Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (18 page)

Bixutl turned
his attention to the Supreme Overlord, wondering if he could use the
information he now possessed to remove Xatul from his esteemed position and
seize it for himself.

“We will
provide the warrior caste with the materials it needs to produce more
warships,” Xatul said, looking across the council.

He didn’t
mention that he'd already sent out orders for more exploration ships to be
built as well. While he didn’t expect there to be armed conflict between the Zaltule
and the rest of the Kleese, it never hurt to ensure he had the forces necessary
to reign in the warrior caste if need be.

“What of new
weapons?” demanded Raluth, turning toward the Zaltule Overlords.

“We have some
promising technology we've procured from several of the nonaligned worlds that
have recently been brought into the Empire,” Darthu responded, evenly. “Our
scientists are still evaluating its potential to be used as weapons.”

“Will you be
sharing that technology with the rest of the council?” asked Martule.

“In time,”
answered Darthu. “There is much research yet to be done.”

Bixutl nodded
to himself. The Zaltule were stalling. It was evident to him that the warrior
caste didn’t intend to share any advanced weaponry they might procure from the
nonaligned worlds. He wondered why Xatul wasn’t objecting more stringently.

“I have heard
some disturbing rumors coming from Sector Eleven of our Empire,” Keluth
ventured in a carefully controlled voice. “One of our trading stations has
reported someone is trying to organize an Alliance of nonaligned worlds to
resist the Zaltule.”

“An Alliance!” roared Lackeln his multifaceted eyes focusing sharply on the Kleese Overlord.
“Who is trying to organize this Alliance?”

“That is
unknown,” replied Keluth, trying to stay calm. “It was reported by some
conscripts who overheard several members of one of the nonaligned worlds
discussing it.”

“The
nonaligned worlds cannot be allowed to form an Alliance against us,” spoke
Xatul in a commanding voice. “With their science and technology they could pose
an imminent threat to the Empire.”

“I will send
word to Overlord Harmock immediately,” stated Darthu. “It might be necessary to
send a Zaltule fleet to crush this budding Alliance before it becomes a
reality.”

“A wise decision,”
Xatul replied.

He strongly
suspected that if someone was trying to organize the nonaligned worlds into an Alliance, it had to be the Humans. He wished now that he had sent an exploration ship to
check up on that upstart race. By not doing so, he might have endangered his
position as Supreme Overlord.

-

Ryan and his
platoon were aboard the newly constructed troop assault ship Defender. Ryan had
been amazed when he'd first seen the massive warship, for a warship was what
the Defender was. The troop assault ship was one thousand meters in length, two
hundred meters in width, and one hundred and eighty meters in height. It had
the firepower of a battlecruiser, including a particle beam cannon in the bow
as well as two heavy KEW cannons. If the ship had to fight, it could hold its
own in combat.

Even more
importantly, the ship had eighty Space Marines trained in the use of the new
Type Four battlesuits and another four hundred trained in the use of the Type
Threes. There were also eight of the new hover tanks in the main cargo hold to
be used if heavier firepower was needed on the ground.

“She’s quite a
ship,” commented Casey as they stood in a small observation room waiting for
the ship to depart. The observation room had a number of massive titanium reinforced
viewports that stretched from one end of the room to the other. When in battle,
combat armor would slide down to cover them.

In the
distance, Ryan could see one of the light cruisers moving into screening
position between the Defender and Centerpoint Station. He knew that four light
cruisers and eight assault ships had been assigned as escorts for the Defender.
A sizable force, which made him feel secure if they encountered any problems on
their trip to the nonaligned worlds where Seventh Fleet awaited.

“Do you think
we’ll see combat?” asked Casey, turning her eyes toward Ryan.

“I’m sure of
it,” Ryan answered. “I don’t think they would be sending out this force if they
didn’t believe it would be needed.” Ryan knew that Major Stevens was currently
in the Command Center where he would be observing their entry into Fold Space.
Only Major Winfrey had stayed behind to begin training the next group of
recruits for the Type Four suits.

