The Lost Fleet Box Set, page 143
part #1 of The Lost Fleet Series
“The hyperdrive chamber is located in a very secure area of the ship. The ship can be 80 percent disabled and still able to jump.”
“The stasis compartment?”
“There are emergency energy shields which protect the compartment from harm.”
Zafron frowned. “If I wait until my ship is 80 percent destroyed, the Dominator will be a wreck.”
“You have the repair nanites as well as the repair robots,” Jeremy pointed out. “You could still repair the ship. Worst case scenario you could go to Ornellia. Admiral Jackson is there, and he has some fleet repair ships. They could help repair the damage to the Dominator.”
“It would take some time,” Zafron said with doubt in his eyes. “Possibly several years without the use of a shipyard.”
“You also don’t have the intergalactic drive like the Distant Horizon,” Jeremy added. “If you leave us, you have nowhere to go.”
Zafron seemed to be undecided. “We have the designs for the drive. However, it will take considerable time to construct a functional one for the Dominator.”
Jeremy turned back to Kazak. “What if I placed one hundred AI warspheres under your command? If you combine their firepower to the Dominators would it make a difference?”
“Can I use the warspheres to protect the Dominator as needed?”
Jeremy hated the answer he was about to give, but he had no choice. “Yes.”
Zafron looked from Kazak and then back to Jeremy. “Sixty percent damage and I’m jumping out. Once outside the nebula I”ll set a course for Ornellia.
“What about the Humans and Altons on board?”
Commander Zafron stared long and hard at Commander Malen. “They may stay. Once all damage to the Dominator has been repaired, I will allow the Humans and Altons who are serving as crewmembers the choice of remaining on the ship or transferring over to Admiral Jackson’s vessels.”
“Who will be fighting the ship in the battle?”
Zafron hesitated and then answered. “Kazak. That’s what he was constructed for.”
Jeremy nodded. “Kazak, I’m assigning one hundred AI warspheres to your command. I’ll leave it up to you as to how they will be used.”
“One other thing,” Commander Zafron said. “I’ll be using the Originator AIs from the Distant Horizon as a command crew as they have neural implants which can be used to instantly carry out commands.”
“I’ll reassign the current command crew to other ships,” Jeremy replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes,” replied Zafron, his eyes shifting back to Commander Malen. “I would like Commander Malen to remain as she has combat experience. I will leave it up to you as to whether your wife returns to the ship or not. I would also like the Alton science ship that Bartoll and the other Originators are on to be sent to a place of safety.”
“That will be done,” promised Jeremy.
“I have calculated we can expect a Simulin attack in six to ten hours,” added Kazak. “One thing you should be aware of, Admiral: the Simulins know that both the Distant Horizon and the Dominator are in orbit above the planet. The only way they can achieve victory is to attack in overwhelming force. I expect an attack by at least ten thousand Simulin warships, most likely more.”
Jeremy felt his breath catch in his throat. He had been expecting it but to hear it put into words made him realize everything that was at risk. Everything they had built on Gaia, what the AIs had constructed at Borton, and even the Originators would all be in danger.
“I’ll be getting back to the Avenger,” Jeremy said. “Commander Malen, you will remain here on the Dominator. I’ll have Kelsey take your place on the Avenger until after this battle is over.”
“Yes, Admiral,” Commander Malen replied with a wolfish grin. “I’m anxious to see what the Dominator can do against the Simulin fleet.”
“You will be surprised,” Kazak said. “We did manage to upgrade the ship’s gravitonic cannons by nearly 60 percent from the weapons research that was done on the ship.”
-
Supreme High Commander Altrab gazed at the viewscreens in the Command Center of his flagship. Twenty-two thousand Simulin warships were assembled in the system waiting for his order to commence the attack. Ninety-six percent of all the warships the Simulins had were in that massive formation.
“The scout force has returned. They successfully penetrated the nebula,” reported High Commander Jarald. “They are downloading the scans of the organic and AI system.”
