Galactic Empire Wars 2: Emergence (22 page)

-

Wade and Beth
reported to Colonel Bailey, who had been pleased to see them. If it became
necessary to defend Vesta from invasion, these two officers were the best he
could get.

“I’m assigning
a full company of marines in Type Three battle suits and two companies in Type
Twos to the spacedock,” Bailey informed both of them as he briefly went over
his defensive plans. “Major Nelson, you'll be in overall command with Captain
Williams as your second. If the Kleese get conscripts into the spacedock don’t
let them get any further.”

“They won’t,”
Wade promised the colonel, his eyes narrowing. “Captain Williams and I will
make sure that if they make it into the spacedock they won’t be leaving there.”

“Major, I
don’t know what’s going to happen in this battle. We have a good-sized fleet,
but we’ve never fought any Kleese warships before. If they manage to fight
their way through the tunnel and if it looks as if the spacedock is going to be
overrun, I will destroy the linking tunnel between the dock and Smithfield. If I do, you and your marines will be trapped in the spacedock with the Kleese
conscripts.”

“Do what you
must, Colonel,” Wade answered his eyes unwavering. “We’ll do our job and you do
yours.”

“Good luck,
Major,” replied Colonel Bailey, reaching out and shaking Wade’s hand. “With
luck we’ll all still be here when this is over.”

-

Later, the two
of them walked the spacedock to look over the defensive preparations.

“It seems as
if we can’t get any leave time in,” Beth said, glancing over at Wade.

“I know,”
replied Wade, wishing he could have spent more time with his parents and Ryan.
“How’s your mother?”

“She’s doing
fine; one of her friends is going to stay with her until this crisis is over. I
think Mom is just glad not to be alone.”

“Ryan’s at the
academy getting ready to go through orientation,” Wade said. “It will continue
even through this emergency.”

“Probably for
the best,” Beth responded with a nod. “They have students from all across the
Solar System and it wouldn’t be practical for them to attempt to go back home.”

They continued
to walk on in silence. For some reason, Beth felt like she needed to speak
about an issue that'd been weighing heavily on her mind recently, but something
was holding her back. With every day that passed, she was beginning to realize
just how much Wade meant to her. When this emergency was over, she would have
to find some way to tell him.

-

Fleet Admiral
Kirby was in the Command Center of the Armageddon as it moved away from
Centerpoint Station. Other ships were also leaving the flight bays and taking
up supporting positions around the flagship.

“We have four
extra light cruisers that will be a part of Fifth Fleet when the battlecruisers
are finished,” Major Makita reported as he studied the tactical screen. “Where
do you want them?”

“Assign them
to Second Fleet since they lost the Achilles on the trading station mission,”
Kirby replied as he thought over his fleet dispositions.

“Admiral,”
spoke Lieutenant Jones from Communications, looking confused. “Darren is
sending all of his nonessential personnel from Holbrook Station down to
Jornada.”

“A good
decision,” commented Makita, nodding his head in approval. “In the shape Earth
is in the Kleese may never suspect we still have an active base on the planet.”

“Tell Darren
that if Holbrook Station is heavily damaged in this attack he’s to evacuate the
rest of his people to Centerpoint immediately.” He didn’t want a panicked pilot
heading for Earth with survivors, which might tip the Kleese off to the base on
the planet.

“Yes, Sir,”
responded Lieutenant Jones. He quickly turned back to his communications
console and began sending the orders.

“I wish we
could detect a ship in Fold Space before it got into the Solar System,” Kirby
said as he gazed at the large tactical screen, which showed the current
deployment of the fleet. The Armageddon and First Fleet were around
Centerpoint, Second Fleet was orbiting above Luna City, and Third Fleet was at
Mars.

“How do you
think we’ll fare against the Kleese warships?” Major Makita asked as he stepped
away from a console where he had been checking on the ship’s power status. In
some ways, the Armageddon was much like the attack submarine he once commanded.

“They'll have six
of their primary warships and we’ll have twelve battlecruisers,” Kirby
responded his eyes narrowing and his forehead creasing in a frown. “We’ll have
fifty-one light cruisers and ninety-six assault ships in the combined fleet. We
also have another two hundred assault ships from Centerpoint that we can call
upon if need be. Another seventy assault ships are scattered around the system
defending the major colonies and asteroid habitats.”

