Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike (44 page)

*    
*     *

After hours of running the Caca force was
finally away from most of the enemy ships.  They had run into the system for
about an hour, then started vectoring back out. 
We’ll be able to jump to
hyper in another two hours
, thought the Great Admiral, looking at the
viewer which showed the multitude of stars in this Galactic arm. 
Then let
them try and catch us
.  His ships were still capable of faster acceleration
than most of the enemy ships, and all had the better shielding that allowed
them to transit hyper at higher velocities.  And once they were in hyper.

“We’re tracking missiles,” came the call from
the Tactical Officer.

“Where?” yelled the Great Admiral, wondering if
his last plan was about to be crushed.

“Off the starboard stern,” said the Tactical
Officer, looking back with wide eyes.

“Time to impact, you idiot?” growled the Great
Admiral.  As the last word left his mouth the ship shook like it was about to
come apart, followed by two more massive strikes.  The Great Admiral was
standing up at that point, his helmet retracted, nothing to protect his head as
he fell back and slammed his crown on the Com Officer’s board.  Blackness
enfolded him, and he knew no more, for the moment.

*    
*     *

“We got him,” yelled Ngovic, thrusting a fist
into the air.

Suttler smiled as he watched the warheads going
off on the enemy ship.  All were in the two hundred megaton range, not
traveling fast enough to add much kinetic energy to their strikes.  One missile
hit the bow of the ship, taking out a good portion of its grabber ring.  The
other two hit the ventral and dorsal hyperdrive projectors respectively,
destroying them.  That ship would not be going into hyper anytime soon.

Four other of the enemy ships were hit, two
going up in plasma globes, the other two sustaining major damage.  But the
flagship was the primary target, and it had definitely been disabled.  And the
enemy still didn’t know where he was, as he had launched the missiles from
positions sitting in space.

“Inform his Majesty that we have his enemy
flagship for him,” he told the Com Officer.  “Awaiting pickup.”

*    
*     *

CONUNDRUM SPACE. 
JANUARY 10
^TH
, 1002.

Sean sat on the throne like chair in the large
conference room aboard
Augustine I
, which was again serving as his flag
for this meeting.  The huge Ca’cadasan male walked across the room toward him,
twin sets of arms in restraints, armored Marines marching beside and behind
him.  The Marines stopped him twenty meters away from the Emperor, then pushed
the big being down to his knees.  The Ca’cadasan resisted for a moment, but
couldn’t prevail against the strength of the suits.

“I believed you thought our positions would be
reversed,” he told the Caca, standing from his throne and walking toward the
creature.  He still wore his own battle armor, helmet retracted.  While he was
sure the creature was under control, he thought it best to not take stupid
chances because of bravado.  The young man he had been would not have
recognized the wisdom he had absorbed in this short vicious war.

“You are the commander of the Ca’cadasan forces
that invaded my Empire?”

“I am,” growled the male, his hate filled eyes
glaring Sean.  “And one day you will still bow before us.  If not me, then
another of our officers.  Or our Emperor.”

“That day is not coming, creature,” growled
Sean in return.  “You are defeated.”

“And we will never give up,” shouted the Caca,
struggling against the strength of the Marines suits and failing to budge the
heavy troopers.  “Our people will gather more of our strength, and we will
never give up until you are no more.”

“I believe you, Creature.  Which is why I will
destroy your people first.  Since you will never give up, and we can’t watch
our backs forever, I will bring the fight to you.  I will destroy you first. 
Believe that.”

Sean looked in the Ca’cadasan’s eyes and could
see the fear there. 
And one day I will see the same in the eyes your
Emperor.
  He walked back to his impromptu throne and took a seat, watching
as the Caca was pulled to his feet and led from the room. 
My reign will not
be one of progress, but one of war.  And when it’s over, I’ll be damned sure
that nothing else in this Galaxy will ever threaten my people again.

Epilogue

SESTIUS.  JANUARY 12
^TH
,
1002.

“I would like some time alone, Sergeant,” said
Cornelius, looking into SanJames’ eyes.

“What is this place?” asked his Platoon
Sergeant, standing by the section of fence that had withstood the kinetic
strike that had pretty much destroyed everything else.

“Home,” said Cornelius, turning and looking at
the fields that were now overgrown with native vegetation, mostly scrub, though
some of that foliage would eventually grow into the trees that ruled this part
of the planet.  He turned back to look at his top sergeant, and the men who
stood with him.  His men.  “I want to look around a bit, alone.”

“We’ll watch out for you then, sir,” said the
Sergeant, glancing at the forest that bordered one side of the field.  They
both knew what kind of things lived in those woods.  Not anything that would
stand up to their weapons, of course, but still dangerous.

Cornelius nodded, then slid through a gap in
the fence that had been made by something traveling at high speed.  The fence
was made of modern materials, and would be standing in this place for a
thousand years, even as the forest grew up around it.  The robot tractor
sitting in the middle of the field was made of similar materials.  Some of it
might be melted from the strike that had taken out the nearby mobile shore
gun.  There might be holes in its skin.  And what was left would stay intact
for as long as the fence.  Probably longer.

