Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (19 page)

“It is
necessary,” agreed Gareth. “The weak must be removed.”

“Set course
for the trading station,” ordered Harmock. “We leave as soon as all ships are
finished with their systems' checks.”

-

Three days
later, Harmock gazed in confusion at the tactical screen before him. They had
dropped out of Fold Space where the trading station was supposed to be, but all
that surrounded them was empty space. There was no sign of the station or any
Kleese ships.

“Where is the
station?” demanded Harmock in a cold voice as he stared at the Zaltule in front
of the battlecruiser’s sensors.

“This is the
location listed in the database for our trade station,” Jalridd responded. “I
have run long-range sensor sweeps, and there is no sign of the station. I am
picking up what appears to be ship debris but not near enough to account for
the station.”

“Something’s not
right,” Gareth spoke. “Trading stations are not moved once they've been set in
place.”

“Send out some
of our ships to the nearer worlds under Kleese control,” ordered Harmock as he
gazed at the tactical screen. All that was showing were Zaltule battlecruisers.
“Find and bring back an exploration ship; I want to know what happened to the
station.”

Harmock
watched as his orders were swiftly carried out. He had a feeling he was shortly
going to learn what the council had been hiding from him and a suspicion he
would not be pleased.

-

Two days
later, a Kleese exploration ship dropped out of Fold Space along with two
Zaltule battlecruisers serving as escorts. The twelve thousand meter disk ship
came to a stop just on the outskirts of the Zaltule warfleet.

“We’re
receiving a message from the Minor Overlord in charge of one of the two
escorting battlecruisers,” Dalock reported from Communications. “It seems as if
the commander of the exploration ship refused to come to meet us at first. Our
two battlecruisers had to threaten to destroy the ship before the Kleese in
command agreed to our requests for a meeting.”

“They know
something,” Gareth commented his multifaceted eyes focusing on the War
Overlord. “Something bad has happened here and they’re fearful of us learning
what it was.”

“Order the
Kleese command crew of the exploration ship to report to the Warrior’s Fire
immediately,” commanded Harmock. “I want to know what they’re hiding!”

Two hours
later, Harmock gazed impassively at the disemboweled body of the Kleese
commander of the exploration ship. It had been necessary to employ methods,
which were distasteful even to the Zaltule to get the Kleese commander to talk.

“It’s
incomprehensible that an inferior race could capture and take a Kleese trading
station,” spoke Gareth still finding it hard to believe what the Kleese
commander had told them.

“It’s much
worse than that,” Harmock spoke in a hard voice. “These same Humans removed
many of the Kivean scientists and their families from Kivea. The Kiveans are
one of the most advanced worlds in the Empire; so advanced they were allowed a
semblance of autonomy.”

“Not anymore,”
spoke Gareth. “The Council of Overlords ordered the surface of Kivea to be
carpet bombed with antimatter missiles. Nothing lives upon the planet now.”

“The Humans
have fought several battles against Kleese ships and have been victorious in
every case,” added Harmock.

“It may just
be a coincidence, but the advent of the Humans is close to the same time the
Strell started attacking our worlds in the neutral zone.”

“Too much of a
coincidence,” stated Harmock as he thought about the recent war with the
Strell. “The Strell claimed from the very beginning that we attacked them first
with our assault ships.”

“The Humans
would have had assault ships from the trading station,” pointed out Gareth.
“They could have masqueraded as us and instigated the Strell into attacking our
worlds.”

“Then when the
Strell attacked the planets in the neutral zone which were under our control,
we of course retaliated and the war began,” added Harmock in realization at how
masterful the Humans had played the two Empires against one another. “It all
makes sense from a tactical viewpoint.”

“Can the
Humans be that intelligent?” asked Gareth, doubtfully.

“Intelligence
might not be the right question,” Harmock said as he weighed over in his mind
what he'd learned in the last several hours. “The Humans were taken to serve as
conscripts at first because of their aggressiveness. Their world was
annihilated to ensure that they would never become a threat.”

“This Alliance being formed against us,” Gareth said as he shifted about upon his six legs.
“Could the Humans be behind it?”

“Very likely,”
Harmock responded. “They’re preparing to fight a war against us and are
attempting to rally the nonaligned worlds into an Alliance. After the planet
buster launched at their world, their surviving population has to be minuscule
compared to what it once was. They just don’t have the numbers to fight us
alone.”

