The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) (11 page)

-

A few hours
later, War Leaders Bisth and Sangeth reported to Resmunt’s office. Both were
curious about what the Fleet Commodore wanted and were hoping it meant action
would be forthcoming. Hocklyns were meant for combat, not routine shipboard
duties. It was time to go and find honor.

Resmunt
watched impassively as the two entered. Letting out a deep breath, he gazed
down at the six digits on his right hand. His hand was a light green in color,
and his fingers ended in very sharp and thick nails, almost like talons.

“Two of our
exploration cruisers are missing,” he began in a cold and detached voice.

“This mysterious
race you believe is out there; do you think they are responsible?” Sangeth
asked in his rasping voice.

“Over the past
month the amount of ghost sensor readings has increased dramatically,” he spoke
in a calm calculating voice. “If I didn’t know better, I would think our
defenses are being probed all along this sector.”

“Then we could
indeed be facing a well prepared enemy,” commented Bisth already relishing the
thought of combat. Honor could be coming in the very near future. Very seldom
did the Hocklyns ever encounter an enemy that was worthy of combat.

Resmunt walked
back over to the large map on the wall. “Based on when the increased sensor
ghosts began to be reported and the two cruisers planned exploration path, I
believe they were destroyed in one of these two star systems.” Resmunt pointed
to the two indicated systems on the map.

“That’s less
than seven hundred light years from our outer borders,” commented Sangeth, realizing
that the enemy could be much closer than he had thought possible. “What are our
orders?”

Resmunt turned
toward the two and spoke with authority in his voice. “You will take your two
fleets to this sector of space and investigate both systems. If an enemy is there
and you can destroy him, you are authorized to do so. If his forces are too
great, you are to withdraw and report back here.”

“Withdraw!”
Sangeth uttered, his large eyes almost turning yellow with rage. “Hocklyns do
not retreat in the face of an enemy!”

“In this case,
you will,” Resmunt spoke in a cold and deadly voice. He stepped over to stand
directly in front of the War Leader. “If you do not, I will see to it that your
entire family is stripped of their honor.”

“We will
withdraw,” responded Bisth, knowing it was the wisest choice. “Honor will be
served by bringing word of this potential threat back to the empire.”

“War Leader
Bisth, you will be in command of the two fleets,” Resmunt added, stepping back.
“Find out what’s out there. Go and bring honor to the empire.”

With that,
Resmunt dismissed the two War Leaders. There was no doubt they would follow his
commands. He knew that Sangeth was the more rash and excitable of the two,
while Bisth was more calculating and might someday rise to the rank of Fleet Commodore.
Walking back to the window, Resmunt gazed out, wondering whether Sangeth and
Bisth would find a dangerous threat to the empire, or nothing at all?

Admiral Tolsen
gazed with deep concern at the main viewscreen. His fleet was stationed 2.7
light years from Gliese 667C, which contained Caden’s World. In addition to his
flagship, WarHawk, the battle carriers Liberty and Independence were slightly
behind and above the powerful battle cruiser, as well as four Monarch heavy
cruisers. A strong light cruiser contingent consisting of eight ships were
intermingled amongst the seven powerful warships. On the periphery of the
fleet, six fleet destroyers hovered in screening positions.

“I hate this
waiting,” complained Colonel Beck, letting out a long sigh. “It’s been nearly
fourteen weeks since the two Hocklyn cruisers were destroyed. I would have
thought the Hocklyns would have responded by now.”

“Be patient,
Peter,” replied Admiral Tolsen, looking over at his second in command standing
next to him. “The Hocklyns will be here soon enough. Have you read the latest
reports from military intelligence?”

“Yes, they’re
almost frightening. They’ve found six major Hocklyn bases less than seven
hundred light years away from our borders. Major Ackerman believes they may
find more before the survey is complete.”

“They suspect
something,” Tolsen put forth, leaning back in his command chair and arching his
eyebrows. “The escort cruisers we have destroyed over the years and the stealth
scout spying has made them suspicious. They know something is out here and are
preparing for it.”

