However, what held everyone’s attention was what was at the far end of the valley. It was a city. A city of soaring towers and slim buildings that reached thousands of meters into the air.
“It’s beautiful,” spoke Private Sandra Carton, gazing at the city in amazement.
“A city of the Originators,” said Reesa, her eyes glowing with excitement and her heart beating wildly.
“A dead city,” commented Maalon Delz, shaking his head. “I doubt if anyone lives there.”
Brenda raised her assault rifle and gazed through the scope. Slowly she put it back down and looked at the others. Her voice quivered as she spoke. “It’s not a dead city, I could see movement.”
Everyone became quiet as they looked toward the marvelous city at the end of the valley. Brenda’s startling announcement had shaken them all. They were inside the Dyson Sphere but they weren’t alone.
Chapter Three
Kelsey and Katie stood atop the large hill, which overlooked the Fleet Academy on Gaia. They gazed sadly at the names on the dark gray granite obelisk, feeling the pain of their loss. At the top of the obelisk was an engraved picture of Clarissa in her dress blue uniform without insignia, a slight smile on her face. Below her name and image were that of Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes and the other officers of the Distant Horizon.
“I miss her so much,” Katie said with tears in her eyes. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Admiral Barnes and all the others too,” added Kelsey, feeling the same grief as Katie. “They destroyed the Dyson Sphere and because of their sacrifice our home here on Gaia is safe from the Simulins.”
“There’s still a lot of Simulins out there,” Katie carefully pointed out as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Remember all of those Simulin inhabited worlds we came across when the Distant Horizon first came to the Triangulum Galaxy?”
Kelsey nodded. That was a voyage she would never forget. At the end, they had found Jeremy and the lost fleets. “At least they can’t bring reinforcements through the Dyson Sphere anymore. Andram said the explosion of the blue-giant star and what it’s doing to the dark matter nebula makes the establishment of an intergalactic vortex in this galaxy nearly impossible.”
“Ariel claims the nebula will eventually collapse in on itself and become a black hole.” Katie let out a deep breath. She had spent a lot of time speaking to Ariel as the surviving AI had taken Clarissa’s death very hard.
Kelsey’s eyes strayed back to the picture of Clarissa on the obelisk. Her blue eyes, blonde hair, and gentle smile were so reminiscent of how popular she had been with the crew of the Distant Horizon. Clarissa had become a good and close friend; even now in death, she seemed more Human. Kelsey allowed a slight smile to cross her face as she recalled how the beautiful AI had enjoyed flirting with the male crewmembers on the ship. Several times Clarissa had been caught by Katie adjusting her holographic figure to make it more alluring to the men on the exploration dreadnought.
“We’d better get back,” Katie said as she turned away from the obelisk and gazed out at the academy. “Ariel wants to brief us on her progress with the Originator ship and Kazak.” Kazak was the Originator AI on board the five-thousand-meter warship Dominator in orbit around Gaia.
“At least Kazak is speaking to Ariel,” Kelsey said as they began walking down the broad steps leading to the large parade ground below them. “When Kazak first learned of the loss of the Distant Horizon and Clarissa, he didn’t speak for weeks. Jeremy was concerned the AI might not respond to us at all without Clarissa.”
“Clarissa was his friend,” Katie answered simply. “Just like Clarissa and Ariel were close friends, Kazak and Clarissa had begun to form the same type of bond.”
-
Inside her office, Rear Admiral Susan Marks was watching the two at the obelisk via the viewscreen on the front wall of her office. She didn’t consider it spying; it was part of her duty to keep an eye on any of the Special Five when they were at the academy. With a sigh, she turned her attention away from the viewscreen and began sorting through some of the many reports on her desk. Since taking over the Fleet Academy, she had done everything in her power to model it after the one on Earth’s moon. Standards had been set very high and she’d been careful to choose only the best-qualified instructors. Many of the science classes were taught by Altons, and even Ariel was teaching a class.
