Galactic Empire Wars 2: Emergence (25 page)

Looking
around, Mason saw he was nearly home. There were people going about their daily
routines; a few waved at Mason and even said hello. Children were out playing,
and he could smell someone barbecuing. It was hard to believe the dire
situation they were in when things around him seemed so normal. It would be
good to get back home and speak with Adrienne.

-

Wade and Beth
were in a small Italian restaurant enjoying a quiet meal. Wade was eating
spaghetti and Beth was taking small bites out of a slice of sausage pizza as if
she had something weighing heavily on her mind.

“I spoke to
Colonel Bailey about the battle yesterday,” Wade spoke as he twirled his
spaghetti against his spoon as his mother had taught him to do so many years
ago. He didn’t know how many times she had scolded him for not using the spoon
when eating. He guessed having noodles dangling out of his mouth wasn’t a
pleasant sight.

“We lost a lot
of ships,” Beth replied in a solemn voice. She had spent quite some time the
previous night calming down her mother and assuring her that the danger was
past. She had also spent a restless night thinking nervously about what she had
said to Wade earlier.

“Marken is on
his way back and has asked me to come to their city for a meeting.”

Beth looked at
Wade in surprise after hearing that statement. “Anybody else?”

“No,” Wade
replied with a perplexed look on his face. “That’s what doesn’t make any sense.
If it was about the planned rescue mission to Kivea, I’m pretty sure he would
want you there as well as a few others. This has to be about something else.
From the sound of his voice, it sounded serious.”

“More
mysteries,” Beth said with a heavy sigh. “Perhaps it involves yesterday’s
battle.”

Both were
silent for a long moment and then Wade looked over at Beth. “When we were in
the spacedock, you mentioned that you were ready to move on with your life.
What exactly did you mean?”

Beth hadn’t
been expecting that question so quickly. She had laid awake much of the
previous night just thinking how she would explain her feelings to Wade.

“Donald’s
gone,” she said after a moment, feeling her pulse beginning to race. She
couldn’t believe how nervous she suddenly felt. After everything she had been
through, why was this conversation scaring her?

“He was lost
on Earth,” Wade responded his eyes focusing on Beth. Beth hadn’t spoken a lot
about Donald, though he knew they'd been deeply in love. Everyone had lost
loved ones on Earth when the Kleese destroyed it.

“How he died,
I’ll probably never know,” she replied regretfully. “I’ve finally put his
memories to rest and I need to get on with my life.” She hesitated and then
slowly reached out her hand and placed it over Wade's. “I would like you to be
a big part of that.”

Wade put his
fork down and placed his other hand over Beth’s. “I have been hoping that
someday you would say that,” he said in a reassuring voice. He knew this had
been difficult for her.

“We don’t have
to rush into anything,” Beth said quickly, not wanting Wade to misconstrue what
she was saying. “We have a lot in common and we’re good for each other.”

Wade nodded, a
smile spreading across his face. “We can take it slow and see what happens.”

“I think I
would like that,” Beth responded, the nervousness leaving her voice. She just
hoped she hadn’t made a mistake and ruined their friendship, but in her heart,
she knew she had done the right thing speaking to Wade.

-

Several days
later, Wade was in the Kivean habitat. He paused as he stepped inside,
marveling at what they had built. While the habitat was much smaller than those
in Vesta, it was full of greenery and flowing water. Numerous small streams and
lakes were evident, with a lush forest growing on one side of the habitat. The
greenery extended into the Kivean city where wide swaths of green were evident.
Even a few slow moving streams ran through the city.

The city
itself was a marvel. Tall, slim buildings extended high into the air, seeming
to defy gravity. Moving walkways extended from building to building, seeming to
float far above the ground with nothing holding them in place. The buildings
themselves were hundreds of meters tall and a multitude of colors. No buildings
were the same in color or construction; each one had its own uniqueness and
elegance.

It took a
while but Wade finally made it to the large building Marken had requested Wade
come to. Stepping inside, he was surprised to find two heavily armed Human
guards. From the insignia on their uniforms, they were from Australia and had probably come from the survival camp in that country. Many of the
soldiers who had elected to join the new military still wore some insignia giving
their country of origin.

“Identification,
Sir,” one of them spoke, stepping over to Wade.

Wade reached
into the shirt pocket of his uniform and handed over the ID he always carried
on his person.

The soldier
quickly glanced at it and then nodded. “You’re expected in conference room K-10
on the tenth floor.”

