The Lost Fleet Box Set, page 150
part #1 of The Lost Fleet Series
“Our people are going to take some convincing to do this,” Admiral Kalen said. “We’re asking them to leave their homes and embark on a war the size of which we’ve never even contemplated.”
“I think I know just the man to convince them,” Governor Barnes said with an all-knowing smile.
Admiral Kalen nodded since he knew who the governor was talking about. “I’ll get in touch with former Fleet Admiral Streth. I think I can have him here in a little over two weeks.”
“Don’t forget Ambassador Tureen,” said Kathryn.
“He’s currently at New Tellus meeting with Admiral Nagumo over the Shari fiasco,” her father replied. “I’ll contact him today. It will only take him a day or two to get here.”
“You mentioned the Distant Horizon had been upgraded by these Originator AIs,” said Kalen.
“Look at the hologram,” Clarissa directed. She instantly projected an image of the new and updated exploration dreadnought.
Admiral Kalen only stared as he saw all the changes that had been made to the ship.
“The Distant Horizon by herself could defeat all of the combined fleets of the Federation,” Clarissa announced. “Those are the kind of weapons we’re going to need to defeat the Anti-Life.”
“Is there any chance I can go aboard the Distant Horizon?” asked Admiral Kalen with a glint in his eyes. He was dying to see the inside of the ship.
Kathryn grinned. “I think I can arrange a tour. Besides, there are some people on board the ship I want all of you to meet. However, before we do that I brought a guest along with me.”
“What!” exclaimed her father, looking around the conference room. There was no one else present. “I don’t understand.”
“Camlin,” Kathryn said with a mischievous grin. “You can reveal yourself now.”
Instantly the eight foot tall Originator AI appeared standing just behind Kathryn.
Both Admiral Kalen and Kathryn’s father stared open mouthed at the apparition that had just appeared in front of them.
“This is Camlin,” Kathryn said, introducing her. “She is an Originator AI and will answer any other questions you might have.”
“How did she just appear like that?” asked Admiral Kalen. “We don’t have any type of technology that can come even close to doing that.”
“It’s a minor piece of Originator tech,” Camlin answered. “I have listened to the discussions between the three of you. I am here to answer any worries or concerns you might have in moving to one of our Shrieels, or Dyson Spheres as you call them.”
Kathryn leaned back in her chair as both her father and Admiral Kalen began bombarding Camlin with questions. There was no doubt in her mind that both her father and the admiral were going to support her request to move the people of Ceres to a Dyson Sphere. Now she needed to speak to the Altons and the Carethians as they were a necessary part of what would be needed to fight a war against the Anti-Life.
-
Eight weeks later Kathryn was in the Command Center of the Distant Horizon watching as the massive Originator transport ships entered the swirling vortex inside the ten-kilometer accelerator ring. Ship after ship entered the vortex to begin their long journey to the Originator Communications and Transport Hub. It had taken longer than expected to make all the arrangements and keep all of their preparations a secret.
With a deep sigh, Kathryn thought back to the last six weeks. Her meeting with Ambassador Tureen had gone much better than expected, partially because Kelnor Mard had attended the meeting along with Camlin. Ambassador Tureen had listened patiently and then asked a few pointed questions. He was highly interested about how the Anti-Life had come into being and what caused the life extension pathogen that had wiped out the Originators.
“Our own experiments with nanites indicated grave consequences could result if their programming was tampered with,” he said after hearing how mechanical nanites had created the Anti-Life. “Soon after our experimentation began we implemented broad controls on how they could be used. What you have just told me about the Anti-Life only confirms we did the right thing.”
“As far as sending Altons to fight against the Anti-Life, I have to ask about access to Originator technology. I can well understand the hesitation about letting such technology loose in the Federation or other less developed civilizations. If Alton research scientists were to go on this mission would they be granted full access to Originator technology?”
“Only under supervision,” replied Camlin. “There would need to be an Originator or at the very least some of our AIs present during the research. They would not be blocking any research; they would be there to guide you.”
Ambassador Tureen nodded his head in understanding. “Trust must be developed first. The Altons best suited for this are at Astral in the City of Light. They are keenly involved in research and would be easy to entice if allowed access to such technology and research. We would also need Altons with a more aggressive tendency to operate the warships of the Originators. Fortunately we have a large population and while most of my people are nonaggressive, there are still a large number that will be suitable. I will need to discuss this with our ruling council.”
Seeing the concern on Kathryn’s face Ambassador Tureen smiled. “Don’t worry, Admiral Barnes; we will keep your secret.”
The meeting had ended shortly after that.
-
“How many Altons are on those ships?” asked Governor Barnes, standing next to Kathryn.
“Nearly two million,” replied Kathryn. “Many are family units and a surprisingly large number of research scientists. Nearly 90 percent of the Altons working at Astral elected to come.”
“What of the Human Marines based in the system; surely they know what’s occurring?”