He walked up to the tractor, pushing his way
through the low brush.  His feet came down on some bones, one snapping under
his boot.  Cornelius squatted down and looked them over, recognizing them as
the bones of a young cow. 
Probably one of the juveniles we were raising,
before…
  He let the thought trail off, not really wanting to visit there
now.  But they were not so easily dismissed.  He thought of the days he had
spent in these fields, sweating under the hot sun, working on this recalcitrant
robot, feeding those cattle. 
All that work, taken away by monsters from the
stars.

Cornelius stood up and walked over to the place
where the house had stood.  All that was left were the foundations, and
plasticrete slab the actual building had sat on.  That, and the heavy door that
led to the cellar, the place Katlyn had been sheltering in when he deserted the
militia to save her.  There was no growth here, the plasticrete was too hard to
allow the roots to gain purchase.  The door was intact, as was the keypad set
beside it. 
So, they didn’t enter here after all
, he thought, looking at
the door, then punching in the code.  He started second guessing himself,
wondering what would have happened to him and his wife if they had just stayed
put.

The door rose, and the smell of death came
wafting out. 
No.  We left this door propped open, so the cats could get at
the food in the cellar.  And something closed it.

The lights came on, revealing the square room
below, packed with all kinds of goods, rations, tools, and in the center, the
skeleton of a cat. 
So someone did come here.  Most likely the Cacas.  And
we would both be laying there on that floor, dead.   Just like the kitty cat.

The Lieutenant turned at the soft meow that
sounded to his side.  He looked over and down to see a skinny cat, a calico,
looking up at him expectantly.  He recognized the coat pattern.  It was one of
the kittens they had bought to control the vermin.  It had the internal nanites
needed to eat the native life, but still must have had a hard time surviving in
a place where most of the other animals would have seen it as prey, despite
their not being able to sustain themselves on its Terran flesh.

The cat opened its mouth again in a quiet
meow.  Cornelius squatted down with a smile on his face.  “Hello there,” he
said in a soft voice, putting out a hand as the cat started to shift back from
him.  She sniffed his hand, then walked in under it, rubbing its back against
his palm.  “I don’t know what we called you,” he said in the same soft voice. 
“Katlyn was into naming you guys.  But one thing I can tell you, little lady. 
You’re safe now.” 
The only link I have to this place.

Cornelius picked up the cat and held it close,
feeling the deep purr flow from the little body into his.   He stroked the fur
with his hand and looked up at the darkening sky.  The sun was low on the
horizon, and the first stars were coming out.  “I miss you honey,” he said in
the same soft voice he had used with the cat, a voice he had almost forgotten
he possessed.  Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he saw the face of his
deceased first wife in his mind. 
I miss you so much.  But I’ve got another
life.  A new family, and our son is a part of it
.  He looked out at the
surrounding fields with a sad smile. 
And you thought I would become a
Marquis, and country squire.  Something I laughed at.  And now I’m a knight,
and a baron, though I haven’t had my barony assigned to me yet.

He took a breath of the sweet air, as he had
often done when this was his home. 
Maybe this place will be my barony.  Why
not?
  He shook his head.  It would be years before the Empire had the
resources to rebuild here.  If they ever did.  If they survived.

Cornelius looked up at the sky, at the numerous
stars of the Perseus arm that were now sparkling in the night. 
But first,
we have to defeat the damned Cacas.  Oh, we pushed them out of the Empire.  But
they’ll be back.  It’s either them or us, and I’ll be goddamned if it’s them. 
I’ve got a lot of killing to do before this is over, Katlyn.  And every one of
them I send to hell will have your name stamped on its soul.  That I swear.

Cornelius held the cat tight as he walked away
from the house, back toward the men who were waiting for him.  This planet was
free of Cacas.  They were either all dead, or prisoners on the ships above. 
But there were many, many more where they came from.  And the man known as
The
Hunter
smiled at that thought.

*    
*      *

CAPITULUM, JEWEL. 
MARCH 16
^TH
, 1002.

“Your Majesty,” said the servant, running into
the small dining room where Sean was having breakfast with his Empress. 
Jennifer was in her fourth month, six months away from delivery of his heir. 
The fleet was in the process of rebuilding, the industrial capacity had
expanded by leaps and bounds, and there had been no sign of the Cacas since the
counter strike he had led.  What they still had in human space had fled, maybe
to hiding places outside of the Empire, maybe back to their own realm.

“What is it?” said Sean, looking down at his
plate of eggs and bacon, his favorite. 
My time is never really my own
,
he thought.

“Admiral McCullom is on the priority circuit
for you.”

“I’ll take it here,” he said, looking over at
Jennifer, who nodded back.  As Empress, she had the clearance for all
information that reached up to this level.

The holo came alive over the table, showing the
head and shoulders of Grand High Admiral Sondra McCullom, the Chief of Naval
Operations.  Her face looked drawn, and Sean wondered what had happened.

“The Cacas,” whispered Jennifer, staring at the
holo.

“Your Majesty,” said the woman in a quivering
voice.  “The wormholes we had in transit to Bolthole have arrived.”

