The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel (12 page)

“
Barbarossa
is down,” confirmed Captain Davis, his face ashen.

“All ships
withdraw,” ordered Race, feeling shaken. Even as he gave the order, he saw another
Shari support cruiser explode, sending debris in all directions as the
WarHawk
blew it apart.

“Hyperdrive
activated,” reported the helm officer.

On the massive
viewscreen, Race saw a swirling blue-white vortex appear. Moments later the
WarHawk
entered the anomaly and was on her way to the rest of the fleet.

-

It was three
hours later, and the
WarHawk
and the rest of the task group were back
under the defensive screen. They had lost two battleships to get the information
on what the Shari were doing on the far side of the Dyson Sphere. Race was in
his quarters sitting behind his desk wondering if it had been worth it. The
crews of the
Nebula’s Fury
and the
Barbarossa
had died in the
battle above the location where the Shari were placing their nuclear explosive
charges.

He had spoken
briefly with Alshan about what the Shari were doing and sent all the data they’d
gathered over to the science ship the Alton was on. After reviewing the data,
Alshan had informed Race that if the Shari detonated the nuclear charges they
could be endangering all of the ships in the system. There was no way to
determine how the Dyson Sphere would respond to such an attack. After much
discussion, Race had agreed to send a short message to the Shari warning them
of what could happen if they set off the charges. There had been no response
back. Alshan had also reported that the Shari nuclear charges would not even
scratch the surface of the Dyson Sphere.

Sitting at his
desk, Race looked at the long list of crew names of the Humans who had been on
the
Barbarossa
and the Humans and Altons on the
Nebula’s Fury
.
The list had over four thousand names on it. That was four thousand families who
would have to be notified of the deaths of their loved ones when and if the
fleet managed to return home. With a deep sigh, Race knew he was in for another
sleepless night. He also knew there would be more deaths in the future.

-

Inside the
Dyson Sphere, Kelnor was standing on the small hill examining his equipment. With
a deep frown, he saw that several small electronic devices had been attached. “What
are these?” he asked suspiciously, turning to face Reesa. “What have you done?”

Reesa let out
a deep breath, knowing she couldn’t keep the communications device a secret. As
it was, it had been broadcasting a signal into the city for almost two full
days. “I had to try something. We can’t survive in this valley forever.”

Kelnor turned
back around and without another word, disconnected the broadcasting equipment,
dropping it to the ground. He then stomped on it with his foot, destroying it.
“You were trained better,” admonished the older Alton with a deep frown. “If we
rush too quickly, we can easily place everyone in grave danger. We have no way
to know how the controlling intelligence of the Dyson Sphere will react to our
presence.”

Reesa lowered
her head, gazing at the ground. She knew Kelnor was right; she had grown too
impatient. Looking back up she gazed at the watching Humans, feeling
humiliated.

Sergeant
Brenda Wilde was listening to the two Altons. It was surprising to her that
Reesa had gone against Kelnor’s wishes. It seemed as if she was learning
something new about the Altons every day.

“A shame it
didn’t work,” said Corporal Metz, looking toward the city. He picked up a rock
and threw it at the energy screen. With shock, he watched as it fell and hit
the ground on the other side.

“What just happened?”
Reesa cried out, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Corporal Metz walked
forward several meters to where the energy shield had been. He stepped right
across, meeting no resistance.

“It’s down!” exclaimed
Reesa, rushing forward excitedly. “It must have been the communications signal
I sent; it worked!”

Kelnor looked
gravely at Reesa and then sighed heavily. “Yes, it apparently did. It was still
a dangerous risk you took. You must be much more careful in the future. It is
not only your life that’s at stake here but all of ours.”

“Now what do
we do?” asked Corporal Metz as he stepped back over to where the others were
standing.

Kelnor was
silent for a long moment and then looked over at Reesa. “We explore the city
and just maybe, we can find a way back out.”

“Not quite
yet,” Sergeant Wilde said, looking at the others. “Let’s return to camp and
pack everything up. We need to move out of the valley in case the energy shield
comes back. Once everyone is safely across, we’ll talk about exploring the
city.”

