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

Derrick grinned. “A task group leaves orbit tomorrow for some target practice. I may go observe for a few hours.”

“Just make sure it’s a few hours. Now let’s go to our quarters.”

-

Krista had just returned to her quarters, and she was in a very good mood. She had spent the evening with Mathew, under the watchful eyes of Ensign Allert. They had gone to a sporting event in the city in an outdoor arena. Emira had insisted Brenda accompany them, and she had.

One thing about Brenda, she was not overbearing and didn’t get in the way. She also managed to give them a little privacy every so often, though not for very long. Krista hoped she and Mathew would eventually get married, but he had not yet brought up the subject.

With a deep sigh, she entered her quarters, sitting down on one of the comfortable couches. Layla had mentioned they would be receiving a number of representatives from different worlds in the Royal Court the next day. It would be boring, but that was part of being a Royal, and Krista was determined not to let Layla down. With a smile, Krista thought back to her date with Mathew. At least they were seeing each other on a regular basis now.

-

Admiral Cleemorl wanted to get Cheryl to come to Tantula Five and stay for a while. The planet was now nearly as heavily defended as Golan Four, and he felt she would be perfectly safe here. Currently First Fleet was back in the Hagen Star Cluster, after a successful series of attacks on Confederation-held Human worlds.

He had met briefly today with Governor Ansell Dyson, and they had discussed how ship production was going, as well as the new defensive systems being installed around the other eighteen large mining colonies. Already several squadrons of warships—just recently built in the shipyards of the seven major systems—were on patrol, checking up on the mining colonies on a regular schedule.

“Things are looking up,” commented Rear Admiral Fulmar.

Dylan nodded. “I want to send some patrols to some of the nearby worlds, under Confederation control. Set up four fleets of two dreadnoughts and ten battlecruisers. I want to know if the Confederation has completely withdrawn from our region of space. If they have, we need to see if we can encourage those worlds to join the Empire. The seven main worlds of this star cluster are now producing an abundance of defensive grid elements. We need to arm every Human planet within range of this cluster. I also want to place large numbers of attack interceptors on as many worlds as possible. When the Confederation returns, and they will, I want them to find every world armed and ready to defend themselves.”

“I’ll arrange for the patrols,” said Fulmar. “We should also speak to the governors about our plans to place defensive elements around all these worlds. It’s an expense the Hagen Star Cluster will have to pay for.”

“Perhaps,” responded Dylan. “I’m hoping the worlds we’ll defend can offer some compensation to help pay for the costs, perhaps in raw materials or manufactured products.”

Rear Admiral Fulmar folded his arms across his chest. “Any luck in talking Cheryl into coming out to the cluster?”

“Some,” replied Dylan. “She’s open to coming out for some short visits. We’ll see what we can work out.”

-

Several hours later the Themis went into orbit around Gideon, the only inhabited moon in the system. On its northern pole, a massive military base was taking shape. Already over two thousand attack interceptors were based there, and constant training flights occurred. In orbit above Gideon was a massive defensive grid and eight ODPs. All to protect the four hundred million people who lived on the terraformed moon. Already on the surface, twelve PDCs were under construction, with the first scheduled to be completed within the week. Dylan had more ODPs coming from the core worlds. He wanted Gideon to be a death trap for the Confederation and particularly the Morag.

Above the moon, a large space station and a greatly expanded shipyard were in orbit. Both had been heavily armed and had energy shields.

“Inform Governor Bloom that I’ll be coming down for an inspection,” said Dylan. “I want to inspect several of the PDCs, as well as the base at the north pole of the moon.”

“I’ll get the message sent,” replied Fulmar.

“You will be accompanying me as well,” said Dylan. “I want you fully familiar with the defense capabilities of this moon. Someday I expect a major battle to be fought here.” Dylan planned on using Gideon as a trap for the Confederation. Its defenses would be far greater than anything the Confederation had faced before.

-

Several hours later they were in a large aircar, with the governor slowly orbiting one of the ground PDCs under construction. Everywhere they looked, they saw construction engineers and hundreds of construction robots. Bright flashes of light indicated the operation of fusion welders, while cranes lifted massive pieces of metal into place.

“This one will be complete in about three more weeks,” said Governor Bloom.

Dylan nodded. The construction site was well over a kilometer across. Parts of it were complete, and missile launchers and small defensive turrets were already visible, where they had already been installed. Around the perimeter, a ten-meter-high wall—with guard towers every one hundred meters—provided extra security.

“We’ll have nearly one thousand Marines stationed on the perimeter of each PDC,” Governor Bloom informed Dylan and Rear Admiral Fulmar. “If it comes down to fighting on the ground, we’ll be ready.”

Dylan saw formations of Marines performing drills. “I’m expecting a major battle to be fought over this moon,” said Dylan. “I’ve made arrangements to add at least four more ODPs.”

“What size fleet will we have to help defend us?” asked the governor worriedly.

“All seven