the Anti-Life. After much discussion and videos showing some of the recent battles with the Eternals they agreed to allow the three Federation races to remain at the Communications and Transport Hub. They had also tentatively agreed to allow for an increase in the numbers of all three races to aid in fighting the Eternals.”
In the stasis facility on the planet already two hundred thousand Originators had been given the cure and brought out of stasis. Shuttles were climbing upward on a steady basis as the large orbiting transport ships were loaded.
-
“The Accelerator Ring is finished and we can activate it at any time,” reported Camlin. On the main viewscreen, the 110-kilometer wide ring was plainly visible. The four Originator construction ships were nearby conducting final tests in preparation for activation.
Rear Admiral Barnes nodded. “We’re going to begin sending the lost Originator transport ships through immediately. They’re not as large as the ones at the hub but they will still hold twenty thousand Originators each.”
“With a little bit of luck we’ll be able to move over four hundred thousand Originators before Rear Admiral Mann gets here. Just getting those first ships to the hub will be a huge relief for Councilor Bartoll.”
Kathryn leaned back in her command chair, relaxing. She knew Camlin was hoping for the best. The problem was they just didn’t have the room to awaken that many Originators at once. Current estimates showed that by overcrowding the living quarters in the underground stasis facility they could awaken a little over two hundred thousand Originators each week. That meant it would take them sixty weeks to awaken all of them, give them the cure, and send them off to the Communications and Transport Hub. There was no way the Eternals were going to give them that much time. This had the makings of a disaster and she wasn’t sure what could be done to avoid it.
-
Jeremy was in a shuttle with Commander Zafron and Commander Belson. Belson had indicated there was something he wanted to show the two.
“We’re gong to start sending some of your people to the hub beginning tomorrow,” Jeremy said. “Ten of your transports will be going with an escort of ten battlecruisers and one dreadnought.” Councilor Bartell and the other two councilors were going as well so they could begin getting the hub ready for the twelve million Originators.
Commander Belson seemed pleased with that. “At least that will ensure some of our people get to the hub before the Anti-Life show up.”
“You have sixty transports here; we’ll be using all of them. As soon as we have the next two hundred thousand Originators out of stasis and they have recovered sufficiently to travel, the next group will be leaving.”
The shuttle began slowing and Commander Belson reached forward and touched a button on one of the control consoles. Instantly a shimmering appeared in front of the shuttle and then a massive five-hundred-meter structure appeared.
“What is that?” asked Jeremy, his eyes widening. What ever it was it hadn’t been showing up on any of the fleet’s sensors. It had a number of very large energy cannons of some kind on its surface.
Commander Zafron leaned forward visibly intrigued by the cannons. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes,” Commander Belson replied. “It’s a dark energy cannon. We finished its development just before most of us on the station had to go into stasis.”
Commander Zafron spent a moment examining the large structure. “The use of dark energy as a weapon was only theoretical when the Dominator left the dark matter Shrieel.”
“The mathematics behind the use of dark energy as a weapon is far beyond even most Originators,” explained Commander Belson. “It was a fluke we found the right set of equations to make it possible.”
“What would this do to an Eternal battlecruiser?” asked Jeremy. He knew the power of dark matter. They used it in the 400-megaton dark matter missiles.
Commander Belson shifted his eyes to Jeremy. “It should pass directly through its energy shield and annihilate the vessel. From the early tests we ran no energy shield can stop it.”
“How many of these dark energy battlestations are there?” asked Zafron.
Commander Belson smiled. “One hundred and eighteen. They are the last line of defense before any enemy can reach the surface and the underground facility. They’re hidden in orbit by a special stealth field we developed as well as a polymer that covers their hulls which prevents the stations from being detected by sensors.”
Commander Zafron thought for a long minute and then spoke. “If we could add these dark energy cannons to the Shrieels along with our blue energy spheres, it would make them nearly impervious to attacks from the Eternals. That would give us the time we need to build the fleet we’re going to need to take the battle to them. Right now too many of our ships are tied down on defense.”
“What about on a warship?” asked Jeremy, seeing the potential for the weapon. “Could they be placed on board a ship like the Avenger or even the Dominator?”
“Could they be reverse engineered if the Eternals got their hands on one?” asked Commander Zafron, his brow wrinkling in thought.
