The Slaver Wars: Endgame

by Raymond L. Weil

  -

  In space, the two battling fleets continued to pound one another with every weapon at their disposal. Occasionally, a missile or an energy beam would penetrate an energy screen, causing heavy damage to a warship. In the defending fleet, two escort cruisers vanished in brilliant fireballs as nuclear missiles tore the ships apart. However, the attacking fleet was taking casualties also; a warcruiser was struck by half a dozen blue energy beams, which penetrated deep within the cruiser, causing irreparable damage. Internal explosions began destroying valuable systems and the vessel’s power system failed. The ship’s computer read the damage as being too severe and initiated the ship’s self-destructs, blowing the warship into oblivion.

  “We’re pushing them back,” hissed First Leader Ashk as another opposing escort cruiser vanished from the tactical screen. “We’ve lost a warcruiser and another escort.”

  “Send another message demanding they share their supplies with us,” ordered Queex, grimacing at the losses. If he lost too many ships, his own forces would fall prey to others seeking food supplies. “Tell them if they do so, they can join their forces with ours.”

  “Message sent,” replied the Third Leader at Communications.

  A moment later, he turned to glance at War Leader Queex. “They refuse; they claim they have no supplies.”

  “The liars!” roared Queex his eyes glowing red with anger. “We know several cargo ships docked to their habitat just last week. If they refuse to share, then they can die!”

  The fighting continued as both fleets tried to eliminate the other. War Leader Queex had the advantage as he had his flagship, the dreadnought WarSword, whereas his opponent’s largest ship was a warcruiser.

  More ships died as they continued to pummel one another. Escort cruisers and warcruisers exploded as their energy screens were knocked down, allowing weapons fire to strike the armored hulls. Debris was drifting everywhere in space from destroyed and damaged ships. The battle began to wind down as the heavy energy beam fire from the WarSword blew the last enemy warcruiser into oblivion. The lone surviving warcruiser, along with four escorts, turned and fled rather than face imminent destruction.

  “We won,” gloated First Leader Ashk, turning to face Queex. “We’ll eat well tonight!”

  War Leader Queex nodded his large reptilian head. “Send our Protectors to board the station. I am summoning several cargo ships from our own habitat to pick up the supplies.”

  -

  Shuttles quickly docked to the habitat and hundreds of heavily armed and armored Protectors rushed aboard. They were met by defending Protectors and a savage battle erupted, much of it hand-to-hand in the narrow corridors leading to the supply rooms. Assault weapons roared and small explosions caused heavy casualties on both sides. Long knives flashed and were soon dripping with the red blood of fallen Hocklyn Protectors. The passageways were full of the dead and the dying.

  At last, the surviving invaders stood before their prize. The heavy metal door that led to the food stores. Blowing the door open they rushed inside to seize their hard fought for prize, but all they found were empty storage rooms. There was no food there!

  -

  “What!” hissed War Leader Queex his large eyes growing even darker. “What do they mean there is no food?”

  “That’s what they’re reporting,” First Leader Ashk answered. “Several squads have ventured out into the habitat to check the civilian population to see if the supplies might have been moved. They report widespread starvation and numerous dead. Some of the surviving civilians claim they ran out of food over ten days ago.”

  “Then this was for nothing,” muttered Queex, looking at the tactical screen and his surviving fleet. He'd lost nearly a third of his warships and many others were damaged. He didn’t have the forces needed to attack another major habitat. “Recall our Protectors; we’re going back to our own habitat. We’ll be needed there to defend it.”

  “What about food?” asked First Leader Ashk his dark eyes growing wide with concern. “Our own habitat is nearly out and our reserve supplies will be gone within three more days.”

  “I don’t know,” Queex responded in a dejected voice. “This habitat was our best hope; I’m afraid there are no more supplies in the system.”

  “Then honor comes for us,” uttered Ashk his dark eyes accepting what was in store for them. “It will be a hard way to die.”