Kathryn smiled. She was very pleased with what had happened there. “General Wesley is in charge of all the marines in the system. He was called in by the two chief research scientists, Garak Rath and Leental Malth. They explained to him what was going to happen and that he would not be able to communicate with his superiors until after the research scientists left. The Alton warships in the system would also not allow any Federation ships to enter the system until well after the scientists were gone. Rather surprisingly, General Wesley and twenty-two thousand of his Marines volunteered to come to the Communication and Transport Hub as well.”
“We were fortunate,” Clarissa said, folding her arms across her chest. “General Wesley is a fine officer and his Marines will help us in removing the Simulins from the Dyson Sphere vortex Control Centers.
Alarms suddenly began sounding on the sensor console as several more of the big Originator transport ships exited hyperspace just outside the stealth field. These were the ships from Careth carrying four hundred thousand Carethian volunteers. Malrez had not hesitated in sending more of his people to support Grayseth and Fleet Admiral Strong. Malrez had said it would be a great honor for his people to serve. The only request Malrez had made was to be allowed to broadcast videos of the battles Grayseth and Fleet Admiral Strong had been involved in. For the Bear clans of Careth, it would bring much honor to those with clan members who had gone to the Triangulum Galaxy.
Other transport ships began dropping out of hyperspace. These contained the people of Ceres and even some from New Tellus. Governor Barnes had contacted the governor of New Tellus and informed her of what was about to transpire. She had demanded people from New Tellus be involved as well since the people of Ceres had colonized the planet shortly after arriving in the Sol System.
“Four million Humans,” Admiral Kalen said as he watched the massive transport ships line up to wait their turn to enter the accelerator ring. “Nearly 82 percent of the people of Ceres volunteered to come.”
‘Many who remained are older or are married to men and women from other worlds in the Federation,” added Governor Barnes. “We have nearly one million volunteers from New Tellus.”
Kathryn nodded. Those had been more difficult to remove due to New Tellus being one of the two main centers of Federation military strength. Numerous passenger liners had been moving between New Tellus and Ceres for over three weeks to bring those who had volunteered to the planetoid.
For nearly an hour they watched the transport ships enter the accelerator ring until it was finally the Distant Horizon’s turn.
Kathryn stood gazing at the viewscreen showing all the stars surrounding the exploration dreadnought. She felt a tear flow down her cheek. She knew they would never be returning to the Federation. That was one of the terms the Originators had set for allowing access to their weapons and technology.
“Commander Grissim, take us through the ring.”
As soon as the Distant Horizon passed through, they would be followed by the six Originator construction ships. Shortly after that, the accelerator ring would detonate destroying itself. The blast would be equivalent to a small nova but would not endanger any of the nearby stars as it would die out in a relatively short time.
As the Distant Horizon entered the vortex, Commander Grissim turned toward Rear Admiral Barnes. “I wonder what Fleet Admiral Nagumo will think when he learns what we have done?”
Governor Barnes smiled. “We left him a message as well as someone to deliver it. I think in the end he will understand.”
-
Six days later, Fleet Admiral Nagumo was in the Command Center of the battleship Luna as it slowly approached Ceres. A full fleet of battleships and strikecruisers accompanied the Federation flagship as it slowly crept toward the planetoid.
“Status?”
“All defenses are down and we’re receiving no response to our hails,” reported the communications officer.
“What about the warships?”
“Same there. I’ve attempted communicating with several of them but all I’m receiving back is silence.”
Fleet Admiral Nagumo stood staring confused at the multitude of viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center. On them were views of battleships, battlecruisers, strikecruisers, and even a few battlecarriers. All were in orbit around Ceres and seemed to have been abandoned. “Send boarding parties over to a few of those ships. I want to know what happened to their crews.”
Seven days earlier, Ceres had gone silent. A space buoy had begun broadcasting a message for all Federation ships to stay away until further notice. It had caused a furor on Earth and Mars as well as the huge battlestations defending the home planet. After every attempt at communication had failed, Admiral Nagumo had decided to take the Luna and its task force to Ceres to find the underlying cause of the mystery.
Minutes passed by and then word came that all the warships the boarding parties had boarded were empty. There were no signs of the crews.
Fleet Admiral Nagumo took a deep breath. He had known Governor Barnes and Admiral Kalen for years. He couldn’t imagine any type of disaster that could have caused this situation. There had been no distress calls or any signs of there being a problem at Ceres until the buoy began broadcasting.
“We checked the ships for any signs of airborne pathogens and radiation,” reported the ship’s executive officer. “All tests have come back negative.”
Nagumo shook his head. This mystery was only deepening.
“Prepare my shuttle; I’m going to Governor Barnes’ office. If there’s an explanation as to what has happened here, that’s where we’ll find it.”
-
An hour later Fleet Admiral Nagumo made his way toward Governor Barnes’ office. He was wearing an Alton spacesuit to protect him against any possible pathogens or unknown radiation that might have affected the people of Ceres. He had also sent squads of Marines into the various habitats to search for survivors.
Reaching the governor’s office he opened the door and stepped inside, leaving his Marine escort out in the hallway. With surprise he saw someone was sitting behind the governor’s desk.
“Hello, Admiral,” said former Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth. “Your protective suit is not needed.”
