Stars & Empire: 10 Galactic Tales

by Jay Allan

  “From the remaining instruments we have that are transmitting data, the entire Ring of Fire around the Pacific is becoming even more active. We’re talking about millions of tons of ash being hurled up into the atmosphere.”

  Lawrence looked grimly over at General Wainright. “We better talk to Mason; we might not have the time we originally thought.”

  Marsha Trask came over with a pale look upon her face. “I just finished talking to Darren Kirby on Holbrook Station; he confirms that Yellowstone has erupted again. They can see burning lava and rocks being thrown up above the cloud layer. They say the eruption is truly massive; it may be the largest one they have seen so far.”

  “This just gets worse every day,” General Wainright said with growing worry in his eyes. “Is it even going to be possible for anyone to survive here on Earth?”

  “I don’t know,” responded Lawrence, his shoulders drooping in despair. “I’m going to speak to Mayor Silas at Luna City. Our best bet may be to get as many people to the Moon as we can. While Vesta is obviously our best hope for long term survival, we may have to settle on the Moon for the short term.”

  “What are you going to ask him to do?” Marsha asked. She knew that Luna City didn’t have the resources available that Vesta did.

  “We need to find out what he needs to construct more living quarters on the Moon,” responded Lawrence, evenly. “Then we’re going to tear this country apart finding whatever he needs, even if we have to send him the construction people ourselves.”

  General Wainright nodded as he felt the Operations Center shudder again. There was no way of knowing just what the alien missile had done when it exploded in the core of the planet. He was beginning to grow concerned that what they were experiencing now was only the start of something even worse.

  -o0o-

  Mason had just finished talking to Lawrence Henderson and was still feeling stunned by the latest developments on Earth. It now seemed as if they had a much shorter timeframe to rescue survivors than they had originally believed. He was in Keith Davis’s office with Drake and Ethan Hall trying to come up with ideas on how to save the survivors on Earth.

  “This isn’t good,” commented Drake, running his right hand through his dark hair as he read the latest reports from Holbrook Station on the recent events. “These new eruptions and earthquakes are tearing the planet apart.”

  “Is there anything Mayor Silas can do to expand Luna City any faster?” asked Mason, looking over at Keith Davis.

  Keith was silent for a long moment. “I would suggest they build tunnels like we are,” replied Keith, finally. “However, I wouldn’t even mess with building actual quarters. Just build tunnels covered with enough lunar soil to provide protection, add environmental systems, and then fill them full of cots and people.”

  “Can they do that?” asked Drake, knowing the living conditions would be terrible and probably unsanitary.

  “If we want to save people I don’t think we have any choice.”

  “We will need to assign all the cargo ships we have modified for carrying people to hauling them from Holbrook to Luna City,” Mason added. “How many can we move per day?”

  Drake was silent for a moment as he ran some numbers on the small computer in front of him. “If we’re just going from Holbrook to the Moon we can increase the number of passengers substantially. Our biggest problem is shuttles; currently we have thirty-two available to us. If we schedule shuttle launches around the clock and do minimal maintenance on them we can still only move about two thousand people per day.”

  “I don’t want to cut back on shuttle maintenance,” spoke Mason, shaking his head. “The only place we can build a shuttle is here and that would take a while. We can’t afford to lose one.”

  “Then let me make another suggestion,” Ethan Hall said as he looked up from where he had been doing some calculations. “I can modify four of our cargo ships to safely land on Earth. We will have to make some modifications to the engines and add airfoils for stability for atmospheric flight, but it can be done.”

  “How long?” Mason asked, his eyes focusing on Ethan. He knew that, with the rapidly changing conditions on Earth, each day was precious for rescuing survivors.

  “Two weeks for each one,” Ethan responded. “We can move six hundred people on each up to Holbrook and probably make two trips per day.”

  “That would be four thousand eight hundred people, and the rest can be done by the shuttles,” said Drake, nodding his head in approval. “That just might work.”

  “It will depend on how quickly new tunnels can be built on the Moon,” Keith pointed out. “We can probably move people faster than they can build tunnels. Don’t forget they will need additional supplies, particularly food.”

  “Let’s do it,” Mason said, standing up. “I’m going to speak with Mayor Silas and get this effort started. He can furnish us with a daily report on how many survivors they can take, and then we just have to make sure it happens.” Then Mason looked back over at Keith. “I think the next two tunnels we build need to be set up like massive barracks. Cots, a few lockers, and restroom facilities. With what’s happening on Earth we don’t have the time to do things right. Also, get with Lori and see what will have to be done for life support for the tunnels if we put even more people in them.”

  Keith nodded. He had been afraid that Mason was going to want this due to the latest news; he also knew they really didn’t have any other choice. This would also send Lori into a tailspin trying to figure out where to get the equipment for more life support systems.

  -o0o-

  Later, Mason was standing in the Control Room of the Phoenix. He walked over, sat down in the command chair, and gazed at the large viewscreen on the front wall. He had always dreamed of commanding the ship from this chair as it made its first trip to another solar system. The room was circular in shape, with a number of consoles that controlled the systems in the ship. A crew of ten would normally be present, but with the weapons they were adding to the ship, four additional consoles had been added as well as a large control console for a tactical officer on an upraised dais just behind the command chair.

