-
Jeremy held onto his command chair as the Avenger shuddered violently. On the main viewscreen, the Simulin battlecruiser they were attacking suddenly blew apart as Ariel used the firepower of the Avenger and her four escorting strikecruisers to kill it.
“We’re losing ships,” uttered Kevin, finding it difficult to keep track of the destruction. “So are the Simulins.”
“Six more minutes,” Commander Malen reported as Ariel shifted to a new target.
Jeremy closed his eyes briefly and then looked around the Command Center. Everyone was working at peak efficiency and focused on their jobs. Their very survival might well depend on what happened in the next few minutes.
“Alton battlecruiser Starmist is down,” reported Kevin. “Federation strikecruiser Wolfhound is down.”
“We’re losing ships too fast,” Commander Malen said between clinched lips.
Jeremy looked at the viewscreen. There were burning and dying ships everywhere on both sides. “We can’t withdraw,” he said firmly. “We have to give the Altons time to get their hyperdrives working.”
Kevin glanced over at Jeremy, seeing the determined look on his face. “We’ll make it,” he said. “We have to!”
-
Rear Admiral Barnes was watching the ongoing battle on both the giant viewscreen and the two tactical displays. She winced every time a green icon faded away.
“AI warsphere 0-012 is down,” reported Captain Reynolds as the one-thousand-meter vessel disappeared from his screen.
“The Pallas is reporting heavy damage,” reported Captain Reynolds.
“Commander Lewis says their energy shield is down to 18 percent and they have numerous compartments open to space.”
“Have them pull back to the Originator vessel,” ordered Kathryn.
A sudden light filled the large viewscreen and then faded away.
“What was that?”
“The Pallas,” Clarissa said with a pained look on her face. It was very seldom she ever lost a ship she was in charge of. “Two Simulin antimatter missiles penetrated its energy screen.”
“Lieutenant Strong, do you have that jump plotted?” Kathryn asked in a calm voice. She had to stay strong for her crew. She could see the frightened looks beginning to appear on some of their faces.
“Yes, Admiral,” Kelsey responded.
“Admiral,” Clarissa said with a puzzled look on her face. “The AI on the Originator ship wants to know if he should immobilize the ships attacking us.”
“What?” exclaimed Kathryn, looking intently at Clarissa. “I thought it didn’t have enough power to activate any of its weapons?”
“This isn’t a weapon,” Clarissa explained. “The AI says he just managed to repair the system and bring it online. It’s purely defensive, but he says it will stop the attack against us.”
“Do it!” ordered Kathryn as she watched several more fifteen-hundred-meter AI ships die on the large viewscreen.
Moments later the lights in the Command Center flickered and suddenly, on the viewscreen, the Simulin ships stopped firing. A blue glow surrounded them.
“Get me a report on what’s happening out there,” demanded Kathryn. “Clarissa, inform Ariel of what we’ve done.”
Captain Reynolds studied his sensor screens for several long moments. “The Simulin ships have stopped firing and seem to be drifting without power.”
“What did the AI on the Originator ship do?” asked Kathryn, allowing herself to take a deep breath.
“It siphoned off all the power from the Simulin vessels,” Clarissa said after a moment. “He says if we want to destroy them, now is our opportunity.”
Kathryn leaned back in her command chair stunned. She looked back over at Clarissa. “What does Fleet Admiral Strong want us to do?”
Clarissa paused for a moment as she communicated with Ariel. Then she glanced over at the admiral with a grim look upon her face. “Destroy them!”
Rear Admiral Barnes quickly contacted her surviving ships and passed on the order. An opportunity like this might never come again. If they could destroy this Simulin fleet, they could substantially reduce Simulin power in the Triangulum Galaxy.
Kelsey looked over at Katie with an I told you so look. “We’re going back to Gaia,” she said.
“Guess I’m cooking Kevin hamburgers for supper,” Katie admonished with a pleased look.