Casey looked
around. A few other marines were also in the observation room, anxiously
waiting for the ship to begin accelerating away from Centerpoint. Even as Casey
watched, the ship started moving and the station began to fall away. Without
thinking, she reached out and took Ryan’s hand, waiting anxiously for the ship
to jump into Fold Space. She didn’t have long to wait as the stars suddenly
seemed to blur and then returned to normal. She knew that the ship was now
traveling at many times the speed of light. Glancing down at her hand, she felt
embarrassed as she realized what she had done. She released Ryan’s comforting
hand and focused on the sea of stars outside of the viewport as if nothing had
happened.

Ryan had been
surprised when Casey had taken his hand but assumed it was due to her
nervousness about entering Fold Space. They were on their way, and in three
weeks would be rendezvousing with Seventh Fleet. He wondered what Wade would
say when he found out that Ryan was aboard the Defender. He just hoped his
brother would be as supportive and understanding as he'd always been.

-

Supreme War
Overlord Harmock felt growing rage inside of him at the most recent report from
the Council of Overlords. Somehow, word had reached the council that a number
of nonaligned worlds in sector eleven were discussing forming an Alliance to stand up to the Zaltule. He looked up at one of the viewscreens showing the
Delton home world, which was now firmly under Kleese control. Every leader and
all important scientists now wore the Kleese collars of obedience.

“This Alliance must not be allowed to come into existence,” spoke Minor Overlord Gareth, rising
to his full height and gazing at Harmock. “The nonaligned worlds we have thus
far conquered were difficult enough without a group of them joining together
for their common defense.”

“They may have
higher levels of science and technology, but they are still inferior races when
compared to the Kleese or our own warrior caste,” uttered Harmock, folding his
powerful dark arms across his chest. His triangular shaped head shifted until
he was looking directly at his second in command. “We will gather a fleet and
set out immediately for sector eleven. Once there, we will find these worlds
and crush their feeble attempt to form an Alliance against the Empire.”

“We may have
to pull ships from the other attacking fleets to make up for our losses and the
damage some of our battlecruisers took during the battle with the Deltons,”
pointed out Gareth.

“The Deltons!”
roared Harmock still aggravated that a large number of Delton warships and
civilian ships had managed to escape his grasp.

Dozens of
Delton leaders and military personnel had suffered the consequences of failing
to reveal to their Zaltule Overlords where the ships had gone. The black boxes
which controlled the collars of obedience had been used a surprisingly large
number of times but yielded no results. Zaltule battlecruisers had been sent to
many of the nearby systems, but no signs had been found of the missing ships.

“Pull the
ships we need from the attacking fleets,” ordered Harmock, coldly. “They can
requisition replacements from our home systems. Once the necessary ships arrive
here, we’ll set out toward sector eleven and see if these rumors of a possible Alliance are true.”

“It will take
us fifty-four days to reach sector eleven from here,” reported one of the
Zaltule warriors operating the navigation controls.

“Fifty-four
days during which they can make preparations against us,” warned Gareth as he
thought of what it might mean to go up against a group of heavily armed
nonaligned worlds that had the necessary time to prepare for the arrival of the
Zaltule.

“It will make
no difference,” spoke Harmock in a dark and menacing voice. “They will be
crushed just the same and know what it means to wear our collars of obedience.
They'll just be brought into the Empire sooner than originally planned.”

“It will be
done,” Gareth responded as he turned and descended from the Command Pedestal
and walked over on his six legs to the primary Communications console. It would
be necessary to contact several of the attacking fleets for the needed ships.

Harmock gazed
around the Command Center, satisfied that his fellow warriors were performing
their jobs efficiently. He also wondered about the problem in sector eleven and
if there wasn’t something else going on the council was keeping from him. His
thoughts turned dark at the consequences to the Council of Overlords if he
found that to be true. If the council were hiding a secret, then on his return
he would implement sufficient changes to the council to ensure the Zaltule had
complete control over it as well as the Empire.

General
Mitchell was meeting with Fleet Admiral Kelly and Commander Pasha of the Talts.
Also sitting in on the meeting were Gerald Lawson, the military weapons
specialist, as well as Skagern, who had flown in from the Kivean asteroid.

