Galactic Empire Wars 2: Emergence (10 page)

“What about
what I want?” Ryan asked as he turned and stalked out of the dining room.

“Well, that
didn’t go well,” Wade said as he watched his brother go off into the living
room. He had been afraid of something like this happening.

“Give him
time,” his mother said as she stood up and began clearing the table, knowing
they needed to give Ryan a little space and time to calm down. “He’s young and
confused. We can talk to him again later and maybe explain things a little bit
better. He’s just high strung like you were at his age.”

Wade nodded, his
mother was right; in many ways Ryan was much like him when he was younger. The
marines had straightened him out; they would probably do the same for Ryan. The
only difference was that when Wade had joined the marines there had not been an
interstellar war going on.

Wade stepped
into the flight bay and looked over at the Constellation, which lay quietly in
her docking cradle. Dozens of dock personnel were busily loading supplies into
the large battlecruiser in preparation for departure.

“Guess this is
it,” commented Beth as she gazed at the other ships docked in the bay. She
could see a large passenger liner, one of several that had built since the
destruction, and two light cruisers in their berths.

“I spoke to
Marken a few minutes ago,” Wade said, looking over at Beth. “He and Harnett are
already aboard the passenger ship with the other Kiveans that will be going
along with us.”

“Any others that
I know?” asked Beth, curiously. She wasn't as familiar with as many of the
Kiveans as Wade.

“Just Taalon.
Since he's a computer specialist, Marken felt his skills might be needed if we find
it necessary to tap into the station’s computers unobtrusively.”

“I’m surprised
Harnett is going,” Beth added as she watched several dock workers handling an
antigravity sled, which held several large crates. The sleds were another
Kleese technology that had found many uses in Human space. They floated about
six inches above the deck and could be used to move very heavy loads.

“She’s
following Marken,” Wade responded in explanation. “If you recall, she was often
on the assault ships when we went out on missions.”

Beth nodded.
That she did understand; it reminded her that the Kiveans in many ways shared
the same intrinsic values that Humans did.

“Are your
people ready?”

“As ready as
we’re going to be,” Beth replied her eyes focusing back on Wade. “I just wished
we knew what was ahead of us. According to the information from the
communications facility and what the Kiveans have said, there could be dozens
of alien races trading at this station.”

“Then, of
course, we don’t know what the Kleese reaction will be if and when they realize
there are Humans present,” added Wade, allowing a worried frown to cross his
face. He had a strong suspicion that the guarantee of safety on the station
wouldn’t apply to Humans. “We may have to fight our way back out if the Kleese
discover we’re there.”

Beth let out a
deep sigh in acknowledgement of that possibility. There were four assault ships
going on the mission. Fortunately, the four were of recent construction and had
more amenities than the ones the Kleese built. Beth shuddered, recalling the
small quarters and mundane living conditions on the old assault ships. She
would be aboard one with eighty marines, Captain Jeffries would be on board
another, and Lieutenants Stern and Perry would be on the other two. That would
give them three hundred twenty marines all combat tested and fully rated in the
Type Three battle suits. That was nearly one third of the currently trained
force General Mitchell had at his disposal.

“This is going
to be a long trip,” Wade added. He knew it would be more difficult upon the
assault ships with their limited facilities. Wade was on the battlecruiser and
had been assigned officer’s quarters, which were quite spacious.

“Guess I'd
better be going,” Beth said as her gaze wandered over toward one of the hatches
leading to the outside corridor. The assault ships were being loaded with last
minute supplies in the next flight bay over. “I need to make sure that Sergeants
Russell and Dawson aren’t stirring up any trouble.”

“Good luck
with that,” Wade responded with a laugh. “I’m sure that you and Captain Jeffries
can keep them in line.”

“Then there’s
Nicole,” Beth said, shaking her head. The young demolitions expert was a
spitfire and never hesitated to speak her mind, which occasionally got her into
trouble.

With a wave,
Beth turned and went back through the large hatch to go to her assault ship.
Wade watched her leave, knowing she was still going through a lot. Losing her
fiancée in the destruction and never knowing for sure what happened to him had
haunted Beth since their return to Earth. She was purposely keeping him at a
discreet distance because of that. He knew that for now they could be good
friends but nothing more.

