“Devastator missiles are armed,” Lieutenant Jacobs, the weapons chief, reported as eight green lights on his console flared up.
“All ships reporting ready to launch,” confirmed Colonel Sheen, glancing at the admiral. This would be the first time nuclear weapons had ever been used in war. She hoped they were making the right decision.
“Launch,” Hedon ordered with a grim and determined look upon his face. It was time to give the Hocklyns a taste of their own medicine.
On the hull of the StarStrike, hatch doors slid open, and eight deadly devastator missiles blasted out on pillars of orange-red fire toward the Hocklyn fleet. They were joined by twenty-four others from the other three large Federation warships.
“Impact in twelve seconds,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as his sensors and scanners tracked the nuclear missiles.
"Hocklyns are firing,” Colonel Sheen reported as the StarStrike shuddered slightly. “Energy beam hit, but the shields are holding.”
“Destroyer Anvil is down,” Lieutenant Stalls reported as the Anvil’s icon blossomed briefly on his screen and then died. “Hocklyns are trying to intercept our missiles.”
“Detonate the nukes,” ordered Hedon watching the main sensor and scanner screens above the plotting table, which showed the progress of the missiles. “Launch Shrike missiles!”
Immediately fourteen ten-kiloton nukes detonated just in front of the Hocklyn fleet, momentarily blinding their sensors. The other eighteen had been intercepted by Hocklyn defensive fire.
Before the Hocklyn’s sensors could clear, three hundred and twelve Shrike missiles arrived. Each missile contained a high explosive one-kiloton warhead. Across the Hocklyn formation, bright explosions rolled across the Hocklyn fleet, overloading and knocking down some of their powerful energy shields. Large numbers of Shrike missiles struck the unprotected hulls of the Hocklyn warships that had suffered shield failure. The missiles detonated, blasting huge smoldering holes in the hulls of their targets.
“All ships, fire at will,” Admiral Streth ordered determinedly. “Take us in, Colonel Sheen.”
Colonel Sheen gave instructions to the helm officer, and instantly the StarStrike leaped forward toward the center of the enemy fleet. The rest of First Fleet followed. She could feel her heart racing and adrenaline flowing. This was war. Space war on a scale she had never imagined.
Lasers suddenly lit up space as the Federation ships fired at the battered Hocklyn fleet. Railgun batteries began firing, and more missiles left their launch tubes. Space became filled with deadly ordnance as both fleets tried to destroy the other. Heavy railgun rounds from the Federation fleet began to impact the remaining Hocklyn energy screens. In moments, Hocklyn ships began to die.
-
On board the Hocklyn Dreadnaught Invincible, Commodore Anglert picked himself up off the floor. Smoke was prevalent in the War Room, and he could see First Leader Dreden lying against a console with his neck at a sharp angle. Anglert knew that the First Leader was dead.
“Report!” he roared, turning angrily toward Second Leader Kirel.
“The human nuclear strike was aimed to blind our sensors,” Kirel reported as he listened to the damage reports coming in over the com system. “They followed it up with a heavy missile strike before our sensors cleared. A number of ships had their energy screens knocked down and are reporting heavy damage. Two support cruisers have been destroyed, and the war cruiser Domination is reporting their primary power system is out. Their energy screen is currently down, and they are taking heavy damage from railgun and missile fire.”
“Engage the humans!” Anglert ordered heatedly his eyes turning red. “I want their ships destroyed!”
The Invincible shuddered again, and the lights in the War Room flickered. Several consoles erupted in bright showers of sparks. The ship began returning fire. On the main sensor screen, another human ship died. Anglert smiled to himself. He would teach these humans a lesson. Once he had eliminated their fleet, he would destroy the ten largest cities on their planet as an object lesson in why they should not have resisted the Hocklyn Slave Empire.
-
The Command Center shook violently as numerous missiles and railgun rounds struck the StarStrike’s energy screen. The Federation fleet and the Hocklyn fleet were becoming intermingled. In open space, Talon fighters and Hocklyn fighters fought in a swarming melee of death. Bright explosions were scattered throughout the battling fighter formation as fighters from both sides died.
