Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (12 page)

Caselt nodded.
He knew he had misspoken. “I was only speaking out of frustration for the lack
of power the council now holds.”

The others
nodded. Caselt had only voiced what all the others felt as well.

Raluth looked
at his follow Kleese overlords. “It might be wise for us not to have any more
meetings but to stay upon the exploration ships instead. At least with the
firepower they have we will have some protection from the Zaltule.”

“The Zaltule
will destroy our empire,” retorted Caselt. “If we are to retreat to our
exploration ships, then I would suggest we recall sufficient numbers to
guarantee our protection.”

“This council
is the rightful ruling body of our empire,” Raluth said. “Caselt is correct, we
must see to our own protection. We must also consider bringing in new Council
Overlords to replace those who died in the Human attack. While the Zaltule may
not recognize this council, we must continue as if it is still the ruling body
of our empire.”

-

Outside in the
hallway leading to the new Council Chambers two Zaltule warriors stood as
guards wearing Type Three battlesuits. As per their orders, they had used their
suits sensors to listen in to the meeting of the Kleese Council of Overlords.
What they had heard would be sent to Kaluse and from him it would make its way
to Military Overlord Harmock. There was little doubt that Harmock, after
hearing the treasonous talk from the four surviving council members, would
order their deaths. Deaths the two Zaltule warriors could accomplish very
easily. However, the death of a Kleese Council Overlord was not to be taken
lightly, and the two warriors would not make a move against them until they
received orders.

-

Back in the Solar
System, Colonel Wade Nelson, along with Marken and several others were in the
Command Center of Centerpoint Station. They were awaiting the arrival of the Bashan refugee fleet.

“Inbound
contacts,” reported Lieutenant Bryan Vail, the sensor operator.

“All weapons
are online and ready to fire,” added Major Jordan Lest, the tactical officer.

Colonel Angus
Robertson, the officer on watch, nodded his head. While they didn’t expect any problems,
it was prudent they err on the side of caution.

“Station is at
Condition Two,” Lest said as he checked his large tactical console. Other
tactical consoles to the right and left of him were fully staffed with qualified
fleet officers. Centerpoint Station was heavily armed and could defend itself
if necessary.

“Emergence,”
called out Lieutenant Vail as numerous vessels began dropping out of Fold Space
just outside the orbit of Earth’s moon. “Admiral Kelly and First Fleet are moving
into position to intercept.”

Wade watched
the tactical screens intently as Admiral Kelly’s fleet moved out and took up escorting
positions around the newly arrived vessels. There were seventy-seven ships in
First Fleet, including forty assault ships. It was led by Admiral Kelly’s
flagship, the newly commissioned one thousand-meter long heavy battlecruiser
Armageddon
.

“I have
contact with Admiral Hiath of the Bashan fleet,” Lieutenant Brenda Arnold
reported. “He’s asking where he’s to go with his fleet.”

“Tell him to
go into orbit around the Moon at twenty thousand kilometers,” General Mitchell ordered
as he came into the Command Center. He had broken off an important meeting so
he could witness the arrival of the Bashan fleet.

Upon several
of the viewscreens, Bashan vessels were being displayed. The battlecruisers
were eight hundred meters in length and the escorts ships came in at slightly
over five hundred.

“I believe the
Bashans will make good allies,” commented Marken as he gazed at the
viewscreens. “I have done some research on the Bashan civilization and they are
very advanced. It’s a shame their world has fallen to the Kleese.”

“That’s six
hundred more warships we can add to our fleet,” Wade said, looking over at
General Mitchell, who had come over to stand next to the others.

Brent Adamson,
a military research scientist, was also in the Command Center. “From the
reports I’ve read they fought their way through the heart of the Zaltule
invading fleet, managing to destroy a number of Zaltule warships in the process.
From the information the Alliance has provided, the Bashan vessels are equipped
with very powerful pulse fusion beams, energy cannons, as well as sublight
antimatter missiles.”

“How many
civilians are in their fleet?” asked Wade. He and Marken had discussed the best
place to put the refugees. Working with President Steward, several suitable
asteroids had been picked out and construction teams were on standby.

“Twenty-three
thousand,” answered General Mitchell. “From the information Admiral Hiath provided
the Alliance, this was an unauthorized evacuation and all he could save were members
of the families of the crews of his vessels as well as a number of eminent
scientists.”

