The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators: A Slaver Wars Novel

by Raymond L. Weil

  Altrab felt a huge weight descend on his shoulders. He felt pride at being selected to lead the greatest Simulin fleet ever gathered in this galaxy. “When do we leave?”

  “Many ships have already made their way to the assembly area,” Marden answered. “In two weeks, we launch our attack.”

  Altrab gazed at the viewscreens. Everywhere there were Simulin warships. He shifted his gaze back to Grand Councilmember Marden. “There can only be Simulin.”

  “Only Simulin,” Marden responded. But in the back of his mind, he wondered if that were true. Never before had the Simulins dealt with an enemy as dangerous as this one.

  -

  One week later Jeremy was over on the Alton science ship where the Originators were being awakened. The Originator scientist Bartoll had already been awakened and much to his surprise Jeremy had taken an immediate liking to the scientist. In many ways he reminded him of Andram. Bartoll was highly intelligent, wise, and seemed to possess a very good sense of humor.

  “How are you feeling today?” asked Jeremy, as he entered the special quarters the Altons had set up for the esteemed scientist.

  The furnishings in the room had even been changed to accommodate his height. The Altons themselves being nearly seven feet tall was helpful in that it allowed Bartoll to move about the ship easily without bumping his head. He only had to duck occasionally when he went through a hatch.

  “Ah, Fleet Admiral Strong,” Bartoll said, standing up with a pleased smile. “I’m glad you came by today. As to my health, Daena has assured me I am fully recovered. There is no longer any trace of the pathogen in my body. For the first time in years, I can look forward to a long life of study and research.”

  “Then I assume the other adults in the stasis chambers are going to be awakened?”

  “Yes,” replied Bartoll, indicating for Jeremy so sit down. There were several chairs in his quarters built for Humans.

  Jeremy sat down and looked over at the Originator. “I’m surprised that Reesa isn’t here.”

  Bartoll laughed. “She is fascinating to talk to. Reesa is so full of life and curiosity. She reminds me of what I was like in my youth.”

  “I’ve spoken with her a few times,” Jeremy said. “She is from my home galaxy which we’re cut off from.”

  Bartoll’s eyes clouded slightly. “Yes, I was told about that by Andram. The Altons are an amazing race. Their culture is highly advanced and they are well on their way to becoming what my race once was.”

  “Would you trust them with your technology?”

  “If it were up to me I would consider it. However, I think it wise if that discussion is made when all the adults of my race have been awoken.” Bartoll sat back down and let out a deep sigh. “There are so few of us left. Even using the birthing chambers on the Shrieels it will take generations for us to once more establish a viable population.”

  “Keep in mind that many of the Dyson Spheres have Simulins in control of the vortex Control Centers. They will have to be dealt with at some point.”

  Bartoll nodded. “Leeda and I have had several long conversations about that very point. I understand Rear Admiral Barnes left some of her Marines behind at the Communication and Transport Hub to begin training to take the Control Centers from the Simulins.”

  “Yes,” replied Jeremy, recalling what Kathryn had said about Captain Wilde staying behind. “She also promised I would send more Marines after she contacted me. It will not be an easy task as the Control Centers will all be heavily held by the Simulins and their Conqueror Drones.”

  “It does present a problem. Leeda, Camlin, Kazak and Second Officer Zafron came to visit me yesterday. It seems the Simulins have a confirmed presence in twenty-six Shrieels. Kazak is confident he can order the defenses the Shrieels possess to destroy all the Simulin warships both inside and outside. However, Second Officer Zafron knows of no way that we ourselves can remove them from the Control Centers.”

  “Our Marines can,” Jeremy swiftly pointed out. “They’ve already demonstrated that in the Dyson Sphere in my home galaxy.”

  With a smile Bartoll folded his arms across his chest. “It seems we’re at an impasse. You want some of our technology and we need your Marines to remove the Simulins and their Conqueror Drones.”

  “Perhaps we can work out a compromise of some kind,” suggested Jeremy.

