High Lord Droll knew about this. It was different from what the Shari did. When the Shari conquered a world, they destroyed all of the system’s warships and then set up strict population controls to lower populations to a more controllable level. All of that had ended when the AIs pulled out. The empire was now more at peace and was actually starting to work with a few of the more advanced conquered worlds to bring them into the empire someday. He agreed with the empire’s new policy of relaxing the restrictions. Many of the things the Shari had done in the past were directly related to the overpowering threat the AIs had posed. Now they were back.
“Take us in to Jalab Four at full sublight,” ordered Droll. “Try to contact the Nest Lord in charge of the Ralift fleet. I would rather talk to him first before attempting to communicate with the AIs. Keep the fleet at full battle alert.”
“Yes, High Lord,” Malben responded as he prepared to carry out Droll’s orders.
Droll settled back in his command chair, his eyes focused sharply on several of the large viewscreens on the wall in front of him. At full magnification was a sight he hoped he would never see again. A fifteen- hundred-meter AI battle sphere floated in a sea of stars. As far as he knew, no one other than the Humans and their allies had ever managed to destroy one.
-
“Shari fleet has arrived and is moving toward Jalab Four,” Second Nest Lord Alboin reported.”
Nest Lord Creesth nodded. “Allow them to do so. Once all of the Shari warships have gathered around their planet, we will move in and destroy them.”
“Nest Lord, I have a communications from High Lord Droll the commander of the Shari fleet requesting to speak with you,” reported the communications officer.
“Ignore it,” ordered Creesth. “The Shari have become weak and will shortly realize what it means to turn away from our masters. They shall soon know the power of the Ralift and what it means to fail the AIs.” Creesth did not understand the foolishness of the Shari, but they were about to pay for it.
Nest Lord Creesth gazed at the holographic tactical display his flagship was equipped with. It was another advanced piece of technology furnished by the AIs. The Shari warships were speeding across the system to Jalab Four where their other ships waited. The planet was protected by a weak defensive grid which was inconsequential. Once all the enemy were gathered in one location, the Ralift fleet would move in and destroy them as well as the planet they protected.
-
“There is no response to our hails,” reported Lower Lord Malben, turning his eyes toward High Lord Droll.
Droll frowned in concern. “Are they receiving our messages?”
Malben spent a moment speaking with the communications officer and then turned toward Droll. “Yes, communications are functioning normally. The Ralift are refusing to respond.”
High Lord Droll let out a long breath. The Ralift’s refusal to communicate was a bad sign. “Contact the planetary lord and inform him to send as many Shari as possible to the underground shelters. Tell him we believe the AIs and the Ralift are here to conquer the system.”
“Should we attempt to contact the AIs?”
Droll looked at one of the viewscreens showing one of the large fifteen-hundred-meter AI battle spheres. “Send a message requesting an audience. I doubt if we get a response.” Droll felt a cold chill run down his back. The size of the Ralift fleet and the presence of the AIs did not bode well for the Jalab System.
A few minutes passed and Lower Lord Malben turned back toward the High Lord. “We have received a response from the AIs.”
High Lord Droll felt relief. Perhaps it would be possible to speak to the AIs and avoid conflict. “What did the machines say?”
“It was only one word,” Malben replied in a low voice.
“What was it?”
Malben looked pale. “Surrender.”
“How many passenger and cargo ships are at Jalab Four?” asked Droll with growing concern.
“Not many,” Malben answered. “Our sensor scans indicate two passenger ships in orbit and sixteen cargo ships. All are docked to the planet’s orbiting space station and repair yard.”
High Lord Droll knew he had just run out of options. “Once we arrive at Jalab, place our fleet between the planet and the inbound Ralift fleet. We will not fire until they fire first. Send a message to the Grand Council informing them of the latest developments and my plan to defend the colony. There is no way I will surrender this fleet or Jalab Four to the AIs.”
