The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) (7 page)

“May I call in
my staff?” asked Admiral Teleck, feeling curious about this mission.

He knew that
the Federation survivors would be furious if Admiral Johnson had chosen a
mission that was too dangerous; the life of Admiral Streth had to be protected.
Many felt he was the best hope of defeating the Hocklyns. He had done it
before, and many felt he could do it again.

“Yes, that
would be fine,” replied Admiral Johnson with a nod. “Also, would you mind
arranging for the crew of the Sydney to be taken on a tour of Ceres? Most of
them have never been here before.”

“No problem,”
grinned Admiral Teleck. He always enjoyed being able to show off to the rest of
the Federation what they had built inside the massive asteroid. “I will make
arrangements for them to have accommodations at one of the resorts in the
Aquarius habitat.”

“That would be
great,” responded Admiral Johnson pleased with Teleck’s response. Each one of
the habitats inside of Ceres was named after one of the former Federation
worlds the Hocklyns had destroyed. “We will be staying here for a number of
days. There is a lot of planning that needs to be done.”

-

A few hours
later, they were deep inside Ceres in a secure conference room. Admiral Teleck
had sent for his entire staff as well as the head of the civilian government.
Governor Malleck was the current elected government leader of Ceres and a very
astute politician.

Once everyone
was seated and introduced, Admiral Johnson began going over her plan for a first
strike against the Hocklyns. To say Admiral Teleck and his staff were surprised
would be putting it mildly. When Karla was finished, she looked around at the
group waiting for their response. She knew if she could not get the backing of
the Federation survivors, the plan would have no chance of succeeding.

“That’s a bold
plan,” commented Admiral Teleck, leaning back and drumming his right index
finger on the conference table. He took a deep breath as he looked around the
room at his staff and Governor Malleck. “It’s one we have never discussed, taking
the fight to the Hocklyns at this stage. I have always thought the plan was to
lure them into attacking New Tellus and allowing the asteroid fortresses to
annihilate their fleet.”

“We still
may,” responded Karla, nodding her head. “It’s just that they’re so far ahead
of their timeline, and we still have a lot to do in the Federation before we
are ready to engage them here. This will set the Hocklyns back and put them on
the defensive if it succeeds, at least for a while. It will give us the time we
need to put the Federation on a war footing and finish our defenses. Later,
when they mount a major attack, we can use New Tellus to cut them down to
size.”

“You say you
will be turning over to Admiral Streth the entire Ready Reserve Fleet?” asked Admiral
Kalen, looking curiously at a computer pad in front of him. “Just how many
ships are we talking about?” Admiral Kalen was responsible for the upkeep of
the fleet units based inside of Ceres.

“The life of Admiral
Streth is very important to us,” Governor Malleck added in a grave tone of
voice. He looked directly at the Fleet Admiral and continued. “Admiral Streth
may well be the best admiral we have for this type of daring operation, but we
must be sure he has the assets to ensure its success. We won’t risk his life
needlessly.”

Admiral
Johnson nodded, activating her own computer pad and calling up the numbers of
the Ready Reserve. She had updated this prior to leaving New Tellus Station.
“It will be a massive fleet,” replied Karla, allowing her eyes to look across
the group. “This will be a general attack over a large area of space in an
effort to drive the Hocklyns back hundreds of light years. We may even free a
number of slave worlds they have conquered.”

“Hundreds of
light years?” Kalen spoke in surprise, his eyes growing very wide at the
thought. To the best of his knowledge, no one had ever attacked the Hocklyn
Empire like this before.

“That’s all
well and good, but the Hocklyns have a massive fleet as well,” Colonel Grissim
pointed out. She was in charge of Ceres’s military intelligence division. “Even
at the best estimates, we may still be outnumbered by a hundred or a thousand to
one if they ever call in all of their forces, and that does not include the AIs.”

Everyone was
silent for a moment as they thought about the mysterious AIs that controlled
the galaxy-spanning Slave Empire. They were still the wild card in all of their
planning as no one knew exactly what type of weapons the AIs could bring to
bear or the number of ships they had at their disposal.