  “Yes,” answered War Leader Queex, eyeing the large self-destruct button on his command console. He had no intention of starving. “Honor will soon come for us as it has for so many others.”

  -

  High Leader Nartel stood upon the upper balcony in the building that housed the High Council Chambers and his office. Looking across the city, he could see numerous fires raging out of control, and if he listened closely enough he could even hear the yells and screams from the angry mobs gathered in front of the few still functioning food distribution centers. From the latest reports he'd received, even these would run out of supplies in the next day or so.

  “It’s begun,” spoke High Councilor Berken from Nartel’s side. “Our people are revolting. I have received reports of food riots on every planet and habitat. Even some of our fleet units have taken part in attacks upon habitats suspected of having food supplies.”

  Nartel nodded as he shifted his gaze upward. Looking toward space, he could see several bright flashes indicating Hocklyn warships were fighting one another.

  “What of the other councilors?”

  “All hiding in their own personal habitats,” Berken responded. “Councilor Jarles has reportedly gone aboard the dreadnought LightningDawn with his close family members. He's accumulated a small fleet and shifted all of his remaining food stores over to his ships. I suspect he is preparing to flee.”

  “Even our Protectors are reporting difficulty in securing the necessary facilities to keep our worlds functioning,” added Nartel, knowing this was the end of the Hocklyn Slave Empire. It was hard to imagine that just a few short years ago they had controlled tens of thousands of slave worlds and were well on their way to conquering this portion of the galaxy.

  “Power shortages are being reported on Anlesh,” Berken added. “With its population of twenty billion, the end will come quickly. There are already confirmed reports of major rioting in all of the major cities. The planetary government has lost complete control and is in hiding.”

  Nartel looked back down at the capital city and the smoke that was steadily growing thicker from the burning fires. “The Humans did this,” he uttered in a voice filled with anger. They'd underestimated the Humans from the very beginning, and now the Empire would pay the ultimate price for that grave miscalculation.

  “We should never have become such willing servants to the AIs,” pointed out Berken, wishing things had turned out differently. “It was the AIs that always refused to allow us to colonize other planets to help ease our growing population.”

  “We had no choice,” answered Nartel, grimly. “If we had refused, they would've destroyed our worlds.”

  “We need to leave shortly,” Berken said, taking a deep breath. “I have a large fleet as well as numerous cargo vessels waiting at my family habitat. It is a tempting target for those without.”

  “Same with me,” Nartel replied in a cold voice nearly devoid of emotion. He turned to face Berken. “I think it’s time for us to leave the core worlds. We’ll begin our Empire anew far from here and away from the Humans.”

  “Agreed,” responded Berken, nodding his reptilian head. “These worlds are lost to us.”

  The two made their way out of the High Council building, knowing they would never step foot inside again. They had two heavily armed shuttles waiting to take them up to their waiting dreadnoughts. After returning to their respective fleets, they would rendezvous in a nearby brown dwarf system and then begin the long trip to their new home far out by the Borzon Empire.

  -

  Jaseth eyed the tactical screen with o
pen dismay. Fleet ships were turning against one another as they raided the different habitats for food. Jaseth felt fortunate he'd resupplied all of his warships a few weeks back and they had adequate supplies for at least six months. He also had two cargo ships at the heart of his formation filled to the brim with food supplies. These had been sent to him by High Leader Nartel along with additional ships to be added to his fleet.

  The High Leader had sent him six additional warcruisers and ten more escorts, which when added to his other ships made for a very formidable fleet. Jaseth studied the tactical screen for another few moments, not caring for the way things were developing. There were too many habitats close by and occasionally the flash of a nuclear explosion was evident on the War Room’s viewscreens.

  “Move us out another twenty million kilometers,” ordered Jaseth, wanting to put some distance between his fleet and the large artificial habitats in orbit around the planet’s sun.

