Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (27 page)

-

Pulse fusion
fire from a number of Alliance battlecruisers slammed into the main part of a
Zaltule warship, setting off massive explosions and hurling glowing debris into
space. The ship seemed to shake uncontrollably for a moment before it was
struck by a Nabian antimatter missile. It was instantly blown in two and the
broken pieces were quickly targeted and destroyed. Other Zaltule ships were
being targeted by multiple Alliance vessels trying to knock holes in their
energy shields so an antimatter missile could be fired through the gap at the
armored hull. Not even the strongest ship armor in existence could withstand
the burning heat of released antimatter.

Plasma beams
from several Human battlecruisers slammed into the bow of a Zaltule warship
setting off fiery explosions and severely damaging the vessel. Shortly after,
an antimatter missile arrived and the ship was turned into a mangled molten
wreck.

-

On the surface
of Callenda, the frightened populace looked up into the night sky. Bright
flashes of light appeared in space, sometimes being too bright to even look at.
Everyone knew the Alliance had come to their aid though it meant facing nearly
impossible odds. Even from the ground, it was easy to see when a warship met
its doom. A much brighter flash of light would appear and linger for several
long seconds before dying away.

The major cities
of Callenda had been evacuated, with most of the planet’s inhabitants seeking
out farms or fleeing toward the mountains. Only a few deep shelters had been
built and in these, the leaders of the planet’s government huddled, knowing
full well that shortly they would all be wearing the Kleese collars of
obedience. Their only hope was that someday the remaining Alliance worlds and
the Humans would return to free them.

-

Supreme
Military Overlord Harmock gazed coldly at the large viewscreens showing the
ships his fleet were facing. This wasn’t the Human fleet he had hoped for; it
was an Alliance fleet with a few Human vessels mixed in. He felt angry at being
denied the fleet battle with the Humans he had been hoping for.

“We’re
detecting ships from twenty-seven Alliance worlds as well as a number of Human
vessels,” Minor Overlord Gareth reported.

Harmock
shifted his eyes over to Gareth. “I want the maximum amount of damage possible
inflicted on that fleet!” he ordered harshly. “This Alliance dares to defy us,
and now is the time to show them the foolishness of challenging the Zaltule.”

-

In space, a
Zaltule battlecruiser was blown apart by the intense fire of six Lanolthian
warships. The six cruisers then switched their targeting to the next Zaltule
battlecruiser a few kilometers away. Energy beams, pulse fusion beams, and more
antimatter missiles began impacting its energy screen, causing it to radiate
high into the ultraviolet.

Nearby, a
Pradelian battlecruiser met its end as two Zaltule antimatter missiles penetrated
its energy screen, turning the ship into a small sun. The space battle was
growing more intense as the ships drew nearer to one another and very few
weapons were missing their targets. The Zaltule had a distinct advantage as
their ships were much larger and they had superior numbers. Already numerous
ships in the Alliance fleet were burning or had been destroyed. The Alliance cylinder looked to be on fire from the sheer radiance of exploding antimatter
weapons.

-

Fleet Admiral
Rivers grimaced as several Zaltule pulse fusion beams penetrated the energy
screen of a Calthan battlecruiser, separating the top section from the ship. A
massive explosion blew debris spinning into space and then additional pulse
fusion beams turned the rest of the vessel into glowing debris.

“We’re losing
a lot of ships,” Commander Greerman commented between clinched teeth. “The
Zaltule have too many battlecruisers and way too much firepower.”

Rivers nodded.
“It’s time for us to get out of here.” Activating the ship-to-ship communications
channel once more, he spoke his next order. “All ships commence Stage Three.
Once you’ve cleared the Zaltule battle line, activate your Fold Space Drives
and proceed to the rendezvous coordinates.”

-

In space, the Alliance cylinder began moving toward the heart of the Zaltule formation. Weapons fire
intensified as now only targets directly ahead of the fleet were being fired
upon. The Javian battlecruisers were concentrating their heavy missile fire
upon the forward most Zaltule battlecruisers. The front section of the Zaltule
formation looked like the heart of a fiery furnace.

