The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire by Raymond Weil (ereader ebook .txt) 📕

hearing the actual numbers made him realize just how bad those losses had been.

“Admiral, the Morag ships are moving forward again,” reported Major Nower. “I believe they’ll attempt to enter the defensive grid to neutralize part of its firepower, so they can more easily hit the planet.”

Leaning forward in his command chair, Derrick saw that Nower was correct. In less than a minute the Morag ships would be mixed in with the Human fleets and the defensive grid. Looking at the fifty massive Morag ships still in the back of their formation, there was no doubt that, when the fleets were intermixed, those behemoths would make their attack on the planet, and Derrick had no idea how he would stop them.

“Rear Admiral Carrie, after your interceptors make their next attack run, have all of them fall back into the atmosphere to act on missile interdiction. Drop your fleet down as low as possible as well.”

Looking at the viewscreens, the advancing Morag fleet looked ominous. Missile fire was still raking the front ships in the formation, and some Morag ships were dying in fierce blasts of raw energy but not enough.

“Thirty seconds until interpenetration of fleets,” warned Major Nower, as the Destiny shook violently. A console exploded, sending a shower of sparks across the room.

-

In the Royal Bunker beneath the palace, Layla’s focus was on the Destiny. Every time it took a hit, she cringed. “He won’t make it, will he?” Layla saw no way Derrick would survive this battle. She knew he would never flee.

“The battle’s not over yet,” replied Kala.

“Kala’s right,” Andrew said. “A lot could still happen.”

Layla nodded, but she felt as if her world would come to an end.

“You have to have faith in our military,” said Chancellor Stein in a strained voice. “A lot can still happen yet, and our ground PDCs are still intact.”

-

Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant was satisfied the battle was now under his control. He would use his fleet and Fleet Admiral Colane’s fleet to drive a hole in the Human fleet formation and the planet’s defensive grid. Once he had accomplished that, the fifty Conqueror battleships would be brought forward and destroy the planet.

-

Rear Admiral Banora grew more concerned, as the battle progressed. She had already lost nearly 40 percent of her fleet, and many of her surviving vessels were damaged. “Tighten up the formation,” she ordered. She had been gradually edging the Defiant closer to the Destiny. She didn’t trust Derrick not to try to do something heroic to win the battle, and she wanted to be close by, in case he needed her.

-

In the Command Center of the Destiny, Derrick watched the viewscreens, as the ship’s powerful weapons blew apart a Morag battlecruiser, sending debris flying across space.

“We won’t last much longer,” warned Colonel Bryant. “We’re losing too many ships.”

Derrick knew Colonel Bryant was right. “All we can do is try to take as many of the Morag ships as we can with us. Perhaps the ground defenses will hold back the rest.” Derrick knew this wasn’t true. Even the ground defenses would have a hard time against those fifty large Morag warships.

Suddenly the sensor alarms sounded again. On the tactical display, thousands of new red threat icons appeared. Derrick felt his heart skip a beat. This was the end; he could do nothing now to save Golan Four and Layla. Even as he watched, the red icons mysteriously turned green.

On the viewscreens, the new arrivals fired on the Morag fleet. “Where did those ships come from?” There were dozens of different ship types, as well as what appeared to be Resistance ships.

“It’s the Visth, and they’ve brought some friends,” reported Lieutenant Wolman, smiling.

“Total ships are 5,432,” reported Major Nower breathlessly. “Nearly 1,600 are Resistance ships, and the rest are Visth and other races, plus a few of our ships mixed in.”

“But the Morag will just take over the minds of the Visth and the others and use them against us,” protested Derrick, as he gazed at the various new arrivals on the viewscreens. He was glad they were here, but he feared they were only putting themselves in danger.

Lieutenant Wolman shook her head. “No, the Visth admiral reports that all the command crews are protected by Lormallian nullifiers. The Morag cannot take over their minds.”

Even as Derrick watched, the new arrivals launched a full-scale attack against the rear of the Morag formation, where their fifty large warships were located. Space filled with massive explosions, as a majority of the new arrivals targeted the large Morag warships. An explosion that threatened to break open space itself marked the death of one of the big warships, and then another one died, followed quickly by a third. Even those big ships could not handle hundreds or thousands of missiles all detonating against their energy screens at the same time.

-

Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant stared in shock at the five thousand warships that had just appeared and attacked the rear of his formation. Already seven of his Conqueror class battleships had been destroyed. Push through the defenses, he ordered desperately. We must destroy the Human’s homeworld. He knew if he didn’t, the Confederation could very well lose the war.

-

Space filled with explosions and dying ships. Both sides were now trying to destroy the other as quickly as possible. Ships on both sides were taking chances to give them an advantage. Occasionally the Morag would fire more missiles at the planet, but, so far, the attack interceptors and the ground defenses were destroying them before they could reach the surface.

-

Morag Fleet Admiral Colane suddenly found his flagship surrounded by several dozen Resistance ships. He reached out for their minds but found his mental touch blocked because the ships were operated by Humans. His flagship shook violently, and the lights dimmed and then brightened.