“Status!” demanded Admiral Streth, holding on to the command console as the ship took another hit. He was trying to take stock of the rapidly changing tactical situation. The nuclear missile strike had given the Federation fleet a brief tactical advantage, which he was still trying to exploit.
“Light Cruiser Horizon is down,” Colonel Sheen replied with a strained look upon her face. So many ships and people were dying. The StarStrike shuddered violently, and Colonel Sheen looked over at the damage control board. “We’re starting to take hits. We have several compartments in vacuum, and a number of fires are being reported. Damage control teams are en route.”
Admiral Streth nodded. He had chosen a new target for the StarStrike. “Continue the attack. All weapons concentrate on their big ship. I want that command ship destroyed! Move us in closer.”
The StarStrike turned and moved toward the Invincible. Weapons fire between the two fleets grew even more intense. Defensive weapons fire from both fleets destroyed missile after missile in bright explosions. Screens lit up and flickered as railgun rounds and missiles impacted. Occasionally a missile or railgun round would penetrate, causing severe damage to the unfortunate ship. Neither side showed any mercy. Neither side asked for any. This was a fight to the death!
-
On board the Avenger, Ariel was pleading with Commander Standel. “Commander let Clarissa and I fight the ships. Working together we can destroy the Hocklyns.”
The Avenger shuddered violently as another railgun round penetrated her weakening screens. Looking at the sensor and scanner screens, Commander Standel could see that both fleets were now intermingled. Reaching a quick decision, he contacted Commander Wisthom on the Vindication. If something wasn’t done, they could still lose this battle. Perhaps Ariel and Clarissa were the answer.
-
Commodore Anglert stood on the command pedestal screaming out orders to the crew of the War Room. His right arm hung limply at his side, broken when he had been knocked violently against a console. Second Leader Kirel had been carried out unconscious only moments before. A heavy layer of smoke was in the air, making breathing difficult. Looking at the main sensor screen, he could see that more human ships were dying, but so were his.
Anglert knew he had badly underestimated the human’s capabilities. They had larger ships than expected. Their weapons were much improved over those reported above the mining moon. Even their screens seemed to be stronger. For once Anglert began to have serious doubts if they could win this battle. However, for a Hocklyn warrior there was no choice. Retreat was not an option. To retreat from battle would shame his family for generations. They would be stripped of all honor and all property. No, it was better to die in battle.
“All weapons concentrate fire on their flagship!” he roared. He could see the enemy flagship was on a course toward him. He would destroy it! If he could destroy their flagship, then victory might still be within his grasp, and he could save his honor.
-
The Vindication and Avenger had joined up and the two AIs now controlled all of the systems on the two ships. The ships dodged and flew in unbelievably sharp turns and in a dangerously close formation. They would turn sharply and accelerate then bring every weapon to bear on a single point on an enemy warship’s energy screen. Time after time, the two AIs performed the same maneuver, knocking the Hocklyn’s shields down and then pouring railgun rounds and missile fire into the enemy ship’s unprotected hull. In less than ten minutes, three Hocklyn support ships h
ad been eliminated by the two AIs.
In the Command Center of the Avenger, all Commander Standel and his crew could do was standby and watch in awe. Only now did Commander Standel realize just how dangerous and deadly Ariel and Clarissa could be.
-
Admiral Streth looked over at the damage control board. More lights were showing red or amber than green. The StarStrike had been heavily damaged, but the majority of her weapons were still functioning. Taking a deep breath, Admiral Streth knew that the battle could still go either way. He had to do something to shift the odds back in the Federation’s favor.
“The Crucible is down,” Colonel Sheen reported as she held on to the plotting table for support. “She rammed their last large cruiser before she died. We’ve also lost the cruisers Sundance and Archer as well as the destroyers Warden and Vigilance. Almost all other ships are reporting heavy to moderate damage except the Victory.”
