Galactic Empire Wars 2: Emergence (9 page)

“I’m sure Rear
Admiral Rivers will be glad to hear that,” Mason replied with a nod. Anytime
you went into the large spacedock, you could find Rivers talking to the
engineers about the ships. Just the other day, Mason had found Rivers helping
several engineers install parts on the Fold Space Drive in one of the
battlecruisers. “I’ve already spoken to Sean Miller about beginning
construction on the next four
.
”

Colonel Bailey
nodded. Since they'd settled on a design, construction of the battlecruisers
inside the spacedock and the light cruisers at Centerpoint Station had been
going very smoothly.

“What’s the
current status of your space marines?” asked Mason, feeling curious.

Colonel Bailey
had been working hard training a large contingent to defend the asteroid. After
the fierce battle in the spacedock a few years back, Mason well understood the
need for a strong force to protect it and the habitats. It was a relief to have
a professional in charge of defending Vesta.

“We’ve decided
to break them into two major groups,” Colonel Bailey replied in a serious voice.
“The civilians in the habitats seem to get very nervous anytime they see a
marine in a Type Two or a Type Three battle suit. I’ve spoken to General
Pittman and he's agreed to allow me to change the makeup of our defensive force.
As a matter of fact, we may be doing it across the board.”

“What are you
changing?” Mason asked his eyes focusing on the colonel. He had received
several complaints from frightened civilians after they had seen marines in the
battle suits on routine guard duty at the entrances to the different habitats.
He couldn’t blame the civilians. A ten-foot tall metal soldier was overwhelming,
especially if one knew the firepower the marines in the battle suits had at their
disposal.

“Vesta is the
seat of our government and the largest colony next to the Moon,” responded
Bailey, looking over at Mason. We’ll have eight hundred space marines fully
trained in the operation of the Type Two or Type Three suits. In addition,
there will be another fifteen hundred regular soldiers to aid in other
defensive capacities, including operating the asteroid’s defensive and
offensive weapon systems.”

“I assume it
will be the regular army troops that will be seen on a regular basis inside the
habitats?” Mason asked his eyes focusing on the colonel. This would go a long
way in helping to calm the civilians by not having marines in battle suits on
guard duty.

“Yes,” replied
Colonel Bailey, nodding his head. “We’ll still have a few drills late at night
when most of the civilians are asleep in the habitats so our space marines will
be familiar with what needs to be done if enemy conscripts ever make it that
far inside Vesta, but for the most part all they will see will be regular
troops.”

“I think that'll
work,” Pamela spoke with a nod.

The battle
suits even made her feel nervous, though she knew there was a Human marine
inside. Her son Mike was infatuated with them and every time they passed close
to one, he wanted to go over and inspect it at close range. Just the other day
they'd been at the transit station near the spacedock and Mike had managed to
sneak away. When Pamela found him, he was talking to one of the marines guards
in a battle suit as if nothing was out of the norm.

“One other
thing,” added Colonel Bailey, looking over at Mason. “General Mitchell and
Fleet Admiral Kirby are coming to Vesta in a few days. They need to brief you
on an upcoming mission.”

Wade nodded;
he had hoped the military would wait a few more months before launching another
attack against the Kleese. He sighed, knowing that wasn’t going to happen.
“Thank you, Colonel, for the heads up.”

“No problem,
Sir,” replied Bailey, respectfully. “Just doing my job.”

Colonel Bailey
turned and left after speaking to several of the military personnel that were
present, who were manning the defensive and offensive consoles in the Control Center. The outside of Vesta was covered with defensive railgun and energy weapons
turrets, as well as particle beam cannons and pulse fusion turrets for offense.
Any enemy ship approaching too close to Vesta would find it a very dangerous
place to be.

“I wonder what
type of mission the military is planning?” asked Pamela, looking over at Mason
a little uneasily.

