The mission of this fleet was to find out just how large an empire the Hocklyns controlled, and what could be done to prevent future attacks. Was it just a few worlds as the Federation government hoped, or was it a large galaxy-spanning empire? The Hocklyns held a decisive edge in technology. That had already been determined from the technologies on their ships. Did they also hold a decisive edge in population as well as natural resources? Karl just hoped the experts were right and the scout ships were undetectable.
“Launch at your discretion, Captain Arcles.” The CAG’s voice came over the com system. “Good luck and good hunting.”
“Let’s get the systems powered up,” ordered Arcles glancing over at Lieutenant Sanders. “It’s time to get this show on the road.”
It only took the two a few minutes to finish powering up the small ship and complete their final preflight checks. The techs had already checked everything earlier, so it was mainly a matter of flipping a few switches and powering up the sublight drive.
“Everything shows green,” Lieutenant Sanders reported as she tightened her safety harness. She closed her eyes briefly and said a short prayer. This mission frightened her. They were so far away from home, and if anything happened, they would be on their own. No one would be coming to save them.
Captain Arcles reached forward, taking the scout ship’s controls. A moment later, the little ship darted out from the flight bay and moved away from the majestic battle carrier. “Insert first FTL coordinates,” he ordered, looking over at Sanders. He had flown with the lieutenant often enough that he knew that once the mission began she would calm down. She was a very capable officer; she just needed to learn to control her anxiety.
The lieutenant tapped a few commands into her navigation computer and then nodded as she double-checked the results. “Coordinates locked in.”
Arcles nodded and turned the controls over to the ship’s flight computer. He watched as the FTL timer began counting down and soon neared zero. The other scout ships didn’t show on the small ship’s scanners and sensors, but he knew they were out there.
“Standby for FTL insertion,” Arcles spoke over the com to the other crewmembers. There were two mission specialists in the cockpit behind him who were responsible for the scout’s sensors and stealth systems. Two more technicians were back in the small crew compartment.
Moments later, a spatial vortex of blue-white light appeared directly in front of the curved nose of the scout ship. The scout ship darted into the vortex, which instantly vanished, leaving no sign of the scout. Within a few minutes, the other five scouts had vanished in the same way. Each scout had a different set of destinations to search.
-
Admiral Streth watched as the six scout ships vanished into the blue-white vortexes of light. He let out a deep breath and wondered about what they would find. They were nearly six hundred light years from home, and in what was believed to be enemy territory. The entire outcome of the war might very well rest on what the scouts discovered.
“It’s begun,” Colonel Sheen commented quietly, seeing that the six blips representing the scouts had vanished from her plotting table. They had been tracked by high-resolution cameras as they left the Victory.
In a way, she felt relieved that the mission had finally been launched. Not knowing what the Federation actually faced had been gnawing fearfully in the pit of her stomach for quite some time. Amanda just wanted her parents to be safe back home on Aquaria. Recent events had made her extremely concerned for her parents' safety.
Colonel Sheen pursed her lips, feeling apprehensive at what the scouts might discover. When she had entered the fleet academy, she had never dreamed she would become part of an interstellar war. That was something that only happened on the holo vids or in books. Her parents lived on the colony of Beltran Three, called Aquaria by its inhabitants. The planet was nearly eighty percent water and possessed the most beautiful ocean beaches of any of the four major colonies. Amanda knew that the orbital defenses above her home planet were being heavily strengthened to protect the colony from another Hocklyn attack. She just prayed that it would be enough and that her parents would remain safe.
“Mission counter has started,” she reported as a timer began moving on the plotting table. “First system emergence should occur in twenty-two minutes.”
Admiral Streth nodded. “I want the fleet kept at Condition Two. We don’t know how well the stealth protection on those scouts will hold up. If the Hocklyns detect them, we could have their warships here soon after.”
“Yes, sir,” responded Colonel Sheen, hoping that was not the case. She walked several paces over to a set of consoles manned by two lieutenants and two ensigns. “Keep all weapon systems on standby. If any unknowns are detected, I want firing solutions yesterday!”
Lieutenant Jacobs instantly responded. “All targets will be locked upon FTL emergence until deemed friendly or unfriendly.”
Colonel Sheen nodded and passed the same order over her mini-com to the rest of the fleet after setting her com to fleet-wide so she could communicate the admiral’s orders to the other ship commanders. She then continued to walk from console to console in the Command Center, talking to the men and women who manned them. At the helm control console, she ordered Lieutenant Jenikens to be prepared for emergency maneuvers upon her command if they went to Condition One.
Satisfied that everything was as ready as it could be, she returned to her station at the plotting table. She could have done the same thing over her mini-com, which connected her to all the stations, but she preferred to talk to the individual crewmembers whenever possible. She felt it made a better impression upon them.
Admiral Streth had watched Colonel Sheen move through the Command Center talking to the crew. He leaned back in his seat, thinking about what had brought them to this point. It had all started eight months back when a strange vessel had entered the Stalor System, which contained a small mining operation. The miners had instantly screamed for help when their scanners had detected an alien ship going into orbit above the volcanic moon they were mining. It was the first alien ship ever encountered by the Federation.
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Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars) Page 35