“That’s a lot
of firepower,” Makita commented. Then his eyes focused on Kirby with a very
intense look. “But is it enough?”

“That’s the
million dollar question,” Kirby replied with a sigh. “Remember that
Centerpoint, Holbrook, and all the colonies and habitats are heavily armed with
both defensive and offensive weapons. I don’t see how those six ships can
destroy everything, but we also don’t know for sure how many other ships
they’ll be bringing. From the data packet we received from the nonaligned
world’s ship, we can expect at least ten mother ships and three hundred assault
ships.”

Makita was
silent as he dwelled upon those numbers. “We have better shields and weapons,”
he quickly pointed out. “That'll make a difference.”

“As far as
their mother ships and assault ships, that’s true,” Kirby conceded. “But we
don’t know much about the Kleese warships; they’re the big unknown in all of
this. If we can’t find a way to destroy them, we can’t win this battle.”

Kirby’s eyes
returned to the tactical screen and all the friendly green icons that were
present. He knew when all of this was over there would be far fewer, if there
were any left at all. His thoughts turned to Susan and the two girls. He was
glad they were inside Vesta; it was the most heavily defended colony in the
Solar System. The habitats were also deep inside and nearly impervious from
attack. He just hoped he would get to see his family when this battle was over.

-

Wade was in
his Type Three command suit with Beth standing next to him in hers. The suit’s
equipment allowed him to scan the large spacedock and seek out the best
positions to place his defending forces. For the last several days, Beth and he
had been going around the dock trying to determine where their three hundred
marines could best cover the massive airlock doors through which the attack
would come. There were also half a dozen energy beam emplacements with their
long barrels pointed toward the doors. If Kleese conscripts did manage to break
into the spacedock as they did several years ago, they would find it extremely
costly.

“Wade,” Beth’s
voice came over their private channel with an odd catch in it.

“Yes?” Wade
answered as he used his suit to greatly enhance his view of a section of the
dock near the massive airlocks. There were some large shipping containers
stored there that could be used for cover. He almost had his deployment plan
for his marines figured out and just needed to work on a few more minor
details.

“I think I’m
finally over Donald,” Beth spoke in a quiet voice. “I’m ready to move on.”

Wade froze for
a moment. The comment had taken him totally by surprise. Was Beth saying what
he thought she was? “That’s great,” he responded, trying to sound casual. “When
this is over we can discuss it more in private.”

“I would like
that,” responded Beth, demurely. “Just let me know when and where.”

Wade felt his
pulse racing slightly. He had waited a long time for Beth to say those words.
He just wished they were not getting ready to fight a major battle. It was at
that moment that the red Condition One lights began flashing in the spacedock
and a warning siren began to howl.

“Guess I timed
that about right,” Beth muttered as she turned to go to her marines.

-

Michael was
asleep in his quarters when the alert sounded. His eyes instantly snapped open
and it took him only a moment to realize what was happening. He slapped the com
button next to his bed as he threw the blanket back and swung his legs out.

“Status!” he
spoke quickly as he reached for his uniform.

“Kleese ships
are dropping out of Fold Space just outside the orbit of Mars,” Major Makita
reported. “We don’t have numbers on them yet, but we should have shortly.”

“Make sure all
commands are at Condition One and notify President Randle of the current status
of the Kleese ships if he doesn’t already.” Michael knew if Colonel Bailey was
on the ball at Vesta that Mason would know shortly. “I’ll be in the Command Center in a few minutes.” As he dressed, Michael wished he had time to send a
message to Susan. He wanted to reassure her one more time that everything was
going to be all right.

-

Stepping into
the Command Center, Michael’s eyes quickly swept over the busy crew. He could
sense a heightened anxiety level, but everyone seemed to be functioning
normally. “What do we have?” he asked, gazing over at Major Makita, who was
sitting in the command chair. Makita quickly got up and stepped over to one
side.

“It’s not
good,” he said, shaking his head worriedly. “We have six Kleese warships as
well as sixteen mother ships, and that means four hundred and eighty assault
ships as well.”

“What are they
doing?”

“I would guess
they’re taking detailed scans of the system,” answered Makita, glancing at the
tactical screen. “They haven’t moved since they dropped out of Fold Space.”

