Hedon smiled. “They are Albanian, or to put it in more real terms, it seems that the Albanians are the direct descendants of the ancient Altons.”
“I don’t understand,” said Jeremy, feeling confused. “I thought the Altons were all dead.”
“It’s a long story,” Hedon replied and began to explain in detail what had happened at New Tellus and the role the Altons had played in saving the Federation.
“In the end, we finished updating our ships and set back out to discover what happened at Careth,” Hedon said. “Imagine our surprise to discover that you had survived. I've already sent word back to Federation space and a large supply fleet will be sent shortly. We laid two new lines of FTL communications buoys between Careth and the Federation. They are of Alton design and a message to the Federation will only take eight hours to get there. With luck, the supply fleet will be arriving in ten to twelve days.”
“What are your plans, Sir?” asked Jeremy, realizing how much the war had changed with the advent of the Altons. He felt sure the Fleet Admiral wouldn’t be satisfied with just saving Careth. Admiral Streth now had the ships and the weapons to take the war to the Hocklyns.
“We’re going to heavily fortify Careth and make it our main base of operations, if the Carethians agree,” began Hedon, looking over at Grayseth.
“My people will support yours fully in this war against the evil ones,” Grayseth promised. “We will do whatever is necessary to bring about their end. We would also like to construct an additional shipyard to begin building larger warships so our people can join yours in the hunt of the evil ones.”
Hedon nodded. He was not surprised by Grayseth’s response. The bears were an honorable people with rich traditions. “We'll build up the defenses and once we’re satisfied that Careth is impregnable to attack, we will move to free the planets of the original Human Federation of Worlds. From there, we will be in range to attack the Hocklyn’s home systems. Hedon knew it would take time to accomplish all of this. But there was no doubt in his mind that sometime in the next few years he would stand on the shore of that lake on Maken where his brother and Lendle had built their cabin so many years ago.
“What of my own fleet?” Jeremy asked. He knew his people needed some rest.
“Once we’re satisfied all of your ships have been repaired, you’re going to return to the Federation for a well deserved rest. After a few months, you will be returning at the head of a new and much larger Fourth Fleet.”
“Then we’re going home,” said Rear Admiral Marks, with a pleased smile. She reached up on her shoulders and removed the rear admiral insignia from her shoulders, sliding them across the table toward Fleet Admiral Streth. “I know that I was only promoted due to the circumstances,” Susan spoke. “Admiral Strong needed someone to help in command and I was pleased to be able to do so.”
Hedon picked up the two insignias and gazed at them thoughtfully. Then, placing them back down on the table, he slid them back across toward Susan. “Rear Admiral Marks, I intend to make your promotion permanent. Admiral Strong made a wise decision in your field promotion and you deserve to keep it. Admiral Strong will need a good commander of the carrier force that will be a part his new Fourth Fleet, and I can think of no better officer to command it than you.”
Susan didn’t know what to say as she picked up the insignia and gazed at the gold stars. She had never expected to get to stay an admiral. “I will make you proud, Sir,” she promised.
“I know you will,” Hedon responded with a friendly smile. Then, looking around at the others, he continued, “You did a great job defending Careth. From here, we will begin the real war of defeating the AIs and the Hocklyn Slave Empire.”
Grayseth stood and looked gravely at the others. “We will hunt together,” he spoke in a solemn voice.
“We will hunt together,” the others repeated. They all knew that today marked a new phase in the war with the Hocklyns and the AIs.
Chapter Nine
Katie was in her computer lab on the Avenger along with Kevin and Kelsey. On the worktable in front of her were two large green crystals. Both showed burn marks and one had several small fractures in it. There were tears in Katie’s eyes as she ran her right hand softly over the crystals.
“I’m frightened,” she said, letting out a long sigh. “Both crystals are damaged. Ariel’s only slightly, but Clarisse’s is bad. The fractures might have caused a loss of some of the data stored in the crystal. If I restore her, she might not be the Clarissa we all knew.”
“Is there anything you can do to recover the lost data?” asked Kelsey, knowing Ariel would be devastated if anything happened to Clarissa.
“I need to take the crystal back to Ceres. The computer labs there offer the best chance for restoring her; even then it’s going to be a long shot.”
“What about Ariel?” asked Kevin, coming over to stand next to Katie. “When can you bring her back? The ship’s not the same without her.”
“Right now,” Katie answered as she picked up Ariel’s green memory crystal and placed it in a slot on a console next to her worktable. Getting up, she walked over to a small safe and after inputting the combination, opened it and reaching in, pulled out a new green memory crystal. “I kept a few blank crystals in case they were ever needed.”
Kati brought the crystal back over to the console and placed it in the empty slot next to the damaged one. Then, taking a deep breath, she activated the console and began touching icons on the small computer screen. After a moment, she was satisfied that everything was ready. “Here goes.” She pressed several buttons on the console.
Both crystals began to glow, and on the computer screen a green status bar began moving to show the memory transfer. For several minutes, it moved steadily and then, at eighty-two percent, it slowed and came to a stop.
“Why did it stop?” asked Kevin, turning his concerned eyes toward Katie.