“We will deal
with the AIs when we encounter them,” Karla replied in a firm voice. “We
believe our new power beams and the new Devastator Three missiles may be able
to take them out; we won’t know until we have a chance to engage them. Our new
strike cruisers have been designed just for that purpose.”

“As you said,
we will deal with the AIs when they make an appearance,” Admiral Kalen said in
agreement, focusing his attention on the Fleet Admiral. “Let’s just hope that’s
not too soon. Now, how large is the Ready Reserve Fleet you’re turning over to Admiral
Streth?”

Karla pressed
an icon on her computer pad and the numbers came up. “There are twenty-four
Conqueror class battle cruisers, twenty-four Galaxy class battle carriers,
forty-eight Monarch heavy cruisers, one hundred and twenty light cruisers, and one
hundred and forty destroyers.”

“That’s a
sizable fleet,” Governor Malleck commented. Then his eyes narrowed. “But most
of those ships are close to twenty years old! I don’t know if I feel
comfortable putting Admiral Streth in a Conqueror class battle cruiser with
paint peeling off its hull.”

“I agree,”
said Colonel Grissim, shaking her head disapprovingly. “I realize that a ten to
twenty year old battle cruiser is a still powerful ship, but I would like
Admiral Streth’s flagship to be one of our newer models.”

“We would be
willing to provide a suitable flagship,” Admiral Telleck volunteered. He
thought that one of the newer Conqueror class battle cruisers would be more
suitable; they had several that had been completed in the massive construction
bays of Ceres in just the past year.

Admiral Johnson
allowed a fleeting smile to cross her face. “I never said we weren’t sending
any new ships. Admiral Streth’s flagship will be the new Vanquisher class
battleship that is currently under construction at New Tellus Station. We will
also be sending two new Conqueror class battle cruisers, two new Galaxy class
battle carriers, four of the new Monarch heavy cruisers and eight of our new
strike cruisers as support ships for the StarStrike.”

“The
StarStrike!” Admiral Teleck spoke in a stunned voice, his eyes widening at
hearing the name of the ship.

“Yes, the
StarStrike,” repeated Karla, grinning. Then, with an even larger smile, “What
other name could we choose for Admiral Streth’s flagship?”

-

Admiral Streth
opened his eyes and, for a moment, everything looked white, then his eyes began
to focus and he started seeing colors. “Be patient, Admiral,” a woman’s gentle voice
spoke close to his head. “Your eyesight should return shortly.”

Gradually the
room came into focus, and Hedon began to make out objects around him. “How
long?” he managed to croak out, realizing that his throat felt parched.
“Water.”

“Here, drink
this,” the woman doctor next to him said, handing him a glass.

He reached up
and had trouble holding it, so she helped him as he took a couple of swallows.
Then, laying his head back down on the pillow, he looked at the doctor
inquiringly.

“I am Doctor
Evelyn Reynolds, and I am in charge of the cryosleep units here on Ceres.”

“Why have I
been awakened?” asked Hedon surprised at how weak he felt. Comparing this to
the last time he had been awoken he realized that a very long time must have
passed.

Doctor
Reynolds looked at Admiral Streth and then replied in a calm and extremely
respectful voice. “It’s been nearly two hundred and seventy years since your
last awakening, and it is time to fight the Hocklyns.”

-

Admiral Streth
gazed curiously at this new admiral who wore the rank of Fleet Admiral. Hedon
wondered briefly how that was going to work as he also wore the same rank.

They were
seated in a small conference room. Hedon had insisted the meeting be held
somewhere else besides his hospital room. He also felt better being dressed in
his fleet uniform; it made everything seem more familiar and easier to accept.

Two orderlies
had helped him walk to the meeting room, which was inside the hospital. He
still was aggravated at how weak he felt. He didn’t like feeling helpless and
having to depend so much on others to do simple tasks. He had even needed help
just to put his uniform on! Doctor Reynolds had assured him that he would recover
rapidly and had proceeded to describe the physical therapy he would be
undergoing for the next few weeks.

“Hello, Fleet
Admiral,” began Karla, feeling awe at whom she was speaking to. “I am Fleet Admiral
Karla Johnson, of Earth.”

“Johnson,” repeated
Hedon, feeling curious and looking thoughtful as a memory tugged at the back of
his mind. “Any relation to Greg Johnson of the New Beginning’s mission?”