“How effective
is this plasma weapon?” asked Kelly, looking over at Lawson. “Is it worth
installing on our ships?”

“It’s highly
effective at close range,” Lawson replied in an earnest voice. He'd spent considerable
time speaking with several Talt weapons scientists and even been allowed aboard
one of the two Talt battlecruisers for a weapons demonstration.

“How hard
would the plasma cannons be to install on our battlecruisers?” asked Kelly.
Anything that was effective against the Kleese he wanted on his ships.

“I would
suggest installing only one cannon on a battlecruiser as the equipment needed
is a little cumbersome, though the Kiveans believe they can use micro
engineering to reduce it to a more manageable size,” answered Lawson. “The
cannon would need approximately forty seconds to recharge before it could fire
a second round.”

“I’ve spoken
to a number of our scientists and technicians,” Skagern added his eyes focusing
on Fleet Admiral Kelly. “They feel they can have a workable design ready for
our battlecruisers within two months.”

“Commander
Pasha, if you had to fight the Zaltule again, what changes would you make to
any fleet under your command?” asked Kelly. The Talts had fought literally to
the last ship and had managed to destroy a number of the large Zaltule
battlecruisers.

“We needed
larger ships,” Pasha stated his large yellow eyes focusing on the Fleet
Admiral. “Our ships didn’t have sufficient weapons to push the Kleese back.
Their ships are three kilometers in width and nearly every square meter of
their hulls are covered with some type of offensive or defensive armament. I
have noticed that your own battlecruisers are only slightly larger than ours.”

“How much
larger do our ships need to be in order to be able to adequately defend against
the Zaltule?” asked General Mitchell, leaning forward in his chair. One of the
reasons for the size of the fleet’s battlecruisers and light cruisers were crew
constraints. Until the clone program began, they just didn’t have the crews for
larger warships.

“One thousand
meters,” answered Skagern, promptly. The Kivean had spent considerable time
discussing this with Lawson, the Talts, and several Kivean weapons specialists.
“If we build new battlecruisers one thousand meters in length we can arm them
sufficiently to easily handle a Zaltule warship.”

“That’s double
the size of our current ships,” commented Kelly with a frown. That would
require much larger crews and an obvious increase in the cloning program.

“With the
plasma weapons and particle beams we’ll have a decisive advantage against the
Kleese in a standup battle,” Skagern pointed out. “We need larger ships to be
able to take the punishment being handed out by the Zaltule warships.”

“We can build
them at the Vesta spacedock,” Lawson suggested. “It would only take some minor
modifications to the construction docks to handle the larger ships. We did
build the Defender there.”

General
Mitchell nodded. The Defender was one thousand meters so he knew that it could
be done. “What about other modifications? We currently have a mission off to
the nonaligned worlds; they may return with more suggestions for upgrades to
our ships.”

“It’s a
possibility,” conceded Skagern. “I would suggest we work on a design with what
we currently have, and it can be modified once the mission returns. We already
have a base design from building the Defender.”

“We can have a
completed ship design within two months,” promised Lawson as he narrowed his
eyes in thought. “If there are no major changes, we could go to production in
three.”

“What would be
the estimated construction time?” asked Kelly, wondering if they would have to
make up a new category for these larger ships.

“I would
suggest we build four at a time,” spoke Skagern in a serious tone. “There is
room in the Vesta spacedock for that type of construction operation, and we
could have the first battle group done in six months.”

“My own
scientists and technicians will be pleased to assist,” put forth Commander
Pasha. “It’s possible we may have some construction techniques which could
speed up the building of the ships. My people were very heavy into automated
construction.”

General
Mitchell nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll need to speak to President Randle
as well as Sean Miller and Ethan Hall. The final decision will be up to the
president and the Federated Council, but I believe they’ll follow my
recommendation. I want to go ahead and begin preparation for this new grade of
warship, and as soon as I receive formal approval we’ll begin allocating assets
to get construction started.”

