Earth Fall: Empires at War, page 16
“Four-hundred-thousand-kilometers distant,” reported Lieutenant Williams. This was the standard range the Voltrex supply fleets dropped out of hyperspace so they could be identified as friendly.
“A flight of fighter-bombers from the Moon is moving out to confirm their identity,” added Lieutenant Williams. This was standard practice to ensure the Trellixians were not trying to sneak in under the guise of Voltrex vessels.
Admiral Edwards could see four small green icons leaving the Moon and heading toward the Voltrex ships. “What about the Voltrex cargo ships already in the system?” At any one time, there were nearly a dozen Voltrex cargo ships in orbit around the Earth or Moon.
“Most have been unloaded and will be returning with the battlecruisers,” replied Captain Nelson. “We’re already starting to receive parts for the next two battlestations.”
“I’ll feel a lot better about defending Earth when those battlestations are finished,” said Edwards, leaning back in his command chair. “What’s the status of our ships?”
Nelson checked his console and then replied. “All ships are combat capable. Two are currently down on Earth at the North American spaceport being resupplied and for crew rotation.”
Edwards nodded. He also knew that in Complex One and Complex Two some Human cargo ships were being constructed. Sometime in the future there would be robust trade between Earth and the Voltrex Federation.
“Captain Nelson, set a course for the Moon. I want to go down and inspect the Moon base and the defenses we’ve been building.” If the Trellixians attacked again the base would play a major role in defending Earth.
“Yes, Admiral,” replied Nelson as he turned to the helm officer. He quickly passed on the order to get the Renown underway. It was currently in orbit 14,000 kilometers above the Earth.
-
The Renown left orbit and began accelerating toward the Moon. The ship was traveling at a leisurely pace as there was nothing threatening. Two other Earth-built battlecruisers left orbit to provide an escort. It took the three ships two hours to reach the Moon and go into orbit. As they neared the Moon, four of the small fighter-bombers assigned to the Moon base left orbit and did a quick flyby confirming their identity. Security was tight in the Earth-Moon System and nothing was taken for granted. All ships’ identities were routinely double-checked.
As soon as the Renown entered orbit Admiral Edwards boarded a shuttle to go down to the surface. Work on the Moon base had been going on nonstop for months. It was now a sprawling complex protected by an energy shield and numerous energy cannon emplacements. It was also the base for the twenty patrol ships furnished by the Voltrex.
-
Admiral Edwards looked down at the slightly pockmarked surface of Mare Serenitatis. The mare was over 770 kilometers in diameter and held the recently constructed Moon base. Most of the base was underground but a few domes were visible on the surface. Edwards could see some of the larger energy gun turrets pointed upward toward space. Several of the newer fusion reactors powered the base as well as the weapon systems.
One of the domes opened up and a pair of fighter-bombers flew out. The small craft quickly disappeared from sight as they accelerated away. There were currently 240 of the small fighter-bombers in the underground hangers. Plans were to add a few hundred more in the coming months.
There were also a number of larger landing pads for spacecraft. On a number of these sat some of the small patrol craft furnished by the Voltrex. Human crews were currently learning how they operated and the first should go into service in another week.
The shuttle adjusted its course and came in low over the base, then descended to land on one of the landing pads. The pad then sank into the ground with a metal hatch closing above it. Admiral Edwards planned on making a quick tour of the base with its commanding officer, Major Jacob Brandon, and then return to the Renown. He always felt a little uneasy when he was away from his flagship but these inspections were necessary. He had to know what he could count on and which assets he had available if the Trellixians attacked Earth again. There was no doubt in his mind that would happen in the future. He planned on being ready when that day arrived.
-
High Commander Kaldre was once more in the large orbiting space station above the home world. The entire High Command was present for this meeting.
“The reports from the Voltrex border are not good,” began High Commander Olnarr. “We have lost two colony worlds plus our major base on Kalone Four. Most of the fleets we have sent into that sector of space have been destroyed or stopped reporting. We believe other colonies in the same area will shortly be attacked. The colonies in that sector were being counted on to absorb some of our excess population.”
“Even worse, we have lost a large number of cargo and colony ships,” added High Commander Danaar. “At the current time we do not have the capacity to replace those vessels.” Danaar glared at High Commander Kaldre. “Our shipyards in the Traxis Three System are being used to construct more warships. They should be constructing additional cargo and colony ships so we can make up our losses.”
“No!” growled High Commander Kaldre, refusing to stay quiet. “We need those new ships to stop the Humans and the Voltrex. If we don’t build them we will continue to lose more colony worlds until our core worlds are threatened. I warned all of you earlier that the Humans and the Voltrex would become a threat. They have Jelnoid technology and have applied that to their warships.”
High Commander Trammor stood shaking his head. “I don’t believe our core worlds are threatened or ever will be. You have two shipyards building the new battlecruisers. Surely one is enough. The other one can be used to build more cargo or colony ships.”
“One shipyard is not going to make a difference,” grated out High Commander Kaldre. “The problem is not our lack of ships but our steadily growing population. If we don’t do something to control it we will soon be faced with unrest on our core worlds the like of which we’ve never seen before.”
