Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (31 page)

Military
Overlord Harmock was pleased with his fleet’s progress. In two more days, they
would be arriving in the Humans’ home star system. He felt no guilt at what he
intended to do. He was going to eradicate the Humans and make their race
extinct so they could never become a threat to the Kleese again. Once the
Humans were eliminated, his fleet would proceed to Lanolth and give the Alliance an ultimatum. Surrender unconditionally to the Zaltule and swear allegiance to
the warrior clan or face annihilation.

Kleese collars
of obedience would be placed around the necks of all of the Alliance leaders.
If Lanolth refused to surrender the Alliance, he would order the fleet to
destroy every ship and facility in the system. Once that was done, antimatter
missiles would be dropped upon the surface of Lanolth until all life upon the
planet was obliterated. The fleet would then proceed to the next planet in the Alliance and demand the same thing. If they had to destroy every planet that had joined
the Alliance, the Zaltule would do so.

However,
Harmock strongly suspected that once the Alliance learned of the defeat of the
Humans, they would quickly agree to the Zaltule terms. A few quick public
executions of some of their leaders would also be beneficial in bringing them
into seeing the wisdom of submitting to the Zaltule. Harmock had done some
research on the worlds that made up the Alliance and many of them would fit in
well with the Kleese Empire he envisioned. Particularly once many of the worlds
inhabited by useless vermin had been cleansed.

“The small
Human ship that has been shadowing us has most likely already informed the
Human home system of our imminent arrival,” commented Minor Overlord Gareth.

“That will be
for the best,” said Harmock, shifting his eyes toward his second in command. He
hadn’t been able to destroy the annoying vessel at Callenda as it had stayed
out of weapons range. “It will ensure all the Human ships are gathered in one
location to oppose us. I know of no force in the galaxy that can stop ten
thousand Zaltule battlecruisers. While the battle may be fierce, we will win by
sheer firepower and greater numbers.”

“With the fall
of the Humans and the Alliance, our last major obstacle to expanding the empire
into the rest of the galaxy will have been removed.”

Harmock
nodded. “When we are through, we’ll leave a token force to keep a watch on the
former Alliance worlds and the rest of the fleet shall return to the core
worlds. We will use our shipyards to repair our heavily damaged ships and build
new ones to bring our fleet back up to full strength. Then we’ll move the new
trading station outside of the empire and begin our expansion into the rest of
the galaxy.”

“What if the
other clans reject our vision of expanding the empire?”

“Those that
object will be eliminated,” Harmock said coldly with his eyes turning red. “We
have the ships to enforce our will upon the empire and all of the other clans.
Between our fleet and the reserve fleet under command of War Overlord Tetus,
the other clans will not dare challenge us.”

“The Zaltule
are the supreme race in the galaxy,” Gareth said. “All others shall be
subservient to us.”

Harmock turned
his gaze back to the tactical screen and the small red threat icon that had
been shadowing the fleet for so many days. Shortly they would drop out of Fold
Space and when they did, he would give the orders to locate and destroy that
small pest of a ship.

-

Captain Hailey
Rogers was growing more anxious with every passing hour. Ever since they had
discovered the Zaltule’s destination, the crew had been going about their
assignments with a look of resignation. They all knew the Solar System couldn’t
stop the Zaltule juggernaut now aimed at its heart.

“Any word from
Centerpoint?” asked Lieutenant Stein as he came into the Command Center and took his place at the sensor console.

“No,” Hailey
answered. “I haven’t been expecting a response to our communication updates.
They know what’s coming and we can only hope, by some miracle, they can deal
with it.”

Hailey leaned
back in her command chair and took a deep breath. She had been getting very
little sleep knowing that the future for the Human race was looking very bleak.
She had finally asked the ship’s doctor to give her something to help. She
would take the medication tonight, as she wanted to be on top of her game when
they arrived in the Solar System. Hailey knew when the
Sparrow
arrived
home, death would arrive with them.