“I think it’s
a wise decision,” replied Skagern with a nod of his head.

“How is your
new habitat coming?” General Mitchell asked Commander Pasha. He knew the
Kiveans had been helping the Talts build a habitat in a nearby asteroid.

“It’s nearly
complete,” Pasha responded with a pleased smile. “Our people will begin moving
off the ships in another two weeks.”

“I understand
some of your people have visited the Kiveans’ habitats,” added Kelly. He knew
the architecture the Kiveans used was quite remarkable. Many people who'd been
inside the two habitats the Kiveans had built inside their asteroid remarked
how the two cities resembled something out of a fairy tale.

“Yes,” Pasha
answered his large eyes shifting to Fleet Admiral Kelly. “We have been rotating
our people, allowing them some time off the ships. Our civilians are not used
to long space voyages and were getting restless.”

“I can
understand that,” commented Lawson. Just flying the relatively short distances
in the solar system made him feel nervous.

“My people and
I are grateful for what the Kiveans and your people have done for us.”

“We’re all in
this together against the Kleese,” General Mitchell said. “I suspect your race
won’t be the only one we find fleeing the Empire. There will be others.”

-

Wade looked
over at Beth, who was lying in the bed next to him. He reached out and ran his
hand softly over her cheek. She blinked her eyes and they opened. She
stretched, yawned, and pulled the blanket up under her chin.

“Tell me it’s
not time to get up,” she said, sleepily.

Wade laughed
and placed his hand under the blanket until he was holding her breast. “It was
you that kept us up late last night.”

Beth giggled
and moved Wade’s hand as she sat up. “Yeah, and if I let you have your way,
we’ll never make it to our meeting this morning.”

Wade sighed
and swung his legs out of bed. “Let me take a quick shower and then you can get
ready.”

“A long, hot
bath sounds good,” Beth spoke as she snuggled back down in the bed, watching
Wade walk across the room toward the bathroom. They were on the Distant Star
and the passenger liner actually had bathtubs in the suites. On the troop
transport there were showers but very little privacy. It was something the
marines had gotten used to.

-

Two hours
later, after eating a light breakfast, they stepped into one of the ship’s
conference rooms where the meeting was being held. Marken, Harnett, Hyram
Blake, and Admiral Adamson were already there.

“The troop
assault ship Defender arrived in the Lanolth system yesterday,” Adamson
informed them. “The Defender has a full company of marines trained in the new
Type Four battlesuits.” Adamson’s eyes then shifted directly to Wade. “Your
brother is in charge of one of the platoons with the rank of full lieutenant.
From what Major Stevens told me, Ryan did an outstanding job in the drills. He
even conquered Charring Mountain on his second attempt.”

“What?”
blurted out Beth her eyes widening in disbelief. “No one conquers Charring on
their second try!”

“Lieutenant
Nelson did,” Adamson said with a grin. “He must take after you, Wade.”

Wade nodded.
He didn’t know what to say. He only knew that his brother most likely would be
going in harm’s way very shortly.

“I’m glad the
transport’s arrived,” Wade replied. He then looked over at Hyram. “What’s the
latest word on the Alliance?”

“Four
confirmed worlds with signed documents pledging mutual support,” he responded
with a pleased smile. “We have another five which are leaning toward joining
the Alliance and seven more that are still indecisive.”

“What are they
waiting on?” demanded Admiral Adamson, shaking his head and cocking his
eyebrow. “Don’t they know the Alliance is their only hope of remaining free of
the Kleese Empire?”

“They know,”
answered Hyram. “They’ve just been at peace for so long that going to war is a
foreign thought to them.”

“But they all
have defensive fleets and weapons,” pointed out Adamson, feeling confused.
“They wouldn’t have those if they thought they weren’t necessary.”

“They have
very powerful warships and defenses,” agreed Hyram, recalling some of the talks
with representatives of those worlds. “I think they’re still unsure we can
actually protect them. Once we prove that, then I think the majority of them
will join.”

“So we wait on
the Kleese to attack,” commented Wade with a frown.