Reesa looked
toward the Originator City feeling the blood rush through her veins. She had
done it! Now her dream of exploring the city was about to become a reality. She
couldn’t wait to see what she would find. Her eyes moved to the tall towers and
the slim walkways which connected them. In her pocket, she could feel the
Originator key. It felt strangely warm and even seemed to be vibrating
slightly. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. The city and all of its mysteries
awaited them.

Jeremy was
inside the Originator ship
Dominator
speaking to Kazak. The
Avenger
and her fleet had just returned from the blue-giant nebula without any further
incidents. Jeremy suspected Grayseth was disappointed as there had been no
combat with Simulin ships. The lack of combat with the Simulins didn’t bother Jeremy,
as there would be plenty of battles in the future.

Kazak had been
silent as he listened to Jeremy explain what was happening at the site of the
former Dyson Sphere. “The radiation close to the supernova is tremendous,” Jeremy
said in a grim voice. “From what Andram and Shilum could determine, the dark
matter which once surrounded the Dyson Sphere has disrupted space-time in the
vicinity of the nova and the lower bands of hyperspace have been compromised.
The radiation front is moving outward at a steadily increasing rate and will
cause additional stars in the nebula to go nova. Andram believes most will
become supernovas.”

“Andram is
correct,” Kazak said after a moment. He was standing on the Command Dais with
his arms folded across his chest. “Most of the Dyson Spheres built by the Originators
did not have dark matter around them for this very reason.”

“So they knew
this was a possibility?”

“Yes,” Kazak
answered. “The Originators on the Dyson Sphere in this galaxy were conducting
experiments with the dark matter to see if they could significantly extend the
range of the intergalactic vortexes. They wanted to be able to travel to any
galaxy without having to go through six or seven other Dyson Spheres to get to
their eventual destination.”

Jeremy weighed
what Kazak had just told him. It seemed as if the Originators had known there
was a possibility of a disaster if the star the Dyson Sphere orbited ever went
nova. He hoped they had come up with a solution in case a disaster did occur.

“Did the Originators
have a plan to stop the entire nebula from going nova and becoming a black
hole?”

“The Dyson
Sphere itself was supposed to contain the nova if it occurred,” Kazak answered.
Kazak waved his hand over a control on the dais and on part of the massive viewscreen
in the Command Center, the Dyson Sphere and its sun appeared. The sun seemed to
contract slightly and then suddenly began to expand rapidly, and when it did an
energy field suddenly appeared, protecting the inner surface of the Dyson
Sphere. The nova expanded until it contacted the energy shield and then
stopped. “The power of the nova itself would provide the necessary energy to
sustain the energy shield. However, the Simulins had a number of intergalactic
vortexes in operation when the star exploded. As a result, there wasn’t enough
energy available to establish the energy shield and contain the nova.”

“Then nothing
can be done,” said Jeremy, feeling dejected. If the nova couldn’t be stopped
then the entire Triangulum Galaxy was doomed.

Kazak gazed speculatively
at Jeremy. This Human in many ways reminded him of the members of his ancient
crew. “There may be another way,” he said carefully. “This ship has the
capability of producing some very powerful weapons; ones that if focused on a
star could easily make it become a nova. I will need to study the data of the
Dyson Sphere explosion and the radiation front to see if I can come up with a
workable plan.”

Jeremy let out
a deep breath. At least there was still a glimmer of hope. “Are you willing to
allow the
Dominator
to become a part of our fleet?”

“Under
specific conditions,” answered Kazak. “If I agree to such an arrangement, I
will pick my Human commander. I will also want an Alton science officer whom I
would like to choose.”

Jeremy looked
at Kazak and slowly nodded his head. If that’s what it took to bring the
Dominator
into the fleet, it would be a small sacrifice to make. “I can live with that.
How soon are you prepared to allow an actual crew to come on board and how many
will be required?”

Kazak’s pupils
seemed to shrink to a minuscule size and he became absolutely still. Then his
eyes returned to normal and he answered Jeremy.

“Two hundred
and twelve Humans and forty-two Altons. That will be sufficient to operate all
essential systems and maintain the ship.”

“That’s all?”
Jeremy asked surprised. The
Dominator
was three times the length of the
Avenger
and at least ten times the volume.

“Yes,” Kazak
answered. “The ship is equipped with internal defensive systems so none of your
Marines will be required. The repair robots are capable of maintaining most of
the ship’s systems without the need for supervision. Severe damage can be
repaired with the use of the ship’s nanites.”