  “I suspect there will be a compromise of some sort,” agreed Bartoll. “When the others are awake I will make the recommendation. I believe they will follow it. However, there will be some restrictions. Our technology and weapons are very advanced and must not be allowed to come into the possession of other races. The only reason I am willing to make an exception with you is that your people are cut off from your home galaxy, you have a small population, and the presence of the Altons.”

  “So, we will not be allowed to use the intergalactic drive on the Distant Horizon to send a mission back home to tell them of our survival?”

  “No,” Bartoll said, shaking his head. “We can’t risk it. If people in your Federation became aware that you possessed such technology, they would demand you turn it over. I don’t want to force you to have to disobey the orders of your superiors.”

  Jeremy let out a deep sigh. He had been afraid that would be one of the restrictions. He knew Rear Admiral Barnes deeply wanted to return to Ceres to see her father. Perhaps once the surviving Originators came to know the people of Gaia better that restriction might be reconsidered.

  -

  Twenty-eight light years from the Fitula Nebula, High Commander Caluthe watched as his fleet began the entry into hyperspace. After days of searching, he had found three patrol fleets of the organics and the AIs from the nebula. He was working up his plan of attack when the recall order had come from the Grand Council. He was to take his fleet to star A1-479-347 and join the growing fleet of ships assembling there to attack the nebula. It was disconcerting to him to learn Supreme High Commander Altrab would command the attack. If he could have destroyed just one of the patrol fleets, the promotion to Supreme High Commander might have been his.

  “The time has finally come,” said Second Commander Gantol. “We are going to crush the organics and their AIs.”

  “It seems so,” replied Caluthe. “When we reach the rendezvous point our ships are to be equipped with a new device to eliminate the hyperspace interference in the nebula.”

  “Once the enemy in the nebula has been eliminated we can renew our expansion in this galaxy. Someday this galaxy will be inhabited by trillions of Simulins.”

  Caluthe stared long and hard at his second in command. “We have a battle to fight against the organics and their AIs,” he reminded Gantol. “We have no idea what type of defenses they may have built around their world inside the nebula. It will be a difficult battle, and many of our warships will be lost.”

  “Nevertheless, we will be victorious,” responded Gantol. “We are Simulin and the universe is destined to be ours.”

  Caluthe remained silent. He was not going to underestimate this enemy. The Fitula organics and their AIs had already demonstrated how dangerous they could be. Shifting his attention to one of the viewscreens, he saw a swirling spatial vortex form in front of his flagship. It was time to leave the vicinity of the nebula, but they would be back with a fleet the organics and the AIs in the nebula would never expect.

  -

  Jeremy and recently promoted Rear Admiral Hiru Akira were in a shuttle inspecting the defenses around Gaia. The shuttle was currently orbiting one of the massive one-thousand-meter Indomitable Class battlestations. There were six of them in orbit, and each possessed the firepower of ten battleships.

  “Will it be enough?” asked Akira as he gazed at the numerous particle beam cannons on the battlestation.

  “We’ve added some ion beams as well,” answered Jeremy. “If a Simulin warship gets close enough, the station can strip it of its energy shield and then destroy it.” Jeremy wished he had more of the powerful battlestat
ions. “We have eighty-seven Type Two stations plus six thousand particle beam satellites’.”

  “That’s a powerful defensive grid,” commented Akira. “It should be sufficient to protect Gaia.”

  “The only problem is we have no idea how large a force the Simulins will attack with or when the attack will be coming. It could be now or still years in the future.”

  Jeremy told the pilot to take them over to one of the Type Two stations so they could inspect it as well. Looking out the front viewport of the shuttle, the space around Gaia seemed to be full of thousands of small pinpoints of light. This was caused by the light from the system’s sun reflecting off the orbiting particle beams satellites. A brighter light indicated the presence of a Type Two battlestation or one of the six Indomitable ones.

  “We need Originator weapons,” Jeremy said, drawing in a deep breath. “If we had their gravitonic cannons, for instance, we could hold the planet easily against any Simulin attack.”