“I suspect
Admiral Streth will make short work of those bases when he launches his
attack,” smirked Colonel Beck. “I would like to be there when he levels them.”

“It will be
the start of a long war,” Tolsen said somberly, his eyes taking on a distant
and sad look. “A war with the Hocklyns may go on for generations. Even our
children may not see the end of it.”

“It’s better
than being slaves in their empire,” Peter replied with a nod of understanding.
“We have allies and a powerful fleet; this won’t be like when the Hocklyns
attacked the original Federation.”

It was at that
moment that a warning alarm sounded, drawing their attention to the sensors.

“We have
unauthorized FTL signatures in the Gliese 667C system,” reported Lieutenant Anders
as a flashing red light began blinking on his sensor panel.

Tolsen looked
back over at Colonel Beck. “Bring the fleet to readiness, Peter. This may be it!”

-

On Caden’s
World, Captain Krandle gazed at the long-range sensors, which were now showing
glaring red threat icons appearing in the system. She had been promoted since
the original battle due to the fact that additional marines had been stationed
upon the planet.

“Bring us to
Condition One, Lieutenant Simmons,” Krandle ordered as additional red threat
icons continued to appear. Simmons had also been promoted. Then turning to Adam
Severson, she continued. “Put your people in the deep bunkers, this may be the
Hocklyn attack we have been expecting. I don’t think those are freighters off
course.”

Severson
turned and began passing on the orders. At least this time they had an
additional two hundred marines to help provide security. There were even two
heavily armed marines standing at the doorway to the operations center, which
had been substantially reinforced. He knew it would take about two hours for
the twenty thousand inhabitants of the planet to reach the underground bunkers.
They had considered evacuating Caden’s World, but this was their home and the
people had wanted to stay.

“Fleet units
are withdrawing to just beneath the defensive satellites,” the corporal sitting
at the sensor console reported. The young woman continued to monitor the
sensors closely.

Captain
Krandle nodded as she studied the sensor screen. There were currently two light
cruisers and four destroyers in orbit. In addition, there were now eighty
defensive satellites as well as ten missile-launching platforms. If this was a
Hocklyn fleet, they might find Caden’s World a hard nut to crack.

“We’re at
Condition One, and our marines are reporting to their assigned security
positions,” Lieutenant Simmons reported as he listened to numerous
conversations over his mini-com. “Surface missile batteries are being activated
and readied to shoot down any inbound Hocklyn shuttle or missile.”

Krandle nodded
her head in acknowledgment. They had two defensive missile platforms at each
mining site. From the number of red threat icons on her screens, she wished she
had more! Now it begins, she thought as she watched the red icons apprehensively.
She knew that Admiral Tolsen and his fleet were nearby. She just hoped it was
enough.

-

War Leader
Sangeth gazed with cold eyes at the sensor screen. The fourth planet of the
system was showing energy readings. There were also numerous satellites in
orbit as well as a small number of ships.

“Send a
message back to War Leader Bisth that we have found an inhabited planet and are
closing to investigate.”

First Leader
Rahn quickly passed on the orders and then returned to studying the information
from the long-range sensors.

As a safety
precaution, the two Hocklyn fleets were not jumping together; they were staying
separated by one jump. This had been War Leader Bisth’s decision. If they
encountered a weak enemy, Bisth’s fleet would jump forward and help eliminate
it. If the enemy were powerful, then his fleet could jump forward, help
extricate Sangeth’s fleet, and then both fleets would return to Commodore
Resmunt’s base with data on their new enemy.

What irked War
Leader Sangeth was that Bisth had demanded that Sangeth leave over half of his
fleet at Bisth’s location. He claimed it was so the enemy wouldn’t know their
true strength until it was needed, but Sangeth did not agree that his fleet
should be split; he preferred to have his entire fleet with him. When they
returned to Fleet Commodore Resmunt’s base, he intended to lodge a formal
complaint against the other War Leader. Perhaps it would be necessary to fight
an honor duel with War Leader Bisth to prove his point.

“Plot a jump
to just outside of the planet’s gravity well,” ordered Sangeth, feeling energized
at the thought of battle. “Let’s see what is truly on the planet.”