“How soon can
the crew come on board?” Jeremy would have felt better if he could place at
least one full company of Marines on the
Dominator
.

“One of your
weeks,” answered Kazak. “At that time, I will name the ship’s commander as well
as the Alton selected as science officer.”

Jeremy nodded
his acceptance. “Welcome to the fleet, Kazak.”

Kazak did not
reply but turned away to continue working at a command console, indicating his
meeting with Jeremy was over.

-

Two hours
later Jeremy was over on the Clan Protector eating in the massive cafeteria
that served the thousands of personnel who worked on the massive station or
were in the process of passing through it. The Clan Protector served as a construction
and repair yard as well as a waypoint for ship crews going to and from Gaia. At
any one time, there were well over ten thousand people on the station.

“So, Angela,”
Katie said inquisitively. “What’s it like to be pregnant?”

Angela giggled
and pushed her wayward brunette hair out of her eyes. “It’s fabulous if I can
only get past the morning sickness.”

“What does
Brace think of all of this?” asked Katie, her green eyes glowing with curiosity.
“Have you picked out a name for the baby; do you know what it’s going to be?”

Angela smiled
and leaned back, eyeing her chef salad. She had been eating more since becoming
pregnant. Brace had to keep reminding her she was eating for two now. “He’s
thrilled,” she answered. “And yes, we know what it’s going to be. It’s a little
girl and we’re going to name her Clair after Clarissa.”

Katie’s eyes
widened and a tear formed. “Clarissa would have loved that.”

Jeremy looked
over at Kevin, noticing he was eating a double cheeseburger with fries. He
shook his head and decided to ignore it. Since the arrival of the relief fleets,
a number of livestock farms had been established on Gaia and now the food
choices were nearly unlimited. Kevin didn’t have to worry about running out of hamburgers,
as there were now a number of large herds of cattle on some of the farms and
ranches on the planet.

“What does
Malith think?” asked Kelsey. She knew her Bear friend would be excited as well.
The Bears believed increasing the size of one’s clan was a solemn
responsibility.

“As you know,
with the arrival of the Carethian relief fleet Karalle’s mate also came,”
Angela answered. “Karelle is due to have twins in another month. I believe
Malith is also looking for a mate to settle down with.”

“Twins,” Kelsey
said, grinning broadly. “I know the Bears like to have big families. It doesn’t
surprise me Malith wants to settle down and start her own.”

“It’s part of
the clan heritage they believe in,” Jeremy explained as he took a bite of the
baked chicken he was eating. “The young are raised in the ways of their clan as
soon as they are old enough to be taught. They learn how to hunt, handle responsibility,
and the meaning of honor.”

Ariel suddenly
appeared next to the table. Even the Clan Protector had been equipped with holo-projectors
at her insistence since many of her friends were often on board. “I’ve discovered
something, Jeremy,” she began excitedly. Then she glanced over at Angela.
“Clarissa would be proud of the name you’ve chosen for your daughter. I can’t
wait to teach Clair about her namesake.”

“We’ll discuss
that later,” Angela said, shaking her head slightly.

She wasn’t
sure how much she wanted Ariel involved with the raising of Clair. It also
wasn’t a surprise Ariel had been listening in on their conversation. Over the
years the entire group had grown used to Ariel’s constant monitoring.

Jeremy cleared
his throat and looked at Ariel. “You said you’ve discovered something?”

“Yes,” replied
Ariel, turning her attention back to Jeremy. “Kazak has furnished me with a
detailed layout of the
Dominator
to help train the new crew. There’s a
problem with the blueprints.”

“What do you
mean?” Jeremy couldn’t imagine Kazak making such a mistake.

“The
blueprints look to be complete, but when I ran an analysis of them, there’s an
area of slightly over twelve hundred cubic meters that’s missing.”

Jeremy pursed
his lips and frowned. “Are you certain you’re not overlooking something?”

“I’m
positive,” answered Ariel. “There’s an area in the center of the ship Kazak
isn’t telling us about.”

“He’s hiding
it,” Kevin said with his eyes narrowing sharply. “I knew we couldn’t trust that
AI!”

