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

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The festivities were finally over, and Layla and Derrick had retired to their Royal Quarters. They were currently standing on a large private balcony, looking out over the city and the Palace grounds. Fireworks were going off over the capital, and large numbers of revelers were still visible, celebrating below.

“I loved everything,” said Layla, leaning back into Derrick’s arms. “It was perfect.”

Derrick smiled. “Yes, it was. A little tiring but I think we accomplished a lot. Several of the governors I spoke to indicated they would be joining the Empire.”

“Same here,” replied Layla. “Krista and Andrew told me that they had a lot of luck also in speaking to the various governors. I’m anxious to see in the next several weeks what happens.”

After a few more minutes standing here and watching the fireworks display, Layla turned to face Derrick, with a smile on her face. “Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to go take a long hot bath. Afterward we have a little more business to take care of.”

Derrick grinned. “I wouldn’t call it business. More like romantic fun.”

Layla blushed slightly. “Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll be back.”

With that, Layla turned and headed inside. Derrick waited a few minutes and decided he probably should take a quick shower. It might be quite some time yet before he got to sleep.

Chapter Six

Two weeks passed, and Ardon Reull once more met with Dom Marse. Ardon was anxious to hear the results on the telepathic nullifiers.

“We have two thousand of the personal ones finished,” Dom informed Ardon. “We also have enough to fully protect 112 warships.”

Ardon considered what Dom told him. The fleet Ardon had stationed nearby had eight hundred battlecruisers and sixty-seven battleships. “How many of each can we produce in another week?” Ardon wanted to fully protect all the ships of the fleet, as well as have personal nullifiers for all key personnel.

Dom smiled. “We have the production techniques all worked out and are ready to go to full automation tomorrow. In a week we can turn out enough nullifiers to protect one thousand ships and ten thousand crewmembers.”

Ardon knew from his contacts on several Lormallian worlds that the Morag were searching for him. “What can we do to fortify this world?”

Dom frowned. “We don’t have any production facilities to build any major defensive elements. We could build a few ground-based cannons and perhaps a few missile launchers, but that’s about it.”

“Then we need to keep secret what this planet is producing. If the Morag learn, they will come here and destroy everything.”

“I will suggest we build some energy cannons and missile launchers around our production facilities and research labs,” said Dom, after thinking about it. “We have what is necessary to do that.”

“What about an energy shield?” Ardon wanted to make sure this facility stayed safe. The future of all the Lormallian worlds might very well rest on the continued survival of this particular Lormallian world, Proxy Seven.

“It will take longer and would require adding some fusion reactors, but it can be done.”

Ardon nodded. “Do so. The survival of our people might depend on what we do here. Also, once we have a sufficient number of our ships equipped with the nullifiers, I can station some nearby, in case they’re needed.”

-

Later Ardon returned to his quarters. He had some plans to make. Once the Morag learned of what he was doing, he planned on sending the plans for the nullifiers to all the worlds in the Confederation. If the Morag thought the revolts now were bad, wait until then.

-

Fleet Admiral Marloo read the latest reports, coming in from the battlecruisers that were keeping an eye on Confederation fleets. Over the last week many of the enemy vessels had left, setting a course back to the Confederation. “What do you think?” he asked, looking over at Fleet Vice Admiral Masters and Admiral Cleemorl.

“The revolts in the Confederation must be getting worse,” suggested Dylan. “The Confederation is pulling back every ship it can to handle the unrest.”

“I agree,” said Derrick. “If this is true, we need to go on the offensive. We could free a number of heavily populated and industrialized worlds and bring them into the Empire. We don’t dare waste this opportunity.”

Fleet Admiral Marloo turned to Admiral Cleemorl. “How many ships of First Fleet could you commit to this attack and still keep the Hagen Star Cluster safe?”

“Five hundred battlecruisers and thirty dreadnoughts. The cluster is already turning out warships of their own and will have produced a sizable fleet within the month.”

“Vice Admiral Masters?”

“We still have Admiral Barnes’s Third Fleet here. However, as soon as my Fifth Fleet is up to its full numbers, we would allow Third Fleet to return to Earth. I can engage my entire Fifth Fleet, though I suggest we use it to attack Confederation positions relatively close to the core worlds.”

Fleet Admiral Marloo nodded. “We’ll start our offensive in four days. I still need to get approval from the council, though I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Return to your fleets and await further orders. Derrick, you can choose to allow Rear Admiral Banora to command the fleet or you can take charge. It’s up to you.”

Derrick thought long and hard about what he should do. “She needs experience commanding the fleet on her own. Since the Confederation has withdrawn so many of their warships, I think she can handle Fifth Fleet this time around. I’ll go up to the Destiny in the morning and inform her of what will be happening.”

“I approve,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo. “We need as many experienced admirals as we can get. At some point in time, this war will get very intense, especially when we go up against the Morag.”

“I’ll leave later this evening,” said Admiral Cleemorl.