“Thank you,”
Wade replied as he put his ID back in his pocket. Seeing a bank of elevators,
Wade quickly made his way over to the nearest and after pressing the button,
stepped inside once the door slid open.

A few minutes
later, Wade was standing in front of conference room K-10. He stood in a softly
lit corridor with cushiony carpet on the floor that seemed to give as he
walked. Knocking on the door, he grasped the handle and turned it, stepping
inside. He paused in surprise seeing everyone sitting at a long table. Marken
was at the head of the table and others around the table included Harnett,
Kalarn, Larnell, Skagern, and several other Kiveans Wade was not familiar with.

“Hello,
Major,” Marken said, standing up with a big smile. “I believe you know most of
my fellow Kiveans here. The two you don’t are Malton, who is a geneticist, and
Crylia, who is a doctor that specializes in Human physiology.”

“Hello,” Wade
said as he sat down in the seat Marken was indicating. Wade looked around the
group and then asked. “Why did you ask me to come to this meeting?”

Harnett looked
over at Marken who nodded and then, taking a deep breath, she stood up and
looked over at Wade. She wondered how Adrienne would react to what she was
about to reveal to her husband. Adrienne and she were close friends and she
hoped this wouldn’t affect their relationship.

“As you know,
the nonaligned worlds provided us with a computer drive which contains a
tremendous amount of new technology,” she began.

“Yes,”
answered Wade, recalling what Marken had mentioned about the drive before. “If
we can figure the technology out, it'll give us a better power source for our
ships, stronger weapons, and even a faster Fold Space Drive.”

Harnett nodded.
“That’s only part of the technology that’s on the computer drive. She hesitated
and then continued, knowing she might as well get this over with. “There is
also some highly advanced cloning technology.”

“Cloning?”
repeated Wade, unsure if he had heard correctly. He looked at Harnett with a
confused look upon his face.

“Yes,
cloning,” responded Harnett, nodding her head. “On the computer drive are the
technological instructions for building cloning chambers that can grow a human
from embryo to full maturity in a little less than two years.”

Wade felt his
head spinning as he thought about the ramifications of what Harnett had just
said. “Two years,” he mumbled, trying to grasp how that could be possible.

“Yes,” Harnett
continued her eyes focused on Wade. “There is also a method to imprint
information or memories on the subject’s brain so when they awake they'll be
fully functional.”

“I don’t
understand,” said Wade, feeling even more confused. Just what was Harnett
telling him?

Harnett
glanced over at Crylia for help explaining. She wasn’t sure how to make Wade
understand. It had been difficult enough for her to grasp all the concepts in
the technology when she had first learned of it.

“We can grow a
human to full maturity in two years using this technology,” Crylia explained in
a calm voice. “When the subject wakes up he would have basic memories as to how
to use his body and even speak. It would be like waking up and having amnesia.
Everything still works; you just can’t remember your past.”

Marken stood
back up and gazed at Wade, suspecting what the major was going through. It had
affected him much the same way when he had first learned about the cloning
technology. “Major, as you know, the military is going to have a serious
problem filling all the positions needed for your fleet operations going
forward. Imagine if we can grow a Human clone and supply the necessary
personnel to operate those ships. Not only can we program basic information
into their brains, we can also supply them with what you would consider a full
college education.”

“You mean you
can program them to operate our warships?” asked Wade, shaking his head in
disbelief.

“No,” Crylia
answered. “There is only so much that can be imprinted in this manner. The
Human clone would lack hands on experience, which is a big part of the learning
process. They would have to attend the military schools to get that knowledge
and become fully Human. They'd also need to interact with other Humans until
their personalities become set.”

“Would they be
Human?” asked Wade, beginning to realize the moral questions that would be
asked. Would the clones be given full citizenship or would they be considered
property? My God, he couldn’t believe they were even talking about this!

“Once they
become acclimated they would be as Human as anyone else,” Malton answered.
“There will be no difference between them and a regular Human other than they
were grown in a cloning chamber.”

“Have you
mentioned this to General Mitchell or President Randle?” Wade wasn’t sure how
they would respond. Hell, he wasn’t sure how any of the surviving Humans would.

“No,” admitted
Marken, looking down at the table. “That’s why we wanted to speak to you first.
We need to know how you think they will respond to this proposal or if we
should drop it completely.”