“That’s more
than we had originally,” commented Marken, recalling how they had fled to the Solar
System with only the Kiveans from the trading station. Six thousand Kiveans had
made that first hectic and dangerous journey to the Human System not knowing
whether they would be received as desperate refugees or hated enemies.

General Mitchell
turned toward Lieutenant Arnold. “Ask Admiral Hiath if he can come aboard
Centerpoint to discuss the disposition of his ships and his people. Also, tell
him that he and his people are welcome and to consider this their new home.”

-

Admiral Hiath listened
to the messages being broadcast live in his flagship’s Command Center. On the ship’s main viewscreen, a huge trading station was visible. Hiath knew this had
once belonged to the Kleese but the Humans had taken it from them.

“That
station’s heavily armed,” commented second Officer Dath Mileth. “It by itself
could hold off a major Kleese fleet.”

“And they have
two of them,” responded Hiath, gesturing toward another screen showing the
second station.

On another screen
a cloud-shrouded planet was visible. Its atmosphere looked dirty and contaminated.
Flashes of lighting could be seen from static discharges caused by heavy dust
and contaminants in the air.

“So it is true
the Kleese destroyed their world,” said Mileth, looking at the screen with
great sadness in his eyes.

Hiath looked
at the planet and slowly shook his head. “That might have been the greatest
mistake the Kleese have ever made. That destruction has resurrected a warrior
race with one desire and one desire only, the complete and utter destruction of
the Kleese Empire.” Hiath shifted his gaze to Mileth. “And we’re going to help
them do it!”

-

An hour later,
the Bashan fleet was in orbit around Earth’s satellite. Admiral Hiath looked at
the tactical screen showing six hundred and forty-eight Bashan ships in obit around
the pockmarked moon.

“There’s a
number of large domed cities on the surface,” reported Mileth as he examined
the scans from the ship’s sensor readings. “There are also numerous heavy
weapon emplacements.”

“Ion cannons,”
Hiath said after a moment. “When the Alliance representatives came to Bashan to see Chancellor Odis they mentioned providing them for our defense. Chancellor
Odis turned them down, claiming the Kleese would never violate the neutrality
agreement.”

“If we would
have had those cannons, we might have been able to hold Bashan against the
Kleese fleet,” commented Milith, feeling anger toward Chancellor Odis.

The communications
officer turned toward the admiral. “I have several of the civilian cargo ship captains
asking if they’re going to be allowed to unload their passengers.”

“I imagine the
civilians in the cargo ships are getting a bit space happy,” commented Mileth.
“Their living conditions aren’t the greatest.”

Hiath gazed at
one of the viewscreens, which showed the numerous large and small domes on the
surface of the trading station. “I will speak to this General Mitchell and see
if one or two of those domes can be used to temporarily house some of our
civilians. As you say, I’m sure they would like to get off those cargo ships
and even the passenger liners are a bit crowded.”

Mileth looked
around the Command Center and the new feeling of hope showing in the eyes of
the crew. “Should we reduce our alert level?”

Admiral Hiath
took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, this will be our home for awhile, perhaps
a long while. There’s no point in making our new found friends distrust us.
Secure from combat alert and go to station keeping. Lower our energy shields
and power down our weapons.”

-

On board
Centerpoint Station Wade and Marken were walking down a corridor to go to the
conference room where they would be meeting with Admiral Hiath.

“This war is
coming to a head,” Wade said as they reached a turbolift, which would take them
to a lower level. “Admiral Adamson is in Kleese space and by now has hit his
first few targets. There’s only one nonaligned world left before the Zaltule turn
their fleets loose on the Alliance and us. A year from now and we’ll have
either won or the Zaltule will control everything.” He didn’t go on to say that
if the Zaltule won, they would all be dead.

Marken
hesitated for a moment. “Wade, you know my friends and I chose your race over
all others to wage war against the Kleese. For thousands of years, they have
been a scourge to this section of the galaxy. Harnett and I have talked long
into the night on many occasions about the wisdom of what we did. I still
believe we made the right decision freeing your people and mine. We’ve all
suffered greatly over the last few years, but the Alliance exists and the Human
forces are stronger than ever.”

Wade let out a
deep sigh. He couldn’t help thinking about Beth and Erick back at Vesta. “I
don’t want my son to be brought up fearing the Kleese. Someday, Beth and I want
to lead normal, peaceful lives.” It also bothered him that Ryan and Casey were
somewhere once more in Kleese space on a combat mission.

