The Lost Fleet Box Set, page 145
part #1 of The Lost Fleet Series
“All destroyed,” reported Ariel as her dark eyes focused on Jeremy. “They did manage to take out over twenty-four hundred Simulin warships.”
“How did they do that?”
Ariel explained about the AI ships and their suicidal hyperjumps.
“What about the Command AI?” Jeremy over the years since arriving in the Triangulum Galaxy had come to consider it almost Human, particularly in its desire to make up for the atrocities carried out by its kind in the Milky Way Galaxy.
“Gone,” answered Ariel, shaking her head. “There are no survivors from Borton.”
The Avenger shook violently, drawing Jeremy’s attention back to the battle at hand. The fleet had withdrawn to the outer edges of the defense grid. “What are the Simulins doing?” He had no time to think about Borton and the tragic losses suffered there. He had a battle to fight.
“They’ve spread out and have encircled Gaia,” answered Kelsey. “The Dominator and Distant Horizon are jumping from one location to the next engaging Simulin ships, but the Simulins are refusing to bunch up. It almost seems as if they’re willing to take the losses as long as they can kill the rest of us.”
“Jeremy, the Clan Protector,” Ariel said, drawing his attention to one of the main viewscreens.
-
“Continuous fire all weapons,” growled Grayseth as the Simulins encircled the shipyard. He had eighty-nine warships including three battleships under his command.
“Enemy are closing,” warned Ganol, Grayseth’s second in command.
The Warrior’s Pride suddenly took a jarring hit and warning alarms began sounding.
“Energy beam strike to the outer hull,” reported the damage control officer. “We’re venting atmosphere; I’ve sealed off the damaged compartments.”
“The Clan Protector is launching all of its fighters and bombers,” Ganlon reported as several hundred small green icons appeared around the shipyard.
“Daelthon sends forth the small ships to harass the Simulins,” Grayseth said proud of his clan brother.
“The hunt grows close,” warned Ganlon as more Simulin ships closed on Grayseth’s forces.
Grayseth nodded his understanding. There were one hundred and twenty particle beam satellites around the shipyard as well as four Type Two battlestations. The Clan Protector was also very heavily armed.
“We fight with honor!” Grayseth roared as he watched one of his cruisers vanish in nuclear flame on one of the viewscreens.
“Daelthon has activated his weapons,” Ganlon pointed out.
On the viewscreen particle beams, power beams, and even a few ion cannons struck at the enemy. The hatches on two hundred and twenty missile tubes slid open, and Devastator Three and antimatter missiles began launching in sprint mode. If the Simulins wanted to destroy the station, it was going to be costly.
-
In space, the battle for the Clan Protector heated up. Grayseth’s warships stubbornly clung to their defensive positions as they were battered by the numerically superior Simulin fleet. The ships were firing every weapon they possessed trying to turn back the incoming enemy. From the Type Two battlestations, particle beams and power beams lashed out at the Simulins. There was no doubt to the crews on the four stations that their lives were forfeit. Missile hatches slid open. They intended to launch every missile in their possession before the stations were destroyed.
The advancing Simulin fleet reeled from the devastating attack. Particle beam fire slammed into the central section of a Simulin battlecruiser, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris into space. More explosions rattled the ship and then a Devastator Three missile arrived, turning the vessel into fiery wreckage.
The stern of an escort cruiser was blown off by a missile strike and then power beams riddled the vessel causing it to explode.
An antimatter missile struck the bow of a Simulin battlecruiser, destroying all six energy weapon spires. Moments later two Devastator Three missiles arrived, turning the damaged vessel into glowing gas and plasma.
All across the advancing Simulin fleet destruction was being handed out. Unfortunately, due to the numbers, it was not enough.
Simulin energy weapons fire struck one of the Carethian battleships. The Clan Victory seemed to keel over to its starboard side as jarring explosions tore open its hull. Emergency alarms sounded, and the crew rushed toward the damaged section to initiate repairs. More energy beams tore through the weakening energy shield opening up compartment after compartment. The commander of the ship, realizing his vessel was fatally wounded, turned the ship toward the nearest Simulin battlecruiser and activated his sublight drive at full power. Moments later the Carethian battleship slammed into the energy shield of its target. In a blinding flash of light, both ships died.