From what he
was seeing on the sensor screens, this planet would not be able to withstand
the power of his current fleet. The ships that had been left behind with Bisth
would not be needed. Honor was a few short hours away. He smirked, knowing that
this would be over before Bisth could jump in. He would miss out on this honor
opportunity, which was just fine with Sangeth.

War Leader
Sangeth was confident of an easy victory; he had his dreadnought the Crimson
Oblivion, two war cruisers, and eight escort cruisers. With satisfaction, he
saw a white spatial vortex form in front of his flagship, and the Oblivion
moved into it. Honor was about to fall his way.

Moments later,
the Hocklyn fleet appeared just two million kilometers from the inhabited
planet. Instantly, small ships shot out of the two war cruisers as six small
fighters took up defensive positions around the fleet. The Oblivion’s sensors
and scanners focused on the planet to see what lay ahead. Weapon ports opened
and targeting systems were activated; it was the same on all of the Hocklyn
ships as they prepared for battle.

“It is a
mining operation,” First Leader Rahn reported as he finished studying the data
on the scans. “There are two quite large mining operations on the surface of
the planet.”

“What about
those ships in orbit?” Sangeth demanded as his fleet edged into the planet’s
gravity well.

“Two are of
cruiser size and the other four are lights. They are being run through the data
files now for possible identification. We will be in combat range in twenty
minutes. Should we send a message to War Leader Bisth to join us?”

“Against six ships?”
Sangeth spoke in a harsh voice. “No! This victory will be ours.”

“Very well,”
Rahn replied with a nod. He was actually pleased with Sangeth’s response. Honor
had been hard to achieve in recent years, and now here it was in front of them.
More honor would be received if there were fewer to collect it.

“What about
those satellites in orbit, there seem to be a large number of them? Surely a
mining colony wouldn’t need that many weather and communication satellites?”

First Leader
Rahn was quiet for a moment as he studied more data. “We are getting high power
readings from those satellites; they may be some type of defensive system.”

“Task our long-range
missiles with taking those satellites out first,” Sangeth ordered as a
precaution. He wanted honor out of this battle, but he was no fool. The
satellites, along with those six ships, could damage his fleet. He would
destroy the defensive satellites with his long-range missiles and then attack
the six warships, if they were warships. They could just be harmless freighters
waiting in orbit for cargo.

First Leader
Rahn suddenly turned toward War Leader Sangeth with shock on his face. His
large eyes seemed to grow even wider. “We have an identity on those ships,” he
reported in his rasping voice. “Those are Human Federation of World’s ships!
The larger two are light cruisers and the four smaller ones are destroyers. We
can expect weapons very similar to ours, including powerful lasers from the cruisers.”

“Human
Federation of Worlds?” spat War Leader Sangeth disbelievingly, his cold eyes
focusing on Rahn. “That’s impossible; the humans were wiped out centuries ago!”

“Nevertheless,
that’s what the computer is saying,” responded Rahn. “Some of the humans must
have escaped.”

“Get a message
out to War Leader Bisth and report these findings immediately,” ordered
Sangeth. “At least now we know who has been behind our recent exploration
cruiser losses.”

Rahn turned to
the communications operator and after a moment, turned back to Bisth with
concern in his eyes. “Our FTL communications are being jammed.”

“Send one of
our escorts back,” ordered Sangeth angrily, wondering if he had walked into a
trap. “We must get word back to Bisth of what we have discovered. Honor must be
served!” He wished now he had the rest of his fleet.

“It will take
a few minutes for the escort cruiser to move back out of the planet’s gravity
well.”

Bisth nodded
and turned his attention back to the sensors. They were still closing on the
planet and would be within combat range shortly.

“Have all
ships tighten our formation and prepare to attack.”

-

Captain
Krandle swore as she saw one of the Hocklyn escort cruisers suddenly vanish.
She knew it had jumped out of the system, probably to report on what their
fleet had discovered. There were four stealth scouts currently in the system
that had initiated jamming as soon as the Hocklyn fleet had jumped near Caden’s
World.