The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) (28 page)

“You still
think something is wrong?” asked his aide, coming over to stand at his side and
looking out to where a crew of slaves were constructing the solid base for a
missile launching system.

“Yes, Jentil,
I do,” Resmunt responded in his cold rasping voice, glancing over at his long
time aide. “It has been four weeks since War Leader Bisth left to attack the
human mining world, and we should have heard back from him by now. I don’t like
this, something isn’t right. These humans were extremely dangerous the first
time we encountered them, they may have become dangerous again!”

“He had four
full fleets,” Jentil reminded the commodore. “The humans have to have been
defeated. War Leader Bisth probably discovered where their home world is and
has gone on to conquer it. When he returns, we will have added several new
worlds to the empire and the High Council will be quite pleased. There will be
much honor for everyone.”

“The High
Council,” Resmunt spoke in a harsh tone. “I asked for six more fleets to
reinforce this sector of space and they are only sending two. High Leader
Ankler feels that I am exaggerating the danger from these new humans. He
believes they must be weak and not a serious threat. There is also no
explanation as to why the word of their escape from their original worlds was
never reported. I don’t like this at all.”

“Strange,”
Jentil responded, his large eyes turning even darker. “Wasn’t it High Leader
Ankler that demanded we attack the humans as soon as possible?”

“Yes,” Resmunt
answered his eyes growing even wider as he thought about his orders. “He
demanded we attack the humans immediately.”

Resmunt
stepped away from the window and gazed over at the large map of the galaxy,
which showed the area of space he was responsible for. He knew he had been
given this command because he had a reputation for unorthodox thinking. That
type of thinking was heavily frowned upon in the empire, and most warriors that
exhibited these tendencies were quickly demoted and assigned to menial duties. However,
Resmunt had demonstrated repeatedly that a fleet under his command could defeat
any other Hocklyn fleet in the few war games the empire allowed. For that reason,
he had been assigned to this distant post and empire expansion sector.

“We have a
number of small bases in this area here,” he said, pointing to seven small
fleet outposts far behind the current lines of expansion. I want all of their
ships, except for two escort cruisers each to be reassigned to this base.”

Jentil was
silent for a moment as he contemplated the order. He knew the commodores of
those bases would not be pleased with losing their fleets. While not large,
they were still respectable.

“The
commodores of those bases will demand explanations as to why their fleets are
being reassigned,” spoke Jentil, softly.

“I am in
command of this sector,” Resmunt hissed in a threatening voice. “Remind them of
that and tell them their fleets will be returned as soon as War Leader Bisth appears.
Their fleets are doing nothing anyway but setting in orbit around their bases.”

“As you
command, Commodore,” Jentil responded as he turned to leave and carry out his
orders.

Resmunt stood
looking with growing concern at the map and then returned to stare out the
window. He just felt something was wrong. Up in orbit he had his flagship, the dreadnought
Liberator, two war cruisers, and four escort cruisers. In normal times he
wouldn’t be concerned, but he had an uneasy feeling that this time things were
different. The humans were a big unknown in the equation.

The
reinforcements from the seven support bases would give him two more full fleets.
With the other two fleets set to arrive in less than ten more days, that would
give him a sizable force to defend the planet with. He still felt something
about these new humans wasn’t right and that they presented a grave danger to
the empire. He also wondered what High Leader Ankler knew and was not telling
him.

-

Back on the
Hocklyn’s home world of Calzen, High Leader Ankler threw his knife against the
far wall of his office, imbedding it almost to the hilt. The blade had been
blooded numerous times in his earlier years during honor duels. He was
frustrated by the latest report from Fleet Commodore Resmunt. At least he could
communicate with the Fleet Commodore. As the empire had grown, the AIs had
furnished the Hocklyns with a better form of FTL communication. The newer FTL
transmitters were only allowed on the larger fleet bases where expansion was
still occurring; they were too large to place upon a ship. Ankler was certain
the AIs had designed them that way on purpose.