“If we stop
this Alliance then the Humans would be powerless to prevent us from conquering
their system,” added Gareth.

“We won’t
conquer it, we’ll destroy it,” spoke Harmock, sharply. “Prepare the fleet; we
leave for the first nonaligned world immediately. We’ll crush this budding Alliance and then move on to destroy the Humans. Once that’s been done, we’ll return to the
home worlds. The Kleese Council of Overlords has some explaining to do.”

“Perhaps it’s
time that the Zaltule take over the council,” suggested Gareth.

“You may be
right,” conceded Harmock in a cold and hard voice. “At the very least, more
Zaltule will be included on the council.”

“The time of
the Zaltule has arrived,” proclaimed Gareth with satisfaction in his voice.

“But first we
must deal with these upstart Humans and this Alliance,” spoke Harmock, turning
his eyes toward the tactical screen. “Prepare the fleet for battle and stand by
to jump into Fold Space. It’s time we showed the nonaligned worlds and the
Humans the full might of the Zaltule!”

The
negotiations with the Deltons had gone surprisingly well, with both sides
feeling mutually satisfied at what had been accomplished. The Deltons seemed
relieved to find a force willing to fight the Kleese, and the Humans were
pleased to receive the promised assistance of so many Delton battlecruisers.

Wade leaned
back in his chair and gazed at Hyram, Admiral Adamson, and Marken. The
negotiations had been intense, with both sides asking a lot of questions and
for detailed explanations. “So we have a tentative agreement?”

“Yes,”
answered Hyram, nodding his head enthusiastically. “Fleet Commander Achlyn has
requested asylum in the solar system for his people. In return, he will remain
with forty of his battlecruisers to reinforce Seventh Fleet and will send the
rest of his ships on to Centerpoint. Once there, they will complete the
negotiations with the Federated Council.”

“I think Fleet
Admiral Kelly and General Mitchell will be quite pleased when they realize
they'll have another forty-seven battlecruisers that can be used to protect the
solar system,” commented Admiral Adamson as his eyes looked across the table at
the others. “From what Fleet Commander Achlyn has shown me of his warships'
capabilities, the main energy beams the ships are equipped with are quite
impressive.”

“They are
forty percent more powerful than those we currently use,” responded Marken,
recalling how surprised he and the other Kiveans had been when shown the amount
of energy the Delton weapons were capable of projecting. “They have found a
method to tighten the focus of the beam, thereby reducing dispersion. Once we
have the time to study the technology with some of their engineers, we should
have no problem adding the technology to our existing energy beam systems.”

“The
technology some of these nonaligned worlds have is astonishing,” commented
Admiral Adamson, shaking his head in wonder.

“Fleet
Commander Achlyn also seems to be quite receptive to the idea of building a
habitat inside an asteroid protected by our ion cannons,” added Hyram as he
shuffled through a stack of papers in front of him. “There are approximately
forty-five thousand civilian survivors chosen for their refugee fleet. The
survivors come from nearly every aspect of Deltonian life. I’ve spoken to
physicists, medical specialists, and even farmers. They were quite prepared to
set up a colony outside of known space.”

 “It should
make setting up a new habitat for the Deltons much easier,” Marken added, his
narrow eyes looking thoughtful. “Their initial plans were to warn the outer
nonaligned worlds about the Kleese and then proceed to the distant regions of
the galaxy to create a new world.”

“They were
desperate to escape the grasp of the Kleese,” said Wade, nodding his head in
understanding.

“Why did they
decide to side with us?” asked Admiral Adamson, raising his eyebrows.

“They wish to
see their home world freed someday,” answered Hyram, letting out a deep breath.
“If the Alliance is successful in stopping the Kleese then there is a
possibility that eventually the Delton home world could be freed from the grasp
of the Empire. If they proceeded to the galaxy's edge, then any hope of that
would have been exceedingly dim.”

“The Deltons
have pledged forty battlecruisers to our cause,” Wade pointed out as he looked
intently at the others. “That will greatly increase the firepower of Seventh
Fleet. What are the other Alliance worlds willing to commit?”

“Several more
worlds have signed documents,” Hyram spoke with a pleased glint in his eyes.
“When the Deltons spoke to a number of potential Alliance delegates we
summoned, you could see the shock in their eyes as they realized what the
Zaltule were up to. I think many were refusing to believe the Kleese would not
honor the neutrality agreements. Now that view has shifted, and we could see
even more worlds move our way in the next few weeks.”