Particle beam
cannons and occasional plasma beams tore holes in the screens of the attacking
Zaltule battlecruisers. Whenever that happened, an antimatter missile or two would
be fired into the brief gap in the shield to impact against the unprotected
hull armor. Each time this happened, the battlecruiser was destroyed and a
small glowing sun would appear for a few brief moments.

However, as
the fleet advanced, it became targeted by even more Zaltule weapons. The Alliance fleet was losing two ships to every Zaltule vessel they managed to destroy. The Alliance cylinder was aglow from exploding antimatter missiles, energy beams, and pulse
fusion beams. The smaller Human assault ships were taking a real pounding, as
they weren’t designed to stand up to a fully armed Zaltule battlecruiser.
Assault ship after assault ship exploded in fiery flares of released antimatter
energy as the Zaltule systematically blew them apart.

-

Commander Lane
on the
Minotaur
was growing impatient with the slow progress of the
fleet. On one of the viewscreens in his Command Center, he watched as a Zaltule
antimatter missile slammed into the bow of a light cruiser and the ship
vanished in a fiery explosion.

“Move us out
of the formation and prepare to enter Fold Space,” he ordered, fearing his ship
would be next. “We’re losing this battle.”

“Sir, that’s
against our orders!” protested Lieutenant Hays. “We’re not to leave our
assigned position unless ordered.”

Lane turned
toward Hays with a glowering look of anger. “I command this ship, not you, now
do as I ordered! If we remain here, we’ll be destroyed!”

Hays nodded
and against his better judgment ordered the navigation officer to begin edging
the
Minotaur
toward the edge of the formation.

Only a few
seconds had passed when the ship shook violently and the lights dimmed. Several
warning klaxons sounded and a number of red lights appeared on the damage
control console.

“What was
that?” demanded Lane, his eyes opening wide with a hint of fear.

“Several
antimatter missiles impacted our energy screen,” Hays answered evenly, turning
to face the commander. “The screen is down to 40 percent.”

“Get us out of
this damn formation, now!” yelled Lane as the ship shook violently once more.
His face was pale and covered in a look of panic.

-

Two Zaltule
battlecruisers were now targeting the
Minotaur
. A Zaltule pulse fusion
beam penetrated the weakened shield, blowing an energy beam turret to shreds
and blasting a gaping hole in the hull. Atmosphere began bleeding out into
space as several secondary explosions shook the vessel. The
Minotaur
took a massive hit to her bow, losing most of her heavy weapons with debris
floating away from the ship. Additional Zaltule beams penetrated the energy
screen, ripping open compartment after compartment and setting off more violent
explosions.

-

In the Command Center of the
Minotaur
, the lights suddenly dimmed and stayed that way.
Smoke was evident in the air and the air circulation fans had ceased to
function. Panicked voices spread throughout the Command Center.

“Energy shield
is at 12 percent, sublight drive is out, Fold Space Drive is nonfunctional,”
Lieutenant Hays reported grim-faced. “Most of our weapons have been destroyed.
We have numerous compartments open to space and out of control fires in many
areas of the ship. We also have two Zaltule battlecruisers closing on our
position.”

“Do
something!” demanded Commander Lane, his face showing madness.

“It’s too
late,” answered Hays as he folded his arms across his chest and prepared to
die. He looked defiantly at the commander. “You’ve killed us all.” At that
moment, a bright light flashed through the Command Center eliminating
everything and everyone.

-

“The
battlecruiser
Minotaur
is down,” reported Lieutenant Hertz. “It was
moving away from the fleet formation.”

“Lane,”
muttered Commander Greerman, shaking his head. “I never did trust that man.”

“His
foolishness just cost him his life as well as that of his crew,” Admiral Rivers
said grimly. He should have replaced the man weeks before; now that failure to
do so had cost him a ship and its valuable crew.

“We’ve lost
six more assault ships,” reported Lieutenant Hertz. “They just can’t stand up
to the firepower of the Zaltule battlecruisers.”

Rivers nodded.
This was a valuable but costly lesson. In future battles it would be best to
use the assault ships in a supportive role, perhaps taking out enemy ships that
had already suffered major damage.