-

Colonel Wade
Nelson, Major Jeffries, Captain Ryan Nelson, and Captain Jamie Stern were
standing in the massive spacedock inside Vesta. Ships were being moved outside
and weapon emplacements were being installed in a number of strategic locations
to cover the massive airlock doors. In addition, four assault ships had been
brought in and placed in the berths closest to the airlocks leading to the
habitats inside of Vesta. If it became absolutely necessary, the assault ships
could use their energy turrets to aid in the defense of the spacedock.

“You think
they’re going to get in, don’t you?” said Major Jeffries, looking over at Wade.
He had known the colonel long enough to have a sense for what Wade was
thinking.

Wade slowly
nodded his head. He was still feeling shaken at realizing Captain Nicole Foster
and so many other good Marines he had known had died at Lymeth Three. “We’ll
need to be ready to blow the tunnel if they do. In previous battles, the
Zaltule have withdrawn when it became evident they couldn’t win. In this case,
I don’t believe they’ll withdraw until we’ve either destroyed most of their
fleet or until they’ve achieved their objective.”

“That being
our elimination,” said Captain Stern grimly. She had only recently been cleared
for combat after her harrowing experience at Lymeth Three. It was difficult to
be standing her with Colonel Nelson and discuss the coming attack without
Nicole nearby with her usual satchel of explosives.

Wade looked
over to where a number of hover tanks were being unloaded from a cargo ship.
They had been brought in from Freedom Station where there was a production line
for the small and deadly armored vehicles.

“What’s being
done with all the ships we’re sending out?” Ryan asked as he saw several small
prospector vessels making their way toward the massive airlock doors.

Major Jeffries
turned his attention to the two small ships just as the doors began to open.
“All the nonmilitary ships in the system will be hiding out in the asteroids
and the Kuiper Belt in the hope the Zaltule will overlook some of them if the
battle goes their way. They have instructions that when the warning is sent
from Centerpoint that the Zaltule are about to drop out of Fold Space to power
all of their systems down until the battle is over and the all clear is given.
If they receive no message, they’re to remain silent and only power back up
when their life support begins to run low.”

“Then what?”
asked Captain Stern. “If the all clear isn’t given then that will indicate the
Zaltule have won.”

“Fleet Admiral
Kelly has sent two battlecruisers, four light cruisers, and twelve assault
ships to a nearby system with orders to remain there until this is over. The
hospital ship
Micene
as well as a number of fully loaded cargo ships, several
passenger liners, as well as the troop ship
Argyle
will be with them as
well. Once it’s been determined the Zaltule have left the system, the fleet
will return and begin searching for survivors.”

“If they find
no one?” asked Ryan, feeling deeply concerned that General Mitchell and Fleet
Admiral Kelly had felt sending this small fleet to a nearby system was
necessary. It indicated to him, they had little confidence of a Human victory.

Major Jeffries
drew in a deep breath. “Once their search is over, they will leave the system
and set out for a part of the galaxy far away from the Kleese Empire. Perhaps
someday in the distant future Humans will return and finish what we began.”

Wade looked
over to where some dockworkers were putting up blastcrete walls to act as
protection for the Marines who would be defending Vesta. They were making a big
mess of the spacedock, but if the Zaltule got inside what the dockhands were
doing would be minor compared to the damage the Zaltule would cause. He looked
back toward the airlock doors leading toward the inhabited parts of the
asteroid. There were a lot of civilians who were depending on them for
protection. Wade shuddered to think what would happen if the Zaltule got loose
in any of the habitats.

-

Time passed
and Fleet Admiral Kelly gazed with growing apprehension at the tactical screen
on the wall of his flagship, the heavy battlecruiser
Armageddon
.

“They’re
almost here,” commented Commander Kevin Makita as he studied the tactical
screen, which was showing the approaching Zaltule armada. “God, that’s a lot of
ships.”

Fleet Admiral
Kelly had to agree. “Lieutenant Fullerton, have we determined their most
probable drop out point?”

The lieutenant
ran some quick calculations on her computer and then turned toward the admiral.
“Mars,” she said, her eyes widening. “They’re headed for Mars.”