“One thing you
should know, Major,” Kalarn said his eyes narrowing slightly. “Without this
technology, we don’t see any way to fill the fleet slots that are now open and
will be opening in the near future. Using the clones, we could fill those slots
and crew whatever sized fleet General Mitchell and Fleet Admiral Kirby feels
are necessary for the defense of the Solar System. We could possibly even
launch major attacks against the Kleese.”

Wade closed
his eyes, trying to think of how to respond. He didn’t like the sound of this
technology, but without it the Human race as well as the Kiveans might not
survive. If the Kleese launched another major attack with their fleet, Admiral
Kirby might not be able to stop it. From listening to Harnett and the others,
if they could buy a few years' time they could build the fleet to the point it
might actually be possible to stand up to the Kleese on a more even footing.
They might be able to keep the Kleese from attacking the Solar System.

“I think we
have to use it,” he said slowly, looking around the expectant group. He could
see by the knowing looks on their faces they'd already come to that conclusion
as well.

“We agree,”
responded Marken, nodding his head. “Now we just need to figure out the best
way to make this proposal to General Mitchell and President Randle; that’s
where we need your help.”

Wade drew in a
sharp breath; this was going to be a long day. What they were about to propose
doing would undoubtedly change the Human race. However, it might also be
humanity's salvation.

“Very well,”
he said. “Let’s talk over what needs to be done and how we ensure the fair
treatment of these clones. I also want to know more about this technology and
how it works.”

Marken nodded
and allowed himself to smile. If they could buy a few years' time, the war with
the Kleese would change. The Humans would come storming out of the Solar System
and the galaxy would never be the same again.

Admiral Rivers
leaned back in his command chair, watching the main viewscreen as the fleet
prepared to drop out of Fold Space. It had been ten weeks since they'd left the
Solar System. The Command Center was unusually quiet as each emergence from
Fold Space took them deeper into Kleese controlled territory.

“Dropping out
of Fold Space,” Colonel Greerman reported as his eyes focused on the main
sensor screen.

At the moment,
the screen was covered in static from the effects of Fold Space. It would take
several moments for the sensors to begin receiving information. For those few
seconds, the fleet would be vulnerable.

“Drop out,”
spoke Ensign Horace Rodriquez from the Helm as he checked several controls on
his console.

“Sensors
coming online,” reported Lieutenant Mandy Hertz after several uneventful
moments passed. “No nearby contacts.”

Rivers allowed
himself to relax. They'd been dropping out of Fold Space once a week to
recalibrate the fleet’s Fold Space Drives and other key systems. So far,
there'd been no problems or other ships detected.

“What do we
have?” inquired Rivers, looking over at Lieutenant Hertz expectantly.

“System’s a
blue giant,” she replied as she gazed at the data coming in over the ship’s
powerful sensors. “Not detecting any planets, though there is a ring of
asteroids far out from the star.”

“Any signs of
mining activity?” asked Colonel Greerman, worriedly. This was one of their
biggest fears. They'd been dropping out of Fold Space in systems not likely to
have any inhabited planets, although there was always the possibility of
stumbling across a mining operation in one of the dead systems.

“Nothing
showing on sensors,” answered Hertz, glancing over at the admiral. “It’s a
small asteroid field and probably not worth the investment in mining.”

“Very well,”
Rivers replied, satisfied the system was safe.” He then turned toward Colonel Greerman.
“Notify all ships we will begin a twenty-four hour period of maintenance
checks. Fleet will stay at Condition Three.”

“Yes, Sir,”
replied Colonel Greerman as he began passing on the necessary orders.

Admiral Rivers
let out a long and deep breath. They'd traveled a little over 7,200 light years
on the way to their destination. They still had nearly 9,000 light years to go.
He had prayed for a boring trip, but the crews of his ships were becoming
restless. There had already been reports of a few scuffles and a number of loud
arguments.

-

Captain Mark
Stevens stood in front of his company of marines in his Type Three command
battle suit. All one hundred of his fellow marines were encased in theirs as
well. Captain Winfrey and Lieutenants Taylor and Davies were standing next to
him in their command suits as they looked over the assembled company.

“I know we
don’t have enough room in this bay to run drills in the suits,” Mark spoke in a
commanding voice. “Today, we will do PT for two hours in the suits to keep all
of us acclimated in their use. Starting tomorrow, we'll be doing platoon-sized
drills in the suits. Each platoon will drill for four hours before being
replaced by the next. We’ll eventually break this down into squads and run
actual battle drills using lasers to render their targets immobile.”

“Immobile,”
muttered Private Turner with a grimace, which was hidden by his suit helmet.

