The Slaver Wars: Endgame

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Our warships are responding and beginning to return fire,” the war AI spoke as it communicated with its brethren in the orbiting ships. “Our fleet is positioning itself between the Central Nexus and the attacking enemy forces.”

  “Types and numbers!” the Command AI demanded as it floated closer to the sensor consoles. The Central Nexus was so large it could absorb considerable damage before its command and control functions became impaired.

  “Three hundred and ten Human ships and two hundred Alton ships have jumped in close to the Central Nexus,” the sensor AI reported. “The Alton ships are of a new and much larger design, more similar to the Humans' battleships.”

  This made the Command AI worried. Just how powerful were these new Alton battleships?

  “There are additional fleets attacking the Hyper Translation Station, the Eternity Device, and our capacitor stations,” another AI reported. “Total attackers are over eleven hundred ships.”

  “Destroy them!” ordered the Command AI, its glowing head of energy swelling up to nearly double its normal size. “We cannot allow them to endanger the Great Project.”

  On one of the main viewscreens, an Alton battleship was displayed. It was massive and looked highly threatening. Even as the Command AI watched, four bright blue particle beams flashed out to strike an AI ship, crashing through the ship’s protective energy screen and blasting massive holes in the armored hull. Almost instantly, the AI ship exploded in a brilliant flash of light. This had been the Command AI’s deepest concern; that the Altons would try to intervene and stop the Great Project. Now here they were in newer and larger ships.

  “We send the hyperwave now!” ordered the Command AI, looking toward the science AI and waving its metal tentacles in the air. “Begin the power up sequence and activate the Eternity Device.” The Command AI was not going to allow the Altons to stop the Great Project.

  “We still have some tests to run,” cautioned the science AI. “We don’t know if the vortex ring will sustain a spatial vortex long term.”

  “It doesn’t need to,” the Command AI retorted, moving closer to the science AI as if threatening it. “It just needs to operate long enough to power up the Eternity Device.”

  “It may not work,” replied the science AI stubbornly. “We could damage the system.”

  “We’ve run enough tests!” the Command AI responded in a powerful and angry voice, the glowing ball of energy atop its body growing even larger and much brighter. “The Altons are here and they have come to destroy the Great Project. Let us destroy them first!”

  -

  Amanda felt the WarStorm shudder violently as antimatter missiles struck the ship’s energy screen. “Did we get the Nexus?” she shouted over the blaring alarms that were going off.”

  “No,” reported Colonel Leon. “We managed to damage it, but it’s still operational.”

  On the main viewscreen, several large glowing craters were visible on the massive sphere where antimatter missiles had detonated. The damn thing was just too big!

  “The AI ships are moving to place themselves between us and the Nexus,” Commander Diaz added.

  “How many ships?” Amanda demanded as the WarStorm shook again and a number of red lights blinked into existence on the damage control board.

  “Four hundred,” answered Lieutenant Stalls as he put his sensor information up on the tactical displays.

  On one of the viewscreens, a battlecruiser exploded as an antimatter missile blew the ship apart.

  “Battlecruiser Concord is down,” Benjamin spoke in a shaky voice as the lights in the Command Center dimmed briefly and then brightened back up. “Battleships Beltran and Romulus are down.”

  “Numerous other ships are reporting damage,” Angela added over the com link.

  “Close the range,” Amanda ordered grim faced. “We have to take out that station even if we have to ram the damn thing. All weapons, continuous fire!”

  -

  In space, the Federation ships were firing every weapon they had at their disposal. The Alton ships were blasting away at the AI spheres trying to get through to the Central Nexus. A battlecruiser had its bow blown off as an antimatter missile exploded next to the hull. A battleship was blown in two as heavy energy weapons fire penetrated its energy screen and split it into two parts. An Alton battleship rammed an AI sphere with both vanishing in a titanic explosion, sending debris scattering everywhere. White AI energy beams were seeking targets as well as the bright blue particle beam weapons of the Altons. Mixed in were the violet power beams of the Humans as well as the orange-red flash of laser batteries. The battle was intense and deadly, with neither side backing down.