-
“We’ve lost the Clan Victory,” reported Ganlon in dismay. “Commander Taseth rammed one of the Simulin battlecruisers even as his ship was dying around him.”
“He died with honor,” Grayseth rumbled. “He served his clan well. Let Taseth be an example to all of us.”
“We’re losing ships rapidly,” Ganlon continued. “Many warriors are meeting their honor in battle.”
“Too many,” responded Grayseth as he watched the Carethian battlecruiser Crimson Clan die on one of the viewscreens. “Pull our ships back closer to the Clan Protector. We must form a barrier between it and the Simulins.”
-
The fury of the battle continued to grow. A Type Two battlestation suddenly exploded, sending scattering debris into the side of a Carethian cruiser destroying it. A Simulin antimatter missile managed to penetrate the protective energy shield of the Clan Protector, destroying two of its construction bays and a repair bay. A second Type Two battlestation died as multiple Simulin energy beams tore through its energy shield.
-
“I have a message from Daelthon,” the communications officer reported. “He is recommending we fall back to Gaia.”
“No!” roared Grayseth, his large eyes widening. He had known Daelthon since they were cubs. “We will not let the Clan Protector fall!”
“We just lost the battlecruisers Balton and Creston,” Ganlon said with deep concern. “We won’t last much longer. There’re just too many Simulins.”
On one of the viewscreens, Grayseth watched as a number of Simulin energy beams struck the Clan Protector, ripping open huge glowing gashes in its hull.
“The fighters and bombers?”
“Destroyed,” replied Ganlon dejectedly “The defensive fire from the Simulins was too much for them.”
On the viewscreen, a huge explosion suddenly tore through the Clan Protector as another Simulin antimatter missile detonated inside a repair bay. The entire station began shaking violently and then began to break up.
“Message from Daelthon,” cried out Communications. “He says his honor is your honor.”
Grayseth watched in horror as hundreds of Simulin antimatter missiles arrived, blowing apart the broken segments of the Clan Protector. Where the Clan Protector had resided only moments before an inferno of released antimatter energy now existed.
Grayseth’s shoulders drooped as he realized his oldest friend and clan brother had just perished along with the entire crew of the station. Daelthon had been so proud of what he had accomplished with the Clan Protector.
“Pull us back to the defense grid,” ordered Grayseth. He knew the Simulins would now be turning their full attention to what was left of his fleet. He would be fortunate if any of his ships reached the safety of the grid.
-
Jeremy had watched the entire horrific battle. He leaned back in his command chair, not wanting to believe the Clan Protector was no more.
“Malith!” cried out Kelsey, knowing her Bear friend had just died.
“Grayseth’s withdrawing back to the defense grid,” Kevin said, his eyes focused on the fleeing green icons trying to escape the clutches of the Simulin fleet.
Kevin took a deep breath, Grayseth’s fleet was surrounded. He watched in anguish as one after another of the friendly green icons blinked out. After a few minutes of heavy fighting, eighteen Carethian ships made it safely back to the defense grid, including Grayseth’s flagship.
“The Warrior’s Pride has suffered heavy damage,” reported Angela, her face stricken with grief after seeing the Clan Protector destroyed along with the loss of Malith. She was just thankful Karalle was down on Gaia with her family.
“Jeremy, the Simulins are continuing to close with the defense grid,” reported Kevin. “Over half of their firepower is targeting the battlestations and the particle beam satellites!”
-
In space, the Simulins continued to close their noose around the planet. Ship after defending ship was blown apart as well as hundreds of particle beam satellites. The Type Two battlestations were targeted and in the space of ten minutes, twenty-four of them were annihilated.
-
On the Star Defender, Admiral Sithe felt a sharp pain in his ribs as he was flung against the safety harness holding him securely in his command chair.
“We’ve lost our bow particle beam cannons,” Commander Buckley reported as she scanned the damage control console. “We have fires in six compartments and over a dozen more open to space.”
