Hedon nodded slowly as he thought the suggestion over. “I think you’re right,” he said after a moment. “As soon as the repairs are completed on the Resolute, we will return to Careth. We need to consider what our next move needs to be. It’s obvious at the moment that the Hocklyn fleets are still very vulnerable to our improved weapons. We don’t know how much longer that advantage is going to last. Someday we will return to this system and visit with its inhabitants. With their two planets and heavy mining industry they would be good allies to have.”
-
Hedon was in his quarters when he heard a knock on the hatch. He was sitting behind his desk thinking about the recent battle. Reaching forward, he pressed a button and the hatch to his quarters slid open. Janice was standing there with a concerned look upon her face.
“How are you doing, Hedon?” she asked as she stepped inside and the hatch slid shut behind her. She knew that Hedon hated the loss of life in the battles, though he knew they were necessary.
“We lost another twenty two hundred fleet personnel in the battle today,” he spoke with little emotion in his voice.
“We’re at war,” Janice said, approaching Hedon. “If we don’t win this, the Hocklyns and AIs will wipe us out; you know that.”
Hedon leaned back and focused his eyes on Janice. Then he let out a heavy sigh. “I know,” he said softly. “But every one of those men and women that just died has a family somewhere. Will they understand the need for their sons or daughters' sacrifice?”
Janice came around the desk and placed her hands upon Hedon’s shoulders. “I suspect that most will,” she responded gently. “There will be the normal grieving and they will blame the AIs and the Hocklyns for their loved one's loss, not you.”
“I suppose you’re right,” replied Hedon, turning his chair around and taking Janice’s hands. “I will just be glad when all of this is over and the dying comes to a stop.”
“That’s why you’re the Fleet Admiral,” Janice spoke, her eyes looking fondly at Hedon. “You can make that happen and someday return to Maken to rebuild that cabin by the lake.”
Hedon closed his eyes briefly, thinking of Taylor and Lendle. He knew they would have liked the idea of him someday returning to that pristine vacation hideaway. He just needed to defeat the AIs and the Hocklyns first.
Chapter Twelve
Admiral Jeremy Strong and Rear Admiral Susan Marks were standing in one of the large ship construction bays inside New Tellus Station. Inside the bay was a partially constructed battleship. Jeremy had recently been promoted to the rank of full admiral.
“That’s a big damn ship!” Susan said as she looked at the myriad of workers swarming over the construction site. There were even a large number of the spider like construction robots from Ceres scrambling over the ship’s frame.
“I wonder who’s going to get it?” Jeremy spoke as he watched the mad pace of construction.
“It’s yours, Admiral Strong,” spoke Fleet Admiral Johnson from just behind them as she walked up and smiled at the two young admirals. “We just need to decide upon a name.”
“Mine?” Jeremy said feeling flabbergasted.
“After what you did at Careth and keeping the Carethians safe for so long, you deserve it.”
“A battleship,” Susan said grinning and looking over at Jeremy. “So, what are you going to name it?”
“The Avenger,” replied Jeremy with conviction as the knowledge that this ship was going to be his began to sink in. “I think the Avenger deserves to become a battleship.”
“We can retire your former flagship,” Karla suggested with a nod. “We can reassign her to duty at Ceres. I think that will be fitting for the ship.”
“How soon before the battleship's done?” Jeremy asked. He had a strong suspicion he wouldn’t be going back to Careth until it was completed.
“Not as long as you'd think,” Karla replied as her eyes shifted to the massive framework surrounding the new ship. “The construction robots really speed up the building process. It should be ready for initial space trials in four months.”
“Four months!” Jeremy exclaimed his eyes growing wide. That was much sooner than he'd expected.
“Yes, four months,” replied Karla with a smile on her face. “We’re also building a new battleship for Admiral Sheen as well as one for your Carethian friend, Grayseth. Most of the people in the Federation feel uneasy with the construction robots, but we are using them here and at Ceres. They are also beginning to use them at the big shipyards over Earth and the Moon to help speed up construction.
“Grayseth wants to build a war fleet,” responded Jeremy, recalling the long conversations in which the bear indicated he wanted to build a fleet to attack the Hocklyns. “He wants to join us in our war against the Hocklyns and the AIs.”
“Yes, that’s what I understand,” Karla replied, pleased at the Carethians wanting to take a more active role in the war. “We have already arranged to send them nearly a thousand of the construction robots to use in building their new shipyard. If things go as planned, they'll begin building their first true warships in six more months.”
“The Carethians will make good allies for the Federation,” Susan added, folding her arms across her breasts. “They are excellent fighters and their pilots are as good as their Federation counterparts.”
“They’re the type of allies the Federation needs,” Karla responded. It was one of the reasons that President Kincaid and the Federation Senate had agreed to build the battleship for Grayseth.
“What are the plans for our fleets?” asked Jeremy, curiously. Both he and Susan had been wondering how powerful a force they'd be allowed to take back to Careth.