“What worries
me is what the Kleese will do next,” spoke Admiral Adamson with a look of grave
concern spreading across his face. “We’ve been conducting these negotiations
for quite some time, and I worry that word of an Alliance being formed against
them might reach the Kleese home world. If that were to happen, they could move
against us immediately. It’s what I would do.”

Wade was
silent as he weighed Adamson’s words. He was in full agreement that if the
Kleese were to learn of the Alliance they would move to destroy it before it
became a dangerous reality. It put even more pressure on Admiral Adamson and
Hyram to have a major Alliance fleet ready when that time finally did arrive.

“Hyram, we
need ship commitments from the other races and we need them now,” Wade spoke in
a grim voice as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Make them
understand the future of their worlds is at stake. When the Kleese finally
attack, we must be able to drive them off and inflict paralyzing casualties to
their attacking fleet. If we can to that, it should buy us the time we need to
finish organizing the Alliance and setting up more powerful defenses to protect
Alliance worlds. Just one squadron from each prospective Alliance world would
help.”

Hyram nodded,
knowing what Wade was suggesting would require some long hours of negotiating.
“I think they’ll agree,” he said, leaning forward and staring at the colonel.
“I think if we ask for an initial commitment of at least one full battlecruiser
squadron from each world which has signed an Alliance agreement, we could come
up with a sizable number of ships to reinforce Seventh Fleet and still leave
them enough to defend their worlds.”

“Do it
quickly,” suggested Adamson, sharply. “I fear we’re rapidly running out of
time.”

“I know the
Kleese,” Marken said in a low voice as he recalled all the years his people had
been subservient to the cruel and heartless alien species. “If they believe the
nonaligned worlds are mounting a rebellion to resist being forced into the
Empire, they will attack immediately and hard. They'll wish to make an example
out of a potential Alliance world in order to frighten others away from
joining. They may use antimatter missiles on its cities to put fear into the
others.” Marken felt deeply concerned, recalling how the Kleese had used
antimatter missiles to destroy his home world.

Wade nodded.
He could well remember how his own encounters with the arachnid species had
been. The Kleese cared for no one except other Kleese; all other races were
inferior and they had no remorse removing individuals or entire species, which
might oppose them. Too many times, he had witnessed Kleese using their black
box control devices to detonate explosive collars on conscripts with which they
were displeased.

“Inform all
the current Alliance worlds as well as those that are still indecisive that
we’re expecting a Kleese attack shortly,” Wade said after a few moments of
thought. “If they want to retain their freedom, we need their ships.”

“I will do as
you ask,” Hyram stated as he stood up and gathered the scattered folders lying
on the conference table.

After Hyram
left, Admiral Adamson looked over at Wade and Marken. “How much time do we
have?”

Wade let out a
heavy sigh and only shook his head, shifting his glance questioningly over to
Marken.

“There’s a
good chance the Kleese are searching for the Deltons,” he spoke in a concerned
voice. “They will be highly upset some warships and civilian ships escaped
their original attack. We also haven’t exactly been secretive about forming our
Alliance. Several worlds we approached were very abrupt in demanding we leave
their system and not return. It’s possible one or more of these worlds could
have sent a message to the nearest Kleese ship in the hope they could trade the
information for a continuation of their neutrality agreement.”

“A month at
the outside,” Wade said his eyes narrowing as he thought about how long it
would take the Kleese to organize a major fleet and send it toward the
nonaligned worlds. “I need to speak to Hyram and see if some of the nonaligned
worlds would be willing to place pickets in some of the systems between us and
the direction the Kleese will come from.”

“They could
use some of their cargo ships,” suggested Adamson with a thoughtful look. “If
we could have a few days' warning before the Kleese arrive at their
destination, we could have the fleet ready to meet them.”

“Assume the
Kleese are traveling at seventy to one hundred light years per day, it won’t be
very easy for a cargo ship to detect them,” Marken was quick to point out. “The
cargo ship would have to be in a system the Kleese stop in to do systems’
checks.”

“But they
might,” responded Adamson, knowing the odds of detecting the Kleese fleet
wasn’t very great. “I think it’s worth the attempt.”