That meant
when a laser hit a vital part of the suit, the suit would become immobilized. Turner
hated lying on the floor not able to move. It had happened too often back on
the station when they were trying to get up that damn mountain. He had been
immobilized four of the five times they attempted to get to the top. Once, he
had been immobile for nearly four grueling hours.

“Crap,”
uttered Private Morris, shaking her head. Turner’s com was on and everyone had
heard his comment. He should have made sure it was off before he opened his big
mouth.

Lieutenant
Taylor strolled over in his battle suit until he was standing directly in front
of Private Turner. “Do you have a problem with that, Private?”

“No, Sir,”
gulped Turner, realizing he had screwed up again. Why did this stuff always
happen to him?

“Good,”
replied Lieutenant Taylor as he activated a control in his command suit, drew
the laser pistol from his holster, and shot Turner in the chest.

Instantly
Turner felt his battle suit go rigid and he began to fall over. He fell against
Private Morris, who quickly stepped out of the way to allow Turner to fall
noisily to the deck.

Private Morris
allowed herself to grin. Maybe Turner would learn to keep his mouth shut. She
focused her eyes back on Lieutenant Taylor, ignoring Private Turner. In her
helmet, she thought she could hear a few chuckles coming from some of the other
marines whose coms were on.

Mark nodded
his approval. All of the marines under his command had to learn that there were
consequences for their actions. Here in the training bay they were harmless,
but out in the field of battle, mistakes could be costly.

Captain
Winfrey shook his head in disapproval. Private Turner continued to disappoint
him. The man showed a tremendous amount of potential, but he continuously found
ways to get into trouble. He let out a deep sigh as he stared at the immobile
Type Three battle suit containing the private. Perhaps some extra KP duty was
in order. Back when they had been on guard duty at the survival center at
Lakenheath, Private Turner had been personally responsible for saving hundreds
of lives. Anytime Dylan needed someone to go out on a search and rescue
mission, Turner had been the first to volunteer. For that reason alone, Winfrey
had been willing to overlook some of the private’s short comings. He would
speak to Corporal Green and ask him to keep a closer watch on Turner.

-

Admiral Rivers
was standing in Main Engineering listening to his chief engineer. Craig
Steverson was a brilliant engineer and expected all of the systems on the ship
to run to perfection. If he had any fault, it was that he was a perfectionist
and sometimes demanded nearly the impossible from his crew.

“Everything
still seems to be functioning normally,” Steverson was saying as he watched
several junior engineers running diagnostics on the ship’s main fusion reactor.
“There are a few minor adjustments that need to be made here and there, but for
the most part the ship seems to be holding up very well.”

Rivers looked
around Engineering, noting how spotless everything was. Consoles, equipment,
the deck, everything looked as if it had been recently wiped down. “Keep up the
good work, Chief,” commented Rivers, nodding his head in approval.

“We’re
fortunate that even when we’re in Fold Space we can do a lot of preventative
maintenance,” Steverson replied as he switched his gaze to several other
engineers who were about to go into the chamber that contained the heart of the
Fold Space Drive.

Rivers noted
where the Chief’s attention was focused and couldn’t help but grin. “I’ll get
out of your hair. Just keep the Independence ready for battle and her systems
running at peak efficiency.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Steverson replied as he turned and hurried after the two men who had gone into
the Fold Space chamber.

Rivers shook
his head and left Engineering to go to the officer’s mess. It had been a while
since he ate, and he could feel his stomach beginning to rumble. As he walked
through the ship, he sensed a feeling of boredom from many of the crewmembers
he was passing. There was little talking and the crew seemed to be in no
particular hurry to get to where they were going. When he reached the officer’s
mess, he filled his tray and sat down. In the morning, he would speak to
Colonel Greerman about arranging more emergency drills for all of the ships.
There were ways to keep the crews active. Perhaps a contest between ships with
some type of reward for the winner. He had held back some steaks on board one
of the supply ships for special occasions. A steak dinner for the winning crew
might be just what the fleet needed. A little competition would help to break
the monotony of their voyage.

-

Private Turner
was in the barracks with his squad watching a video of some of the Human
conscripts taken from Earth fighting a type of creature that looked like a
giant locust.

“They died by
the thousands,” Captain Winfrey said in a calm voice as he saw the fighting on
the screen change to hand to hand. Energy Lances became the weapon of the day
as the Humans waded into the alien locusts, cutting them in two as they
charged. Then massive explosions began going off in the ranks of the locusts,
blowing massive gaps in their charging formation. Even Humans in battle suits
could be seen being hurled into the air by the blasts. Then the screen went
dark.

