“Engage sublight drive at seventy percent,” Colonel Sheen ordered.
The StarStrike leaped forward as she accelerated. Her drives tubes were glowing a bright blue as they pushed the battle cruiser to a speed of over ten thousand kilometers per second. Down in engineering, Major Stent hovered over his engineering crew like a mother hen. The noise in the engineering area had changed to a slightly higher pitch as the power to the sublight engines was increased. His eyes swept knowingly over the controls and consoles, and he nodded to himself. The sublight engines were working flawlessly.
Ten minutes later, they had cleared the outer markers and put enough additional distance between them and New Providence to where a jump was relatively safe.
“Initiating first jump,” Colonel Sheen reported as the navigation officer entered the FTL coordinates. “Jump in twenty seconds.”
A blue-white vortex formed in front of the StarStrike. The battle cruiser entered the vortex and vanished. They were on their way to Tellus to find out their fate and to warn the human race that they might be at war.
-
Hedon was on Maken visiting his brother and his brother’s wife. After a very thorough debriefing at Fleet Command on Tellus, Hedon had been told to take a two-week leave while the fleet admirals and the civilian government of the Federation decided how best to respond to the Hocklyn threat. The briefing had been long and extremely detailed.
The politicians had demanded to know if there was anything that could have been done to prevent the Hocklyns from breaking off negotiations. One of the main sticking points was why Admiral Streth had not been in the conference room when Senator Jacksom gave away the spatial locations of all four of the main colony worlds. When the debriefing was over, Hedon left with a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t feel it had gone well. Several of the politicians were out to find a scapegoat, and they had already decided that Hedon fit the bill nicely.
Hedon and his brother were currently out at their favorite lake doing some fishing. Hedon found fishing to be extremely relaxing, and he loved the sport. It was just so seldom that he ever got to go anymore with his fleet duties taking up so much of his time.
“There are a lot of rumors going around about you and your fleet,” Taylor commented as he made a long cast, placing his lure just beneath a small overhanging branch next to the shore. It looked like a good place for a fish to be lurking.
“I’m not surprised,” Hedon replied as he slowly reeled his line in. He moved the tip of his rod up and down slightly so his lure would mimic a live bait fish. “There will probably be a lot more rumors floating around during the next few weeks.”
Taylor jiggled the tip of his rod slightly, making his top water lure bob and move slightly beneath the overhang. To a fish feeding in the depths, it would look like a large insect had jumped into the water and was trying to get safely back to the shore. “A marine friend of mine stationed on New Providence sent me a message that two of your fleet’s light cruisers are in the repair bays of the shipyard. He said they had been heavily damaged and had obviously been in some type of space battle.”
Hedon paused for a moment and looked over at his brother. Taylor was slightly slimmer and six years younger than Hedon. “That information is supposed to be classified. Your friend had better watch it. That information is extremely sensitive and shouldn’t be out.”
“So two of your cruisers were in a space battle,” Taylor continued with an I gotcha grin. “What happened?”
Hedon was silent for a long moment, his fishing momentarily forgotten. “Admiral Kinseth figured you would be asking. He gave me permission to tell you some of what happened, but you can’t mention it to Lendle or anyone else. If you do, your career will be over. Do you still want to know?”
Taylor hesitated for a brief moment. The marines were his life. Both Lendle and he had dedicated themselves to the service. But this was his older brother. “Yes, I need to know.”
Hedon reeled his line in and laid his rod down on the grassy bank. He sat down and picking up a small stone, tossed it in the water watching the ripples spread as it bounced. Taylor reeled in his line and came over and sat down next to him. For the next hour, Hedon told his brother what had happened with the Hocklyns and what the possible ramifications could be.
“Interstellar war!” Taylor breathed his gaze looking out over the calm water. “We finally find intelligent life and they attack us.”
“Unfortunately, they know where our four main colony worlds are, and we know very little about them other than they are highly aggressive,” Hedon added worriedly. “We aren’t in a very good tactical situation. Right now the Hocklyns hold all the cards.”
“Is there any chance this could have been a misunderstanding?” asked Taylor, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. “Are you certain the Hocklyns pose that big of a threat to the Federation?”
“Looking back at it now, there is no doubt that they are a danger. The whole trade routine was a ruse to get the spatial locations of our worlds. Once they had those, they attacked our warships hoping to gather more information. I don’t believe they would have acted that way if they didn’t have the fleet to back them up. No, the Hocklyns are coming, and we better be ready. They wanted the location of our worlds, and that’s exactly what they got.”
“All of our colony worlds have a defensive system around them,” Taylor reminded Hedon.
“One hundred and some odd defensive satellites won’t be enough to stop the Hocklyns,” said Hedon, grimacing and shaking his head sadly. “Those systems were designed to protect the planets against a small attack, not against a fleet. Plus, they’re an extremely old system. I doubt if all the satellites are still functional.”
“I still can’t believe we even built them,” continued Taylor watching a large snow-white bird fly low over the lake. He didn’t think the defensive satellites were even checked anymore. The colonies were more dependent on the fleet to protect them nowadays.