“Yes, Sir,” replied
Karla pleased that the admiral remembered Greg. “He was one of my ancestors.”

“A good man,” responded
Hedon, recalling Greg and the time he had spent with him and his friend, Jason
Strong.

They had
traveled to New Tellus together. It was sad to realize they both had died long
ago. So many friends and associates had decided not to go into cryosleep but
had stayed awake instead to help build Ceres. This included his brother and his
brother’s wife Lendle. Hedon let out a long sigh, knowing that an important
part of his life had been left forever in the past.

“Doctor
Reynolds says it’s time to fight the Hocklyns,” Hedon finally spoke, his eyes
looking over at the Fleet Admiral. “I assume you have a mission for me and that
is why I have been awakened? Are any of the others being brought out of
cryosleep?”

“Yes, Admiral,
all of them,” replied Karla as she began to explain the current situation and
what had happened in the Gliese 667C system.

Hedon listened
patiently as Admiral Johnson briefed him on the current status of the new
Federation of Human Worlds and the task she had set for him. His eyes widened
as she described the fleet she was placing under his command and what she
wanted him to do with it.

“You may
choose the admirals to command the separate task forces,” she finally finished.
“We need you to buy us the time we need to ramp up our fleet production and to
finish our defenses.”

“How much time
are we talking about?” Hedon asked as he thought over what the Fleet Admiral
was suggesting. He was already starting to feel tired and knew he would need to
return to his room shortly.

“Two years,” responded
Admiral Johnson in a grave tone. She could see the weary and tired look in the
admiral’s eyes and knew she needed to allow him to return to his room to rest.
Karla hoped she that Admiral Streth understood the importance of what she was
asking him to do. “The Hocklyns are thirty years ahead of schedule, so some of
our plans have to be rushed. We can do it; we just need a little more time.”

Hedon was
quiet for a moment. He knew he had a lot of questions he needed to ask, but those
could wait until later after he had recovered more and his mind was sharper and
not so full of drugs. “If you need two years, I will give them to you,” replied
Hedon confidently, his eyes widening in determination. “I agree with your plan
to take the fight to the Hocklyns; I think it is a wise and good tactical
decision.” Hedon leaned back and knew it was time to return to his room. He
just needed time to rest and figure out how to accomplish what the Fleet
Admiral wanted.

-

Amanda opened
her eyes and waited for her eyesight to return. She could sense someone else in
the room with her. “Who’s there?” she managed to ask. “Richard?”

“Relax,
Colonel Sheen,” a friendly woman’s voice spoke. “I am Doctor Reynolds, and I am
overseeing your awakening from cryosleep. Your husband, Major Richard Andrews,
is also in the process of being awakened. You are both fine, and you should be
able to see him later today.”

Amanda’s vision
quickly returned, and she could see she was in some type of hospital room. “Is
it time?” she asked, turning her head and looking directly at the woman doctor
standing next to the bed.”

Doctor
Reynolds knew exactly what Colonel Sheen was referring to. “Yes, it’s time. Admiral
Streth and all the rest of you that have been in cryosleep are being awakened.
It is time to fight the Hocklyns.”

Amanda closed
her eyes. She was glad to hear that Richard and the others were okay. It also
pleased her greatly to hear that the time to finally confront the Hocklyns was
at hand. She just hoped that Earth and Ceres were ready.

-

Jeremy opened
his eyes and lay there quietly. He could hear noises around him as if someone
was moving. Where am I, he thought? The last thing he remembered was going into
cryosleep. Kelsey, Angela, Kevin, and he had all opted to go into cryosleep and
fight the Hocklyns in the future. Jeremy had spent six years as an officer on a
Federation light cruiser, rising to the position of executive officer before
the four of them had volunteered for cryosleep. It had been a difficult
decision for all of them to leave their families behind, but they had all felt
it was what they needed to do.

During part of
Jeremy’s tour on the light cruiser, Kelsey had been on board as the lead Navigation
Officer. The four had finally gotten together and decided on this course of action.
The important thing was that they would be together and could bring justice to
the Hocklyns for the forced destruction of the New Horizon. It was something
that had haunted them throughout their careers.