Several of the High Commanders looked stunned at Kaldre’s mention of population control.
“There can be no control over our natural breeding habits,” stated High Commander Olnarr. “It is the birthright of every living Trellixian.”
Kaldre stood and stared at the others. “We are already running out of space on our core worlds. Rationing of food is common on every planet. Our people will only tolerate so much and then we will see our cities burn.”
“Treason!” shouted High Commander Olnarr. “You should not be a member of the High Command! I demand you leave this meeting immediately.”
High Commander Thatrex stood up, causing the others to become quiet. “I fear High Commander Kaldre may be correct about what awaits in our future. I also see no way we can control our peoples’ right to breed. It is part of our heritage and ingrained in our culture. He is also correct in that changing one of the shipyards he has control over to produce colony and cargo ships will do little good.”
“Then what are we to do?” demanded High Commander Olnarr.
“If our population grows too large and unrest breaks out, it will be a convenient method of reducing our excess population. I would suggest this time we let it run its course but ensure our planetary and orbital infrastructure stays intact. We can place Trellixian troops in the assets on the surface of our planets we cannot allow to be destroyed if there is unrest.”
High Commander Olnarr looked stunned at High Commander Thatrex’s words. “You are talking about allowing billions of our people to die!”
“It’s necessary for the rest of our people to survive. We can no longer build ships as fast as our population is growing. The same goes for providing food.” High Commander Thatrex looked over at High Commander Trammor. “How much longer can the worlds under your command continue to provide sufficient food for all the worlds of the Empire?”
High Commander Trammor hesitated and then answered. “We can’t do so now. Everyday we’re missing the quotas we need to supply some of the more heavily populated worlds. Even if we had the cargo ships we could not fill them with the necessary food supplies.”
The room became quiet as the other High Commanders thought over what Trammor had just revealed. Most of them looked uneasily at one another.
“What do you think of this threat from the Humans and the Voltrex?” asked High Commander Danaar.
High Commander Thatrex looked over at Kaldre. “I don’t believe the Humans are a real threat. Their population has been substantially reduced and their world bombarded. It is the Voltrex who may become a threat. It is possible they could in time send a fleet into the core worlds. It is for that reason we should allow High Commander Kaldre to continue his efforts in the Traxis Three System. If the Voltrex come that fleet can be used to stop them.”
-
The High Command argued for several more hours. In the end they agreed to allow High Commander Kaldre to retain control of the shipyards and manufacturing facilities in the Traxis Three System.
Later as Kaldre made his way back on board his flagship he realized one thing: the rest of the High Command was wrong about the Humans. He still firmly believed they were a prime threat. However, for now all he could do was build more of the new warships and hope Battle Commander Balforr could put them to good use protecting the core worlds and the Empire.
Chapter Twelve
Captain Dolan took a deep breath as the Fury and her attending escorts dropped out of hyperspace. They were near a star, which supposedly held one of the Trellixian core worlds. They were on the periphery of a region the Trellixians considered their home systems. From the data they had of this region there were eighty systems holding vast numbers of the lizard people. They were about to see how accurate that information was.
“We have a lot of ship traffic,” reported Kia uneasily. “The long-range sensors are picking up hundreds of spacecraft in the star system we’re approaching.” On the tactical display, hundreds of red threat icons suddenly flashed into view.
“More than we’ve ever detected before,” added Chloe as she studied the sensor readings. “The third and fourth planets appear to be the most heavily colonized just from the energy readings we’re picking up from those worlds.”
Mark looked at the tactical display. There were three green icons near the Fury: the carrier Horizon and the two Earth-built battlecruisers Cambridge and Liberty.
Second Officer Katana looked over at the captain. “I would not recommend we move any closer to the system. With that many ships we would most likely be detected.”
Mark nodded in agreement. “We’ll stay here and launch four probes, same as before. The Horizon will launch two and we’ll launch two. Lieutenant Masterson, calculate the best courses for the probes. I want a good look at all the planets, moons, and major asteroids.”
“With that ship traffic, there is a high likelihood one or more of the probes will be detected,” commented Brett as he got busy on his computer console.
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” replied Mark. “If we keep the probes too far out we won’t be able to collect the data we need. It’s imperative we know the population density of those two planets and any other colony the Trellixians may have in this system. Even if the probes are detected there’s a good chance they’ll be ignored. The Trellixians won’t be expecting someone to be scanning their systems.”
Brett quickly finished his calculations and began feeding the data to the four probes. “Probes are programmed and ready to launch.”
“Very well,” said Mark, looking at a viewscreen showing the Horizon. “Launch the probes.”
Looking up at the main viewscreen, they all watched as two five-meter probes exited the Horizon and made the quick jump into hyperspace. Everyone knew two identical probes were leaving the Fury.
Second Officer Katana ordered all ships to reduce energy emissions to the minimum. The four warships would run quietly until the probes finished their mission or the enemy detected the ships.
-
Lisa leaned back gazing at the others. She wondered if they were as nervous as she was. They were deep in Trellixian space and the probability of detection was quite high. It grew higher with every new system they scanned.