“Where is everyone?” demanded Nagumo, wondering why Fleet Admiral Streth was here. What did he have to do with this?
“They’re gone,” Hedon replied with an all-knowing smile. “Take off your suit and I’ll explain.”
Nagumo took off his protective suit and went to stand in front of the desk, gazing at Hedon. “How can the population of an entire world just vanish?”
Hedon leaned forward and looked directly into Nagumo’s eyes. “They didn’t just vanish. They left.”
He didn’t bother to explain how he had gone on all the video channels at the request of Governor Barnes and informed the inhabitants of Ceres how important it was to rise to the challenge and go to the aid of Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong and the rest of the Special Five. He had stressed how the Special Five had been fighting for the safety and freedom of the people of Ceres for years in a far off galaxy. Now it was time for the people of Ceres to go to the aid of the Special Five.
“They left!” Nagumo said, looking even more confused. “How? None of the sensors in the entire system detected any unauthorized ship movements.” Then a suspicious look appeared in Nagumo’s eyes. “Does this involve Fleet Admiral Strong?”
Hedon smiled. “I once had a vision the Special Five would be responsible for fighting a great war in order to save numerous galaxies in our universe. That vision has now been verified.” In that vision he had also come to know Jeremy and the others would never return to this galaxy. He had also thought the same of the Distant Horizon though the ship, which returned, was vastly different than the one that had left.
“I don’t believe in visions,” muttered Nagumo.
Hedon slid the letter from Fleet Admiral Strong over to the fleet admiral. He then handed over a small computer disk, which outlined what had occurred in the Triangulum Galaxy. “Everything you need to know is in those.”
Nagumo opened Fleet Admiral Strong’s letter and began to read. Once he was finished he put it down and picked up the small computer disk. “I’m not going to be able to talk to anyone about this, am I?”
“That’s your decision,” answered Hedon, folding his arms across his chest. “However, before you view what’s on that disk let me fill you in on a few more details.”
-
For the next hour Hedon explained to Fleet Admiral Nagumo what had transpired. Hedon had been fortunate enough to go on board the Distant Horizon and meet with the Originator AIs. In many ways, Hedon almost wished he were younger so he could have gone with them.
Fleet Admiral Nagumo listened, his eyes widening in amazement and disbelief. “All of this is hard to believe,” he said when Hedon finally stopped. “A war between two races even older and more advanced than the Altons?”
“You saw the images of the Dyson Sphere in Shari space,” Hedon pointed out. “This is a war involving the builders of that sphere. All the proof you need is on that computer disk.”
Nagumo let out a deep sigh. “I’ll have to tell the president and a few others but I think we can limit those who will have knowledge of what’s happened. We’ll have to find a plausible excuse to explain where everyone went.”
“You might have a problem with that. From what I understand videos of the battles in the Triangulum Galaxy are already being broadcast on Careth.”
Nagumo shook his head. His job over the next few weeks and months was going to be a headache. How could he explain how so many Humans, Altons, and Carethians had vanished?
-
Later Fleet Admiral Streth was standing on a balcony overlooking the Aquarian habitat. In the past deceased Fleet Admiral Carla Johnson and Admiral Teleck had stood in this same place admiring the view and discussing the Special Five and the future of the Federation. With a smile, Hedon wondered what they would be thinking now if they knew what Jeremy and the others had accomplished. Looking upward, Hedon could well imagine the titanic struggle, which would shortly be waging between the galaxies. With a deep sigh, he turned and started walking back to his private shuttle. It was time to go home to his wife and children. He knew after today his services would not be needed again. The future had moved past him and he was now only a part of history.
Epilogue
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong stood atop a balcony in a tall building that was the headquarters of the new Originator military. Down below on the busy streets, people were going from one building to another anxious to see all the wonders the Originators had provided. When Rear Admiral Barnes had returned with all of the volunteers from the three races a month earlier, the new cities to house them had already been built by the Originators and their AIs. It had been wonderful to see Governor Barns and Admiral Kalen. Jeremy had instantly named Kalen as his second in command. With Kalen’s vast experience it had taken a load off Jeremy.
A whimpering noise behind him drew his attention. With a smile, he turned seeing Angela holding Clair and talking to Brace in a low voice.
“How long until we send ships out against the Anti-Life?” asked Kelsey as she took Jeremy’s hand and squeezed it.
Jeremy looked back out the balcony. “We have a lot to do before we go to war. New ships need to be built and the crews trained. I spoke to Commander Zafron and Bartoll yesterday, and they are both in agreement that it will be a year or two before we’re ready.”
Kelsey grinned broadly. “So I get you uninterrupted for at least a year, minimum?”
“Looks that away,” Jeremy said smiling. “Do you have anything in mind?”
Kelsey just smiled innocently.
Katie walked over and started playing with Clair. She was just about to say something to Kevin when the door to Jeremy’s office opened and Ariel, Clarissa, Kazak, Leeda, Zafron, and Bartoll came in. Ariel had finally allowed her consciousness to be downloaded into the AI body Clarissa had brought for her.