“That’s great news, Admiral,” Sean said with a
smile.  When Sondra didn’t smile back, he again wondered what was wrong. 
“And?”

“They’re back, your Majesty.  After all this
time.  And they have probed the defenses of Bolthole.”

“The Cacas?” asked Sean in confusion, not sure
how their enemy had found Bolthole, much less gotten ships to that space.

“No, your Majesty,” said the woman, her
shoulders shaking.  “The
Machines
, your Majesty.  Those murderous robots
are back.”

*    
*     *

CA’CADASAN IMPERIAL
CAPITAL.  FEBRUARY 20
^TH
, 1003.

The Supreme Emperor of the Ca’cadasan Empire,
Jresstratta IV, looked down his long snout at the large male who knelt before
him.

“I want the humans crushed Great Admiral
Ljarritta’ran,” roared the Supreme Leader of the largest empire in known
space.  “I want their kingdoms destroyed, and the humans exterminated.”

“Your wish is my mission,” said he Great
Admiral, his eyes averted to the floor.  “I swear on my life, and the lives of
my sons, and all their prodigy to ten generations.”  That was the most sacred
oath a Cacada warrior could swear, and failure would mean the destruction of
his line, completely and forever.

Great Admiral Miierrowanasa M’tinisasitow had
failed, much to the shock of the entire Empire.  In the entire history of the
empire, a conquest fleet had never failed to take the stars it was tasked to
bring into the empire.  The only time it had even partially failed was the case
of the fleet tasked with destroying the humans in their home system.  They had
destroyed the planet, and most of the humans, but some had escaped.

Great Admiral Miierrowanasa M’tinisasitow had
the total of three conquest fleets assigned to his command at the end, over six
thousand ships all told, plus periodic reinforcements.  And now a mere thousand
vessels, probably many less, those who had not been with his main bodies during
the human counter strike, still lurked at the edge of the largest human polity
and its smaller neighbor.  The rest had been destroyed by the humans.  The
supposedly weak, infuriating humans.

“I accept your oath, Great Admiral, in the
spirit and seriousness in which it was offered,” said the Emperor, grabbing a
delicacy from the plate offered by a crab like slave, bearing food and drink on
its back.

A thousand nobles in attendance held their
breaths as the Emperor spoke those words.  Most had known M’tinisasitow, and
his children and grandchildren on down.  The Great Admiral had never returned. 
And his descendants had all been put to death in public executions, so that the
society of the Empire would remember the deadly seriousness of such oaths.

“And what is the status of your fleet?” asked
the Emperor, gesturing for his chosen commander to stand and face him.

“Thank you, your Majesty,” said the Admiral,
rising to his feet.  “We are still awaiting the arrival of the last of the
assigned conquest fleets.  Of course, we could leave early, and let them catch
up with us in human space.”

The Emperor held up his upper right hand. 
“No.  You will wait until that fleet arrives.  I want you to be able to hit the
humans with overwhelming force.  And, since I am not sure how our new ships
will perform, it would be best that they were tested in smaller actions, while
your other ships bear the brunt of the combat.”

The Great Admiral gave a head motion of
acceptance, seeing the wisdom of the Emperor’s words.  He would have ten
conquest fleets, over twenty thousand ships, as well as several large task
forces from the home fleet, giving him another five thousand ships.  Not
including the troop transports, freight and stores haulers, antimatter tankers,
repair ships, couriers, all the various vessels needed for modern warfare.  And
he would have one other advantage that the defeated fleet didn’t.  He would be
carrying ten wormholes in his force, the first made at the new experimental
production facility the human traitor had established.  Not many, as compared
to the humans, but they would still let him establish communications between
his commands, as well as home, and offered the possibility of opening a ship
gate in human space.

“The humans will be ready for you, Admiral,”
continued the Emperor.  “Make no mistake there.  They will have been furiously
building up their war machine, knowing that we have not given up.  You must
strike where they don’t expect it, and drive into their industrial heartland.”

And it was almost nine months to get the news
of M’tinisasitow’s defeat.  Another four months to prepare this fleet, and now
another nine months to go from the center of our Empire to the edge of human
space.  Almost two years, and no telling what they have developed in that
time.  But we have our own people working on improvements.  Some already on our
ships, more to come, including those made by the human traitors
.  The Great Admiral scoffed
at that last thought.  He couldn’t understand a being that would betray its own
species just to save its own miserable life.  There were many species of slave
in the Empire that had done just that, but no Cacada could understand it,
except for the few cowards that cropped up in every generation.

“I wish we could send more,” said the Emperor,
standing up from his throne and walking down the steps to put his hand on the
Great Admiral’s shoulder, a singular honor among their people.  “I would prefer
to roll over them so quickly that they had no chance of fighting back. 
Unfortunately, our war in the Sagittarius arm is consuming too many of our
resources.”

Meaning we are losing ships and males at an
alarming rate
,
thought the Great Admiral with a head motion of agreement.  He had come from
that war, with an Empire of many species, some of which they still hadn’t
seen.  But they were just as infuriating as the humans had turned out to be. 
After four years of fighting the Empire was just beginning to make some
advances on that front.