-

Wade entered
the Command Center of the Constellation and saw that Colonel Adamson was
already there. The room was a beehive of activity as the crew prepared for the
ship to exit the flight bay.

“Supplies are
loaded and stored,” the Executive Officer, Major Thomas Kelly, reported. He had
been a former captain in the Royal Navy in charge of a frigate and was now
putting his military training to good use on the Constellation. With time and
perseverance, he hoped someday to once more have his own command.

“We’ve been
cleared to depart the bay,” Ensign Emma Travers added from Communications as
she received clearance from Flight Control.

Looking up at
one of the large viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center, Wade saw the massive doors shielding the interior of the bay begin to slide open. An
atmospheric energy shield prevented the air in the bay from being sucked out
into space. It was actually quite feasible to work in the bay with the doors
open and only the energy shield holding in the air, but as a safety precaution
General Mitchell had ordered that there were to be no crews in the bays when
the doors were open. While the Kleese had little concern if an atmospheric
energy shield were to fail and suck the conscripted workforce out into space,
General Mitchell didn’t share the same view.

“Take us out,”
Colonel Adamson ordered as he sat down in his command chair.

Ensign Jase
Martin activated the ship’s small thrusters and gently raised the ship off her
docking cradle. With skill, he backed the ship out of the bay and then slowly
rotated the Constellation until it was pointing toward open space.

“We’ve cleared
the flight bay,” Lieutenant Lauren Saur reported from the sensors. We’re one
thousand meters from the station.”

“Take us out
to twenty thousand kilometers and we’ll wait there for our fleet to assemble,”
Adamson ordered as he leaned back and allowed himself to relax.

He was always
a little nervous when his ship was exiting the flight bay. After all, the
Constellation was five hundred meters long and fifty meters high with a width
of ninety meters. It wasn’t that easy maneuvering the large warship out of the
station, but Ensign Martin had made it look simple.

Wade heard the
ship’s engines switch to a slightly higher pitch as the warship accelerated on
her sublight drive toward its designated coordinates. The sound of the drive
was just barely audible, and you had to know what to listen to over the other
noises in the Command Center.

“The other
ships are exiting the flight bays,” Lieutenant Saur reported as a number of
green icons began appearing on her sensor screens.

Wade knew there
would be eight ships in the fleet that Colonel Adamson would be commanding. The
battlecruiser, two light cruisers, four assault ships, and the passenger liner that
was carrying both Humans and Kiveans. It would be a long trip as they had
nearly four thousand light years to travel. It was for that reason no extra
marines were on board the Constellation. During the communications center
mission, the extra marines the ship had carried had put a strain on the ship’s
systems.

Fortunately,
all of the ships had the most recent innovations from the Kivean and Human scientists
to maximize the fleet’s Fold Space Drives. They had a top cruising speed of nearly
three light years per hour. The Constellation actually had a top speed of
slightly over five light years per hour, but due to the limited power of the
fusion power plants on the assault ships and the passenger liner, they'd be
traveling at the slower speed. That meant it would take eight weeks to reach
their destination.

Wade found it
nearly impossible to grasp the speed and distance they would be traveling. It
also meant it would be eight weeks before he saw Beth and his other marines in
the assault ships. They could communicate, but travel between ships while they
were in Fold Space wasn’t possible. The stress would tear a shuttle apart.

The
Constellation quickly reached the rendezvous coordinates and in less than an
hour all ships were assembled and in formation. The passenger liner was in the
center with the Constellation in the lead. The two light cruisers brought up
the rear and the four assault ships were in screening positions around the
fleet.

“Forty percent
sublight until we reach two million kilometers,” Colonel Adamson ordered. “Then
we'll activate our Fold Space Drives and begin our mission.”

“Yes, Sir!”
replied Major Kelly with barely a trace of his British accent. He was finding
that he really enjoyed being an executive officer on a spacecraft. It was
different than commanding a naval vessel, but he was making the adjustments.