Altrab stepped closer to a holographic display, which was showing a three-dimensional image of the defenses. It was as he had feared. The defenses around the planet were massive, and there were more ships than he had expected. This battle would be costly, and there was no guarantee of victory.
“The enemy possesses two ships armed with the weapons of the ancient Sphere Builders,” Jarald pointed out. “One of the vessels is the ancient ship that destroyed our worlds; the other is the one that defeated our forces at Ornellia.”
“We’re fortunate then,” Altrab replied as he considered the ramifications of the damage those two vessels could cause to the attacking fleet. “It could have been more.” It would also be extremely satisfying to destroy the vessel that had ravaged his fleet at Ornellia.
Altrab spent some time with the ship’s battle computer working out a strategy to use based on the scans from the scouting force. Once he was satisfied he had a strategy that might lead to victory, he quickly assigned targets to the different task groups in the fleet. They would be attacking multiple targets, making it impossible for the two ships with the ancient weapons to be able to engage the entire fleet at once.
“We jump in twenty minutes,” Altrab said as his eyes took in his command crew. “There can only be Simulin.”
“Only Simulin,” they answered.
Altrab was satisfied. All that could be done had been. Now all that remained was the battle itself.
-
Jeremy watched as the last of the three patrol fleets exited hyperspace and proceeded to their spots in the fleet formation he was setting up. He had spoken with the Command AI, and both the Dominator and the Distant Horizon had been assigned one hundred AI warspheres. Thirty-two warspheres remained at Borton to aid in the protection of the facilities there. In addition there were four hundred and twenty-three of the big fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres. One hundred and fifty of these had been reassigned to Borton, and the rest had been placed under Jeremy’s command.
Overall he had eight hundred and seventy ships to defend the system. Sixty of those were light cruisers and seven were the older Monarch cruisers.
“All ships are reporting ready for combat,” Kelsey informed Jeremy. “Two Gaia class cruisers have exited the shipyard. They are battle ready but the crew’s quarters and some other nonessential areas still require work. All crewmembers have returned from Gaia and all ships are reporting full crew complements.”
“The crews on the Gaia class cruisers will just have to be uncomfortable for a few hours. I want all non-combat craft to jump into exit tunnel 1A and proceed to the second clear area. They are to remain there until summoned. Contact the Benson and have them fall back and rendezvous with the noncombatants. We’ll also send ten light cruisers and the Monarchs as escorts. Inform Commander Marshall he will have overall command of the task group. If we’re defeated, he’s to go to Ornellia and report to Admiral Jackson.”
“What about the battlecarriers?”
Jeremy thought over how best to use them. He had eighteen of the large ships. They were heavily armed but of more importance were all the fighters and bombers they had in their flight bays.
“Move them down to just below the defensive grid. Their fighters can intercept any missiles that get through and their bombers can be used to attack any damaged Simulin warship.”
Jeremy was about to say more when Angela came into the Command Center. She was dressed in her fleet uniform.
“Reporting for duty,” she said formerly.
“Angela!” Kelsey said, her eyes focusing on her longtime friend. “What are you doing here, and where’s Clair?”
“Clair’s safe,” answered Angela. “She’s with her nanny in one of the deep shelters designed for children. The best way I can protect her is to be here on the Avenger.”
Jeremy hesitated and then nodded his acceptance. “Take over Communications.”
Angela nodded and stepped over, relieving Lieutenant Lantz.
“The Benson has contacts appearing on their long-range sensors,” Kevin said as he transferred the information over to the tactical displays.
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair in alarm. There were so many red threat icons they appeared as a giant blob of red.
“Can you tell how many ships are in that formation?”
“Thousands,” answered Kevin grimly. “The sensors can’t determine how many.”
“Ariel?”
“I can only estimate,” she replied. “Somewhere between eighteen to twenty-four thousand.”
Kelsey stared in shock at the tactical screen, her mind numb at what was there.