They didn’t have the population base the Human Federation of Worlds did, but they did have one advantage. Nearly every person who had come to Gaia was in either the Fleet or a colonist. Fortunately, that gave the academy a very brilliant group of young people to pull from. Currently, the academy had Humans, Altons, and Carethians enrolled as students. There was no doubt in Susan’s mind she would be able to provide the future warships of Gaia with some very qualified officers.
Looking back up at the viewscreen, she saw Katie and Kelsey had made it to the bottom of the stairs, stairs she made a habit of climbing once per week. The obelisk and the two walls next to it contained the names of every member of the military who had given their lives in the protection of Gaia. Susan was determined the academy would always honor those who had fallen.
-
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong was standing in the Command Center of the battleship Avenger. The Avenger was the flagship of the fleet and currently in geosynchronous orbit above Gaia near the Clan Protector and the Originator ship, Dominator. The Clan Protector was the massive shipyard under the command of Daelthon, a Carethian. The Clan Protector at one time had been a mobile shipyard, but since arriving at Gaia had been tremendously expanded.
The former mobile shipyard was now nearly three kilometers in length, four kilometers wide and two kilometers thick. It contained eight construction bays and six repair bays, which could handle any of the fleet’s ships. The massive structure was also heavily armed and protected by a powerful energy shield. There were power beam emplacements as well as the more powerful and deadly particle beam cannons. Dozens of dual energy turrets dotted the hull, ready to lay down a labyrinth of defensive fire if needed. Securely closed hatches hid 50-megaton Devastator Three missiles as well as the more deadly 100-megaton antimatter missiles, all with sublight engines. A recent addition were the six massive ion beam cannons, which could strip the energy shield of an attacking ship, leaving the hull vulnerable to attack. The shipyard was now a virtual fortress.
Even as Jeremy watched, a full squadron of Talon fighters exited one of the shipyard’s flight bays and accelerated outward to assume patrol duty.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” commented Admiral Jackson. “I never would have believed the Clan Protector could become something like this.”
“Daelthon has done his clan proud,” boomed Grayseth the massive Carethian, who was standing next to Jackson. Grayseth easily towered over the admiral.
“Yes, he has shown much honor in what he’s done for us,” answered Jeremy, nodding at the large Bear. Jeremy turned to look at Admiral Jackson. “Have you been out to Borton recently to see the AI shipyards?”
“No,” Jackson replied with a deep frown. “I’m still not used to seeing so many AI ships around. I don’t know if I ever will.”
Jeremy nodded. It was a difficult thing for many of the Humans and Carethians in the fleet to accept that the AIs were now on their side. It had been easier for the Altons to accept as they had created the AIs thousands of years in the past.
“The new shipyards are finished and already ship construction has begun.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Jeremy continued to address Admiral Jackson. “I want to send a fleet out to the Ornellian Empire and see if there are any survivors. I would like to put you in command of that force.”
Jackson looked at Jeremy in surprise. “That’s a long way out; why there?”
“It’s away from the inhabited Simulin worlds,” Jeremy answered. “If we can find enough survivors perhaps we can build a base to help some of the other civilizations in that sector of this galaxy. Ev
en though we destroyed the Dyson Sphere, there are still a lot of Simulins around. We can’t defeat them alone. Also, Rear Admiral Barnes promised them we would return someday. I would like to honor that promise.”
“What kind of fleet would I be taking?”
“A pretty large one,” Jeremy replied as he reached forward and touched an icon on his control console. Instantly one of the new AI warspheres appeared. The ship was one thousand meters in diameter and very heavily armed. It was also entirely crewed by AIs though the ship did have quarters for Human officers.
“AIs,” muttered Jackson, his eyes widening.
“Admiral Bachal will be going along as well.” Bachal had been on the original exploration mission with Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes when the Ornellian Empire had first been discovered. It was also during that mission they had found the Originator ship, Dominator.
Jackson took a deep breath and slowly nodded his head. “When do we leave?” The mission would be easier with Admiral Bachal going along; the Altons were used to dealing with the AIs.
“In about ten days. That will give us time to get everything organized.”