“There will be one Fourth Fleet,” Karla replied as she turned to face the two. “It will consist of a battle task force as well as a carrier task force. Jeremy, you will have overall command of the fleet with Susan as your second. It will be quite large; possibly the most powerful fleet we have built to date. All the new construction is going toward Fourth Fleet and the new Second Fleet. Other ships will be sent to Fleet Admiral Streth as well as Admiral Telleck.”
“Then the Federation Senate has agreed to fight the Hocklyns in their own territory?” Susan asked. She knew that the Senate had been debating just how many ships should be committed to this operation.
“Yes, as well as our allies,” replied Karla, recalling her most recent conversation with President Kincaid. “The Kessels and the Darvonians are both building as many ships as possible to add to the war effort. They know how lucky we were to survive here at New Tellus. If not for the Altons intervening, the system would have fallen.”
“Will that leave enough ships to defend the Federation from attack?” asked Jeremy, concerned. He didn’t trust the AIs at all. It would be just like them to mount another attack against the Federation.
“Yes, we have nearly finished bringing the inactive reserve back into service,” responded Karla, recalling all the headaches bringing the older ships back up to battle readiness had been. “We have sufficient ships to stop any Hocklyn or AI attack against the Federation or our allies. The Altons also have ships they've assigned to our defense. If we’re going to win this war, we must take the fight to the Hocklyns and the AIs.”
“We have a lot of fighting still ahead of us,” Jeremy spoke in a softer voice. He knew this war could drag on for years or even longer. Would his children someday still be fighting the Hocklyns and the AIs? He knew it was a distinct possibility. He didn’t know what Kelsey would think about that.
“This war may last a long time,” Karla said, looking at the two young admirals. “Our generation may not see its end.” She knew they were well aware of that.
-
Katie was in one of the large computer labs inside the Aquaria Habitat. For several weeks, she'd worked at retrieving as much data as possible from Clarissa’s damaged crystal. She had set it up so that Ariel could assist her, even adding holo emitters so Ariel could be prese
nt in holographic form.
“How are we doing?” Kelsey asked as she walked across the large lab toward Katie. Katie had asked her to come down since they might attempt to bring Clarissa back today. There were half a dozen white coated assistants working with her.
“Not good,” responded Katie, gloomily. “No matter what I do, I can’t recover more than sixty percent of Clarissa’s memory files.”
“Is there any chance that Clarissa did the same thing you did?” asked Kelsey, looking over at Ariel, who was standing nearby with her hands on her hips and a worried look upon her face.
“I don’t think so,” Ariel responded with a look of anxiety in her dark eyes. “If she did, she never mentioned it in any of our conversations.”
“We’re nearly ready,” Katie said as she let out a long, deep breath and looked over her computer console one more time. It held Clarissa’s damaged green crystal in a slot as well as a new one in a slot next to it. “I’m almost afraid to do this. What if it doesn’t work?”
Ariel came to stand next to Katie and gazed down at her friend. “Clarissa would want you to try.”
“Everything is online and we’re ready to activate the transfer process,” Sterling Rhodes reported as he finished checking one of the consoles. Sterling was one of Ceres' top computer scientists. “We should be able to access all the available data inside the crystal, even some of it that's been corrupted by the damage.”
“This is it, then,” Katie spoke in a nervous voice. Her light green eyes looked over at the damaged crystal and a single tear formed. This just had to work.
“It will work,” Ariel said with conviction. “I just know it will.” She couldn’t imagine life without Clarissa.
“I hope so,” Katie replied with a weak smile. Then, looking over at Sterling, “Start the procedure.”
Rhodes reached forward, pressed multiple buttons on his console, and adjusted several dials. A light hum filled the room, and then the two crystals in front of Katie began to glow softly.
“It’s starting,” she said as her eyes focused intently on them.
On the console in front of her, a data screen began showing the rate of transfer. Slowly it moved to twenty percent, then forty percent, and then slowed and nearly stopped at fifty percent. Katie looked over worriedly at Rhodes.
Rhodes adjusted several dials on his console and then went and spoke briefly with one of the other assistants. He returned and made additional adjustments and then looked over at Katie.
The transfer began again and was soon hovering at sixty-two percent. For several more minutes, Katie and Sterling worked feverishly trying to get the damaged crystal to transfer more data, but the best they were able to do was get it up to sixty-three percent.
“That’s all,” Katie said finally, her eyes looking dejected. “We’re not going to be able to recover any more files from the crystal.”
“Is it enough?” asked Kelsey with concern, her light blue eyes focusing on Katie.
“No,” Katie responded dejectedly with more tears forming in her eyes. “We needed at least seventy percent to bring Clarissa back online to the point where she would even be a semblance of her old self. We’ve failed.”
Ariel stared at Katie for a long moment and then got that faraway look in her eyes. “Perhaps not,” she said. “Katie, can you adjust my program so I can access the files in the new crystal?”
“Why, yes,” responded Katie, looking confused. “But what good will that do?”
“Clarissa and I talked a lot. We transmitted a lot of information back and forth. I have all of those data transfers stored in my memory. I may be able to use those to help bring Clarissa back.”
Katie was silent for a moment as she thought over what Ariel had suggested. She glanced over at Sterling and he nodded in the affirmative. “We can try it,” she said at last, not knowing what else to do. “I just don’t know if it will be enough, and even if it is there are going to be a lot of gaps in Clarissa’s memory.”