Michael sat
down in the command chair with his eyes focusing on the large tactical screen
on the front wall. “I’m moving First and Second Fleet to outside the orbit of
the Moon,” he said after a moment. “Third Fleet will remain at Mars until we
determine the Kleese's intentions. Get me Admiral Sanders on the com. I want
both fleets two million kilometers outside Earth’s orbit. If we have to fight a
fleet engagement, I want to put some distance between us and any tempting
targets for the Kleese.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Makita replied as he passed on the orders.

A few minutes
later, both fleets were moving out toward the coordinates in space where they
would await the Kleese. Admiral Kirby watched the tactical screen as they set
up in a large defensive formation. Michael could see large numbers of green
icons leaving Centerpoint Station. Those would be the two hundred assault ships
normally based there. As soon as the enemy’s intentions were clear, those ships
would probably be joining the two assembled fleets.

“Enemy is
moving,” Lieutenant Fullerton reported from her sensor console.

“Where are
they headed?” Kirby asked, already suspecting the answer and feeling his heart
begin to race.

“For us,”
Lieutenant Fullerton replied, her voice sounding frightened. “They’re all
headed straight for us.”

“How long
until they're here?” asked Admiral Kirby, drawing in a sharp breath, his eyes
focused on the tactical screen displaying the red threat icons that represented
the inbound Kleese fleet.

“Thirty-two
minutes,” Lieutenant Fullerton replied her hazel eyes gazing at the admiral.
She hoped he had a good battle plan. “They’re in Fold Space, and based on their
current acceleration and course they should drop back out about twenty thousand
kilometers from our current position.”

“No chance
they’re headed for Luna City or Centerpoint is there?” asked Major Makita as he
strode over to stand next to Bree gazing intently at her sensor data screens as
if wanting to confirm the data himself.

“No, Sir,”
replied Fullerton, shaking her head and glancing up at the executive officer.
“If they maintain their current course and acceleration, they’re heading for
us.”

“That tears
it,” stated Kirby, knowing they were going to have to fight a major fleet
action. “Contact Admiral Stehr and tell him we need Third Fleet here as soon as
possible. Let him know the expected arrival time of the Kleese fleet.”

“Message
sent,” reported Lieutenant Jones from Communications after a few moments.

“I want one
hundred and fifty of the assault ships just launched from Centerpoint to come
to our coordinates,” continued Kirby, knowing he needed the reinforcements.
“We’ll assign fifty of them to each of our fleets; the rest will stay and help
in the defense of the station and Luna City if the Kleese get past us.”

Kirby watched
with calm nerves as the Command Center around him hummed with increased
activity as his orders were swiftly carried out. Michael’s brow furrowed as he
thought about what was ahead for his fleet. There was no way to know what was
going to happen in this battle as they'd never fought an actual Kleese warship
before. He let out a long sigh and refocused his eyes on the tactical screen
and the hundreds of red threat icons it was displaying.

-

General
Mitchell, General Pittman, and Marken were in the Command Center in Centerpoint
Station watching the approaching Kleese ships on the main tactical screen. The
news coming in over the sensors wasn’t good. The Kleese had brought a very
large fleet, larger than expected.

“All cargo
ships, passenger ships, and prospecting ships have shut down,” General Pittman
reported as he looked at several data screens and then back up at a sensor
screen showing a number of green icons quickly disappearing.

“At least most
of them had already returned to their home ports or mining operations,”
commented Mitchell, knowing that all over the Solar System ship captains were
rushing to make their ships as invisible as possible. They had made plans
months back that if a major Kleese attack were to occur, all nonmilitary ships
would come to a stop, drop their power to a minimum, and go dark until the threat
was over. This was the first time they'd actually utilized that procedure.

“It’s essential
that our battlecruisers concentrate on the Kleese warships with their heavy
particle beam weapons as well as antimatter missiles,” Marken spoke his eyes
showing deep concern over the coming battle and wanting to stress the
importance of hitting the Kleese warships as hard as possible. “The light
cruisers can handle the mother ships for awhile and our own assault ships can
engage the Kleese assault ships one on one.”

Mitchell nodded
and ordered the communications officer to pass on Marken’s recommendations to
Fleet Admiral Kirby. They needed every advantage possible in the coming battle,
and Marken’s familiarity with the Kleese would play an essential part.

“What if the
particle beam weapons don’t work against their shields?” asked General Pittman,
glancing over at Marken. “We don’t know how powerful the shields are on a
Kleese warship.”