The fleet
accelerated and it didn’t take long for them to pass the Moon. On the main viewscreen,
the lights of Luna City were plainly visible. There were dozens of large domes
on the surface with even more habitats dug deep beneath.

“Fold Space Drive activation in twenty seconds,” Major Kelly reported as he checked one more
time with the Helm. “All systems normal.”

“Proceed,”
spoke Colonel Adamson, wondering if they would see the Solar System again.
There were no guarantees on this mission, and they were going to be a long way
from home. He took a deep breath as he gazed at the Moon and the cloud shrouded
Earth on the screens. It would be a long time before he saw either again.

“Fold Space Drive activation,” stated Ensign Martin as he turned a large gold key on his
console.

Instantly, the
Constellation accelerated and jumped into Fold Space. The rest of the fleet quickly
followed.

“Message from
General Mitchell,” Lieutenant Travers reported from communications. “He wishes
us good luck and a safe return.”

Wade listened
to the exchange as he gazed at the main viewscreen. If you stared long enough,
you could actually see the stars move as the ship continued to accelerate. It
would take a while for the fleet to reach its top cruising speed of three light
years per hour. With a sigh, Wade turned and left the Command Center. There were currently twenty-five marines on the Constellation to serve as a security
force for the ship. Wade hoped they wouldn’t be needed. If they were, then the
mission would have taken a turn for the worse and they might never see home
again.

-

Mason stared
at one of the main viewscreens in the Control Center showing a view of the
departing ships as seen from Centerpoint Station. After a moment, the ships
suddenly accelerated and began moving off rapidly across the Solar System. This
was the mission to the trading station that General Mitchell had briefed him
on. It held the most potential for cultivating allies or even bringing back
some new innovative technology that might be useful. Marken had expressed his
belief that if approached properly some of the nonaligned worlds just might be
sympathetic to their cause.

“They’re on
their way,” commented Pamela, glancing over at Mason.

“Let’s just
hope that everything goes as planned,” he responded. He knew that going on
board a Kleese space station would be risky.

Mason knew Marken
and Harnett were going along on this mission, which just accentuated its
importance. It was going to be strange not seeing either of the two at Vesta.
Both of the two Kiveans spent a lot of their time inside the asteroid. Marken
speaking with the Kivean engineers that were always present and Harnett helping
out in the new medical centers.

“Sean Miller,
Ethan Hall, and Cheryl Robinson are waiting for you in your office,” Jessica
Lang informed Mason from Communications. She had just received a message from
Adrienne asking if Mason was in the Control Center and if he was that he needed
to be reminded of the meeting.

Mason frowned;
he had actually forgotten. There was so much going on. Elections were being
held in two more days across the Solar System to elect officials to represent
each colony or habitat. Mason had been holding regular meetings with Mayor
Silas, Professor Scott, and several others about what authority they would
allow the new civilian government to have. They'd even written up a basic charter
describing and detailing the powers the new elected officials would possess.

Mayor Silas
had reported that the Earth politicians on the Moon had been livid when they
realized that they had been effectively frozen out of the new government. They
had assumed that due to their former positions they would automatically be part
of the new political reality and would have a say in future policy decisions.

-

Twenty minutes
later, Mason stepped into his office and noticed immediately that his wife was
sitting at her desk with an aggravated look upon her face.

“They’ve been in
there for over forty minutes,” she spoke irritably. “You know better than to
keep people waiting.”

“I’m sorry,” Mason
said, walking over and giving Adrienne a quick apologetic kiss on the cheek.
“There was something important happening in the Control Center and I just
couldn’t leave.”

“Tell that to
them,” Adrienne said, pointing to the small conference room over to one side of
Mason’s office. “Admiral Rivers is with them also.”

“Admiral Rivers,”
Mason uttered his eyes widening as he thought about what the admiral could want.
“I suppose he wants permission to take the new battlecruisers out on their
trials.” Mason knew they had been completed over a week ago and were undergoing
routine system tests before being formerly handed over to the military.

“Your sister
also wants us to come over for supper tonight,” Adrienne added. “The girls want
to see their uncle.” Susan and she got along very well and Adrienne enjoyed
spending time with the two girls. Susan was also teaching her how to cook some
of Mason’s favorite foods.