He sat back
down at his desk and gazed in frustration at the latest message from the
commodore. There was still no news from War Leader Bisth, and another High
Council meeting was scheduled for the next day to discuss the human situation.
High Councilor Ruthan had called it with the support of several other
councilors. He was still demanding that they inform the AIs immediately of the
discovery of these new humans. Ankler wadded up the message and thought
worriedly about what he could do to get the High Council to agree to delay
notifying the AIs.

Ankler had
been so certain these new humans would not be a major threat. He wondered now
if he should have sent Resmunt the six fleets he had requested from the
beginning. If only his ancestor, War Leader Sigeth, had done his duty and
upheld the family honor! With resignation, Ankler knew he might not be able to
prevent the council from agreeing with Ruthan this time around if it came to a
vote. He needed to find a way to buy more time! The council must not learn that
War Leader Sigeth was his direct ancestor.

Striding over
to the window, he gazed upward into the night sky. The sunlight reflecting off
of the numerous shipyards and habitats was enough to make it seem almost like
daylight on a heavily clouded day. Ankler knew he would have to play a secret
he had been keeping now for several days if he were to avoid discovery.

He had met
with a representative of the AIs just a few days back. They had agreed to allow
the Hocklyns to settle four more nearby star systems. The AI representative had
also warned Ankler that there would be no more concessions after that. There
were very few things in the galaxy that had ever frightened Ankler, but meeting
an AI was one of them. He shuddered at just recalling that meeting. It was hard
to describe an AI since he had only actually seen one on four different
occasions over the years. Each time the AI had looked drastically different
from the one before.

Walking over
to the wall, he pulled his knife free and placed it in the scabbard at his waist
next to his body armor. He would tell his fellow council members of the AI
offer. He would also mention that if the AIs discovered that the High Council
had withheld information about the new humans the addition of four new star
systems to colonize could be put in jeopardy. That should buy him at least a
few more weeks. Surely, by then Bisth would be back and would be reporting that
the new human worlds were now part of the empire.

-

Admiral Streth
was having his final meeting with Fleet Admiral Johnson on New Tellus Station.
“All the ships are ready, and we will be departing for fleet maneuvers
tomorrow,” he reported.

Karla looked
over at the admiral, wondering what to say. “Hedon, I know I have placed a lot
of responsibility on you. All of our shipyards are now working 24 hours a day
on new construction. Training of new recruits has reached an all time high, and
we are strengthening our defensive grids above all of our worlds, including the
mining colonies. My experts say we are six months away from peak war production
and nine from finishing the deployment of all the defenses we need to protect
our civilized worlds. Buy me nine months and we will be ready to turn the full
might of the Federation and our allies on the Hocklyns.”

“Speaking of
our allies, what are they doing?” Hedon asked. He had not, as of yet, had the
opportunity to meet any representatives of the three alien races that were
allied with the human race in this coming war.

“They are
preparing also,” answered Karla, recalling her latest conversation about that
with President Kincaid. “We sent them videos of the battle at Caden’s World and
some of the Hocklyn bodies for them to examine. All three have switched their
economies to war production. The Hocklyns will not like this part of the
galaxy.”

“And the
Albanians?” continued Hedon, wishing they knew more about what was going on
with the highly advanced aliens. “What about them?”

“We don’t
know,” confessed Karla, allowing frustration to show in her voice. “Since
Admiral Tolsen’s first battle in Gliese 667C they have closed their borders to
our ships. They still have an embassy on Earth, but they are saying very
little.”

Hedon nodded,
understanding the Fleet Admiral’s frustration. “I spoke with General
Abercrombie. We are taking 20,000 marines in twenty marine transports along
with us.”

“As well as
half a dozen fully equipped hospital ships, twenty ammunition colliers, and
forty supply ships,” the Fleet Admiral added, her eyes narrowing. “That’s a lot
of Federation ships we’re putting at risk.”