Jeremy took in a sharp breath and he felt a knot form in his stomach. “All ships go to Condition Two. We’ll go to Condition One when the Simulins enter the nebula.” Jeremy looked over at Kevin meaningfully. They both knew what those numbers meant.
The Simulins must have called in all of their ships for this attack. Jeremy had expected a massive attack but nothing on this scale. He looked at a viewscreen showing Gaia. The green zone around the equator had been their home for years. Jeremy greatly feared that was about to be taken away from them. Looking over at Kelsey, he wondered if any of them would survive this battle.
-
On board the Distant Horizon, Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes stared in growing concern at the Simulin ships appearing on the tactical displays.
“Twenty-two thousand Simulin ships are in that formation,” Clarissa reported in a soft voice. “I have informed Ariel and Kazak so they can pass it on.”
The hatch to the Command Center opened and Kathryn was surprised to see Katie, Mikow, and Andram enter.
“We weren’t needed on the Dominator so we came over here,” Katie explained. “This just seemed like where we needed to be.”
Kathryn nodded, pleased to have them back in the Command Center. It had seemed empty without them. “Take your places. I believe you will find the setup here is very similar to the Dominator’s.”
She watched as the three took their places and then turned to Clarissa. Camlin was standing nearby as well.
“Camlin, I want you and the other Originator AIs to do all you can to keep the ship’s systems functioning during the battle. Clarissa, we’ve been assigned one hundred AI warspheres. I can’t coordinate such a force quick enough to be effective against the enemy we’ll be facing.”
“I can do it,” replied Clarissa confidently. “I’ve already been running battle simulations. Kazak is doing the same.”
Kathryn nodded. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Not in a battle as large as this one was going to be. “Very well. Clarissa, you have command of the Distant Horizon.”
Clarissa grinned. It was what she had been designed for in the far distant past. “We’re going to kill a lot of Simulins.”
-
On Gaia, Rear Admiral Susan Marks watched from her office window as the alarms sounded, sending all the cadets to the deep shelters. At the nearby spaceport, all the Talon fighters and bombers were readied. The Academy kept two full squadrons of fighters and two squadrons of bombers on hand for training purposes. Around the outskirts of the Academy, the defending laser turrets swung around until they were pointed upward. Hunter interceptor missile batteries did the same.
“We’re as ready as we’re going to be,” reported Captain Simpson, who was in charge of the defenses protecting the Academy. “As soon as the attack starts, we’ll launch the Talons. If we detect any inbound Conqueror Drones, the Anlons will be sent to engage.”
Susan nodded. They had a small Marine force at the spaceport as well as the energy shield that protected the Academy itself. Looking up toward space, she wished she were on the Retribution. She felt helpless trapped here at the Academy.
-
General McGown watched the viewscreens in his Command Center as the Marines at the three bases were dispersed across the planet. Shuttles were launching and returning as they delivered the Marines and their equipment to their assigned defensive positions. Most of the Marines were going to protect the five major cities. However, there were a few farming communities that needed to be protected as well.
“Talon and Anlon squadrons are on alert,” reported Colonel Jarrins. “We can launch at a moment’s notice.”
McGown nodded. He had just been informed of the size of the incoming attack. “I’m afraid some of the Simulins are going to get through our defenses. We may even be hit by a few nukes.”
“Our Marines are dug in and they have antiradiation drugs with them,” replied Jarrins.
“We may be facing thousands of Conqueror Drones. Perhaps tens of thousands. We have to keep them away from the cities.”
“We’ll do our best,” answered Jarrins. On one of the viewscreens, four Talon fighters took off to patrol above one of the Marine bases. “Our Marines are well trained, and they’ll do their jobs.”
General McGown took a deep breath as he looked at the tactical display. All the noncombat ships were entering hyperspace. That alone told him Fleet Admiral Strong expected the Simulins to be able to penetrate the defensive grid. McGown just hoped their time on Gaia wasn’t coming to an end. It was a beautiful world and had been their home since coming to the Triangulum Galaxy.