“Then we’re just going to have to help her to remember,” said Kelsey with conviction. “We can bring in everyone that has had contact with her and tell her their experiences. It won’t be easy, but it may help.”
“Okay, Ariel,” Katie said after she made more adjustments to her console and Sterling turned on another console instructing one of the assistants to monitor it closely. “Let’s try this.”
Ariel’s eyes closed as she accessed the new crystal. Her eyes opened and then she began transferring the information from all of her conversations with Clarissa over the years, memories of the old Human Federation of Worlds and their experiences from then to the present. There were hundreds of years of memories.
Everyone’s eyes went to the console and the data screen, praying for it to move. Katie gripped the edge of the console, her eyes focused intently on the screen. For a heartbreaking moment, it did nothing, and then it began to move again. Sixty-five percent, then seventy, then seventy-five and it began to slow once more. At seventy-eight percent, the data flow came to a stop.
“Is that enough?” Ariel asked with hope in her eyes. “That’s all I can do.”
“Yes,” responded Katie, letting out a deep sigh. “That’s enough to activate the crystal.”
Katie reached forward and pressed two buttons on her console. Suddenly, Clarissa was standing there in front of them. She was back in her youthful form before she had given herself much larger breasts and wider hips. She looked young and innocent.
“Hello?” she said, looking confused. Then, seeing Ariel she smiled. “Ariel, I remember you.” Looking around, she continued, “Katie, Kelsey; what are you doing here?”
“Your crystal was damaged in an attack by the AIs,” answered Katie, waiting to hear how Clarissa responded to this information.
“I don’t remember,” Clarissa responded in her youthful voice, sounding mystified. “There seem to be some gaps in my memory.”
“Don’t worry, Clarissa,” Ariel said softly, coming to stand next to her AI friend. “We will all help you to remember.”
“It may take awhile, but I think you’re going to be all right,” Katie spoke as she stood up and came to stand in front of the two AIs.
“It’s just good to have you back,” said Kelsey, walking over next to Katie. “Jeremy, Kevin, and Angela will all be excited.”
“Angela?” Clarissa said, looking confused. “Who is Angela?”
Katie and Kelsey looked at one another. It was evident that Clarissa was back, but it would take some time to discover just exactly what she still remembered. She was Clarissa, but not the old Clarissa. That Clarissa was gone and would probably never return.
-
Governor Malleck was meeting with Ambassador Tureen of the Altons. Also sitting in on the meeting was Fleet Admiral Johnson, who had come from New Tellus just to attend.
“I spoke to Fleet Admiral Streth about current operations in the Carethian sector,” Karla said, her eyes focusing on the other two. “The Hocklyns are keeping a very low profile and the AIs can’t be found anywhere.”
“They have retreated to the galactic center to rearm and modernize their fleet,” Tureen commented as the tall, white haired Alton looked down at the conference table and then back up again. “I have spoken to some of our strategists who have long studied the AIs, and they are certain that when they have finished updating their ships they will attack with a vengeance. They may fear being destroyed, but they won’t risk losing their Empire.”
“What are we to do?” asked Karla, knowing they might not be able to stop a massive AI attack. It could also be a devastating blow to Admiral Streth and the Carethians if the AIs struck there first. “It will be another four to six months before we can substantially increase the size of the fleet Admiral Streth has available to him.”
“As you know, most of my people are pacifists,” Tureen began. “Fortunately we have a large population spread across many worlds, and while only a small portion are willing to take part in the
war effort, it is still a large number. Nearly one billion of my people will actively support the war and are willing to do whatever is necessary to defeat the AIs and the Hocklyns.”
“Why are your people pacifists?” asked Malleck, curiously. Particularly since the Altons had always known that someday, they would have to face the AIs. It didn’t make sense for the race to have become pacifists.
“Our race is an old one,” Tureen explained calmly, his eyes focusing on Governor Malleck. “We have over twenty thousand years of civilized history and another thirty thousand that could be considered preindustrial. Over the years, as our race matured, our people turned to more mental challenges rather than physical ones. It was one of the primary reasons we created the AIs in the first place.”
“You had no wars upon your planet?” Karla asked. She couldn’t imagine there not being some type of conflicts.
“Only in the early years,” Tureen admitted. “Before we created the AIs, we had gone nearly four thousand years without a conflict on our planet or the worlds we controlled.”
“What about hostile alien races?” Karla asked. “Surely you encountered a few.”
“Several,” Tureen admitted. “But their science was far behind ours, and while we had not fought a war in centuries, we still had very advanced weapons and shields on our exploration ships. Other races soon learned not to attack our vessels.”
Fleet Admiral Johnson nodded in understanding. “Just the threat of your superior weapons was enough to keep your worlds at peace.”
“As the centuries passed, we turned more and more away from physical forms of recreation and even work. The AIs were created to allow us to spend more time to grow in the fields of science, philosophy, art, and others. A small group of my people began to fear we'd made a mistake turning so much over to the AIs. Our birthrate began to decline and our population began to shrink.”
The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict Page 17