Droll leaned back in his command chair as he thought about the reappearance of the machines. If the AIs and the Ralift destroyed his fleet, then this entire quadrant of the empire would fall. There were no other major fleet units close enough to respond in time. His eyes wandered back to the tactical display and all the red threat icons. He felt a moment of helplessness at the enormity of the task in front of him.
-
The Shari fleet quickly moved into position near Jalab Four, placing itself between the slowly advancing Ralift and the planet. For hours the Ralift fleet moved toward the planet as other Shari patrol fleets arrived in the system and took up positions in High Lord Droll’s fleet.
-
“Why are they waiting?” asked Lower Lord Malben, gazing at a viewscreen. “Why haven’t they attacked? They have the superior numbers.”
“For all of our ships to get here,” Droll answered, his eyes narrowing sharply. “If they destroy our fleet then there’s nothing else to oppose them in the entire quadrant except a few small planetary defense fleets. By destroying our fleet, they’ll control everything within sixteen hundred light years of Jalab Four.” Droll took a deep breath; this was forming up to be a major disaster. The Ralift fleet would roll across the quadrant with the Shari able to do nothing to stop them. Millions would die!
Malben nodded his head in understanding. “There are only four other Shari colony worlds in the quadrant. None as large as Jalab.”
High Lord Droll studied the tactical display for a long moment. “Send out a general broadcast on all fleet frequencies warning of possible aggression by the Ralift. Make sure to mention the appearance of the AIs as well.” Droll hoped by doing this the larger Shari worlds deeper in the empire could prepare themselves. There were some major Shari fleet formations between the Ralift and the heart of the empire. Perhaps other Shari fleet units would be able to stop this fleet if it continued deeper into Shari space. Some of the worlds with large Shari populations also possessed formidable defense grids.
“The Ralift fleet will be in engagement range in twenty-two minutes,” the sensor officer reported. “They are maintaining their current rate of speed.”
High Lord Droll had pulled his fleet back to just inside the gravity well of Jalab Four. With the improvements to Shari hyperdrives, it was now possible to jump into the outer regions of a gravity well, but still not too close to the planet. He didn’t know if the Ralift had made the same improvements to their drives as well. One thing he did know; the AI ships were not affected by a planet’s gravity well. They could jump almost inside a planet’s atmosphere. Droll hoped the AIs stayed out of this battle.
“All ships report ready for combat,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “The planetary lord of Jalab Four has sent as many Shari as possible to shelters. However, many are still exposed on the surface with nothing more than their homes to protect them.”
High Lord Droll had a decision to make. His fleet stood no chance in battle against the massive Ralift fleet coming slowly toward them. To stay would mean the total destruction of his fleet. However, there were the thirty-eight million Shari on Jalab Four and he couldn’t just abandon them. With a heavy sigh, he made his decision. It was a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
“We will engage the Ralift to test their weapons. If ours are superior, we will stay and engage their fleet. If we find there have been improvements to their ships and they are on an equal par with us, we will withdraw.”
“Withdraw?” questioned Lower
Lord Malben, his eyes widening in shock. “If we withdraw the Shari upon Jalab Four will be enslaved by the Ralift!”
“We must preserve our fleet. We are the only major fleet between here and the main part of the empire. It may be necessary for us to fight a number of delaying actions to give the Grand Council time to respond to this crisis.”
Lower Lord Malben understood. “Should I warn the planetary lord we may withdraw?”
“No. Unfortunately the Shari upon Jalab Four are on their own.”
-
Nest Lord Creesth gazed coldly at the waiting Shari fleet. As a Ralift, he seldom displayed emotions. “We will fire as soon as we reach engagement range. I want this battle to be quick and decisive.”
“Fleet is prepared to fire. Sensor scans indicate the Shari fleet is holding position just inside the gravity well of Jalab Four.”
“Curious,” Creesth responded. “It would seem to indicate they believe we cannot jump inside the planet’s gravity well.” This was no longer true, as the AIs had improved the Ralift hyperdrives so they could now jump close to a planet without fearing damage to the ship’s drive system.
“What of the planet?”