She was
relieved that her family lived here in Vesta. It was the most heavily defended
colony in the system. Pamela still felt worried, fearing that if they kept
provoking the Kleese at some point they were bound to respond with another
attack upon the Solar System. Glancing at the main sensor screen, though it showed
everything was still normal, she was certain that someday soon all that was
going to change.

“I don’t
know,” Mason replied with a look of concern. From speaking to Michael and
General Mitchell, Mason understood the need for future military operations. “We
all know that we can’t just wait for the Kleese to return. We have to do
something to keep them off balance while we rebuild our civilization.”

Pamela nodded,
letting out a deep sigh. Paul had said the same thing just the other evening.
Her husband was of the opinion that their time was rapidly running out before
the Kleese came back with an even greater force than before. Sometimes she felt
it might be best to continue to fortify the Solar System and hope the Kleese
just left them alone.

“I have a few
more meetings this morning and then I’m off to Susan’s for lunch. Later this
afternoon I have a conference call lined up with Mayor Silas. He wants us to
ship them some cattle to put in one of the new agricultural habitats they just
finished.”

“Sounds like
you have a busy day,” Pamela commented with a nod. Since the destruction of
Earth, it seemed that every day was full of new challenges. It wasn’t easy
piecing a civilization back together again.

-

Wade stepped back
into the Viridian habitat inside Vesta; he paused as he gazed out over the remarkable
world created inside of the massive asteroid. It almost looked as if a part of
Earth had been taken and placed inside the surrounding rock. The habitat
extended for kilometers, with verdant farmland on the periphery and a big,
modern city running down its center. Large apartment buildings towered up
nearly forty stories and the city was full of green, as trees and parks were
abundant. Wade took a deep breath of the fresh air; it was much different from
the air on a spaceship or even Centerpoint Station.

“We have a
week,” spoke Beth from his side. “A week and then we report back to Centerpoint
Station for our next deployment.”

“I just hope I
can talk some sense into my little brother,” Wade said with a shrug of his
shoulders.

“He’s not so
little anymore,” Beth reminded him, arching her eyebrow. She had met Wade’s brother
and he was well over six feet tall. The lanky youngster was just as strong
willed as Wade.

“I want him to
go to college for a few years,” spoke Wade, glancing over at Beth. Both were
dressed in casual clothes since they were on leave. Beth was wearing a colorful
blouse and dark slacks, which she filled out very well. Sometimes, Wade forgot
just how good-looking Beth was.

“I think that
would be best,” she answered, nodding her head in agreement. “Have him take
some of the classes the Kiveans are teaching; it'll better prepare him for
what’s out there when he does join the military.”

“If he'll just
listen,” Wade mumbled with a frown. His little brother could be very stubborn;
at least they had that much in common. He wasn’t looking forward to the impending
conversation.

“I’d better
get going,” Beth said after a few moments. “My mom’s expecting me for lunch.”

“I’ll call you
when I get the chance,” responded Wade, wanting to see Beth while they were
both on leave. “Maybe we can go out to eat a few times while we’re here. I’m
sure we can find several Italian places you haven’t tried yet.”

“You’re on,”
Beth responded with a friendly smile. She enjoyed spending time with Wade, and
it would be nice to have someone to go out with.

-

Marken was
standing next to Harnett in their large apartment in the city the Kiveans had built
inside their new asteroid home. The asteroid they'd chosen was sixty kilometers
in diameter and close to Vesta. The city was the home to slightly over six
thousand Kiveans and was a modern wonder. It resembled those prevalent on their
home world with tall, slender towers and slim metallic bridges connecting them
at different levels. The buildings were multiple colors and of various shapes
and sizes.

“The Humans
have accomplished much,” Harnett said, placing her slim, delicate hand on her
life mate’s arm. “It was your desire to have them take on the Kleese, and now
they seem ready to do so.”

“Yes,” replied
Marken, turning to face Harnett. “I just hope they’re ready for what’s ahead of
them.”

“The Humans
are very resilient,” replied Harnett, reassuringly. She had developed close
friendships with a number of the Humans. “I’ve spent a lot of time inside Vesta
and the habitats they have built with our help. It’s hard to believe their
species was on the brink of extinction just a few short years ago.”