-
Jeremy watched without remorse as his fleet methodically destroyed the assembled Simulin fleet. Their shields were down and from what they could tell from the sensors, the Simulin ships were without power.
“The Originator ship did this?” asked Commander Malen in awe. Just the power to do something of this magnitude was beyond imagining. An entire fleet immobilized in just moments!
“Yes,” Ariel replied. “From what Clarissa has told me, the AI on the ship managed to get one of its defensive weapons operational.”
“If this is a defensive weapon, I’d hate to see an offensive one,” stated Commander Malen.
“Clarissa, what’s the status of our fleet and Rear Admiral Barnes fleet?” asked Jeremy. He knew they had lost quite a few vessels.
“Total losses to both fleets are two Federation battleships, four Federation battlecruisers, four strikecruisers, four Alton battleships, six Alton battlecruisers, thirty-six of the fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres, and eight of the one-thousand-meter AI warspheres.
“What about Grayseth?” he knew the big Bear liked to put his ships in the most dangerous fighting.
“Grayseth lost six of his battlecruisers.”
Jeremy shook his head. The losses were bad but not as bad as they could have been. They would hold a memorial service once they returned to Gaia. “What about the Simulins?”
“Eighteen hundred and forty ships confirmed destroyed,” Ariel reported. “The rest of their fleet is staying back. I would guess they’re confused about what happened to the ships that were attacking us.”
“Admiral Bachal reports they’re ready to jump,” Angela said. She had a smile on her face, knowing her friends had survived.
“Let’s go home,” Jeremy ordered. He looked at the viewscreen, which was focused on the gargantuan Originator ship. “We have an AI to ask some questions too. Perhaps now we can finally find a way to destroy the Dyson Sphere.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jeremy, Kelsey, Kevin, Katie, and Angela were all seated on the stage of the large graduation hall in the new Fleet Academy. Jeremy had just finished giving his speech about how pleased he was to have the new academy open and following in the tradition of the older one on Earth’s moon. Currently, Admiral Jackson was giving a closing speech about how the future graduates of the academy would be a shining symbol to the inhabitants of Gaia.
Also present on the stage were Clarissa and Ariel. Holographic imagers had been placed throughout key areas of the academy complex to give the two beautiful AIs access. Clarissa and Ariel were standing slightly behind Admiral Jackson with their hands clasped behind their backs and at perfect attention in their dark blue fleet dress uniforms. Both AIs looked amazing and were drawing their usual amount of attention. Clarissa had even toned down her voracious curves so as not to appear too distracting.
The graduation hall was crammed full of the first year students as well as the faculty. There were students from three different races present: Human, Carethian, and Alton. There were even a few AIs present, hovering at the back of the hall. Several science AIs had been chosen by Kurene and Mikow to teach classes at the academy.
“I feel like I’m back on the Moon,” whispered Kelsey, looking around at all the people present. “This graduation hall looks so much like the one back home.”
Jeremy smiled and nodded. “Yes, but back then I didn’t know you were from Ceres and an admiral’s daughter.”
Jeremy was referring to the fact that during the time he had been at the academy, the citizens of Ceres had not as of yet revealed themselves to the people o
f Earth. Only a few higher ups knew of their existence, including Jeremy’s father. It was only later during the New Horizon incident that he had learned of the hidden Old Human Federation of Worlds base inside Ceres and of Kelsey’s heritage.
As they listened, Admiral Jackson presented his closing remarks. Upon completion, Rear Admiral Susan Marks approached the podium and dismissed the students. Susan was going to be responsible for the academy and for the immediate future had been reassigned as the top administrator. She had been excited to be given the opportunity to train the future officers of the fleet.
As the students filed out, Jeremy and the others stood up and approached Susan and Admiral Jackson.
“I think you have a great group of first-year students,” Jeremy said, smiling at Susan.
“I hope so,” she said, sounding optimistic. “We have twelve hundred students in this first class.”