The ship shook again and the lights dimmed. The smell of smoke was evident in the air.
“We’ve just lost the Aegina and the Rashal,” Lieutenant Calydon reported, his eyes shifting to the admiral. “We’ve lost most of the fleet, sir.”
Admiral Sithe nodded his understating. They had come to the Triangulum Galaxy to save and support the Lost Fleets. Now it looked like they were all going to make the ultimate sacrifice. “All ships, continuous fire. We’re going to take as many of them with us as we can.”
The ship suddenly shook violently and in the distance, Admiral Sithe thought he could hear explosions.
“Energy shield is down,” yelled Commander Buckley, her face turning pale.
“It’s been an honor, Commander,” Admiral Sithe said just as a searing wave of heat flashed through the Command Center, annihilating everything in its path.
-
“The Star Defender is down,” reported Kevin, his face turning ashen. “The entire New Providence fleet has been wiped out.”
Jeremy felt his heart skip a beat. Admiral Sithe had been a fine admiral. Shifting his gaze to the tactical display, he saw the Dominator and the Distant Horizon were still jumping from location to location engaging the Simulins ships and then jumping away before a large force could be sent against them. Between the two Jeremy guessed they had already taken out over a thousand Simulins warships.
“How many Simulin ships are left?”
“The ones from the attack on Borton have arrived,” Kelsey said as more red threat icons began appearing on the nearby tactical display.
“Over seventeen thousand,” Ariel answered. “Even with the defense grid, the Dominator, and the Distant Horizon, we’re just not destroying them fast enough.”
Even as Jeremy watched, a fifteen-hundred-meter AI sphere jumped inside a tightly grouped force of Simulin ships. In a blinding explosion, the AIs set off all of their antimatter weapons, wiping out over eighty Simulin warships.
Jeremy grimaced at the sacrifice. For the most part the Simulins were staying spread out, ensuring those types of suicidal jumps couldn’t be made. He also knew the main reason for their fleet being so dispersed was so the Distant Horizon and the Dominator couldn’t use their energy siphoning fields against the Simulins. So far that strategy was working.
“AIs have reformed their fleet to give maximum coverage to all of our other ships,” Kelsey reported with anguish in her voice. “They’re taking massive losses. Over forty of the fifteen-hundred-meter AI spheres have been destroyed in the last five minutes.”
Jeremy looked at the viewscreens. The space around Gaia seemed to be on fire. Hundreds of nuclear and antimatter explosions were going off every few seconds. Energy weapons fire was prevalent on every viewscreen. On one screen, a nearby Alton battleship was being carved apart by Simulin energy beams. On another, an Indomitable Class battlestation was under heavy attack. In a powerful explosion it blew apart, sending debris raining down on the planet.
“Jeremy,” spoke Kelsey. “The Gaia has been disabled.”
“They’ve lost their energy shield,” Angela reported.
“Gaia is down,” Kevin said, shaken. The Gaia had been Rear Admiral Newman’s command. He had only been an admiral a short time.
“Simulins are beginning to target the planet,” Ariel reported, her dark eyes showing fear. “They’re launching thousands of nuclear-armed missiles.”
“The battlecarriers have launched all of their fighters,” Kelsey added as she spoke with Rear Admiral Akira over the fleet comm channel. “He’s recommending we send the bombers in while we still have them.”
“Make it so,” Jeremy ordered. “Have them target damaged Simulin vessels only.”
A sudden flash of white light filled the viewscreens of the Avenger. The ship shook violently as debris impacted the ship’s energy shield.
“What was that?” Jeremy knew it had to have been close by.
“The Cydonia Two,” Kevin said barely able to speak.
Jeremy felt stunned. The Cydonia Two was Alton Admiral Cleeteus’s flagship. Cleeteus had been with him from nearly the beginning.
“Jeremy, look at the main viewscreen!” cried out Kelsey in horror.
Shifting his gaze to the viewscreen, he saw a terrifying sight. Two mushroom clouds were rising up into the atmosphere of Gaia.