  “How’s that discussion going?”

  Jeremy watched as the shuttle slowed and stopped at a distance of a thousand meters from one of the one hundred and fifty-meter Type Two stations. “As well as can be expected. The last of the adult Originators will be awake tomorrow. Bartoll wants to give them a few days to recuperate and become partially acclimated to their surroundings and the amount of time that’s passed. After that he will discuss the current situation with the Simulins and whether we can have access to their technology. He’s very adamant about it being a joint decision by all the surviving adult Originators.”

  “Over two million years,” muttered Akira, shaking his head. “It’s difficult to even think about being in stasis for such a long period of time.”

  “I know,” answered Jeremy, recalling the decades he and his friends had been in cryosleep waiting to fight the war against the Hocklyns. Fleet Admiral Streth and others had slept even longer.

  “Take us down to the planet,” Jeremy said, addressing the pilot. “I want to inspect the defenses around the cities as well as visit several of the Marine bases.”

  There were five major cities on the planet all sitting inside rings of defensive laser turrets and Hunter interceptor missile batteries. In addition there were three large Marine bases each with over eight thousand Marines. General McGown was in charge of the Marines and the ground defenses, and Jeremy wanted to make sure they were ready to repel large numbers of Conqueror Drones if it came down to it.

  -

  Kelsey was in New Eden visiting with Angela. In some ways, Kelsey was jealous of the life Angela now led.

  “How’s Clair?”

  “Sleeping,” Angela said as the two sat across from one another in the comfortable home where Angela and her family had taken up residence. “Brace is on duty at his Marine base and won’t be back until the weekend.” Brace was a major and in charge of one of the three large Marine bases on Gaia.

  Kelsey let out a deep sigh. “I was hoping she would be awake.”

  Angela laughed. She looked over at the baby monitor on the armrest of the sofa. “Give her a few more minutes. Her nap is just about over.” Looking curiously at Kelsey, she continued. “When are you and Jeremy going to start having kids?”

  Kelsey flushed slightly and shook her head. “We very seldom talk about it. He’s so busy with the fleet and the war neither of us knows when we can make time for children.”

  Angela leaned forward. “Kelsey, take my advice: don’t wait.”

  “How can I add that responsibility onto Jeremy’s shoulders with everything he already has?”

  Angela grinned as she checked the baby monitor again. Clair was starting to stir. “Take my word for it. Having children is a totally different type of responsibility. One that’s more of a blessing than a weight on your shoulders.”

  “You don’t miss the fleet?”

  “Of course I miss it,” replied Angela. “I miss it every day. But then I look at Clair and I know for now the fleet can wait. Lieutenant Lantz is doing fine taking my place on the Avenger. Shayla is a very competent communications officer.”

  “She should be, you trained her.”

  “Have you visited Karalle or Malith recently?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Yes, Karalle’s twins are really growing. She seems very happy to have settled down. She’s already talking about having more children.”

  Angela nodded. “It’s not surprising. The Bears like to have large families. What about Malith? I haven’t spoken to her for several months.”

  “She’s still on the Clan Protector, though I believe she’s found a Carethian officer she’s smitten with. It wouldn’t surprise me to see her settling down soon also.”

  A crying noise came from the baby monitor.

  “Clair’s awake. She’ll be hungry.” Angela stood and went into the nursery to get her daughter.

  Kelsey leaned back in her chair thinking about what Angela had said about having children. Would there ever be a good time for her and Jeremy? Her thoughts were interrupted as Angela came back into the room cradling Clair in the crook of her arm.

  “She’s wide awake and hungry.”

  Kelsey gazed at the two seeing the happy look in Angela’s eyes. Maybe it was time for her and Jeremy to talk about children.

  -

  Jeremy was at General McGown’s underground Command Center. The two had been talking about the current status of the ground defenses on Gaia. Colonel Jarrins had taken Rear Admiral Akira on a tour of one of the Marine bases.