Shifting his
gaze to the tactical screen, he saw the front portion of the Alliance cylinder
was beginning to penetrate the Zaltule formation. A few more minutes and ships
could start entering Fold Space where they would be safe from attack. However,
between now and the time that began to happen there was still a lot of fighting
to do.

-

The
Independence
shuddered as two antimatter missiles struck her energy shield
severely, jarring the ship. The screen seemed to flicker and then returned to
full power.

A nearby
Nalton battlecruiser blew apart as its power systems were compromised. A Tureen
warship was split in two as it dueled with a pair of Zaltule battlecruisers on
the outer edge of the formation. Throughout the Alliance cylinder, ships were
dying.

The forward
ships were now entering the Zaltule formation, forcing the Zaltule to be more
precise in their targeting so as not to hit their own vessels. The Alliance warships began to take advantage of the momentary lull in Zaltule weapons fire
and began hammering the nearest enemy warships with energy beams and antimatter
missiles. The Human ships were striking hard with their particle beam cannons
and plasma beams, trying to blast a path through the Zaltule battle line. More
than one Zaltule battlecruiser had holes torn through their energy screens to
die moments later as Alliance antimatter missiles blew them apart. Several
assault ships found Zaltule battlecruisers blocking their path, and rather than
slow down they rammed the blockading warships.

-

“Pull our
ships in around the Alliance fleet,” ordered Harmock as he watched the
intensity of the battle. He had grudgingly nodded his approval at seeing the
Human assault ships sacrifice themselves against his battlecruisers. It only
confirmed his belief that the Humans were equal to the Zaltule as warriors. “I
want them completely englobed and annihilated.”

“Sending the
order,” replied Gareth.

“Fleet
status!”

“We’ve lost
one hundred and eighty battlecruisers,” Gareth answered uneasily. “The Alliance fleet has lost over three hundred of their ships.”

Harmock shifted
his multifaceted eyes toward the ship’s tactical screen. He could feel the
Warrior’s
Fire
vibrate occasionally from an enemy weapons strike. It was obvious from
the movement of the Alliance fleet that they were attempting to push through
his fleet formation and there was very little he could do to prevent it. There
were only so many Zaltule ships that could bring their weapons to bear in the
region the Alliance ships were attempting to penetrate. His plan was for other
Zaltule battlecruisers to swing around and attack the Alliance cylinder
formation from the rear. There was no doubt that once they were through his
fleet, they would enter Fold Space and escape. However, before they did he
intended to make their escape as costly as possible.

-

Fleet Admiral
Rivers felt himself thrown sharply against his restraining harness. Alarms
began sounding and red lights began appearing on the damage control console.

“Two pulse
fusion beams penetrated a weakened section of our energy screen,” Commander
Greerman reported brusquely. “We have six compartments open to space and
several fires burning. I’ve dispatched damage control teams and initiated the
fire suppression systems in the affected areas. We also lost a particle beam
turret and two energy beam turrets.”

“Keep me
informed if we suffer any additional damage,” Rivers ordered as the
Independence
had now entered the Zaltule formation. Upon the viewscreens, Alliance ships as well as Zaltule battlecruisers were being prominently displayed. Rivers
shook his head grimly as a Tureen battlecruiser was blown apart.

“Targeting
Zaltule battlecruiser,” reported Lieutenant Brim as she fired off half a dozen
antimatter missiles as well as the ship’s two primary particle beam cannons.

On one of the
viewscreens, the targeted Zaltule battlecruiser was visible. Massive explosions
suddenly lit up its screen, followed by the two particle beams smashing into
the already stressed energy shield. This strike was quickly followed up by the
ship’s powerful plasma beam cannon firing, causing a large failure in the
Zaltule’s energy screen. Lieutenant Brim didn’t hesitate as four antimatter
missiles flashed through the damaged screen and exploded against the armored
hull of the Zaltule warship. Four bright flashes of light suddenly caused the
viewscreen to dim to near darkness and then moments later it returned to
normal. In the place of the Zaltule battlecruiser, there was now what looked
like a small glowing sun, which rapidly began to dim and then vanished. There
was no sign of the destroyed vessel other than a few wisps of faintly glowing
gas.