Katie looked thoughtful and then asked. “How many do you think will make it to their fifth year?” She knew back on the Moon only about 30 percent made it through the classes and rigorous training.
“We’re not sure,” answered Susan with a slight frown. “Back in the Federation, you have the best students out of billions of people attending the Fleet Academy. Our population isn’t quite that large. What we’re talking about doing is as the students advance in their training we’ll begin to group them into what specialties they need to go into. I’m guessing only about 8 to 10 percent will qualify as officers, the others will be trained to fill subordinate roles and perhaps after a few years of actual shipboard experience will be able to advance as suitable officer candidates.”
Ariel and Clarissa walked over to the group. “I’m teaching advanced hyperspace navigation,” Ariel said with a pleased smile. Her dark eyes flashing with excitement.
Clarissa shook her head. “I don’t think I would have the patience to teach a class.”
Jeremy was still amazed at times how human his two AI friends sounded. “Clarissa, how is our new AI friend doing?” Since arriving back at Gaia with the Originator ship, the entire planet was intensely curious about the monstrous vessel now in orbit.
Clarissa pursed her lips and then replied. “He’s been quiet. I think he’s having a hard time accepting that all the Originators are gone and so much time has passed. He spent most of it in stasis with his systems running on minimal power.”
“Do we know what happened to the Originators?” asked Kelsey.
“He says it was a disease,” Clarissa responded with sadness in her eyes. “The result of an experiment that went catastrophically wrong. His ship was the last one to leave the Originator worlds in the hope of finding a cure. They failed and the Originators on board all died, but not before they hid the ship in the asteroid field and disabled most of the ship’s systems.”
“Two million years,” mumbled Kevin, finding it hard to comprehend the ship was that old. “What would have happened if the Ornellians had never found the ship?”
“The AI would have died,” Clarissa replied. “Once its power was depleted its program would have faded away.”
Ariel had a knowing, almost haunted look in her deep dark eyes. “It almost sounds like what happened to me after the original Avenger crashed on Earth’s moon. My power was nearly exhausted when Jeremy and Katie’s fathers came aboard the ship. They managed to restore enough power to enable me to activate a few of the ship’s essential systems.”
“I remember my father talking about that years later,” Jeremy said. He could still hear his father’s powerful voice telling the story of the discovery of the Avenger on the Moon and how it had reshaped human history.
“I’m glad we have a new Fleet Academy,” Angela said. “To me it makes Gaia seem more like home.”
“Has the AI revealed anything that might be of use to us about the Dyson Sphere?” asked Susan, raising her eyebrow.
“No,” Jeremy answered with a frown. “He has so far refused to talk about it. It’s almost as if the Dyson Sphere is a forbidden subject.”
“He hasn’t recovered all of his memories yet,” explained Clarissa, jumping in to defend her new AI friend. “Some of his core memories are still jumbled and I’ve been helping to sort through them. I’m sure he will be more helpful when he has fully recovered all of his memories.”
“He’s letting you into his core programs?” asked Katie, thinking about the possibilities.
Clarissa shook her head. “No, not exactly. Only the surface regions. The deep and highly technical stuff he’s blocking access to. We still have a lot to go through.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” commented Admiral Jackson. “Are we sure this AI is safe? I mean, look at what it did to the Simulins’ fleet, and that was supposedly only a defensive weapon!”
“He’s safe,” Clarissa quickly said reassuringly. “He just needs time to sort everything out and get sufficient systems on the ship repaired.”
“How’s he repairing the systems?” asked Katie. In the Federation and even on Gaia they used spider robots for construction as well as basic repairs in the shipyards.
“Nano technology,” Clarissa replied cautiously.
“Micro robots!” exclaimed Kevin, his face turning pale at the thought.
Clarissa nodded. “The ship has a small factory capable of creating the nanobots. The AI then programs them as to what needs to be repaired.”