“You mentioned earlier that you had a mission for my fleet,” Grayseth spoke in his normally loud and bearish voice.
Jeremy turned toward his long time friend. “Yes, a research mission to NGC 604. There will be several of the Alton science ships going. Andram is concerned about the affects of the nova that destroyed the Dyson Sphere on the dark matter and the surrounding stars.”
“What’s he worried about?” asked Jackson, cocking his eyebrow.
“Some of the Alton scientists are afraid the blast wave from the nova may cause other stars in the region to suffer a similar fate. There are over two hundred blue-giant stars in the nebula. Don’t forget the area is full of H-II regions of ionized hydrogen. The entire nebula is full of radiation being pumped out from the numerous young stars and what we did by destroying the Dyson Sphere has only enhanced that.”
Jackson’s eyes narrowed sharply. “So the Altons are afraid the entire nebula may go nova?” Jackson had never heard of such a thing.
“Yes,” Jeremy answered. “Andram says the probability of such an event is extremely low, but he wants to investigate it nevertheless.”
“I will ready my fleet,” announced Grayseth, feeling pleased Jeremy had given him such an important mission. “If we encounter any Simulin ships, we will destroy them.”
“There will also be some of the larger AI spheres going along as well,” Jeremy added, curious to see how this would affect Grayseth.
The large Bear was silent for a moment and then nodded his head. “The AIs know much about science and I will work with them. The Altons know how to control them so I don’t foresee any problems.”
“Very well,” Jeremy responded, pleased with the Bear’s response. “Prepare your fleet; you will be leaving as soon as the Altons are ready.”
“I will do so, clan brother,” Grayseth replied. “We will be ready to bring honor to the clans of Gaia.”
-
After the meeting was over, Kevin stood up from his sensor console and walked over to Jeremy at the command dais. “So, we’re finally going to start taking action against the Simulins.” There had been a lot of discussion about this over the past few months but no plans had been set in motion. It had been a trying time for everyone with the loss of the Distant Horizon, Rear Admiral Barnes, and Clarissa.
Jeremy looked over at his best friend. “Yes. Now that the AI shipyards are finished, we can begin going on the offensive. We also have a number of the new Gaia class battlecruisers ready for deployment that Daelthon has recently finished building. They have a much lower crew complement than our other ships and I plan on putting them to use.”
“We’ve had over three months to recover from what happened at the Dyson Sphere,” Kevin said with a deep sigh. “I think it will significantly improve morale if we go on the offensive. What are your plans for Kelsey and Katie since they no longer have a ship?”
“I spoke to Kelsey some about that the other night,” confessed Jeremy with an odd look in his eyes. “She wants us to build a new exploration ship to explore more of this galaxy with. I believe Katie has even been working with Ariel on a new design.”
“That may not be necessary,” Ariel said suddenly appearing next to Jeremy. The dark-haired AI was wearing her customary blue fleet uniform without insignia.
“What do you mean?” Jeremy looked questionably over at the AI. Since the death of Clarissa, Ariel had been more quiet and reserved.
“Kazak has agreed to allow a small group of Humans and Altons to come aboard the Dominator. I just finished speaking to Kelsey and Katie about this while you were having your meeting with Admiral Jackson and Grayseth.”
Jeremy stepped back as this was a stunning development. “When, who, and why now?”
“Kazak has informed me that he has completed all the repairs on the Dominator and the ship is now once more operating at 100 percent efficiency. He wants to meet with you and others to see if you’re worthy of the heritage of the Originators. If he finds that you are, then he is willing to place the Dominator under your command to use against the Simulins. Katie and Kelsey would be quite safe on that vessel.”
Jeremy drew in a sharp breath. If he could have the Dominator under his control, it would be a game changer. The ship by itself could defeat entire Simulin fleets. He wasn’t sure, though, about Ariel’s suggestion of assigning Katie and Kelsey to the ship. Something about Kazak made him feel uneasy.
“The Dominator’s AI is quite upset about what the Simulins are doing with the Dyson Spheres, which the Originators left behind upon their passing. He’s willing to share information with you. He also has informed me you can choose the group that will be going on board.”