“I don’t know,” she responded, looking worried. “It shouldn’t have.”
Katie’s fingers ran over her keyboard as she called up more data on the crystal. After a moment, she let out a heavy disappointed sigh. “The crystal is more damaged than I'd thought. There are several hairline fractures in its structure. The rest of the stored data is irretrievable.”
“Then Ariel is gone,” Kelsey said, her eyes widening at the thought of losing their friend.
“I don’t know,” Katie responded as she pressed a green button on her console.
Instantly Ariel materialized out of the air in front of them as the holographic imagers were activated. She looked normal, though her breasts seemed smaller and her hips slimmer. Her dark hair lay upon her shoulders with a slight curl and her dark eyes gazed at them in confusion.
“Something is not right,” she said in a partially stilted and slurred voice.
Katie, Kelsey, and Kevin looked at each other in despair. The voice had been absent of any trace of emotion. This was not the Ariel they all knew and loved.
Ariel’s eyes took on that faraway look that she had so often when she was in deep thought. Then, in her slurred voice, she spoke. “Katie, I need to access the Avenger’s main computer core.”
Katie flinched at hearing the stilted and slurred voice. She felt like crying. “Why the core?” she asked. This was a strange request.
“I have a command that is instructing me to activate a program in the core. There seems to be gaps in my memory.”
Katie looked confused. She had not placed any such command in Ariel’s program or memory nor was there anything in the core that she was aware of that could be of any use.
“Do it,” Kelsey said as she gazed critically at Ariel’s hologram. It reminded her of how Ariel had first looked when she had been given a holographic body to begin with. “There has to be a reason for that command to be in Ariel’s memory.”
“I hope I don’t get in trouble for this,” Katie spoke as she inputted more commands on her console. “Link to the main computer core has been
established.” She hoped she wasn’t endangering the Avenger.
All eyes turned toward Ariel. Her hologram seemed to flicker and then solidify again. Even as they watched, her breasts grew slightly larger and her hips flared back out. Her hair shortened slightly and in just a few seconds, she was looking like the Ariel they were all familiar with.
“There, that was easy,” said Ariel with a big grin, looking at her three astonished friends. “You didn’t think I was going to risk dying if that green crystal was destroyed, did you?”
“Ariel, it’s you!” screamed Katie, her eyes lighting up with joy. “How?”
“When we go into battle, I always copied all of the contents of the memory crystal and loaded it into the Avenger’s main computer core as a precaution. The crystal itself contains my main matrix, but there was always a chance that it could be damaged. After you insisted on installing all of those firewalls, it got me to thinking about what I could do to survive in case the crystal was ever damaged. I have now restored the new crystal to an exact duplicate of the original crystal. So, where are Jeremy and Angela?”
All three looked at Ariel in astonishment. She wasn’t gone after all!
“Jeremy’s in the Command Center and Angela is still in the med bay. She was severely injured when we attacked the AIs,” Kelsey explained pleased to have Ariel back.
“Yes, I see,” Ariel replied as she accessed the Avenger’s computer files and replayed the battle and what had occurred afterward. Then her eyes turned with concern toward the remaining crystal lying upon Katie’s worktable. “Clarissa,” she spoke in a sad and forlorn voice.
“Yes,” Katie replied her shoulders drooping. “She was attacked in the same manner as you.”
Ariel walked over to the table and gazed down at the damaged crystal. “It has several fractures in it. Much of her memory will have been lost.”
“We'll do everything we can to restore her,” promised Katie, passionately.
“I’ll help,” spoke Ariel, crossing her arms over her breasts and looking at Katie. “I don’t want to be the only Federation AI. When can my crystal be reinstalled in the Command Center?” Ariel knew that the control console in the Command Center was the one that gave her access to all the ship’s systems as well as the other holographic emitters that had been installed in different sections of the ship.
“I want to run a few more tests first,” answered Katie, as she sat back down in front of her computer console and began running additional diagnostics on the new crystal. “Once I’m satisfied you’re one hundred percent back to normal, I will take your crystal back to the Command Center and install it in the control console.”
“Everything’s fine,” huffed Ariel, walking over to Katie and peering over her shoulder at the computer screen.
Kevin and Kelsey laughed. Ariel sure sounded and was acting like her old self. They couldn’t wait to tell Jeremy that the AI was back to normal and would soon be standing at his side in the Command Center.
-
“What’s the current status on fleet repairs?” Jeremy asked as he leaned back in his command chair. It was nice not to have to worry about an impending attack. None of the FTL detection buoys within twenty light years of Careth had detected an unauthorized FTL jump since the Hocklyns had fled from system K-774. It had been eight days since Admiral Streth and Admiral Telleck had arrived in the Careth star system and everything was still quiet.
“The Vega and Orion will be out of the repair bays tomorrow,” Colonel Malen reported. “Their armor has been repaired and all primary and secondary systems are back online. There is still a lot of cosmetic work that needs to be done on the inside, but they are one hundred percent combat ready. “We have one battlecarrier that needs repairs as well as two Monarchs, then we should be ready to return to Federation space. Estimates are that all repairs will be completed within four more days.”