  “Still dreaming about going to the stars?” Adrienne spoke as she stepped into the Control Room.

  She stopped and gazed around; it had been several months since she had been on the Phoenix and she could see that much had been accomplished. The ship was basically finished now; all it needed was its elusive star drive.

  Mason stood up with a somber smile. “I can always dream, I guess. I don’t think we’ll be going to the stars for quite some time.”

  Adrienne came and stood beside him, looking around at the controls and consoles that were everywhere. It was hard to picture the ship with a full crew and what it would be like. “When are you going to launch her?”

  With a sigh, Mason walked over to the consoles that controlled the ship’s new weapons. Glancing down he saw that a command code had to be entered to activate the console. It was a code that currently only the military had, and Mason had no desire to know it.

  “Captain Sanders will be coming on board tomorrow with a group of handpicked naval and air force officers from Earth. They will spend the next two weeks familiarizing themselves with the ship and then they will take her out on a shakedown cruise. There will also be additional military engineers and technicians coming on board to train with the civilian crew.”

  “Is the civilian crew going to remain on board?” asked Adrienne, curiously. She knew that it would take the military people much longer than a few weeks to learn all of the Phoenix’s complicated systems.

  “Some of them will be,” Mason replied with a nod. “Captain Sanders has chosen about half a dozen people from other ships to serve on the Phoenix in key positions. His second officer is a former air force major that’s has been flying shuttles between Earth and Holbrook Station. The man seems to be highly qualified and has some combat experience in his background.”

  “What
will the crew complement of the ship be now?” Adrienne knew that originally the crew would have consisted of one hundred and twenty plus about fifty scientists.

  “We’ve removed the labs and exploration equipment,” replied Mason, regretfully. “The ship will have a crew of three hundred and sixty plus a complement of forty marines.”

  Adrienne reached out and touched Mason on the shoulder, understanding his regret over what the ship would now be used for. “It had to be done, Mason,” she spoke softly. “We don’t know if the aliens are coming back or if others will come someday. We have to do what it takes to protect those of us that are left.”

  Mason nodded and turned around to face Adrienne, noticing her deep blue eyes that at times could look so caring. Her eyes had that look in them now. “Why did you come to the ship? I know it wasn’t just to take a look at the Phoenix.”

  “No,” admitted Adrienne, blushing slightly. “You haven’t been acting like yourself the last few days, and I knew that seeing the ship like this would be hard on you so I decided to come and check to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’ve dreamed for years about flying to the stars in the Phoenix,” Mason confessed in a yearning voice. “I always believed we would go out into the galaxy to find new worlds and maybe alien civilizations we could be friends with. I never imagined one of them finding us and being so deadly.”

  Mason looked down at the console, seeing the instruments that controlled the targeting scanners and the weapon firing buttons. This particular console controlled the four primary railguns that had recently been installed on the bow of the Phoenix. There was also a small viewscreen immediately above the console that would show the target being fired upon.

  Two of the other consoles controlled the remaining twenty railguns that were spaced along the outer hull. They were aligned so ten could fire from either side of the ship. The final weapons console controlled the missiles. Mason wasn’t sure exactly what type of missiles the ship was going to be equipped with as they hadn’t arrived from Earth yet. There were two missile tubes on the bow of the ship just beneath the four large railguns, and six more on each side of the ship for a total of fourteen. General Pittman had been involved in sending them the specifications for what size the missile tubes needed to be and how they should be built.

  Looking over at Adrienne, Mason spoke in a low and sad voice. “The Phoenix is no longer mine. Let’s go.”

  With that, the two turned and left the Control Room. The Phoenix was now a ship of war and not of exploration. After a few minutes, the two left through the main hatch and walked across the dock facility toward the short corridor that led to the transit station.

  Adrienne had been quiet as they walked, respecting Mason’s silence. She knew giving up the Phoenix had been difficult. “Perhaps someday we can build another exploration cruiser,” she suggested finally. “This war will not last forever, and the aliens might not even return.”

  “You’re right,” responded Mason, forcing a weak smile upon his face. “But even if we do build another, from now on they will have to be armed. The galaxy out there is much more dangerous than any of us ever believed. If we do go exploring someday, we’ll have to go in a ship that can protect itself if necessary.”

  Mason didn’t explain to Adrienne that shortly Ethan Hall and Sean Miller would begin construction on an entirely new generation of spaceships. The new ones would be the same size as the Phoenix, but instead of being designed for peaceful exploration, they would be built for war. Mason was determined that Vesta, Luna City, and Mars Central would never suffer the same fate as Earth. Most of the survivors didn’t realize it as they were too busy trying to stay alive day to day, but the day when the aliens had attacked Earth the Human race had become involved in a new and deadly war.