“The civilian government built the original defensive systems to make the colony worlds feel safer in the early years to help encourage colonization. For years, everyone was nervous about a first contact situation. Everyone expected to discover aliens at the next star system the fleet explored. When it never occurred, the fear began to abate. That’s why the systems are extremely basic. A few missile platforms and railgun satellites.”
“They might have to be upgraded considerably,” spoke Taylor wondering how many of them were still functional and how many would actually be needed to adequately defend a planet.
“They will be,” responded Hedon, looking across the lake. It seemed so calm and peaceful here. He let out a heavy sigh, wishing he could spend more time with his brother and Lendle.
“I wonder how the civilian government is going to respond to all of this?” asked Taylor, trying to imagine the discussions going on about the Hocklyns. He saw the white bird dive down and come back up with a small fish in its beak. “You’re not going to lose your Fleet Command over this, are you?”
“I hope not,” replied Hedon, letting a little frustration enter his voice. “I should know in a few more days.”
“They won’t dare do anything to you,” Taylor spoke with assurance. “You’re too valuable as a Fleet Commander.”
“Let’s go back to fishing,” urged Hedon, standing back up. “We can talk more about this later.” He picked up his rod and cast his lure back out on the water. Moments later, he saw his brother do the same.
-
Hedon was sitting out on the front porch of his brother’s cabin. His brother had purchased a small two-bedroom cabin on the shores of the lake to use when he and Lendle could manage an extended leave together. They were both based at the large marine training base on Maken and lived together on the base. The cabin made a nice relaxing get away, and Hedon was extremely grateful that they had it. Looking across the small lake, he watched as the sun began to sink beneath the distant horizon. The few small white clouds in the sky took
on a dim reddish glow from the sun’s last fading rays of light.
“I like to watch the sunsets,” Lendle spoke softly as she stepped out on the porch smiling at Hedon. “It seems so peaceful out here. I enjoy the quiet and watching the occasional birds that nest around the lake.”
Hedon smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “Taylor and you made a good decision in buying this cabin. It’s nice to be able to get away from the hectic pace we live in every day.”
Lendle sat down in the chair next to Hedon. Lendle was trim and fit from her years in the marines. She was a captain in charge of teaching tactics to potential officer candidates at the base. Perhaps in a few more years, she would be ready to settle down and have a child or two. Hedon wouldn’t mind a few nieces or nephews.
“Supper tonight was great. I don’t know when the last time was that I ate so much. You’re a fantastic cook!”
Lendle smiled. She liked to cook, and the fish that Taylor and Hedon had brought back had made a perfect meal. “I’m glad you could come visit us. We don’t see one another often enough. I know your brother loves the time the two of you spend together.”
“I wish we could do this more often,” replied Hedon, enjoying just being able to relax and not worry about anything for a short while.
Taylor came out on the porch and sat down across from the other two. “I just got off the phone with General Matheson. Once we’re through with our leave, we are to report to Tellus for a briefing. We’re being transferred to New Providence for ninety days to step up their marine training program.”
“New Providence!” Lendle exclaimed, her dark eyes widening in surprise. “Why New Providence?”
“It was a special request from Admiral Flaxen. He wants the marines under his command to go through an intense sixty-day retraining course. He wants them prepared for actual combat, particularly his officers. He asked specifically for us.”
Lendle looked over at Hedon speculatively. She suspected this had something to do with why the StarStrike had returned unexpectedly to the Tellus System. She knew better than to ask. If Hedon wanted to talk about it, he would. “At least we have this time together. I’m planning something special in the morning for breakfast.”
Hedon nodded and didn’t add anything. Looking back at the last rays of the setting sun, he wondered what Amanda was doing. His second in command had gone to Aquaria to see her parents. He hoped she was enjoying her time away from the StarStrike.
-
Amanda and her father were beneath the ocean diving on a small reef near their home. They both held small diving lights and were watching the brightly colored schools of small fish that were swimming beneath them. Her father gestured and pointed his light off to the side. A large reef shark was gliding smoothly through the water. It was a good ten meters in length. Reef sharks were very docile and not a threat. Amanda felt a thrill at being in the water so close to such a majestic creature.
For another thirty minutes, the two continued to swim along the reef and then her father gestured toward his dive watch indicating that it was time to go back up. The two slowly ascended and upon reaching the surface, climbed into the small boat that was anchored there.
“That was great!” spoke Amanda grinning at her father. “It’s been years since I’ve seen a reef shark that large.”
“That one’s been hanging around this reef all summer,” her father replied with a satisfied smile. It wasn’t often he got to dive with his daughter anymore. Her career kept her visits brief and far between.
Amanda nodded her head in understanding. A reef shark was territorial, and this one had evidently picked this reef as its personal hunting grounds. The large shark had a small mouth and fed primarily on small fish.
“I’m just glad to be able to come home for a few days. It will be nice to spend some quality time with you and Mom.”
“Your mother’s preparing a special meal for tonight,” her father replied grinning. “She has been planning this ever since you called and told us you were coming home.”