  “We’re as ready as we’re ever going to be,” McGown said, gesturing toward a bank of viewscreens. There were twelve viewscreens and four each were dedicated to showing views of the three Marine bases. McGown stepped forward and had the Marine officer in front of the screens adjust one of them to show a different view. On the screen, a pair of Talon fighters rocketed up into the air.

  “What’s the status of the fighters and bombers at the three bases?”

  “We have ten fighter squadrons and twelve bomber squadrons at each base. We train daily on taking out inbound missiles and running ground support operations in case Conqueror Drones reach the surface.”

  Jeremy shifted his eyes to another bank of viewscreens. These were showing scenes from inside the five major cities on Gaia. A third bank were views from space showing the entire planet.

  McGown looked knowingly at Jeremy. “This is the third time you’ve been in my Command Center this month. Are you growing worried about a Simulin attack?”

  Jeremy nodded. “Yes, I’ve spoken to Andram and some others, and they all agree it’s past due.”

  McGown nodded. “I suspected that.” He turned and gazed at the large holographic tactical display, which showed the space around Gaia. For now all it contained was a myriad of friendly green icons. “If they come, we’ll be ready for them.”

  Jeremy took a deep breath. He just hoped General McGown was right. One advantage Jeremy had at the moment was that the Dominator and the Distant Horizon were in orbit. There was no doubt if the Simulins attacked in force Rear Admiral Barnes would throw the exploration dreadnought into the fight. He wasn’t as certain about the Dominator. While technically Kelsey was still in command, he knew very well that if the Originators on board were put in danger Zafron and Kazak would take over. Whether they would fight or not was a worrisome question in Jeremy’s mind. With both ships fighting, he just might be able to hold Gaia. If the Dominator fled in order to ensure the safety of the Originators on board, then Gaia and all the people on the planet might be lost.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jeremy was in his quarters on the Avenger. He rolled over and gazed at his still sleeping wife. He reached out and touched her blonde hair, moving it away from her eyes. Kelsey had come over from the Dominator to spend the night and have breakfast with Jeremy. With a deep sigh, Jeremy wished they could to this more often. He was still slightly troubled by Kelsey asking when they could have children. It was evident that Angela electing to start a family was having a
n effect on both Kelsey and Katie. It wasn’t that he didn’t want children; he did. However, he wasn’t sure he wanted them in the middle of a war. He had suggested to Kelsey that they wait a little while longer and then they could sit down and discuss starting a family.

  Jeremy rolled back over and with a start saw Ariel standing next to the bed. Normally she was much more discreet.

  “Jeremy, we may have a problem?”

  “What is it? Has Zafron and Bartoll started their meeting with the other Originators?” Only yesterday the last of the adult Originators had been released from the Alton medical bay to take up residence on either the Dominator or the Alton science ship that was providing quarters for them.

  “No,” answered Ariel, looking worried. “The hyperspace detection buoys have detected a force of Simulin warships on a direct course for the nebula.”

  Jeremy sat up in bed, his eyes narrowing sharply. “How far out are they?”

  “Sixteen light years and closing rapidly. I’ve already sent word to the Benson to be on watch as the Simulins should exit hyperspace in close proximity.”

  “How many ships?”

  “Fourteen.”

  Jeremy swung his legs out of bed reaching for his uniform.

  Jeremy, what is it?” asked Kelsey, yawning and sitting up. She saw Ariel and instinctively pulled the blanket up covering herself. “Ariel! What have I told you about privacy?”

  “I’ve seen both you and Jeremy unclothed. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

  Kelsey shook her head. “What’s going on, Jeremy?”

  “We have a small Simulin fleet inbound toward the nebula. From their course, I would guess they’re going to try to penetrate it.”

  Kelsey’s face showed concern as she realized what this might mean. “I’ll get dressed and go over to the Dominator.”

  “I think it can wait,” Jeremy said as he put his shirt on. “Commander Malen is over there, and she can handle the ship if necessary. If this is an attempt to penetrate the nebula, there won’t be any combat involved. They’ll jump in, confirm their location, and then jump back out.”