“The
battlecruisers the Humans have built are very powerful,” added Marken,
recalling the latest designs. Both Human and Kivean engineers had spent many
long hours designing the current ships being built. They were true warships
designed for only one purpose, to destroy Kleese ships. “Perhaps even powerful enough
to take on one of the Kleese warships that guard their core systems.” Marken
was amazed at what all the Humans had accomplished in the last two years. Even
taking into consideration Kivean help, their progress had been remarkable.

Harnett was
silent for a moment. She had heard Marken speak of the powerful ships of war
before. “I hope they don’t come anytime soon. It'll be decades before the Humans'
population becomes great enough to fight an all out war against the Kleese. I
would hate to see the Humans lose even more precious lives in this war before
they are truly ready.”

She had worked
healing the Humans on the space station when they had been conscripts to the
Kleese. In the last few years, she had spent a lot of time at the new hospitals
inside Vesta explaining the new medical technology, particularly the nanites
the Kiveans had furnished. She had become very good friends with Adrienne
Randle, and the two women spent a lot of time together whenever Harnett was at Vesta.
Adrienne had even come over and visited Harnett a number of times.

“The Humans
are undertaking a new mission,” Marken said after a moment, wondering how
Harnett would react to his next words. “They’re sending some of their ships to
the nonaligned worlds' trading station. I and several other Kiveans will be
going with them.”

Harnett gazed
at her life mate with a serious look as she considered what he had just said.
“I’ll go too,” she said after a moment. “They will need a chief medical officer,
and there are also medical supplies that might be available on the station that
we don’t have the capability to make here.”

“The nanites,”
Marken said in understanding, his eyes focusing on Harnett. They had a large
supply of the nanites that had been on the Kleese space station, but they didn’t
have the technology to make them. Marken knew that Harnett’s request was
reasonable. He let out a deep breath and then nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll
put your name down for the mission; I have a few others I need to talk to in
the next few days.”

“I’ll be
ready,” replied Harnett, sincerely. “Now I must go and prepare our evening
meal.”

Marken watched
as Harnett went into the kitchen. He let out a heavy sigh. He would have felt
better if his life mate was not going on this mission, but how could he refuse
since he was going? Sitting down in a comfortable recliner, Marken began
thinking about the others he needed to speak to. This could turn out to be a
very important mission for both the Humans and the Kiveans.

-

Wade pushed
his plate back with a satisfied smile. His mom’s fried chicken was the absolute
best! Sometime he needed to bring Beth over and let her taste his mom’s
cooking.

“How long can
you stay?” his father asked as he gazed expectantly at Wade.

“I need to be
back on Centerpoint Station in a week,” Wade replied in a steady voice.

“Will you be
here for my graduation?” asked Ryan from across the table. “It’s only in a
couple more months.”

Wade looked
over at his younger brother and then answered. “I’ll try to be.”

“I’m joining
up immediately afterwards,” Ryan announced in a determined voice.

“Ryan, we’re
still discussing that,” his mother spoke, sounding alarmed.

“I’m of legal
age,” Ryan persisted with a stubborn look covering his face. “Several of my
classmates are also signing up so we can go through basic together.”

“Ryan,” began Wade,
trying to sound calm. “It’s not that easy becoming a space marine. The training
is hard and brutal at times.”

“Do you think
I’m not tough enough?” grated out Ryan, starting to sound angry.

“No, it’s not
that,” responded Wade, shaking his head. “I just think it might be a good idea
for you to go to college for a few years to better prepare yourself for what’s
out there. There are several excellent courses being taught by the Kiveans that
would be of real help in preparing you to go out into space.”

“You just want
all the glory!” yelled Ryan, standing up and shoving his chair back. “I’m just
as good as you; all I have to do is prove it!”

“Calm down,
Ryan,” their mother admonished with a frown, not wanting to see her two sons
angry at one another. “We just want what’s best for you.”