Amanda could already feel hunger pangs. The food on the StarStrike was good, but it couldn’t compare to her mother’s home cooking.
-
Later that night, Amanda lay on her bed thinking about the future. She wished her parents lived on Tellus. The home system was so well defended that they would be safe there. Aquaria had its orbital defense satellites, but they were so antiquated she doubted that they would do any good. It would be up to the fleet to defend Aquaria. At least there was a shipyard in orbit, and it was heavily armed. There were normally a number of fleet vessels in the system going to and from the shipyard.
Amanda wondered how she could go about suggesting to her father that he should strengthen the large basement beneath the house and stock it with emergency supplies. She knew that she couldn’t mention anything about the Hocklyn threat to her father. Perhaps the best thing to do was to go purchase everything that her mom and dad would need to survive in case of an attack and put it in a storage building in town. When the government finally announced the Hocklyn threat, she could send them a message so they could go pick it up.
There was no doubt that when the government made their announcement of what had happened with the Hocklyns, there would be panic buying and it might become difficult or next to impossible to find needed supplies. One thing she would include were several military style heavy caliber assault rifles and plenty of ammunition. Her father was an avid hunter and wouldn’t have a problem handling the heavier weapons. He had also served in the marines for a few years when he was younger. She had a friend in town that could get the weapons she wanted with no questions asked.
-
Hedon was walking down the central corridor of Fleet Command on Tellus. Two heavily armed marines followed close behind. He had been called to Fleet Command for a final decision from Admiral Kinseth on whether he would keep his command or be busted down to a desk job. Hedon had no idea what the decision might be. He just hoped he would be allowed to remain on the StarStrike. A desk job was not something he saw or wanted in his future.
In his three days of debriefing, there had been three admirals and four civilian senators asking the questions. Some of the questioning had been extremely pointed, with one of the senators demanding to know if Hedon had attempted to start a war with an unknown race on purpose. Hedon had politely pointed out that Senator Jacksom had been in charge of the negotiations, and it had been Senator Jacksom that had revealed the locations of the four colony systems. That had shut the senator up, but there was no doubt in Hedon’s mind that nothing he could say could convince that particular senator that Senator Jacksom’s lack of discretion had caused the incident with the Hocklyn ship. One of the other senators had also been highly critical of Hedon’s handling of this first contact situation.
Hedon came to a stop in front of a large heavy door where two more marines were standing guard. One of the guards stepped over and opened the door, indicating for Hedon to enter. Going inside, he saw Admiral Kinseth sitting behind a large desk. Hedon instantly came to attention.
“At ease Admiral,” Admiral Kinseth said standing up. He indicated for the marines to leave so he could speak to Admiral Streth alone.
“It’s been a tough two weeks Admiral,” began Kinseth, motioning for Hedon to take a seat in front of the desk. “Several of the senators wanted your head, but I managed to convince them that we couldn’t remove one of our best admirals if this comes down to a shooting war.”
Hedon nodded, relieved that he was going to keep his command. “So what has the Federation government decided? Are we to prepare for war?”
“It took a lot of convincing,” Admiral Kinseth said, sitting back down. “There will be a two-pronged approach to this situation with the Hocklyns. An unarmed diplomatic ship will be stationed in each of the four colony systems. Each diplomatic ship will have a destroyer as an escort. If and when the Hocklyns show up, the civilian ship will contact them and try to initiate new negotiati
ons.”
“I don’t think that will work,” commented Hedon, shaking his head in doubt and recalling how viciously the Hocklyns had attacked the cruisers. “I don’t think these Hocklyns want to talk. Their entire trade routine was a ruse. From the ferocity of their attack, I believe this is a race bent on conquest, and we’re next.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” admitted Admiral Kinseth, nodding his head in agreement. “That’s why I’m taking the following steps. All battle cruisers and battle carriers are putting into the shipyards for updating. We have a new composite armor that will be placed over the more vulnerable parts of a battle cruiser’s hull. We are also strengthening the energy shields with a new shield generator developed by our R&D department. We have had it for a few years, but didn’t see the need to install it in our ships until now.”
“How long will this take?” Hedon asked worriedly. He didn’t like the thought of all their first line ships being in the yards at the same time.
“Not long; less than two weeks. The StarStrike has already been updated. I didn’t see any reason not to update your ship while she was here. We are also reactivating all the old Monarch Class Cruisers that were mothballed ten years ago. They will be fully updated with modern weapons, armor, and shields.”
Hedon recalled those old cruisers. They were larger than a light cruiser and more heavily armored. “Those ships have been inactive for quite some time. Will they be that easy to reactivate?”
“There are twelve of them,” replied Kinseth opening a folder on his desk and glancing at it. “My yard people tell me it will take two to four months to modernize them and bring them back fully to active service. Those old cruisers will give us quite a bit more firepower if we need it.”
Admiral Streth was quiet for a moment as he watched Admiral Kinseth. He could see the worry in the admiral’s eyes. “I hope we have that much time.”
“So do I,” Kinseth replied with a serious look on his face. “We will be strengthening the old orbital defenses also. I just hope it will be enough.”
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 9