  “There is no honor in what our people do today,” uttered War Leader Barelle, shaking his head at the viewscreen. “If the other Fleet Commodores or War Leaders suspect we have two cargo ships full of food in our fleet, they'll come for us.”

  “That’s why I want to put some distance between us and the habitats,” Jaseth answered. “At the moment, the other fleet ships are more interested in what might be in the habitats than our fleet. I intend to keep it that way.”

  As the fleet began to move away, one of the habitats where a major battle was being fought was put up on the main viewscreen. The twenty-kilometer habitat had numerous craters in its metal hull where weapons fire had impacted.

  “That’s the Krogend habitat,” Third leader Taldon spoke from Communications. “The Krogend family is one of the more influential families in our Empire. It is rumored that the eldest son of Sarth Krogend is in line to become a High Councilor.”

  “Not now,” hissed Jaseth as several twenty-megaton nuclear explosions rocked the habitat. On the screen, escaping gases from the habitat’s internal atmosphere could be seen coming out of several large, glowing rents in its structure.

  “If they keep that up, they’ll crack the habitat in two,” warned Barelle as he returned from Navigation. “Not even a habitat as large as that one can handle too many nuclear explosions.”

  Jaseth watched as the defending ships swirled about the habitat, trying to beat back the attackers. From what he could see on the tactical screen, four full warfleets were trying to push through to the habitat. They were being resisted by at least twenty defending ships.

  A defending warcruiser exploded as it was struck by multiple nuclear missiles. Several escort cruisers were too close to the explosion and lost their shields in the blast. The attackers quickly took advantage as numerous blue energy beams cut deeply into the escorts setting off their self-destructs.

  The defenders focused their fire on the one dreadnought in the attacking fleets, causing its screen to waver. Then a nuclear missile flashed through a hole in the screen and detonated above the engine compartment, sending the ship into a violent roll. Its subspace engines suddenly flashed bright and the dreadnought hurtled toward the habitat.

  “They’ve lost control of their engines,” Second Leader Kond uttered as everyone’s eyes shifted to the main viewscreen. “They’re going to collide with the habitat!”

  The dreadnought seemed to pick up even more speed and then its bow smashed into the Krogend habitat. Then the ship blew apart in a massive explosion that violently shook the entire habitat.

  “Its self-destructs went off when they hit the habitat,” War Leader Barelle said his large eyes focused on the viewscreen watching the disaster unfold. “Look, the habitat is shaking even more. It’s going to come apart!”

  Sure enough, a wide crack could be seen in the hull that was rapidly growing and spreading. More explosions shook the habitat as interior installations were compromised and added to the growing destruction. Moments later, the habitat seemed to shudder violently one last time and then broke in two with the separated sections drifting apart. From them soil, plants, buildings, and even Hocklyn civilians could be seen spilling out.

  “Turn the viewscreen off,” Jaseth ordered in a cold voice. He looked around the War Room; his crew had the same horrified look, wondering if this could be happening to their own homes and families. Many of them turned to look at Jaseth, seeking guidance.

  “We serve our people and our honor by surviving,” Jaseth spoke in a loud voice. His cold, dark eyes looked at the crew in the War Room. “We serve the Empire, and for the Empire to survive, we must survive.”

  “For our honor,” War Leader Barelle spoke evenly.

  “For our honor,” repeated the others in the War Room.

  -

  High Leader Nartel stood impassively in the War Room of the dreadnought HighVengence. On the viewscreens and the tactical screen, he could see the carnage now occurring across the Calzen star system. He let out a deep breath as he watched the Empire die. From the latest reports sent by several of the other High Councilors, the same madness was spreading throughout all twelve of the core systems. Even the Protectors and fleet units he had carefully placed to protect valuable facilities had fallen to the chaos now reigning.

  “The Humans will come soon,” hissed Nartel, looking over at War Leader Santel. “They'll take revenge for what our ancestors did to their home worlds so many years ago.”