“Communications,
send a message to Commander Symington on the
Callisto
and to General
Sanchez that they can expect the Zaltule warfleet to drop out of Fold Space in
their vicinity.”

“Are we going
to support them?” asked Commander Makita. His eyes shifted from the tactical
screen to the admiral.

Kelly let out
a deep sigh. “We can’t. We have to focus on the defense of the two stations and
the Moon. If we have any hope of victory, we must lure the Zaltule here to
destroy them where our heaviest firepower is.”

“Commander
Symington won’t stand a chance,” Makita said in a somber voice. “Mars will be
hit heavily and a lot of people will die.”

“I know,”
Kelly answered, his eyes showing a haunted look. “But they’ll hurt the Zaltule
and for every ship they can take out, it will mean one less we’ll have to face
later. We do have a little surprise planned for them once they arrive at Mars.”

“The cargo
ships?”

“Yes,” replied
Kelly, nodding his head. “The cargo ships.”

Commander
Makita looked back at the tactical display, noting it was showing twelve
minutes before the Zaltule warfleet dropped out of Fold Space. “At least with
the
Sparrow
and the Fold Space sensors we had time to evacuate all the
cities on Mars. Everyone’s in the deep shelters.”

Kelly nodded.
All across the Solar System, the civilian population had gone to their
shelters. For the last two days, a steady stream of people had made their way
to their assigned bunkers. With a feeling of guilt, he knew there was a good
chance, particularly on Mars, that the shelters wouldn’t be able to protect the
people inside of them.

-

Commander Bree
Symington watched the ship’s tactical screen as Seventh Fleet pulled back until
it was directly over the surface of Mars. The red planet loomed large on one of
the ship’s viewscreens. They were between the planet and the expected drop out
point of the Zaltule Fleet. Bree’s fleet was twelve hundred kilometers above
the planet and in range of where the numerous ion cannons on the surface could
support her fleet. There were also eight hundred defense satellites armed with
powerful energy turrets that could add their firepower to her ships.

Since their
return from their failed mission, all of her warships had been repaired and
sent to Mars. Due to her combat experience on the mission, she was given
overall command of what was left of the fleet. With her return with what
remained of Admiral Adamson’s force, the fleet around Mars had been greatly
augmented. She now had two heavy battlecruisers, four regular battlecruisers,
fifteen light cruisers, and sixty assault ships to oppose the Zaltule with.
Bree knew it wasn’t enough, not by a long shot. Bree wished Admiral Adamson
were here to command the coming battle; she wasn’t sure she was ready for this.

-

Minutes passed
and suddenly three-kilometer-in-length Zaltule battlecruisers started appearing
near Mars. They dropped out of Fold Space by the hundreds, and then by the
thousands. In less than five minutes, nearly ten thousand heavily armed and
dangerous Zaltule battlecruisers had appeared less than forty thousand
kilometers from Mars. As soon as the last ships dropped out of Fold Space, the
fleet formed up into a giant globe formation and began moving toward the
planet.

Twelve million
kilometers from Mars, eight hundred heavily laden cargo ships powered up upon
receiving a signal from General Sanchez, who had noted the arrival of the
Zaltule. They quickly dumped energy into their Fold Space Drives and made the
transition into Fold Space. Their target was the Zaltule fleet now approaching
the red planet. There was not a single living being inside any of the ships.

-

“Contacts!”
called out Jalridd, the Zaltule standing in front of the sensor console of the
Warrior’s
Fire
. “The sensors are showing eight hundred contacts have entered Fold
Space and are heading toward our coordinates.”

“Eight hundred
more warships?” said Minor Overlord Gareth in surprise. He shifted his
multifaceted eyes toward the tactical screen, which was now displaying the new
contacts as red threat icons.

“Can you
identify the type of warships in that formation?” asked Military Overlord
Harmock as he scrutinized the tactical screen. He didn’t trust the Humans to
fight as other worlds had in the past. They were too clever at the art of war.

“No,” answered
Jalridd with confusion in his voice. “They are of multiple types and sizes.”