  -

  “More AI ships are jumping in to protect the Nexus,” reported Colonel Grissim, looking over at Fleet Admiral Streth. “We’ve damaged the Nexus but with the additional AI reinforcements, none of our weapons fire is reaching it anymore.”

  On the ship’s viewscreens, the vicious battle was raging as space was lit up with brilliant explosions and dying ships.

  “Second Fleet is advancing on the AIs and closing the range,” Captain Reynolds reported from the ship’s sensors.

  “Admiral Sheen’s trying to bull her way through the AIs so she can bring her weapons to bear on the Nexus,” uttered Colonel Grissim her eyes transfixed on the viewscreens and the destruction they were portraying. It was suicide for Second Fleet to go so near the AI ships. The AIs were packed closely around the Nexus, preventing any ships from hyper jumping in to attack their command and control center.

  “Put us on her flank and we’ll go in with her,” ordered Hedon, taking a deep breath. “She’s right; we have to get through the AI ships so we can destroy the Nexus. Fleet losses are secondary.”

  “Battlecruisers Potemkin and Atlas are down,” Captain Reynolds reported as the friendly green icons vanished from his sensor screen. “Battleships Creston and Lynch are down.” Reynolds shuddered, knowing the list of destroyed ships was going to grow rapidly.

  “Continue the advance,” spoke Hedon, determinedly. “Close to pointblank range.” Hedon took a sharp breath; they had to break through while he still had enough ships to destroy the Nexus.

  “Yes, Admiral,” Colonel Grissim replied as she passed on the order. “All weapons, continue to fire!” She braced herself; this wasn’t going to be pretty and they were about to lose a lot of ships. She wished Colonel Trist were here, his advice was sorely missed.

  -

  Jeremy felt the familiar gut wrenching feeling of leaving hyperspace as they exited the vortex within eight hundred kilometers of their target. He'd taken a risk and had Ariel exit the fleet as close to the Hyper Translation Station as possible without risking damage to the ships of the fleet.

  “Incoming fire!” Ariel warned as the energy shields of the fleet powered up. The Avenger shook slightly and then everything steadied.

  “Returning fire,” Lieutenant Preston responded as he released all twenty-four sublight missiles in the tubes simultaneously, targeting the nearest AI ship. On the main viewscreen, the AI’s shields were overwhelmed and a number of the missiles slammed into the armored hull. Six blazing suns suddenly appeared where the AI ship had been.

  “AI ship is down,” Kevin confirmed as he tried to keep track of the battle. Fourth Fleet had one hundred and ninety ships hurtling toward the AIs, including One hundred Alton battleships.

  “Altons are opening fire,” Commander Malen informed Jeremy as numerous bright blue particle beams appeared on the viewscreens.

  “Six more AI ships confirmed destroyed,” Kevin spoke his eyes wide at seeing so many AI ships on the ship’s sensors directly in front of them. “I’m detecting over six hundred AI ships between us, the station, and the vortex ring.”

  “Crap, that’s a lot of AIs,” uttered Commander Malen, shaking her head worriedly. Shifting her gaze to one of the viewscreens, she could see the battleship Altair being torn apart by a multitude of white AI energy beams. They w
ere carving out massive sections of the ship’s hull, causing the sections to drift off away from the vessel. In a brilliant flash of light, the battleship exploded as an AI antimatter missile detonated inside the hull.

  “Battleship Altair is down,” Kevin reported in a grim voice. “Battlecruisers Morning Star and Perth are down.”

  “More ships are reporting heavy damage,” Angela reported as she listened to the numerous reports coming in over the ship’s communications.

  “We don’t have the firepower to push through,” Ariel spoke from just behind Jeremy. “There are just too many AI ships.”

  Jeremy nodded and then switched his com to contact Grayseth and Rear Admiral Marks. He needed a change of strategy before Fourth Fleet’s battle line lost too many ships. “Susan, prepare your bomber strike. I want you to target the vortex ring; have your Monarchs and Strike cruisers to go in with the bombers. Grayseth, send your battlecruisers along with the bomber strike. We've got to take out some of those vortex generators! I also need your Alton battlecruisers in on the strike.”