Commander Belson hesitated for a moment. “They have the technology to build them though they may not be able to fully understand the science and mathematics behind the dark energy cannon. There are only a handful of our own scientists and mathematicians who do.”
Jeremy
stood in the cockpit of the shuttle gazing at the huge spherical structure. It appeared to have defensive energy turrets as well. It reminded him of the Indomitable class battlestations, which once protected Gaia. “Can these dark energy cannons destroy a planet?” That was the primary argument for not allowing the blue energy spheres to be placed on warships.
“No,” answered Belson. “They would dig out one massive crater but they can’t destroy a planet. Why do you ask?”
“I’m thinking about a new class of ships armed with dark energy cannons. It might allow us to better defend Originator space from the Eternals.”
“Ships similar to the Dominator,” suggested Commander Zafron. This was a weapon he would like on the Dominator as well. “We wouldn’t build a lot of these new warships, that would be too time consuming, and they could be escorted by our heavy dreadnoughts.”
“We’re also going to have to place a self-destruct on all of our warships to prevent the Eternals from gaining access to our technology,” Jeremy informed them. This was something he had meant to bring up earlier after the battle in Galaxy X-938 but he hadn’t found the right time to do so. Too much had been going on.
“A self-destruct?” uttered Belson, his face turning pale. “That’s something we’ve never done. It’s barbaric!”
“It’s war,” replied Jeremy evenly. “We’re facing a brutal and cruel enemy. We can’t allow any of our ships or crews to be captured. The Federation used self-destructs in its war against the Hocklyns and the AIs in our home galaxy. I believe we need to do the same here.”
Commander Zafron was taken aback by the suggestion. “Ariel and Aaliss confirmed there was a self-destruct on the Eternal battlecruiser they boarded. It had to be set off manually. I believe Fleet Admiral Strong is correct. If we don’t want the Eternals gaining access to our technology then we need to be able to destroy our own ships when they suffer catastrophic damage.”
“It is something we will need to bring up with the councilors,” said Commander Belson who obviously didn’t like the idea. “However, I can see the wisdom of ensuring the Eternals don’t capture any of our warships or crews. If this is the only option then I will agree as long as there are suitable safeguards to prevent any of the self-destructs from going off accidentally.”
“We had such,” replied Jeremy.
Commander Zafron took one last long look at the battlestation. “Let’s get back to the station. We need to begin planning how we’re going to deal with the Eternals when they come.”
Jeremy watched as the shuttle turned around and headed back to the station. He had received a coded message the day before that one of his requests had been completed and would be arriving with Rear Admiral Mann’s fleet. Once they arrived at the station he had something else he had thought of and needed to speak about to Councilor Bartoll and the other two newly awakened councilors. With the Eternals expected to make an appearance, there was no way they could take a year to awaken all of the Originators in the underground stasis facility. They had to find another solution and Jeremy thought he might have one. However, it was going to depend in part on the ship construction capability of the shipyards back at the Communications and Transport Hub. If his plan didn’t work, then a lot of Originators now in stasis might be lost.
-
On the planet Gardell, First Leader Clondax listened to the report from the Eternal responsible for surveying Originator space for any unusual activity.
“Nineteen battlecruisers confirmed lost,” reported Parnon. “Squadron Commander Mallon was following a fleet of Originator vessels on a course for a star cluster orbiting that galaxy.”
“The same galaxy where a Shrieel has been destroyed?”
“Yes, It appears a number of supernovas have occurred in the nebula surrounding that region of space where the Shrieel once was. All the supernova are quite recent, having occurred in the last few years.”
Clondax was beginning to grow concerned. “Were these supernovas formed as the result of a weapon being used?”
“I have spoken to several scientists familiar with supernova and they all agree this is not a natural occurrence.”
Clondax stood and walked over to a large window overlooking the capital city of the planet. More than seventy million Eternals lived and worked in the megacity. It was the night cycle and the city was lit brilliantly by millions of lights. The city never slept as building and ruling an empire, which would someday stretch across the known universe, required constant vigilance.
“This fleet Commander Mallon was following. Did it have any vessels of the proxy race with it?”
“Yes, there were seventy of them.”