“If we can have access to that warship just think of what we could learn,” Kevin said breathlessly. His eyes glowed with excitement. “Andram and the other Altons will be clamoring to go on board once they find out we have permission from Kazak.”
Jeremy nodded his agreement. However, he couldn’t help feeling there was something else behind the Originator AI suddenly deciding to grant them access to the Dominator. He had to remind himself that the AI might have its own agenda. There was a lot they didn’t know about the Originators and the relationship they had with their AIs. While he trusted Ariel implicitly, he had a long way to go before feeling the same about Kazak.
Reaching a decision, Jeremy decided they couldn’t pass up this opportunity to learn more about the Originator warship and the AI that controlled it. “Ariel, inform Kazak I will assemble a team and we’ll come aboard early tomorrow.”
Ariel closed her eyes briefly, as she often did when she was sending messages or communicating with someone who wasn’t in the Command Center. “Kazak agrees. He will be ready to receive you in the morning.”
-
In Simulin controlled space, Supreme High Commander Callat stared angrily at the latest reports. His skin was opalescent and blood vessels, as well as some of the internal organs, could be seen. Since the destruction of the Great Sphere, no reinforcements had been able to come in from the other nine galaxies dominated by the Simulins.
“We suffered massive ship losses with the destruction of the sphere and the dark matter that surrounded it,” reported High Commander Faberh.
“Our scientists claim the highly stressed area of space at the former Great Sphere location is causing such a disruption in the higher levels of hyperspace that intergalactic travel is currently not possible. They say the power needed to power an intergalactic vortex is more than even a Great Sphere can generate.” This greatly concerned Callat. There was now no way to contact the Simulin Grand Council. For the first time that he could remember, an entire galaxy had been cut out of the Simulin network.
“It is the fault of the organics and the AIs from the Fitula Nebula,” stated Faberh in a cold voice. “We must find a way to destroy them.”
Callat turned his gaze toward his second in command. “From reports we have received from the earlier battle at the nebula, the Fitula organics have come into possession of a ship of the builders of the Great Spheres.”
“I have seen the reports, though I find it hard to believe a singe ship could have disabled so many of our warships.” The battle at the nebula had been a disaster when so many Simulin ships suddenly lost power.
Callat adjusted a control on the command console in front of him and on the front wall of the Command Center, a map of the galaxy appeared. Nearly 70 percent of the map was covered in blue, indicating Simulin control. “We have twenty-seven systems that have large populations of our people and sixty other systems in the process of being colonized.” Callat paused as he considered what he was about to do. “I believe that until these new organics and their AIs are dealt with, it would be wise for us to stop our expansion in this galaxy.”
“Stop the expansion?” uttered Faberh with a scowl spreading across his face. “Something like that has never been done before. To halt the expansion now could allow other organics to rally and oppose us.”
“It is a risk we must take,” answered Callat, folding his arms across his chest. “Too many vessels have been lost. We must consolidate our forces and increase shipbuilding in our established systems.”
“What about our probes seeking out new organic worlds to cleanse?”
“They will go on traveling outward in this galaxy. We will continue to send small task groups to confirm the presence of organics on any worlds the probes find. When our forces have been rebuilt, we shall descend upon those worlds and cleanse them of their organics.”
“Yes,” nodded Faberh in agreement. “There can be none but Simulin.”
“None but Simulin,” answered Callat.
Callat changed the main viewscreen to show the space around his flagship. Hundreds of seventeen-hundred-meter long Simulin battlecruisers floated in space nearby. In the distance, a pristine blue and white planet was visible. Around it, there was heavy traffic consisting of cargo ships as well as additional warships. This was the world of Malkor, the primary and most heavily colonized Simulin world in this galaxy. Around it, numerous orbital stations were present consisting of massive shipyards, defensive stations, as well as huge space stations which received and processed raw material being delivered from other planets and mining operations in nearby systems. This system alone had the capacity to build large numbers of Simulin warships.
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 5