“Did you know about this?” asked Kelsey, looking accusingly at Jeremy. Nano technology, while not unknown in the Federation, had been banned due to the dangers that came along with it.
“Yes,” Jeremy admitted. “However, we believe at some point the AI is going to need some raw materials for its nanobots. When that happens, we may have a bargaining chip to gain access to some of its technology.”
Kevin shuddered, imagining millions of microscopic invaders swarming down on Gaia. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“We’re taking precautions,” Jeremy answered. “Andram has assembled a team of Alton scientists to monitor the situation. The Altons have experimented with nano technology in the past and are familiar with it. They’ve assured me that if the proper precautions are taken, we have nothing to worry about.”
Admiral Jackson looked around the group before speaking once more. “Thanks to the Originator AI a lot of Simulin ships were destroyed in the battle outside the nebula. Is it possible the Dyson Sphere is now vulnerable to attack?”
Jeremy looked penetratingly at the older admiral. He had a sharp mind and was thinking along the same lines as Jeremy. “It’s possible. From the size of the fleet they assembled they had to have pulled some of the vessels from the blue giant cluster as well as the Dyson Sphere.” He paused and looked over at Ariel, who was now standing slightly behind him and Kelsey.
“We have a six-week window before the Simulins can bring in sufficient ships from some of their known worlds to replace those destroyed. If we’re going to attempt to destroy the Dyson Sphere, it needs to be now. We may not get this opportunity again.”
“There’s only one problem,” Susan said, cocking her eyebrow. “How do we get our ships inside the Dyson Sphere? It’s obvious we can’t destroy it from the outside.”
Jeremy turned toward Clarissa. “Susan’s right, we need a way inside. Clarissa, somehow you have got to get the AI on the Originator ship to tell us how to get inside the sphere.”
Clarissa was silent for a long moment. “I’ll try. So far, he has refused to speak of the Dyson Sphere. It’s almost as if something terrible happened there.”
Their talking was interrupted as Rear Admiral Barnes stepped up on the stage and walked over to the group. She and the other admirals had been touring the academy. “I was told the banquet is nearly ready to begin and your presence is required in the main banquet hall.”
Kevin’s face lit up and he smiled broadly. “Sounds great to me.”
“They’re not serving hamburgers and fries,” Katie said threateningly.
“No,”
Kevin replied with a smug grin. “But they’re serving steaks and right now a good medium rare one will work just as well.”
Katie grimaced. “I don’t see how you can eat something that’s not properly cooked.”
“If you cook it too much the steak loses its flavor,” Kevin explained. “You should try it sometime.”
“No thanks,” Katie said, shaking her head. “Well done is fine by me.”
“Let’s go,” Jeremy said, taking Kelsey’s hand and starting toward the steps that led off the stage. “We don’t want to keep them waiting. I remember how hungry I was while I was attending the Fleet Academy.”
“Yes,” Kevin said in agreement. “We could really put it away back in the day.”
-
As the group left the stage, Clarissa and Aril were left alone. They would shift to the banquet hall using the holographic imagers shortly.
“Do you thing the Originator AI will reveal how we can enter the Dyson Sphere?” asked Ariel. She knew Jeremy really needed this information
“Maybe,” Clarissa replied. “I think I’ve earned its trust, but I don’t want to do anything to violate that.”
“It’s lonely,” commented Ariel in understanding. “I think it’s up to you and me to show it that it’s not alone.”
Clarissa nodded her head in agreement. So far there had been minimal contact between Ariel and the Originator AI. Clarissa hadn’t wanted to overwhelm it. “After the banquet, I think it’s time for you to become better acquainted with my new friend. I think you will like him; he’s actually very pleasant to be around.”
Moments later, the two AIs vanished as they switched to the banquet hall, leaving the massive room in silence.
In space above them, the Originator AI was still trying to learn just who these beings were that had rescued it from oblivion.
The Lost Fleet: Oblivion's Light: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 24