-
On the Avenger, Jeremy watched as the Simulins dropped out of hyperspace just short of the nebula. As their scout force did, they waited a few minutes and then re-entered hyperspace.
“All ships, go to Condition One. Combat is imminent, I repeat, combat is imminent.”
Jeremy could feel the tension ratcheting up in the Command Center. Ariel had told him Clarissa was reporting twenty-two thousand inbound Simulin warships. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and adrenaline beginning to flow. This would be the biggest battle he had fought since the one at the black hole when the Federation attacked the AIs. He well remembered how that one ended.
Looking over at Kelsey, he saw her smile. “We’ll get through this,” she said over the private channel Ariel had set up for them. “You always find a way to win.”
Jeremy shifted his gaze back to the tactical displays. They were empty for now, but shortly all of that would change. He was about to face a force intent on wiping out all of his ships and sterilizing the surface of Gaia. His eyes wandered over to another screen showing the Dominator. He wasn’t certain even the two ships he had armed with Originator weapons would be able to stop what was coming. One thing was certain: no matter what the outcome a lot of good people were going to die.
Chapter Eighteen
Jeremy shifted uneasily in his command chair as he waited for the arrival of the Simulins. His greatest concern at the moment was defending the Clan Protector. It orbited just in reach of the defense grid but far enough out to be in danger from incoming fire. Jeremy had assigned Grayseth the responsibility of defending the shipyard with his fleet of battlecruisers and cruisers. Grayseth also had his three battleships to add to the considerable firepower of the Clan Protector.
“Contacts!” called out Kevin as alarms began sounding. “Simulin fleet is emerging from hyperspace three point six billion kilometers out.”
On the tactical display, numerous red threat icons began appearing. Hundreds and then thousands of Simulin warships were emerging in the Gaia System. Jeremy watched as the Command Center came alive with intense activity as the crew prepared for battle. They knew their continued existence and that of Gaia depended on their actions in the next few hours.
Jeremy checked his fleet formations one more time. He had formed the fleet into separate task groups, each commanded by one of his admirals. Combat would be kept as close to the defensive grid as possible to allow the battlestations and particle beam satellites to add their firepower to the individual fleets. It would also allow each fleet admiral to call in bomber strikes from the battlecarriers as needed. The only exceptions were the special fleets of Rear Admiral Barnes and Commander Zafron. They would act independently, hitting the Simulins as hard as possible while Jeremy and the other admirals tried to keep the enemy away from Gaia.
“All ships, stand by,” Jeremy announced over the general communications channel. We’ll let the Simulins come to us.”
Jeremy knew he didn’t have the ships to meet the Simulins in open space away from Gaia. The battle would have to take place near the planet where he could use the defense grid to bolster the firepower of his fleet.
For several long minutes the Simulins stayed at their hyperspace dropout point and then they began jumping.
“We have inbound Simulin warships,” warned Kevin as alarms sounded. “There is also a major force heading for Borton.”
“Warn the Command AI,” ordered Jeremy. He had been concerned about the Simulins splitting their fleet, and that was exactly what they had done. It prevented his fleet from reinforcing Borton and the AI fleet from reinforcing the ships defending Gaia.
“Message sent,” confirmed Angela. “The Command AI has acknowledged.”
Jeremy watched the inbound red threat icons on the tactical displays. “Ariel, do whatever you have to in order to keep the Avenger fighting. We must stay in the battle for as long as possible.” Jeremy knew they would be fighting against nearly insurmountable odds. However, he intended to do everything in his power to protect the planet and the people on its surface.
“Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied softly. “I’ve moved four strikecruisers into position to support us. They will also be under my control.”
Jeremy nodded. Ariel had moved the strikecruisers without his permission but she was very good at space warfare and he would have expected no less. He had witnessed what she was capable of in the past.