Creesth looked over at Second Nest Lord Alboin. “The AIs have instructed us to remove all Shari from this quadrant of their empire. Once we have destroyed their fleet, we will bombard the planet with nuclear missiles. We will leave nothing living.”
Alboin stood quietly and then responded. “One we cleanse this planet of Shari life we will be at war with the Shari Empire. There will be no turning back.”
Nest Lord Creesth pointed toward the viewscreen showing one of the AI battle spheres. “It is by their command and we must obey.”
“The AIs are the masters,” replied Alboin, nodding in agreement. It was as it had been for thousands of years and would continue to be.
“Engagement range,” called out the sensor officer.
“Weapons lock,” confirmed the tactical officer.
“Fire,” ordered Nest Lord Creesth. It was time for the war to begin.
-
In space, hundreds of energy beams flashed out to strike the powerful shields of the Shari warships. The shields glowed brightly as they struggled to resist the onslaught. Several energy beams penetrated a battlecruiser’s shield, ripping into the top section of the ship and sending debris flying through space. A sixty-megaton antimatter missile darted through the momentary opening in the ship’s energy shield, impacting against the hull. In a massive explosion, the Shari battlecruiser vanished as nuclear energy consumed it. Across the Shari fleet, other ships were suffering a similar fate.
-
High Lord Droll was nearly thrown from his command chair as the Dark Victory shook as if had been struck by a mighty hammer. Alarms were sounding, and frantic voices were coming over the ship’s comm system.
“Energy beam strike above the med bay,” reported Lower Lord Malben as he checked the damage control console. “We have a number of compartments open to space and we’re streaming atmosphere. Repair crews are enroute. Emergency bulkheads have sealed off the affected areas. We lost one missile tube and three defensive energy turrets.”
“We’ve lost the Dark Horizon, Anvil’s Hand, Glowing Victory, and the Falton,” reported the sensor officer. All four ships were battlecruisers.
“Launching sublight missiles,” stated the tactical officer. “All ships are returning fire.”
On the viewscreens, brilliant explosions swept across the Ralift formation.
“Energy beams firing,” added the tactical officer. Then, after a moment, he reported back. “Enemy screens are more powerful than previous reports. The Ralift are also using sublight antimatter missiles in the sixty-kiloton range.”
On one of the viewscreens, a Ralift missile slammed into the stern of a Shari escort cruiser. The ship vanished in a fiery explosion.
“Are our weapons having any effect?”
“We’ve taken out four of the smaller Ralift armed escorts,” the sensor officer reported. “We’ve only managed to damage a few of their larger vessels.”
The Dark Victory rocked again as a Ralift sublight missile exploded against her energy screen.
“Energy screen is down to 68 percent,” reported Lower Lord Malben. “We can’t take much more of this.”
On another screen, the Shari battlecruiser Cromd was under heavy attack. Several Ralift sixty-megaton warheads exploded against the ship’s energy shield. Moments later over twenty heavy energy beams struck the shield; all focused on a small area. One beam and then two penetrated, cutting deep into the hull of the ship. A brilliant explosion suddenly tore the hull open, hurling debris away from the vessel. Secondary explosions began to shake the battlecruiser and then it blew apart.
“One of those beams penetrated to Engineering,” reported Lower Lord Malben in dismay. “They never stood a chance.”
High Lord Droll let out a frustrated breath. “Order the withdrawal. We will rendezvous in the Micron System.” Looking at the tactical display, he could see green icons representing Shari ships flaring up and vanishing in growing numbers. The same couldn’t be said of the red icons representing the Ralift fleet. His fleet was defeated.
“Message sent to all ships,” reported the communications officer.
“All ships to implement withdrawal immediately,” ordered Droll. He looked over at the helm and navigation officer. “Get us out of here!”
Moments later Droll felt a wrenching sensation as the Dark Victory opened up a spatial vortex and made the jump into hyperspace. Leaning back in his command chair he felt the blood draining from his face as he thought of the consequences of having left Jalab Four. The thirty-eight million inhabitants were now at the mercy of the Ralift and the AIs.