  “We will go on the hunt,” Grayseth confirmed in his powerful voice.

  “Bomber strike will be ready in five minutes,” Admiral Marks added.

  The Avenger shuddered violently and one of the control consoles exploded in a shower of sparks. Several warning alarms sounded, and red lights began to glare on the damage control console.

  “AI energy beam penetrated the energy shield,” Ariel reported as she quickly scanned the ship for damage. “I’ve sealed off four compartments that are open to space.”

  “Keep me informed, Ariel,” responded Jeremy, leaning forward and focusing on one of the tactical displays. He had to find some way to reach the Hyper Translation Station! If he could destroy it, he could set the AIs Great Project back for years.

  -

  Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson felt the Orion Victory vibrate intensely as the weapons fire upon the ship’s energy screen intensified.

  “Closing on target,” Commander Oliver Hanks reported calmly.

  The Orion Victory and sixth fleet were attacking one of the large, one hundred and twenty kilometer capacitor stations. The station was defended by five AI ships, which were under heavy attack. Upon the main viewscreen, the AI energy shields were aglow from numerous antimatter missile explosions, and now the Altons’ particle beams came into play. There were fifty Alton battleships in Sixth Fleet and hundreds of bright blue beams flashed out to strike the wavering energy screens and after a brief moment, they penetrated. Five massive explosions covered the viewscreens as the AI ships succumbed to the massive weapons strike.

  “All five AIs are down,” reported the lieutenant at sensors in a relieved voice.

  “Target the capacitor station,” Karla ordered. If they could take out enough of these power storage units, the AIs wouldn’t be able to activate their vortex ring and fire the deadly Eternity Device.

  “Retargeting,” the tactical officer responded.

  On the main viewscreen, the massive AI construction appeared. The entire outer surface was covered with energy collection dishes and power broadcast arrays. It was also protected by a very powerful energy screen. As Sixth Fleet’s weapons slammed into the energy screen, it began to glow. The glow continued to increase until finally the screen collapsed. The capacitor station exploded in a massive blast as its pent up energy was released.

  Karla looked at the expanding field of debris with deep satisfaction. The explosion of the station had damaged a few of the Human ships close to it when its stored up energy had been released. One down and more to go. “Micro-jump the fleet to the next target,” she ordered. Her fleet’s objectives were the capacitor stations and she intended to take out as many as possible. “On the next target, all ships are to stay outside the blast radius of the station.”

  -

  The Command AI watched in distress as another capacitor station dropped out of the network. In the last few minutes, the Humans and their allies had managed to destroy six of the valuable power stations.

  “How many stations can we lose before the power level drops below operational requirements?” the Command AI demanded as it floated on its antigravity field closer to the science AI.

  “We can lose two hundred,” the science AI answered as its tentacles moved over the complicated control console before it. “We built considerable redundancy into the system.”

  “They are picking off the stations and our warships,” the military AI spoke, its glowing head of energy growing so bright it seemed to be emitting sparks. “I would suggest pulling ships from guarding individual capacitor stations to allow us to attack the Human fleets en mass. If we do so, we can eliminate the threat rather quickly.”

  “How long before the vortex ring is activated?” asked the Command AI. It wasn’t so certain they could stop the Altons. The ancient race wouldn’t have come unless they felt they had a reasonable chance of success at stopping or destroying the Great Project.

  “Eight minutes,” the science AI responded. “The necessary commands have been sent, and the capacitor stations are already activating. They will begin broadcasting their energy by hyperspace in forty more seconds.”

  “Combine our fleets and attack the Humans,” the Command AI ordered. “I want all of the Human and Alton ships destroyed!”

  -

  In space, the nearly twelve hundred capacitor stations suddenly powered up. A dim blue glow surrounded each of them and then, suddenly, white spatial vortexes formed. A beam of energy was transmitted from the transmission arrays on the hulls into the swirling vortex. Each capacitor station was linked via hyperspace to the Hyper Translation Station, which controlled the vortex ring and the Eternity Device.