Jeremy nodded; that would work out just about right. He didn’t want to leave until the supply fleet arrived. From speaking with Fleet Admiral Streth, Jeremy knew the supply fleet would be a large one and that more fleet units would be accompanying it. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of Careth while they were gone. With any kind of luck, Fourth Fleet would be fully updated and would be back in Carethian space within six months and ready to renew combat operations against the Hocklyns and the AIs.
-
Admiral Streth was in the gym on the StarStrike taking his daily run. Captain Duncan was running at his side, which had become a habit for the two of them over the months.
“What's next, Hedon?” she asked in between breaths. They had taken to using their first names when they were off duty and no one else was around.
“We fortify Careth until we are satisfied the Hocklyns and the AIs can’t retake it. I've spoken to Admiral Cleeteus and he has agreed to post five of his ships permanently in the Carethian system.”
“That leaves us fifteen Alton battlecruisers,” responded Janice, wondering what Hedon’s plans were. She had a strong feeling they involved the old Human Federation of Worlds.
“Admiral Sheen’s new battleship will be completed in a few more months. Once we have Second Fleet and Fourth Fleet back here at Careth, I intend to launch an all out attack against the Hocklyn Slave Empire.”
Janice nodded. That didn’t surprise her. “What about between now and then?”
“A number of the newer, long-range stealth scouts are being delivered by the supply fleet. I'll be sending them out to search for any nearby Hocklyn bases. We'll begin hit and run raids as soon as the defenses here at Careth are finished. I want to keep all the Hocklyn forces in our immediate sector off balance, particularly with our new weapons advantage.”
“How soon before I get to see Maken?” Janice asked in a softer voice as they slowed down to a walk.
Hedon stopped and gazed at her, looking deep into her hazel colored eyes. “Within the year,” he promised with determination in his voice. “The Hocklyns have had control of our worlds for far too long and those days are numbered. By the end of the year, I will show you the lake on Maken where I used to spend time with my brother and his wife.”
“I'd like that,” Janice answered with a knowing smile. She knew Hedon had been driven from the very beginning to return to his old home world someday. There was no doubt in her mind that he would succeed.
-
Fleet Commodore Resmunt gazed in frustration at First Leader Ganth. “The fools!” he oathed. “They don’t understand the threat they are up against. I just spoke to the commander of the main shipyard and he refuses to dedicate any of his construction facilities to building defensive satellites.”
“What about arming the shipyards?” Ganth asked, his cold, dark eyes focusing on the Fleet Commodore. “They currently only have a few defensive weapons and virtually no offensive weapons.”
“They are convinced their fleet units can protect them,” Resmunt spat. “They don’t want to devote resources to projects they feel are unnecessary.”
“So what are they doing?”
“The High Council has ordered all the shipyards across the Empire to begin updating our warships,” Resmunt responded. “Bases are sending their fleets in to be equipped with the newest weapons and energy shields. High Leader Nartel has just sent a message informing me that an AI ship will be arriving here shortly delivering some sublight antimatter missiles for us to use against the Humans. It will be necessary to modify some of our missile tubes to handle the new weapons.”
Fist Leader Ganth was silent for a moment as he thought over that piece of information, and then he spoke. “Will we be taught how to build these new missiles, or will we be dependent upon the AIs to deliver them?”
“The AIs will deliver them,” replied Resmunt, unhappily. “That means we will have to be cautious in their use and only place them on board our dreadnoughts and perhaps a few of the warcruisers.”
“I've heard rumors that the High Leader has begun our own weapons' researc
h program,” Ganth added as he gazed across the War Room at the main viewscreen, which showed the nearby shipyard. It was massive, containing forty construction and repair bays.
“You heard correctly,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt replied. “It's about time we began conducting our own research. The new aliens that have sided with the Humans have frightened the AIs. It's as if they'd seen a ghost the way they turned and fled from the Human system we were attacking.”
“They fled without honor,” spoke Ganth, shaking his head. “They left us to die under the weapons of the Humans and these strange new aliens. Their fleet didn’t come to the rendezvous coordinates nor did they make further contact with us.”
“The AIs have no honor,” replied Resmunt, angrily. “All they care about is their Empire and that mysterious project they are rumored to be working on at the galaxy’s center.”
“I have often wondered what will happen when the day comes the AIs no longer need us.”
“I suspect they will turn and destroy us as we have so many of their lesser enemies,” replied Resmunt, prophetically. “But we now know their warships are not as invincible as they once seemed; the Humans and the new aliens have demonstrated that. Perhaps when this war is over, we will possess weapons that will give the AIs pause if they ever feel they no longer need us.”
“I have also heard that Commodore Krilen has died in his battle to conquer and destroy the Humans at Careth,” Ganth stated. He'd always felt that Krilen was rash and should not have been promoted to that exalted position.
“Yes, the Humans and their alien allies appeared and attacked his fleet, destroying close to two hundred ships before War Leader Versith managed to withdraw. High Leader Nartel has offered Versith a promotion to the rank of Fleet Commodore if he will take over command of what remains of Krilen’s fleets.”
“Will he do it?” Ganth asked his eyes widening at the thought. “War Leader Versith has refused promotions in the past.”
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 13