“We all do,”
responded Marken, understanding Wade wanting the war to be over. War was a terrible
thing and something that the nonaligned worlds had put behind them long ago.
Now war had returned and Marken wondered if it would ever be possible for any
of the nonaligned worlds to return to their peaceful ways once this was over.

The door to
the turbo lift slid open and the two entered. A few moments later, they exited near
a tram station where they could take an inter-station tram to where the meeting
was going to be held.

A few minutes
later, sitting in the tram with Marken, Wade wondered what his life would have
been like if the Kleese had never found the Solar System. If the exploration
ship which had found Earth had continued on and not stopped to investigate the
radio transmissions and other electromagnetic radiation that a budding
civilization broadcast without concern for the consequences. Things could have
been so different, but then he never would have met Beth, Marken, Harnett, and
so many others. He also wouldn’t have a son. As he watched the metal walls of
the transit tunnel fly by he hoped his son would never have to experience the
horrors of war like he had.

-

Marken watched
Wade in the seat across from him. He would always feel guilty for the path he
had set the Human race upon. The actions he and his friends had caused by
freeing the Humans had brought war to this section of the galaxy. A war the
Humans were becoming very adept at waging. There were many nights that Marken
had trouble falling asleep. Several times Harnett had awoken to find Marken
standing out on the balcony of their home looking out across the Kivean city.
At night, the colorful lights and gentle breeze helped one forget the war going
on. Whenever that happened Marken and Harnett would stand in silence, their
arms around one another as they gazed out across the city. Marken felt the same
as Wade. Someday he wanted to stand on that balcony with Harnett and know the
galaxy was at peace and the war was over.

Colonel Wade
Nelson and Marken were inspecting the heavy battlecruiser construction bay
inside of Vesta. Inside the mammoth bay, ten huge construction berths were in
full operation building more of the one thousand-meter heavy battlecruisers.

“Damn
impressive isn’t it?” commented General Will Bailey. Bailey was responsible for
the defense of Vesta and he took the job very seriously.

“I never would
have believed it was possible,” said Ethan Hall, who was responsible for the
workings of the huge construction bay. “When Marken and the others came and
told me what they planned, I said it couldn’t be done.”

Marken smiled.
He well remembered that conversation. “Between Kivean, Delton, and Talt science
I was fully confident we could do it. With the modifications we made to the
Delton work robots, we can run the ship construction operation twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week.”

Wade looked over
at the nearest construction site, gazing thoughtfully at the large robots. They
came in two different sizes. The small ones were slightly larger than a Human
with four flexible metal legs and six flexible metal tentacles. These small
robots were used for interior construction and were capable of doing more than
one task at a time. Wade had once watched one take a power circuit apart with
two tentacles while welding with two others.

The large work
robots stood nearly fourteen feet high and were used for the heavier work on
the ship’s actual physical structure and hull. These massive robots had six flexible
legs and four long tentacles. They could actually pick up hull plates and weld
them to the support structure without the need for any other special equipment.

“Will these be
done in time?” Wade asked. He knew the deadline for the expected Kleese attack
was growing near.

“It’ll be
close,” Ethan said, folding his arms across his chest. “We’ll have these ten
done in seven more weeks. Figure two weeks for space trials and then at least another
four for crew training.”

“We can train
the crews on other ships if needed,” Sean Miller said. Sean was responsible for
all of Vesta’s spacedock and flight operations. “If we can have three more months,
the ships and crews will be ready.”

Wade watched
as two of the larger robots picked up an energy cannon and carried it to the
nearer ship to begin mounting it. What amazed Wade was that there were hundreds
of the large robots in the bay and even more of the smaller ones. There were
also a number of Human construction personnel around as well as Kiveans,
Delton, and Talts. All knew the importance of getting these ships done and
ready for the coming battle.

“If we can get
these done that will give us forty-four of the heavy battlecruisers,” commented
General Bailey.

Sean looked
around the bay and sighed. “I wish it were ten times that. The Kleese will be
coming with thousands of ships this time around. I fear the next battle will be
decisive. It’ll either be them or us.”

General Bailey
nodded his head in agreement. “We’re doing everything we can to prepare.” He
turned toward Wade and Marken. “Would you like to take a quick tour of the
defenses we’ve set up outside? You’ve both seen the Kleese in action; perhaps
you’ll have some suggestions.”