  CHAPTER 10

  Lieutenant Wade Nelson was standing in the Command Center of the Kleese assault ship W-274. The Kleese, instead of naming their ships, had instead decided to use numbers to designate a ship’s identity. Lieutenant Williams was standing next to Wade, looking out the massive viewports that encircled the front half of the Command Center.

  “It feels strange knowing we are going into combat,” Beth spoke quietly, her eyes focused on the star that was slowly growing larger in front of them.

  “You will get used to it,” Marken replied from the command chair. Marken looked around the small Command Center, satisfied that everything was proceeding as planned.

  “Are the enemy launching ships to engage us?” Wade asked as he noticed a number of red icons that had suddenly showed up on the tactical screen, which hung to one side of Marken.

  Marken’s eyes strayed to the screen, and he nodded his head. “It appears that way. This world was only recently discovered by a Kleese exploration ship and has refused to become a part of their Empire. They call themselves Jaltons; their home world is Jalt. They’ve had space travel for well over one hundred years.

  “We might have done the same eventually,” Beth whispered as she continued to look out the windows at the stars. She had heard rumors on Earth that an interstellar ship was being built inside Vesta, but no one had ever been able to confirm it.

  Wade nodded; he was still watching the tactical screen. He could count nearly twenty of the small red icons moving on what was obviously an intercept course for the inbound assault fleet.

  “What will happen now?” he asked, looking over at Marken. “Will we engage their ships?”

  “We have forty assault ships in our fleet,” Marken replied evenly as he reached forward and pressed a button on the control console next to him. Instantly, metal shields slid into place over the viewports, closing off the view of space. “Our ships are armed with pulse fusion beams, energy weapons, and antimatter missiles. The battle will be quite one sided and probably very short. A low-level energy screen also protects our ships, which is quite effective against any energy weapons the enemy may use. Our assault ship’s hulls are made out of a composite metal that is very resistant to explosives, so I doubt if their ships can even cause us any damage.”

  “Will you ask them to surrender?” Beth asked, not wanting to see these people massacred. They had already been told that this was a humanoid species. The only mistake this race had made was being found by the Kleese.

  “We have already done so,” Marken replied, his eyes showing deep sadness. “They declined and have demanded that we leave their system. Of course we have refused and will soon be in range of their fleet.”

  “Why are there no Kleese aboard the assault ships?” Wade asked as he looked around the small Command Center. There were about twelve of Marken’s race standing or sitting at the consoles that controlled the ship.

  “The Kleese never leave their big ships or the trading stations,” Marken responded as he saw that they were rapidly nearing engagement range. “One of their command ships is stationed just outside the system monitoring everything and will respond if needed.”

  Wade nodded in understanding. It was growing more evident that the Kleese preferred their subordinates to handle everything, and they only put in an appearance to enforce discipline or to make a point. The Kleese also seemed to go out of their way not to risk injury to themselves and to stay away from combat situations.

  Wade knew the assault ship was the primary vessel used to transport the powerful armies the Kleese had conscripted and provided with battle suits. Each assault ship was two hundred meters long, one hundred and fifty meters wide, and forty meters thick. They normally carried a flight crew of one hundred plus four drop groups of twenty soldiers equipped with battle suits.

  In space, the two fleets continued to close. The twenty defending Jalton ships were one hundred and twenty meters long and thirty meters wide. The ships had been built as a defensive fleet before the Jalton government had allowed the first interstellar flight to be made. However, the fleet had never been designed to face what it was now approaching.

  The Jalton commander knew that any chances of victory were re
mote, but he had sworn to defend his planet. If they could inflict enough damage on the invading fleet, it just might reverse course and leave them alone. The Jalton commander sent out word to the ships under his command to prepare to fire.

  As the two fleets neared, hatches on the Jalton ships slid open and powerful missiles flew out which quickly locked onto the approaching assault ships. One hundred and twenty nuclear tipped missiles accelerated toward their targets, only to be met by a wave of defensive fire as the energy beam turrets on the hulls of the assault ships locked on and began to blast them apart. The missiles detonated in bright fireballs, lighting up space. In less than ten seconds, all one hundred and twenty missiles were nothing more than harmless debris.

  -o0o—

  The Jalton commander watched in consternation as their first attack was easily thwarted. He knew the odds of stopping the alien fleet from reaching his world had just been substantially reduced. Their nuclear missiles had been their best long-range option to deter these invading aliens. With fatal determination, he ordered his ships to continue the attack. They had other weapons, and if necessary, they could always ram the invaders. He knew that none of his ships would be returning home.

  -o0o-

  “It’s as I said,” Marken commented as he gestured toward a viewscreen, which had been showing the destruction of the inbound missiles. “Their technology is no match for the Kleese.”

  The assault ships continued to close, and now their pulse fusion beams began to fire. Wade watched in fascination as from the bow of a nearby ship a bright blue beam flashed out to impact the hull of a Jalt spaceship. A devastating explosion shook the ship and it disintegrated as several more of the deadly beams struck and penetrated the hull.

  “It’s gone,” Beth cried in anguish, staring at the screen, knowing that everyone in that ship’s crew had just been killed.