  -

  “The AIs are activating the capacitor stations,” warned Clarissa with growing distress in her voice. “I’m detecting a massive power buildup in the Hyper Translation Station. It’s on the verge of activating the vortex ring and then, shortly after that, the Eternity Device!”

  “Damn!” uttered Hedon his eyes growing wide with concern. He quickly activated his mini-com to communicate with the other ships in his attacking fleet. “The AIs are attempting to activate the vortex ring, we need to take out the Central Nexus in the next few minutes or all will be lost. Press the attack; we must push through their defenses!”

  Hedon quickly switched frequencies and contacted Admiral Strong. “Jeremy, the AI are activating their capacitor stations. They’re trying to start the vortex ring and fire the hyperwave from the Eternity Device. You must stop them at all costs.”

  “Understood,” responded Jeremy in a grim voice. “We’ll get it done.”

  -

  Kelsey looked across at Katie. While the two were separated by over forty feet, they both could see the looks of deep concern on each other’s faces. “We’re not going to make it, are we Kelsey?” Katie said in a weak voice over their private channel.

  “I don’t know,” answered Kelsey as the StarStrike shook violently from a weapons hit. She could hear alarms going off, indicating damage. “We have to trust Fleet Admiral Streth and Jeremy to get us out of this. They’ve never let us down before.

  “I’m scared, Kelsey,” Katie spoke in a quivering voice. “What if something happens to the StarStrike or the Avenger?”

  “It won’t,” Kelsey promised. “Clarissa and Ariel will keep us all safe.”

  Clarissa had been listening to the conversation and hadn’t spoken. For once, even she wasn’t sure of what the future held. She was still in constant communication with Ariel. They had to come up with a plan! Both were running battle simulations nonstop trying to find an answer. Suddenly a plan seemed to show promise. They both examined it carefully for any flaws. At last they'd found a possible solution! It would be risky, but it might just stop the AIs from activating the vortex ring. It would be extremely dangerous and require great sacrifice, but it was the only hope they could find for victory. Unfortunately, the Avenger would be at the center of t
he greatest danger.

  -

  Fleet Admiral Karla Johnson felt herself thrown violently against the restraints of her command chair. The Command Center suddenly went dark and then emergency lighting came on. Thick smoke was in the air and several control consoles were emitting bright showers of sparks. They'd been in the process of attacking their third capacitor station when a massive AI fleet of over eight hundred vessels had jumped in right on top of them.

  On the main viewscreens, dying ships on both sides were prevalent. Many of the AI ships were within twenty or thirty kilometers of the Human and Alton ships. Very few weapons were missing their targets.

  -

  Alton battleships fought desperately, trying to push the AIs back. Antimatter missiles were launched from their missile tubes in sprint mode, and particle beam cannons were firing nonstop. AI ship shields were being stripped away and their hulls blown apart by the Alton’s powerful weapons. Massive fiery explosions indicated the destruction of dozens of the deadly fifteen hundred-meter ships.

  However, the AIs outnumbered the Humans and Altons by nearly six to one, and their superior firepower was overwhelming both Human and Alton shields. A Human battleship closed with an AI ship and was instantly targeted by eight of the deadly vessels. Its energy shield collapsed and the mighty ship vanished as half a dozen glowing, sun-like explosions marked its death. Human ship after ship was dying under the fearsome attack. The same was true of the Alton battleships, though they were able to stand up to the heavy weapons fire a little longer. But even Alton ships could be destroyed as their screens became overwhelmed by the massive firepower the AIs were generating. The giant battleships were struck by hundreds of AI energy beams and forty-megaton antimatter missiles, which quickly overloaded the powerful energy screens.

  “Battleships Antler, Canada, and Bastille are down,” reported the sensor operator on the Orion Victory. “We’ve lost nearly half of our battlecruisers and strikecruisers.”

  “We must withdraw,” spoke Commander Hanks as the ship was struck by additional weapons fire. The damage control console was covered with glowing red lights. The ship was suffering major damage.