“Where did those hit?”
“In the countryside,” Kevin reported relieved. “A lot of missiles are starting to get through. General McGown reports that missile intercepts are becoming common. He has all of his Talon fighters up and covering the cities.”
Taking a deep breath, Jeremy looked at his command crew. They were all doing their jobs but fear was starting to show on their faces. Jeremy didn’t blame them. The Simulins were destroying everything.
-
Kazak stood in the Command Center of the Dominator. Since the battle had begun, he had lost twenty-eight of the AI warspheres assigned to him.
“The battle is lost,” Commander Zafron said as he watched a second Indomitable Class battlestation die under the weapons fire of hundreds of Simulin warships.
“We have suffered only minimal damage so far,” Kazak quickly pointed out.
“Even so our ship’s computer is predicting no chance for victory. Fleet Admiral Strong and his people will die here if they don’t jump out.”
“They can’t,” Leeda said. “They will never abandon their people on the planet.”
“Leeda’s right,” Commander Malen said. “Jeremy will never abandon Gaia as long as a single person is alive on the surface.”
Kazak studied the ship’s tactical display for several long seconds even as the ship fired its gravitonic cannons, tearing two more Simulin battlecruisers apart. “We need to force the Simulin ships to gather together and move away from the planet.”
“Impossible,” Zafron said, shaking his head. “They are intent on destroying the defending warships and the defense grid.”
“There may be a way,” Kazak said. “They don’t want any of Fleet Admiral Strong’s ships to escape or they might have to fight this battle again one day.”
“What good will it do to pull them away from the planet?” demanded Zafron. “Once the Simulins have defeated Admiral Strong they will turn their full force on us. Even the Dominator and the Distant Horizon can’t fight a fleet of that size. We would be destroyed and I will not allow that.”
“Give Kazak a chance,” suggested Commander Malen. “We’ve suffered very little damage so far. We can wait a little while longer.”
Kazak remained silent as he contacted Clarissa. She was the only one that might be able to help him carry out his plan. If this worked, perhaps he could save part of Fleet Admiral Strong’s fleet and even Gaia.
-
“He wants us to do what?” exclaimed Kathryn in disbelief. “There’s no way Jeremy will abandon Gaia.”
“Look at the tactical display,” Clarissa said, putting her hands on her hips. “In twenty more minutes it won’t matter as every ship Jeremy has will have been destroyed.”
Kathryn looked long and hard at Clarissa. Even as she did she felt the Distant Horizon shudder from antimatter strikes against the energy shield. “Do you trust Kazak? The lives of everyone in the fleet and upon Gaia might depend on this.”
Clarissa nodded her head. “Yes, I do. I also don’t believe we have any other choice.”
Kathryn let out a deep sigh. On one of the long-range viewscreens, she saw a strikecruiser explode as a Simulin antimatter missile blew it apart. “Contact Ariel and I’ll contact Jeremy.”
-
Jeremy looked over at Ariel feeling perplexed. “What good will this do?”
“I don’t know, but it might draw the Simulins away from the planet.”
Looking at the viewscreen, Jeremy could see where four more nukes had struck Gaia. He took in a deep breath. The defense grid was in shambles. His only effective forces were the AIs and Rear Admiral Akira’s battlecarriers. Both the Dominator and the Distant Horizon still had the majority of their AI warspheres with them. Perhaps if he joined forces with them, they could damage the Simulin fleet sufficiently to make it withdraw. Jeremy knew it was a long shot, but what else was there?
“Very well, we’ll do it. “All ships are to immediately leave the orbit of Gaia and rendezvous with the Dominator and the Distant Horizon.”
Jeremy had Kelsey send a message to Rear Admiral Akira instructing him to position his battlecarriers beneath one of the remaining Indomitable Class battlestations. His bombers were to continue their attacks against damaged Simulin ships while his fighters were to knock out any missiles targeting Gaia.
“Jeremy!” called out Kevin pointing to a viewscreen. Another nuclear cloud was rising above Gaia.”
“What’s that location?”
“Clements,” answered Kevin in a whisper.