Wade stood up
and looked at the other two. “I’ll notify the Defender and our other two troop
ships to stand by,” he said evenly, not betraying the worry he felt at sending
his brother’s ship into combat. “If the Kleese beat us to the system they plan
to attack, we might have to drive them off the surface of the planet.”

“Wade,”
interrupted Adamson before the colonel could leave. “I think we should make an
attempt to capture several Zaltule. Live prisoners could give us a wealth of
tactical information.”

Wade froze
when he heard Adamson’s suggestion. To Wade the only good Kleese was a dead
one. He let out a deep breath before replying. “I’ll make the suggestion to
Major Stevens, but with the stipulation that it must be done without risking
significant harm to his marines.”

“I can accept
that,” responded Adamson, evenly.

As Wade left
the room, he felt a cold chill at what Ryan and his platoon might have to do.
To fight the Kleese in armed combat was one thing, but to capture one might be
asking the impossible. He needed to talk to Beth about this. While he wouldn’t
be down on the planet, Beth would and she could help keep Ryan out of trouble.
She'd fought the Kleese in combat and Ryan hadn't.

-

Ryan and Casey
were standing at one of the large viewports gazing out, mesmerized at the
peaceful blue-green planet that seemed to be floating in space. The planet was
surrounded by a myriad of stars, which seemed to beckon to them with their
steady, unblinking light. A large space station orbited the planet where
numerous cargo ships and trading vessels were continually coming and going.
Farther out the planet’s two small moons orbited.

“It’s a
beautiful world,” Casey said as she gazed at the planet. She could see several
large oceans and wide swaths of green around the equator where tropical jungles
existed.

“It’s much
like Earth used to be,” Ryan said, longingly. It seemed like ages since he and
his family had fled Phoenix and gone to Vesta. He could well remember the
rafting trips they'd taken on the Colorado River and camping out in the
mountains. Those were things of the past, as nothing like that existed in any
of the new habitats. So much had been lost when the Kleese attacked Earth.

“What’s that?”
asked Casey, pointing to a large star that seemed to be moving. Then, looking
more intently, she saw it was a full formation. She quickly counted and saw
that there were ten objects that were moving.

“Lanolthian
battlecruisers,” Ryan answered as he gazed at the points of light. “I heard two
battle groups are being assigned as an escort for the Defender when we move out
and then they’ll join Seventh Fleet once we reach our destination.”

From what
Major Stevens had said, he knew the Lanolthian battlecruisers were eight
hundred meters in length and one hundred and fifty meters wide, being almost
cigar shaped. They had very powerful energy shields and were equipped with
heavy ion cannons on the bow for offense as well as energy weapon batteries.
The ships were also capable of launching antimatter sublight missiles.

“Are the
Lanolthians the ones who gave us the secret to the ion cannons we’re installing
all over the solar system?” asked Casey her hazel eyes widening.

“I don’t know,
but I’m guessing so,” Ryan answered as he continued to watch the distant ships.

“Lieutenant,”
a voice called from behind them. Turning, Ryan saw Privates Parker, Adams,
Rios, Hatterson, and Swen come into the room.

“Major Stevens
is looking for you,” Alexander said, coming to a stop next to one of the
viewports and looking out. “He said if we found you you’re to report for a
briefing at 1600.”

“Did he
mention what it was about?” asked Ryan, looking down at his watch and seeing he
had about an hour before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

“No,” replied
Alexander, shaking his head. “He just asked us to find you.”

“Gosh, that’s
a beautiful world,” Mary said as her eyes focused on the jewel of a planet.
“Was that what Earth used to be like?” she asked, glancing over at Ryan her
eyes growing wide. Since Mary was a clone, she'd never seen Earth before the
Kleese attack devastated the planet.

“Yes,” Juan
answered with sadness in his eyes. “My home was in Austin, Texas where I lived
with my uncle. My parents ran a small business just across the border in Mexico. My mother was a dress maker and made the most beautiful dresses, but my parents
wanted me to attend school in America so I could receive a good education.”

“Did your
parents manage to escape?” asked Mary in a quiet voice. She couldn’t recall
Juan ever mentioning his family before.

“No,” Juan
replied, shaking his head slowly at the memories. “When the attack came, things
became so bad so fast that I couldn’t make the long trip from Austin to my
parents' home village. When I last spoke to my dad, he begged me to get to a
place of safety. My uncle put me on board a bus going to the evacuation center
in Texas, saying he would join me there, but I never saw him again either.”