Jeremy laid
his fork down and folded his arms across his chest as he thought over what Aril
had just revealed. He had felt from the very beginning that Kazak was hiding
something. He harbored a strong suspicion this mysterious compartment might
hold the answer.

“Don’t let
Kazak know you’ve discovered the discrepancy,” Jeremy ordered. “We’ll play
along a while longer and see what else we can find. We don’t know for sure why
Kazak left this out of the ship’s plans. It might be an oversight on his part
or a section of the ship that’s sealed up for other reasons.”

“Ariel,” said
Katie in a serious tone. “Be very careful with your snooping. Kazak was
designed by the Originators, and we have no way to know what the true
capability of an Originator AI might be.”

Kevin speared
a couple of french fries and after eating them, looked over at Jeremy and
Ariel. “Any idea who Kazak wants as commander of the
Dominator
?”

“No,” Jeremy
said. “I asked him if he wanted any recommendations but he said he had already
narrowed the choices down to half a dozen candidates. “He’s supposed to check
with Ariel if he wants further information on any of them.”

A strange look
passed over Ariel’s face at hearing those words. “There might be a problem,”
she said slowly, looking worriedly at Jeremy.

“Why’s that?”

“Kazak has
only asked for information on one name.”

“Whose?”
Jeremy was certain that Kazak would choose one of the fleet’s admirals. He was
curious to know who the ship’s commander was going to be.

Ariel’s dark
eyes narrowed sharply. “Kelsey.”

“What?”
stammered Kelsey, her eyes bulging. “Why would he want information about me?”

“Ariel?” asked
Jeremy, feeling blindsided. “I don’t understand. Why Kelsey?” He never expected
anything like this. He felt numb from hearing Ariel’s pronouncement.

Ariel was
silent for a long moment as she studied additional information available to her
in the
Avenger’s
computer system. She was also running several
algorithms to determine why Kazak would even consider Kelsey.

“It’s very
logical in a way,” Ariel finally replied. “Clarissa implicitly trusted all five
of you, and we know Kazak had become fond of her. Also, with Kelsey being
Jeremy’s wife, it would add a layer of protection to the
Dominator
and
ensure the ship wasn’t sacrificed in a perilous situation. I would say Kazak is
ensuring his survival as well as his ship’s.”

Jeremy leaned
back with a deep and worried frown. He had suddenly lost his appetite.

“What are we
going to do if Kazak picks Kelsey?” asked Kevin, looking over at Jeremy.

“I don’t want
command of the
Dominator
,” Kelsey said, shaking her head defiantly. “I’d
rather stay on the
Avenger
.”

“I told Kazak
he could choose the ship’s commander,” Jeremy finally said. “However, I can
appoint other crewmembers. I’ll make sure you have people you can trust with
you.” He knew if Kazak choose Kelsey, there was no way he could say no without
running the risk of alienating the Originator AI.

“I’ll go,”
Katie said suddenly. “I know enough about computers that I can keep an eye on
Kazak.”

“Crap,”
muttered Kevin, seeing both his and Jeremy’s wives running off into space once
more. “Here we go again.”

“Don’t worry,
Kevin,” Jeremy responded. “Anywhere the
Dominator
goes there will be a
powerful escort. It might also be a good idea to assign Mikow and Andram to the
ship as well. That would help ensure the AI isn’t trying to pull a fast one on
us.”

The group was
silent as they mulled over Jeremy’s words.

Angela looked
over at Ariel. “I don’t think Kazak is trying to pull anything over on us
unless it’s in the unknown section of the ship. We need to know what’s in that
secret compartment.”

“Angela’s
right,” Kelsey said, nodding her head. “Whatever’s in there may be driving
Kazak’s motives.”

Ariel looked around
at the five and nodded. “I’ll find out.” With those final words, the AI
vanished.

“Well, so much
for an uneventful meal,” Kevin said as he picked up his hamburger and took a
bite.

Angela looked around
at her friends. “I’m going to hate being stuck on the Clan Protector with the
four of you flying all over this galaxy from one adventure to another.”

“More than
likely from one battle to the next,” commented Kevin with a grimace.

“You have a
baby to think about now,” Kelsey said, her eyes brightening with a sudden thought.
“We need to throw you a baby shower!”