“It’s the only
way,” Marken said with a sigh. “I just hope our fleet is powerful enough to
stop whatever the Kleese send our way.”

There was a
knock on the door and an ensign opened it and stepped inside, looking at
Admiral Adamson. “We’ve just had a report from the Lanolthians that a
nonaligned world’s refugee fleet has dropped out of Fold Space in the Kales
System. They’re requesting we send some ships to meet with the refugee fleet.”

“How large a
refugee fleet?” asked Hyram, standing up.

“It’s one
hundred and thirty-one vessels,” the ensign replied. Then, in an excited voice,
he continued. “But it has eighty-seven large battlecruisers with it as an
escort.”

“Eighty-seven
battlecruisers,” echoed Admiral Adamson his eyes widening. He looked over at
Hyram. “I think we need to talk to these people.”

“I agree,”
Hyram responded. “How far is the Kales system from here?”

“Sixty-two
light years,” answered Marken, promptly. “We can be there in less than a day.”

“Send a
message to the Lanolthians that we’re sending some ships to the Kales System to
meet with the refugee fleet,” ordered Admiral Adamson. “Anyone that has
eighty-seven battlecruisers we need to talk to.”

“If we can get
these refugees to tell the nonaligned worlds what the Kleese did to their
world, it might just be the kick start we need to get more of them to join,”
stated Hyram as he weighed the possibilities.

“Did the
Lanolthians say what nonaligned world this refugee fleet came from?” asked Harnett,
feeling curious and gazing at the ensign for an answer.

“Deltons,” the
ensign replied. “They said the fleet was Deltons.”

“Have you ever
heard of them?” asked Wade, looking questioningly at Marken and Harnett.

“No,” answered
Marken, shaking his head. “But the other Kiveans we brought with us might have.
“We’ll have to check.”

“Let us know
what you find out,” directed Adamson. “Now let’s decide what ships need to go
to this meeting.”

-

Supreme War
Overlord Harmock gazed with satisfaction at the numerous green icons on the
Warrior’s Fire’s tactical screen. The fleet had dropped out of Fold Space for
routine systems’ checks and would soon be continuing on their way toward sector
eleven. Seven hundred large green icons were spread out over the screen designating
the Zaltule warships.

“We’ll stop at
sector eleven’s trading station before we engage any of the nonaligned worlds
in that area,” Harmock announced. By stopping there, he might be able to glean
valuable tactical information about the possible Alliance being formed in the
sector.

“I’ve heard
that the trading stations on the periphery of the Empire are rather loosely
run,” commented Gareth. He shifted his six legs upon the Command Pedestal and
looked down at one of the control consoles. “The Kleese who operate these outer
stations are far enough away from the Council of Overlords that consequences
for their actions or failure to act is of little concern to them.”

“That will
change now that the Zaltule have taken an active role in expanding our Empire,”
spoke Harmock, decisively. “Many Kleese have forgotten the way of our warriors
and grown soft in this new Empire the council has created. All that is about to
change; it is one of the reasons I want Zaltule security detachments assigned
to all of the trading stations. We’ll implement the old ways and assert more
control over the races that use our stations for trade.”

“What about
the conscripts the stations use in their conquests of other worlds in their
sectors?” asked Gareth as he turned back away from the console. “We’re talking
about thousands of worlds these stations help to control and though the
conscripts come from inferior species, they free up innumerable Kleese from
having to serve as occupation forces on many of those worlds.”

“They have
their use,” admitted Harmock with distaste. “Someday, when the numbers of the
Zaltule have increased sufficiently, there will be no need for these
conscripts. I loathe the fact that inferior species walk the corridors of our
assault ships and exploration ships.”

“It’s another
three days' travel in Fold Space to reach the trading station,” Gareth
reported.

“We’ll perform
an inspection while we’re there,” Harmock announced, sharply. “We’ll remind the
Kleese upon the station the importance of staying true to the ways of the
Kleese. If they have grown too soft, they’ll be eliminated. There is no room in
the Empire for the weak or those who refuse to aid in the expansion of the
Empire.”