Glancing
across the bay, Wade noticed a number of Marines in Type Three battlesuits
stationed at key locations. He knew this was the same throughout the military
parts of Vesta, including the spacedock. “Sure, it’s been awhile since I’ve
looked at the outside defenses.” It would also make him feel better confirming
that Vesta was sufficiently defended to protect his family.

-

A short time later,
they were in a large shuttle inside of Vesta’s main spacedock. The bay had been
enlarged several times over the years. It was now ten kilometers in width, two
kilometers in length and a full kilometer from floor to ceiling. Inside the bay,
numerous ships could be seen in their berths, prospecting ships, cargo ships,
passenger liners, and even a few battlecruisers. On the far end of the bay, six
new battlecruisers were nearing completion in their construction berths.

“How close are
those battlecruisers to being done?” asked Wade, looking out one of the large
viewports.

Major Jeffries
had joined the small group when they entered the spacedock. He had served with Wade
from nearly the beginning and had been in almost every major battle. “I was
over there earlier today, and the construction superintendent says they’re just
about finished. Another week and all six of them can begin their space trials.”

Several years earlier
the spacedock had been the scene of a major battle between the Kleese and the
Human Marines. It had been intense and there had been a lot of damage, but in
the end the Kleese conscripts had been kept out of the interior of Vesta. Wade noticed
that a number of hover tanks had been positioned at key points inside the
spacedock.

“How many Marines
are you keeping in the main spacedock?” asked Wade, feeling curious.

“Three full
platoons at all times,” Jeffries replied. “If the Kleese attack us here it will
take them awhile to get through the tunnel. By the time they can reach the
spacedock, I can have another two hundred Marines in Type Three and Type Four battlesuits
deployed.”

“They won’t
ever make it down the tunnel,” General Bailey said confidently.

The shuttle
lifted off and proceeded to the first set of massive airlock doors protecting
the spacedock. Upon the shuttle’s approach, they partially opened and the
shuttle slid through.

“If you look
at the tunnel walls we’ve added ten pulse fusion cannons and two plasma cannons,”
General Bailey said pointing out the weapons through the viewports. “Each can
be targeted down the tunnel to take out any approaching ship.”

Marken looked
at the cannons protecting the huge metal doors constructed of ship armor. “I’ve
had a group of Kivean and Delton engineers working here as well. We can project
a powerful energy shield in front of the doors if necessary. General Bailey is correct;
the Kleese will never be able to enter.”

The shuttle
accelerated down the long tunnel and finally emerged from a second set of
massive armored airlock doors. Around the perimeter of the airlock, twelve
small particle beam cannons ensured there would be no unauthorized entry.

“Any word from
Admiral Adamson?” asked Major Jeffries. He had asked to go on the mission but
had been told he was needed here at Vesta to help prepare its defense for the
coming battle with the Kleese.

“No,” Wade responded.
“We don’t expect to hear anything until they return. We’ll know they’ve been successful
in their mission if the Kleese don’t attack.”

Major Jeffries
nodded. “I would have liked to have gone.”

The shuttle
went into orbit above Vesta where they could see the defensive bases.

“We’ve set up
ten sites on the surface that contain the majority of our offensive and
defensive weapons,” General Bailey informed everyone. “Each site contains two
plasma beam cannons, four ion cannons, ten particle beam cannons, sixteen pulse
fusion beam turrets, and thirty-six defensive energy beam turrets. The ten
sites are also protected by an enhanced energy screen that can be activated at
a moment’s notice.”

“Damn, that’s
a lot of firepower,” muttered Major Jeffries. He had been more concerned about
his Marines inside of Vesta and hadn’t kept up with what General Bailey had
been doing on the outside.

Ryan nodded in
agreement. He knew in the past there had been a number of railgun batteries,
but those had been replaced with additional defensive energy beam turrets.

Looking down
at one of the sites, Ryan could see it was spread out over a large area. The
ion cannons and the particle beam cannons were the most obvious because of
their long tubes. Each extended a good forty meters above the surface of the
asteroid and had an overlapping field of fire. This allowed the cannons to
cover the majority of the space above the site. A tall blastcrete wall
surrounded the entire base, and Ryan could see a number of tall towers with
small railgun turrets mounted on them.

“There are a
thousand military personnel stationed at each site,” Bailey continued. “We have
two hundred Marines in Type Three battlesuits in case the Kleese land
conscripts. If the Kleese come near Vesta, we’ll blow them all the way back to
their home world.”

The tour
continued for another hour as they cruised over the surface of the asteroid
discussing possible augmentations to Vesta’s already powerful defenses.