“Tell the Victory and Admiral Flaxen to send in the bomber wings,” ordered Admiral Streth knowing he was sending most of those bomber crews to their deaths. The fire between the two fleets was just too intense for a bomber to survive for long. “We are going to need them if we’re going to win this.” Hedon closed his eyes, saying a brief prayer for those bomber crews and what he was asking them to do.
-
From the shipyard and the Victory one hundred and forty Anlon bombers and their fighter escorts flew toward the battle. Each Anlon bomber was equipped with four Shrike missiles. As they neared the battle, Hocklyn fighters tried to intercept but were stopped by determined Federation pilots in their Talons. Hocklyn fighter after fighter exploded in a fiery death. For every two Hocklyns that were destroyed, a Talon went with them.
The Hocklyns must have recognized this new threat as numerous missile interceptors were launched from their remaining ships. Bomber after bomber exploded in powerful fireballs as the missiles slammed home. Then it was the bombers' turn to extract vengeance for their fallen comrades. They hit the heavily damaged Hocklyn fleet, concentrating on the largest surviving warships. Even as the bombers launched their payloads, the Hocklyn point defense weapons continued to take their toll. The Anlon bombers had lost sixty-two of their number, but the surviving seventy-eight delivered 312 Shrike missiles to their targets. When they disengaged to return home, most of the surviving Hocklyn fleet had been turned into burning wreckage.
-
Commodore Anglert looked at the carnage around him. The War Room was a wreck and his fleet was gone. Only a few of the lighter units remained, and the humans were rapidly finishing them off. Fires lit up the War Room, and many of his fellow warriors were lying on the deck either dead or unconscious. Reaching forward, he punched in a command code on his command console. Two red buttons rose up. He pressed both and then stepped back. He would die. However, the humans had made a grave mistake. They had defeated his fleet, but now the Hocklyn’s masters would come and they would not be merciful.
Aboard the Invincible six nuclear devices detonated, blowing the flagship apart. Other explosions occurred across the Hocklyn fleet as more self-destruct devices were activated in dying ships.
-
Admiral Streth ordered his fleet to withdraw at flank speed. The bomber attack had worked. Around him, the Hocklyn fleet finished its dying in brilliant fireballs of nuclear destruction. Several unfortunate Federation ships were caught too close and damaged even further. The destroyer Oasis exploded as a large piece of wreckage from a Hocklyn ship impacted its hull.
“We won,” mumbled Colonel Sheen, looking at the carnage visible on the main viewscreen. Burning and glowing wreckage was scattered across space. Not a single Hocklyn ship remained intact. She doubted if they would be able to recover anything useful from the wreckage. Too many nukes had gone off.
“For now,” agreed Admiral Streth, gazing numbly at the screen. He knew that thousands of fleet personnel had just died and numerous others were injured. He felt a dull ache in the pit of his stomach at the deaths.
Turning toward Lieutenant Trask, he ordered, “Inform Fleet Command on Tellus that we have destroyed the Hocklyn fleet but have suffered heavy damage to First Fleet. Tell them we will not be able to withstand another attack of this magnitude.”
The heavily damaged Federation fleet pulled back close to the shipyard to await news from Fleet Command. Everyone wanted to know if this had been an isolated attack or if every colony world had been targeted at the same time. Inside the damaged ships, crewmembers raced to repair as many of their ship’s damaged systems as possible in case another attack was forth coming.
-
“What’s the fleet damage report look like?” asked Admiral Streth, looking over at a tired and worried Colonel Sheen. He knew it would be bad. He shuddered to think what the hull of the StarStrike must look like. His flagship had been hit heavily and would need some major yard time.
Colonel Sheen let out a deep breath. For the last hour, she had been talking to the commanders of the other surviving ships trying to get a damage assessment. While they had managed to take out the Hocklyn fleet, it had been a costly victory.
“We lost the Monarch heavy cruiser Crucible, the light cruisers Sundance, Archer, Horizon, and Defender. We also lost the destroyers Anvil, Oasis, Warden, and Vigilance.”
“What about the Talon and Anlon losses?” Hedon asked. He knew these would be quite heavy. There had been too much ordnance flying around during the battle.