“I don’t know,”
Marken replied with some concern in his voice. “We may have to concentrate all
of our battlecruisers’ fire upon one ship. I don’t believe even a Kleese
warship could stand up to that amount of firepower for long.”

General Mitchell
nodded his head in agreement. Fighting a battle in space was much more
difficult than fighting one on land. He just hoped that Fleet Admiral Kirby was
up to it. At least with Marken on Centerpoint they'd stand a much better chance
of understanding and countering the Kleese tactics.

-

Michael
watched intently as the first Kleese ship began to drop out of Fold Space. In
just a matter of a few minutes, all six Kleese warships and mother ships were
in normal space twenty thousand kilometers from the fleet.

“Mother ships
are launching assault ships,” Lieutenant Fullerton reported as numerous red threat
icons began appearing on her sensors. She let out a deep breath as they
continued to appear. Her heart raced as she saw the numbers continue to
increase. God! There were so many of them!

On one of the
primary viewscreens, a dark black disk shape appeared. All talking in the Command Center ceased as everyone gazed at the deadly ship. The Kleese warship was three
kilometers in diameter and a thousand meters thick. On its hull, they could see
numerous weapons emplacements as well as metal hatches that probably hid
launching tubes for sublight antimatter missiles. The ship looked to be heavily
armored and ready for war.

“Computer
estimates indicate that ship is carrying at least ten times the weapons of a
mother ship,” Major Makita spoke in a stunned voice as he looked at the
information coming over a data screen. “If its energy screen is as powerful as
their weapons, we could have trouble penetrating it.”

“Form the
fleet up into formation Alpha Attack Two,” ordered Kirby, briskly. This was a
large concave lens formation with the battlecruisers and light cruisers
interspaced throughout to help give covering fire to the assault ships.

“Third Fleet
will be arriving in twelve more minutes,” Lieutenant Fullerton reported as she
scanned the incoming Human ships, urging them to get here as quickly as
possible.

“Place them in
our formation as soon as they arrive,” ordered Kirby, hoping the Kleese didn’t
attack before then. “Ship status?”

“All systems
are powered up and working at optimum levels,” replied Major Makita. “Shield is
energized and weapons are on standby.”

-

The Kleese
commander was a minor Overlord. If he achieved a victory over the Humans and
their Kivean collaborators, it would move him that much closer to reaching a
venerated position on the Council. Axtell stood upon the Command Pedestal in
the Kleese warship, Dark Oblivion, watching the tactical screen showing the
waiting Human ships. It was an honor to command one of the great warships of
the Kleese and he planned to use it to his full advantage. Only by accumulating
power could one hope to move up in the Kleese hierarchy and eventually to the
Council of Overlords. This fleet of warships was his means to do just that.

“Humans are
nearly within striking range,” Darlu, his second in command, reported from
where he was standing upon his six legs next to Axtell. “Their assault ships
and their other major fleet will be joining their main fleet shortly.”

“Excellent,”
Axtell spoke in a steady voice. “We will allow them to join together and then
annihilate them in one massive battle.”

“The Humans
and their Kivean allies are to be eliminated from this system,” Darlu responded
in a cold and impassionate voice, recalling the orders from the Council. His
dark arms pointed at the main tactical screen in the Command Center. “The space station they stole from us is in orbit between the planet and its moon. Once
the battle here has been won, we will take back what is ours.”

“Prepare our
ships to advance,” Axtell ordered, his multifaceted eyes looking over at his
second in command. “All warships are to focus on the larger Human ships. They
will be the most dangerous, though I doubt if they possess any weapons that can
penetrate the advanced shields on one of our warships.”

-

“The Centerpoint
assault ships are taking up their positions in our fleet formation,” Major
Makita reported as the one hundred and fifty small two hundred-meter ships
moved into their assigned slots. “Third Fleet has arrived and Admiral Stehr is
moving his ships into position also.”

Michael let out
a long, deep breath as he gazed at the main tactical screen. He had three
hundred and nine ships in his formation opposed by nearly five hundred Kleese
ships. The screen seemed to be alive with green and red icons. So far, neither
side had fired a weapon.

“Kleese fleet is
moving forward,” Lieutenant Fullerton reported her voice sounding nervous. Her
delicate hands flew over her screens, touching icons and calling up additional
information. “They will be in optimum engagement range in two minutes.”