Clondax turned back around. He was now coming to believe the Shrieels had already been conquered. This proxy race was not a creation of the Originator AIs nor a partner race they had located. The destruction of the Shrieel only confirmed what he had begun to suspect. Sometime in the recent past, the Originator AIs had contacted a highly advanced and warlike race. The race had destroyed the Shrieel in that one galaxy as an example of their power. It was now obvious the Originator AIs had surrendered their control of all Shrieels rather than allow them to be destroyed. It also explained the recent defeats the Eternals had suffered at the hands of this race.
All this brought up another question. What was so important about the star cluster outside that galaxy? Could it be the home to this mysterious race?
“Continue the survey of Originator space. I intend to take a fleet to this star cluster and find out what its significance is.”
Clondax had decided to take the fleet currently being assembled to attack the Shrieel in Galaxy X-938. It would be ready to depart in two more weeks. If the homeworld of this mysterious race was in this star cluster, a force of one hundred thousand Eternal battlecruisers would annihilate it. That should weaken the race sufficiently to allow the Eternals to take the Shrieels one at a time until all were under Eternal control.
Tomorrow he would speak to the council and inform them of this latest data. While the battles for the Shrieels might be brutal with heavy losses, the Eternals would eventually win out. It was their destiny as over the years, with the modifications they had made to their bodies, they had become the most powerful and intelligent race in the universe.
It would be good for the Eternals to finally battle a worthy opponent. It would better prepare them for future conflicts as they spread across the universe building the greatest empire to ever exist. There would come a day when every civilized world in the universe owed allegiance to the Eternals.
Chapter Fifteen
Jeremy stared long and hard at the primary viewscreen on the front wall of the Avenger. It was displaying the Accelerator Ring which had just activated with a swirling deep blue vortex forming. Occasional flashes of discharging energy erupted around the outer ring as the vortex quickly stabilized. Ten Originator transport ships escorted by a heavy dreadnought and ten Originator battlecruisers approached the vortex and entered. Moments later the vortex shut down.
“That’s six hundred thousand we’ve sent through,” Commander Malen said, turning to face Jeremy. “We’re never going to make it at this rate.”
Jeremy nodded. This was going too slowly. They just didn’t have the room in the underground stasis facility to awaken the Originators who were in stasis any faster. Two hundred thousand were already overcrowding the living quarters in the facility. They had the capacity to awaken one hundred thousand Originators per week. From the time they were given the cure it took nearly two full weeks before they were capable of traveling. There was a steady flow of shuttles from the surface to the orbiting transports. Once there were two hundred thousand awakened Originators on the ten waiting vessels they were sent on their way under escort to the hub. After they were safely through the Accelerator Ring, then the next ten transports moved into orbit to be loaded.
“The Eternals are going to come soon,” said Aaliss, with her arms folded over her chest. The towering Originator AI had a l
ook of deep concern on her face. “We’re never going to get all of these Originators to safety in time. I’m afraid many of them are going to die in their stasis chambers. We’ve put so much effort into finding them and now we may not be able to protect them when the Eternals come.”
Kevin looked over at Jeremy. “So, what’s the plan? I know you’ve got one.”
Jeremy took a deep breath. “Rear Admiral Mann should be here in the next day or two. She’s bringing some Originator cargo ships loaded with modified defense globes. The globes have met with some success in the battles we’ve had with the Eternals. This new modification I requested should take the Eternals by surprise. It just might buy us some time if they show up with a large fleet.”
“Time’s the key,” commented Ariel, her dark eyes focusing on Jeremy. “At the rate we’re currently awakening the Originators in stasis, it will take over a year to get them all to the Communications and Transport Hub. I don’t believe there’s any way we can hold back the Eternals for that length of time. If they can’t reach the planet on their first try they’ll only call in more ships. They’ll keep doing that until we’re overwhelmed. It won’t matter how many defense globes we send against them, at some point in time they’re going to reach the planet.”
“We won’t be here a year from now,” Jeremy replied. “All I need is to find a way to give us eight to ten weeks and I can have all the Originators safely off the planet.”
“Eight to ten weeks!” exclaimed Kevin, his eyes showing disbelief. “How?”
With a secretive smile, Jeremy explained his plan. The others listened in stunned amazement as he told them how it could be done. “I’ve got the shipyards at the hub building new ships which can handle transporting stasis chambers. We’re going to transport the chambers up to the ships and then awaken the Originators back at the hub. They will be sending additional work robots to help with moving the chambers and special shuttles that can be used to take them to the cargo ships.”
The Originator Wars: Search for the Lost: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 26