-

Several hours
later Marken and Wade entered the Viridian habitat. Stepping inside, they
paused and gazed at the world created deep inside of the asteroid. The area was
forty kilometers in length and twenty in width. In its center, a modern
futuristic looking city extended nearly the entire length of the habitat. Several
of the tall buildings in the heart of the city were forty stories high. The
areas on the edges of the habitat were reserved for farming, with a number of
slowly flowing rivers and several small blue lakes making it appear much like
Earth. It looked like a virtual paradise. It was well stocked with various
breeds of livestock as well as other animals, birds, and insects to make the
habitat ecologically stable. Slightly over 1.6 million people lived in the
city.

It always
amazed Wade how quiet everything was. All vehicles in the city were powered by
electricity, and there was no pollution of any kind. It was the kind of city
and environment the people of Earth had always dreamed of but had never been
able to achieve. In the distance, Wade could see herds of farm animals in the
lush green pastures and flocks of birds flying overhead. There were even fish
in the streams and lakes.

Marken paused
and looked over at Wade. “Harnett’s at the cloning facility visiting with Mason
Randle.”

“How many
clones are they producing this year?”

“Three hundred
thousand,” Marken answered. “That’s the most yet.”

“People are
beginning to accept the clones now,” Wade said.

He was glad as
Ryan’s girlfriend and fellow Marine was a clone. He had come to know Casey quite
well over the last year, and she was really a sweet girl. She and Ryan made a great
couple. Even their parents had come to accept her. Wade knew this had been
difficult at first for his mother but after awhile, once she came to know Casey,
everything had turned out fine.

-

In the cloning
facility, Harnett frowned in disappointment at her latest failure to create a
viable fetus by combining her DNA with Marken’s.

“We’re getting
closer,” Malton the Kivean geneticist said.

“I don’t
understand why this is so difficult.” Harnett had been working with Malton for
months trying to create a viable fetus. “It seems so much simpler with only one
DNA strand.” One DNA strand was all it took to create a normal clone.

Malton nodded.
“It’s because we’re trying to combine specific traits in the two DNA strands.
We’re close, very close.”

Harnett leaned
back in her chair and sighed. If the Kleese hadn’t performed surgery on her,
she would have been able to have children. It only made her hate and despise
the Kleese even more. Standing up, she looked over at Malton. “I have a meeting
with Mason to discuss the next batch of clones.”

“Three hundred
thousand this year,” Malton said. “Can we do more?”

“Not without
expanding the facility. We’re already stretching our resources to handle the ones
we’re producing now. I’m not sure we want to put more pressure on the system.”

Malton turned
back toward his computer terminal, which was showing several complicated
strands of DNA. “If the Kleese come, we may not have to worry about future
clones.”

Harnett hoped
that Malton was wrong, but she greatly feared that the Kleese were indeed coming
to destroy everything she and Marken and the other Kiveans had helped the
Humans build.

-

Entering
Mason’s office, Harnett saw Cyrlia was there as well. Crylia was a Kivean and a
specialist in Human Physiology.

“Welcome,
Harnett,” Mason said, standing. Mason was the current head of the cloning facility.
It was a far change from his past job of president but one he found very
satisfying.

“I understand
you want to discuss increasing the number of clones we’re producing?”

Mason nodded
and indicated for Harnett to sit down. “We’re going to reach three hundred
thousand this year with the majority of them going to the Academy, the Fleet
school, or straight into the military.”

“We still have
a failure rate of .005 percent,” Crylia pointed out. “That’s fifteen hundred
clones that will fail to reach maturity or suffer mental deficiencies.”

“It’s much
better than where we were,” replied Mason.

It was always
difficult to dispose of clones that weren’t viable. The clones were so innocent
and naive at first. However, due to the memory imprinting technology being used
the clones were born with a basic understanding of many things, which made
their assimilation into Human culture easier.

Crylia agreed
it was better. “I should warn you that if we attempt to substantially increase
the number of clones, we could see a significant increase in the failure rate.”

“We will see
an increase,” Harnett predicted totally in agreement with Crylia. “Mason, why
increase the number of clones? There’s a good chance the war between the Kleese
and us will be decided in the coming months. The war may be over before these
new clones reach maturity.”

“President
Steward thinks it would be wise to increase the Human population as quickly as possible.
While it’s true the Human birth rate has spiked, there are still less than
twenty million of us.”