Michael activated
the ship-to-ship com, which would allow him to broadcast to all of the ships in
the Human fleet. “All ships stand by to fire,” he spoke in a calm and
self-assured voice. “Particle weapons to focus on the Kleese warships first and
the Kleese mother ships second. All ships will fire two volleys at the
warships, then light cruisers and assault ships are to shift fire to the mother
ships and the assault vessels. All battlecruisers will continue to pound the
six Kleese warships until they are either destroyed or forced to withdraw. Good
luck and good hunting.”

“All ships are
acknowledging the message,” Lieutenant Jones reported.

“Move the fleet
forward,” ordered Michael, knowing it was time to see just how powerful the
Kleese warships were. In just a few moments, they'd know if the Human fleet
stood a chance or if it was doomed to go down in defeat.

-

Mason stood in
the Control Center on Vesta next to Colonel Bailey. He had already placed all
the colonies and habitats in the system at Condition One. At Condition One,
civilians would be going to reinforced bunkers for their protection. He knew
above him, in the city, marines in Type Two battle suits would now be on guard.
The city would be quiet with no one other than the military moving about.

Gazing at the
main tactical screen, he let out a heavy sigh of resignation. The Kleese had
come in force and the Human forces were obviously outnumbered. There was no way
to know how this battle was going to go.

“I hope
Michael knows what he’s doing,” commented Drake from where he and Pamela were
sitting at the primary control console. “This battle could be costly.” He had
already spoken to his wife, Larcy, and she had taken their daughter over to
their parents, who had a small, protective bunker beneath the house.

“I’m sure
Fleet Admiral Kirby has a well thought out battle plan,” Colonel Bailey stated
as he watched the red and green icons on the screen grow ever nearer. Any
moment now, firing between the two fleets would commence.

Pamela brushed
a strand of black hair away from her eyes. She wished she could be with her
husband and son through this, but her duty required she stay here and help
coordinate the actions of the people in the Control Center. By now, Paul and
Mike were safely in a bunker.

“Michael has a
knack for figuring ways out of tough situations,” Mason added, his voice
sounding confident. Inside, he wasn’t so certain. Michael was facing a superior
force with unknown weapons from the Kleese warships.

“Ships are
opening fire,” Lieutenant Struthers reported suddenly as a red light began
flashing above his control panel.

“So; now it
begins,” mumbled Drake in a subdued voice.

-

“All ships,
fire!” Kirby ordered over the ship-to-ship com.

“Firing,”
Lieutenant Edmondson replied as he punched several buttons on his complicated
control console. Other weapons officers were doing the same in front of their
consoles. Targeting sensors were reaching out and feeding data to the ship’s
weapons. Pulse fusion batteries and energy turrets locked on their targets,
ready to fire.

From the
Armageddon, Two deep blue particle beams shot out to strike the energy shield
of one of the black disk warships of the Kleese. The beams hit the shield and
the screen seemed to glow brightly at the impact points, but it didn’t go down.

“Kleese shields
are holding,” gasped Major Makita as he saw the particle beams were not
penetrating.

“Launching
antimatter missiles,” Edmondson stated as he flipped several switches on his
console. “Firing pulse fusion beams and energy weapons.”

Two massive
explosions lit up the Kleese warship. For a moment, it looked like it might
have suffered some damage, but then the light faded and the Kleese warship
remained intact. There was not even a burn mark on the hull. Pulse fusion beams
and energy beams struck the energy screen to little effect.

“Kleese shield
is holding,” Lieutenant Edmondson reported with a look of astonishment on his
face.

“All ships
have opened fire and the Kleese are responding,” Major Makita reported as the
Armageddon suddenly shook violently.

“Pulse fusion
beams and an antimatter missile just struck our energy screen,” Lieutenant
Marsten reported his eyes showing some concern. “Shields are holding at forty
percent.”

“Our weapons
fire seems ineffective against the Kleese warships,” Lieutenant Edmonson
hastily informed the admiral. “Continuing to fire.”

A sudden
nearby flash lit up one of the viewscreens, which dimmed automatically and then
returned to normal. It showed a dissipating field of debris and plasma.

“What was
that?” demanded Michael, glancing at Lieutenant Fullerton at the primary sensor
console.

“The light
cruiser Minsk is down,” she replied her eyes meeting the admirals. “We've also
lost four assault ships with others showing significant damage.”