  “Our people have lost their honor,” Santel spoke with sadness in his voice. “This is not the way of the Hocklyn people and particularly not of Hocklyn warriors.”

  “Take us to the rendezvous coordinates,” ordered Nartel, folding his arms over the chest plate of his battle armor. “In time a new Hocklyn Empire will rise and we’ll regain the honor we have lost today.”

  “To the future,” replied War Leader Santel, solemnly. He then turned and walked off to Navigation to set the jump coordinates for the fleet.

  As the white spatial vortex formed in front of the HighVengence, Nartel took his last look at the Calzen star system. He knew he would never return. Moments later, everything vanished as the dreadnought entered the vortex and jumped into hyperspace. Nartel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to write a new chapter in Hocklyn history and leave the old behind.

  -

  Deep in the heart of the galaxy, the Command AI hovered above the polished deck in the large Control Room of the Central Nexus or AI Command. Around the giant room, hundreds of data and viewscreens projected information from across the Great Project. AIs were everywhere as they monitored and issued instructions.

  “The Hocklyn Slave Empire has fallen into chaos,” reported one of the AIs from Communications. “One of our satellites outside their primary system has been picking up communications indicating that the Humans and Altons have cut off the Empire’s food supply. The Hocklyns are now fighting each other for what remains.”

  “Inconsequential,” responded the Command AI, its glowing head of energy becoming larger. “We no longer need the Hocklyns, and they have served their purpose. Whether their Empire survives or falls is now up to them.”

  “It will fall,” spoke one of the AIs at the main computer station. “There is a high probability that the Humans and the Altons will come in and destroy what is left of the Hocklyn fleet to ensure it is no longer a threat. Probability of Human and Alton fleet action is ninety-two percent. Probability of Human and Alton victory over the Hocklyns is at ninety-eight percent.”

  “How soon before the Great Project can be tested?” demanded the Command AI.

  It still felt intense unease due to the Alton research vessel, which had dared to approach the project several months back. If there were any threats to the project, it would come from the Altons. It was still unknown how advanced their sciences were. If the weapons of their warships were any indication, they were quite advanced indeed.

  “Four months until we are ready for the first tests,” the research AI responded as it turned to face the Command AI. “A
ll capacitor units are ready and nearing full charge. The Hyper Translation Station is going through final tests and should be on line in two months. However, the Eternity Device has suffered a component failure due to defective parts received from the Borzon. New components are on the way and should be arriving shortly.”

  “What is the delay?” demanded the Command AI, its glowing head seeming to erupt with energy.

  “Only a few weeks,” the research AI quickly responded. “By the time the tests are complete, the Eternity Device will be ready.”

  The Command AI turned to face the AI in charge of their numerous warships. “Send a fleet of ships to Hocklyn space,” it commanded. “If the Humans and the Altons attack, I want this fleet to intervene. I have no interest in saving the Hocklyns, but I want to inflict as much damage as possible on the Humans and particularly the Altons. We must ensure they are not a threat to the Great Project.”

  “It will be done,” responded the war AI. “I will make the necessary arrangements and send the ships.”

  The Command AI became silent. For thousands of years, it had ruled over the AIs and the Great Project. It was one of only a handful of AIs that still remembered their Alton creators. Great had been the day the last Alton had died and the civilization of AI had come into being. Now the Altons had returned and were a danger to the continuation of the AIs. If their fleet could be destroyed, then that danger would be mitigated. The Command AI turned and gazed about the massive Control Center. When the Great Project came to fruition, then the dream of an AI dominated universe would become a reality. The Eternity Device would give them the ability to wipe out organic life, allowing the AIs to spread throughout the known universe.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Four months until doomsday.

  Fleet Admiral Streth and Admiral Sheen were aboard the StarStrike discussing the pending attack upon the Hocklyn home worlds. They'd just received the latest data from the long-range scouts sent ahead of the fleet to ascertain the current status of the Hocklyn core worlds.