“Not good,” answered Colonel Sheen, looking down at the reports on a computer screen. “We lost seventy-eight Talons and eighty-three of the Anlons. We have managed to recover twenty-two pilots who were able to eject.”
“What are our least damaged ships?”
“The Victory came through relatively unscathed. She stayed back conducting fighter and bomber operations. The Avenger and Vindication are also in good shape.”
“Yes, the Avenger and Vindication,” Admiral Streth repeated his eyes narrowing. “I need to talk to their commanders about some unorthodox tactics they resorted to.”
“You mean turning their ships over to the AIs?”
“Yes. Ariel and Clarissa were a deadly pair to the Hocklyns. From the battle assessment I have been doing, they were directly responsible for taking out four Hocklyn support vessels and heavily damaging two others.”
“Sir, I am receiving a message from Fleet Command on Tellus,” Lieutenant Trask reported. “I am transferring it over to you.”
Colonel Sheen watched as the admiral listened to the message. She had been waiting nervously for a report from Fleet Command. It had been weighing heavily on her mind whether the Hocklyns had attacked the other colonies as well. She prayed that her parents on Aquaria had come through this unharmed.
After listening to the message from Fleet Command, Admiral Streth made an announcement to the remaining fleet units of First Fleet. “I just received word from Fleet Command on Tellus that the Hocklyns launched simultaneous attacks on all four of our colony worlds. As of yet we don’t know what has happened in the other battles. Information should be available in the next few hours. I will keep you informed when we know more.”
Colonel Sheen momentarily felt weakness in her legs. The Hocklyns had attacked Aquaria also! God! She hoped her parents were okay. Amanda didn’t know what she would do if something happened to them. She forced herself to calm down. There was nothing she could do about it at the moment.
“Admiral Flaxen wants to know if you want to move some of our more heavily damaged ships into the bays to begin repairs,” Lieutenant Trask reported from Communications.
“I think we had better,” Admiral Streth responded. He knew that some of his ships were barely combat effective. In another battle, those ships would be lost quickly to enemy fire. “We don’t know when the Hocklyns will be back. Colonel Sheen sort our ships by severity of their damage. The shipyard has eight bays available we can use. Both of the construction bays are currently building two new light cruisers. If a ship is under sixty
percent combat effective, I want it in a bay.”
“That will only leave the StarStrike, Victory, Endeavor, Avenger, Vindication, and the destroyer Sword combat ready,” Amanda replied worriedly. She looked questioningly at the admiral. “It will be another two months before those two new light cruisers are finished.”
“I know,” Hedon replied evenly. “But unless our ships are repaired, we can’t handle another attack. We have to take the risk of putting them in the bays, even if it’s only for a short time.”
-
On board the Avenger, Teena Arcles was trying frantically to hear news of her brother on the Victory. So far she hadn’t been able to contact anyone who could tell her if her brother had survived the battle or not. She knew a lot of pilots had died.
“Don’t worry,” she heard a voice say and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure Karl survived. He’s too good of a pilot to let the Hocklyns take him out.” She looked back at Jacen and nodded her head.
Major Winfred walked over toward the two. He knew what they were talking about, and he had the casualty report on the pilots in his hand. He had requested it from the Victory.
“Lieutenant Arcles, I am happy to report that your brother survived the battle. He is currently back on the Victory helping to reorganize their air arm. We lost a lot of good pilots today but from my understanding, your brother’s squadron suffered the smallest amount of casualties and racked up the highest kill count. He did well in the battle.”
“Thank you, sir,” replied Teena, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Her brother had survived!
-
Several hours later, Admiral Streth was over on the shipyard meeting with Admiral Flaxen and his general staff. The news they had received from Fleet Command hadn’t been good. The other colonies had not done as well as they had. The fleet defending Aquaria had been forced to retreat to the shipyard and use its heavy weapons to finally destroy the Hocklyn fleet. Over half of the defending Federation fleet had been destroyed and the rest were severely damaged. Both of their Monarch cruisers had been lost in the battle.
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 17