“This is war,
Admiral,” answered Hedon, thinking of the logistics involved. “We will need
those supplies. It will take a resupply convoy ten to twelve days to reach us.”

“Don’t let me
down, Hedon,” Karla continued somberly, her eyes focusing intently on the
admiral. “The Federation is depending on you. Don’t do anything heroic. Come
back alive, the Federation needs its heroes.”

“I don’t know
about being a hero,” Hedon responded with a frown. He had grown to dislike that
term being used when people spoke about him. “I am just an admiral doing my
job. Speaking of heroes, how is Admiral Tolsen doing?”

“He’s still in
the intensive care hospital in Ceres,” Karla responded, her eyes looking sad.
“He was badly injured. Only three people in the Command Center of his flagship
were found alive. The doctors say it will be months before he is fully
recovered.”

“He’s a good
man,” responded Hedon, recalling how Tolsen had fought in the battle at Caden’s
World. “We can’t afford to lose officers of his caliber.”

“We won’t,” Karla
replied fully in agreement. “Once he has recovered and gone through rehab, I’m
giving him another fleet.”

“That’s good,”
Hedon responded pleased to hear that. “I hope to see him when I return from
First Strike.”

After the
meeting was over, Karla leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her
chest. She wondered if Admiral Streth truly understood just what he meant to
the Federation. Every Federation child was taught in school what Hedon had done
to save the survivors from the original Human Federation of Worlds and that the
great Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth would be awoken someday to destroy the
Hocklyns. That time was here! Children believed that the great Fleet Admiral
would save them, and so did Karla. Shifting her thinking, she had one more important
meeting scheduled for today. This was a meeting she was going to enjoy.

-

Jeremy,
Kelsey, Kevin, Angela, and Katie had been summoned to Fleet Admiral Johnson’s
office. They were all nervous, wondering if something had happened or if their group
of five was going to be split up.

“What did you
do now?” asked Kevin, glancing accusingly over at Katie. “Did you modify the
entire defense mainframe for the system without telling anyone?”

Katie glared
at Kevin and then realized he was only teasing. “No, at least not yet.”

“I hope
they’re not going to split us up,” Angela spoke with concern. “I don’t know
what I would do if the rest of you weren’t on the same ship I am.”

“I guess we
will find out shortly,” Jeremy said as they reached the Fleet Admiral’s office.

One of the two
marine guards stepped over and opened the heavy metal hatch, allowing them
entrance. They stepped inside and were surprised to see Admiral Teleck and a
large number of other strangers in the room. Some were dressed in standard
fleet uniforms and others in civilian clothes.

“Ah, here they
are now,” Admiral Johnson spoke with an expectant look upon her face, which
quickly grew into a friendly smile.

“Rear Admiral
Strong, reporting as ordered,” Jeremy spoke as the group of five came to
attention.

“At ease,
Admiral,” the Fleet Admiral responded. “For this meeting we will be using first
names only.”

“First names?”
Kevin blurted out in shock. How could he call the Fleet Admiral by her first
name? It seemed like a very strange request.

“I’m sure all
of you are curious as to why you have been called to this get together,” Admiral
Teleck spoke with a mystifying smile. “The reason is very simple; all five of
you recently awoke from a cryosleep of over two centuries. Everyone you knew
has long since passed away, even though from my understanding you were all left
video and voice recordings from your families.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Jeremy said, feeling confused. “We have all listened to those recordings, and
they have helped tremendously.”

“Then I have
another surprise for all of you today,” added Admiral Johnson, breaking out
into a larger smile. “All of you still have relatives living in this day and
age and that’s who all of these people are. I will start first.” Admiral
Johnson walked over and stood in front of Katie. “Katie, I am your niece. I am
a direct descendent of your brother Mathew. Mathew was my great great
grandfather.”

Katie stood
there speechless, not sure what to do or say. She suddenly realized she was not
alone; she had others besides her friends.

Admiral
Johnson stepped forward and placed her arms around Katie. “I’m so proud of you,
and there are others here to that are related to us as well.”