The room was
quiet as the ten marines digested what they'd just witnessed. It was gruesome
and the carnage to the enemy had been brutal.

“I spoke to
Major Nelson, who took part in this battle,” Captain Winfrey said in a solemn
voice. “They lost their commanding officer in this attack and a number of good
marines. It was only when they fired their heavy explosive rounds down upon
their own position that they managed to turn the tide of the battle to their
advantage. Major Nelson said they never knew how many of the insect like aliens
they killed, but it was in the thousands.”

“We only have
twelve hundred marines with us,” Private Morris spoke, still shaken from
watching the video. She had not expected something so horrific and violent. It
made her realize just what they might be getting themselves into on some of the
alien worlds they would be attacking.

“That’s
correct,” replied Winfrey, nodding his head. “We also have some new and heavier
equipment with us on the Fire Fox that should help if we get into a heavy
combat situation like the one you just witnessed. Major Nelson was instrumental
in suggesting that we add this equipment to our mission.”

Everyone was
silent for a long moment then Private Turner asked a question. “Just how many
missions are we going to be expected to go on before we head back home?”

“We don’t
know,” Captain Winfrey confessed with a heavy frown. “We want the Strell and
the Kleese to focus their attention on one another. Hopefully, this will lessen
the chance of the Kleese mounting a major attack on the Solar System. We’re
small potatoes compared to the Strell, which control a Galactic Empire.”

“So, we’re
going to start a galactic war,” stated Private Morris, appalled at the idea of
causing so many deaths. She hated the Kleese, but the Strell had not been the
ones to attack Earth.

“The Kleese
attacked us first,” Winfrey reminded them in a strict, lecturing voice. “They
wiped out over ninety-eight percent of the Human race. There is no reason to
show them any mercy or compassion; they will show none to you. As for the
Strell, they are just as ruthless. They have conquered hundreds of worlds and
employ the same tactics as the Kleese.”

After Captain
Winfrey left the barracks room, the ten marines sat around discussing the video
and what the captain had told them. It sounded like they would be on this
mission for quite some time, and after watching the video they were beginning
to realize that some of them might not be returning home.

-

Captain
Stevens was sitting across from Colonel Andler in a small briefing room
discussing the current status of the marines on the Fire Fox.

“They’re
growing restless,” spoke Mark, thinking about the drills they'd gone through
earlier in the day. “It’s even worse on the assault ships because they don’t
have the room to do major drills.”

“That’s why
there are only twenty marines on each one of them,” responded Colonel Andler,
leaning back and placing his large hands upon the surface of the small table
they were sitting at. “With a twenty-week voyage, we knew there'd be a problem
with boredom.”

Mark nodded.
He wished that Lieutenant Griffith was here; he always had a habit of coming up
with unique ways to dispel boredom. He had done it more than once during their
long tour of duty at Tent City.

“I would
suggest that as we get nearer to our destination, we pick out an uninhabited
world and spend a good week going through simulated battle drills. With our
battle suits, a breathable atmosphere isn’t needed.”

“I've thought
much the same,” replied Andler, arching his eyebrow as he thought about what
they needed to do. “There is a large neutral zone in the area we’re going to
where we may be able to find such a world. I’ll suggest it to Admiral Rivers.”

“It will
certainly help to lessen casualties,” Mark responded, not wanting to lose any
of his marines. He was about to say more when the Condition One alarm sounded
and red lights began flashing in the briefing room.

“Something’s
happened!” spoke Colonel Andler, standing up. “I hope the Kleese haven’t found
us.”

“It could be a
drill,” suggested Mark, knowing that a few were planned in the next few days.

“Admiral
Rivers would have told me first,” Andler answered as he headed for the door to
go up to the Fire Fox’s Command Center.

Mark watched
him go and then with a sharp breath decided to go check on his marine company.
At Condition One, a squad was supposed to get into their Type Three battle
suits in case they were needed to repel boarders.

-

Admiral Rivers
looked with concern at the large tactical screen. Two red threat icons had
suddenly appeared in the system. “Range,” he demanded as he gazed over at
Lieutenant Hertz, who was busily pressing icons on her computer screens.

“Four hundred
and twelve million kilometers,” she reported briskly as more detailed
information became available. “They’re not Kleese warships.”