“How many planets are there in this system?” she asked, looking over at Chloe.
“Twelve,” answered the AI as she checked the ship’s sensor readings. “There are three in the habitable zone as well as five gas giants in the outer part of the system. There also seem to be two fairly large asteroid fields.”
Brett let out a deep sigh. “This is going to take some time. The probes will not be moving as fast as before. They have a lot of space to cover and numerous planets, moons, and asteroids to scan. There are over thirty moons in the system.”
“That’s a lot,” said Lisa
“The Solar System has more,” pointed out Derek. “Most gas giants have a plethora of moons. This system is no different.”
Lisa knew that. It just made her realize how extensive the Trellixian colonies could be in a star system. “There are going to be billions of Trellixians in this system. If it’s similar to the ones we’ve seen so far, we could easily be looking at forty billion or more in just this system alone.”
“The Trellixians seem to inhabit a lot of real estate,” said Brenda. “I’m curious to see how much farm land there is on the primary inhabited planet.”
“Why?” asked Kia. “What difference does it make?”
“Are they growing their food on the planets they inhabit or is most of it brought in by cargo ships?” asked Brenda. “It could be very important.”
Lisa thought for a moment. “Brenda’s right. We need to know where the Trellixians get their resources for their inhabited planets. Are these star systems self-sufficient or do they rely on others?”
“Why is that important?” asked Captain Dolan, who had been listening to the discussion.
Brenda turned toward the captain. “If their colonies, particularly their core worlds are not self-sufficient, it could be a major weakness. If we could disrupt those supply lines between star systems it might hamper their war effort.”
“Well, it is something to keep in mind as we scout more of their core worlds,” said Mark.
-
Chloe had been listening. She listened to almost all the conversations which occurred outside the crews’ quarters. As she thought over what she had just heard a possible strategy occurred to her. She was not going to mention it yet. She needed more data. At the minimum they needed to check at least five more Trellixian core systems before she was certain her strategy would work. The question was, could the small fleet stay undetected long enough to allow for them to visit five more Trellixian systems? Chloe greatly feared that would be nearly impossible.
-
The four probes flew through the system, coming within a few million kilometers of all planets and moons. Long-range scans were made of the two asteroid fields to determine the amount of Trellixian activity. Mining colonies were located and scanned. Everywhere there were Trellixian ships. Several of the probes came within ten thousand kilometers of Trellixian vessels but were not spotted. There were numerous cargo ships, a few colony ships, and of course a number of heavily armed battlecruisers. The probes slipped by the ships and continued on their missions.
There was no doubt if the Trellixians had been searching for the probes they would have been spotted. However, there was no reason for the Trellixians to suspect this core system was being scanned. Never had an enemy penetrated to the heart of the Trellixian Empire.
It took a full day for the probes to complete their scans of the system and then begin their return journey to the Fury and the Horizon. On board the Fury the data was already being analyzed.
-
Lisa appeared stunned as she looked at the numbers. “If these sensor scans are correct there are over sixty-four billion Trellixians in this system. They have colonies on every planet except the gas giants and most of the major moons.”
“What about the two asteroid fields?” asked Captain Dolan.
“Just a few mining operations,” replied Lisa. “It appears they have pretty much stripped the asteroid fields of all usable metals.”
Chloe turned toward the captain. “They also have large mining operations on all the smaller moons as well as several of the larger ones.”
“What about ship types?”
“That’s the strange part,” said Lisa as she looked one more time at the data. “There are only twenty-three battlecruisers in the system.”
Mark was silent for several moments as he thought what that might mean. “Any idea why they don’t have a larger fleet protecting the system?”
“I may,” said Chloe. “They have no fear of an attack in their core systems. From the records the Voltrex have captured the Trellixians very seldom encounter a threatening race. Until they met the Voltrex the Trellixians have been dominating in all of their space battles.”
“We had superior numbers of ships,” said Katana, recalling some of the battles she had been in. “Now we have superior weapons. We will not stop until the lizard people are defeated. They have killed countless sentients on the worlds they have conquered. They should have controlled their population. Now we will do that for them by destroying their worlds.”
-
Mark frowned as he listened to Katana’s words. Were they actually considering wiping out the Trellixians? They were talking about several thousand worlds, some with massive populations. If they did that would it make them as bad as the lizard people? Mark shifted his eyes to the viewscreens showing the stars shining brightly in all directions. Then again, what other choice was there? The Trellixians were the ones who started this war. All he had to do was look at the ruins of many of Earth’s cities to see how violent and cruel they were. He had also seen the shattered ruins on several Trellixian colony worlds, indicating the former inhabitants had been wiped out. Maybe wiping out the Trellixians was the best and only option. The question was, how could they ever do it? The Trellixian Empire was massive and they had thousands of warships. At some point in time they were bound to commit that massive fleet to the war against Earth and the Voltrex Federation. He was greatly concerned his own mission could cause that to happen. If the Trellixians realized an enemy fleet had scanned some of their core system they could react very violently.