-
Nest Lord Creesth watched in satisfaction as the Shari fleet fled the scene of the battle. “They flee,” he said, looking over at Second Nest Lord Albion. “They have grown soft since the AIs left this section of the galaxy.”
“Their weapons are only slightly weaker than ours. We lost three battlecruisers and nine armed escorts.”
“What of the Shari?”
“Fourteen battlecruisers confirmed destroyed and thirty-two of their escort cruisers. They also demonstrated their hyperdrives have been updated as they jumped from inside the planet’s gravity well.”
“It’s unfortunate the majority of their fleet escaped. It will only delay their ultimate destruction.” Nest Lord Creesth felt certain the Shari would continue to resist his fleet as it moved deeper into their empire. In time, his fleet would reach the Rylus Cluster where the supposed Dyson Sphere was located. The AIs were determined to conquer the cluster and take the Dyson Sphere for themselves.
“Fleet is moving into orbit in preparation for nuclear bombardment,” reported Albion. “The orbiting space station has also been destroyed as well as all the vessels docked to it. Weapons fire has also eliminated the weak defense grid, which surrounded the planet. Should we begin the bombardment?”
“Do so,” ordered Creesth. “The sooner this system is annihilated, the sooner we can move on to the next target.”
-
From the orbiting Ralift ships, missile hatches slid open and nuclear missiles began falling toward Jalab Four. Over the capital city, a nuclear warhead detonated. In moments a towering mushroom cloud rose up as the blast incinerated every living being within a kilometer of the explosion. The blast wave radiated outward, knocking down buildings and throwing vehicles high into the air. Two kilometers away from the blast the heat burned away flesh and sucked the air away. Across the city, multitudes of Shari died where they stood or in their homes. A second and then a third nuclear warhead detonated above the city, turning the largest metropolitan center on the planet into a raging inferno.
Across the planet, the missiles continued to fall. Ash, smoke, and pollutants rose up into the atmosphere, blotting out the sun turning day into night. From space, the bright flashes of nuclear expl
osions marked the death of the planet. For nearly an hour the missiles continued to fall until not a single structure built by the Shari still stood. The planet had become a barren wasteland.
-
“The planet has been annihilated,” reported AG-337-MMB, the science AI. “It will be centuries before life appears there once more.”
The Command AI was silent as it gazed upon the death of a world. Throughout this entire quadrant, every inhabited Shari world would meet this same fate. It would be a message to the Shari Grand Council to surrender and return control of their empire to their masters, the AIs.
“The other two Ralift fleets should be entering Shari space shortly,” reported VR-634-ORL from Tactical. Two other fleets of four thousand Ralift ships each would be entering the empire with their own set of targets.
“Contact Nest Lord Creesth,” ordered the Command AI. “It is time for us to go to our next destination.” If all went as planned in a few months’ time the AIs would once more control all of their former empire. At this very moment on the far side of Human space, the Borzon were launching an all out attack on the Human Federation of Worlds. The first galactic war had begun.
Chapter Two
Admiral Race Tolsen had been summoned to Earth to meet with Fleet Admiral Nagumo. Nagumo was the highest ranking fleet officer in the Federation. As Race entered the Fleet Admiral’s office aboard the Federation fleet flagship Luna, Race couldn’t help but wonder what the meeting was about. Race had been visiting his parents on Ceres. Thinking about Ceres, he felt a shudder go through his body. Months back nearly the entire population of the planetoid vanished. Not only that but a large group of people had disappeared from New Tellus as well. Rumors were rampant that Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong was somehow involved. However, that was impossible as Jeremy was in the Triangulum Galaxy with no way to return home. His parents confided in Race that Governor Barnes and Admiral Kalen made an announcement that Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes was at Ceres and the entire population was needed to fight some obscure menace in a far away galaxy. Race felt his parents knew more but were not willing to confide in him. Whatever their reasons, he didn’t push it.
The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 2
